THE DEPRIVED... Chapter 2... Part 28.

A continuation of my book.

Spitalfields Market was alive to those who worked towards the city end of the East London, awash with rows of stalls and barrows which bulged of vegetables and vittles, while the costermongers shouted out their wares and keeping their eyes on the urchin children who dodged between barrows with light hands and eagle eyes on the fruit and potatoes and ready to take whenever an opportunity arose. Kilpatrick had his regulars, those who paid him a farthing a time to push their barrows back to the lock-ups and places where they might be safe overnight. The empty boxes from the fruit sold, plus empty potato sacks were also put into the bargain. The old sacks were the blankets of the poor, while the empty wooden boxes were tied together and strung out on a rope, hauled round the streets to be sold as firewood. Kilpatrick worked hard, pushing and pulling one barrow after another, four in all which got him a copper coin.
Earlier, before he had started to pull the barrows, Kilpatrick had walked his way through the market place with Beth in tow, stopping at times to palm away a potato from a pile and slipping the potato to Beth who quickly turned to lift up her skirt and slide the stolen food into the bag then dropping her skirt before patting at the lumps.

With the day’s work finished, Kilpatrick stopped to break up the wooden boxes, saving the last box into which he carefully stacked all the broken pieces then, along with three sacks and the rope, he hefted the box onto his shoulder and led Beth back to Viaduct Street and the arch.

Beth was full of speech, telling her mother of her time spent at the market. She talked of the busy market scenes and of the shouting and fast speech of the costermongers. Mary listened as Beth spoke of the antics displayed by the ragged street urchins, who nimbly stole what they could and of the stallholders and ‘Bobby-Dazzlers’ who chased them with sticks and clubs, catching some and taking them away.
“Do you see what I have?” she said triumphantly as she drew up her skirt drawing out the bag from her waist, opening it to display the potatoes. Mary smiled as she watched and listened to Beth though she continually clutched at her chest and tried to smother the feelings of phlegm which steadily built up in her lungs so that she wheezed loudly. She continued to cough as she tried to stand up, spitting out the blood.
“Stay there, Missus. You aint sounding too keen with your health and need to lay down and gather strength in the warmth.” said Kilpatrick softly.
“Thank you. I’m obliged to you but I am not wanting to be a burden to yourself.” wheezed Mary as she lay back into the blankets.
“You aint in holding to me for keeping you and the young ‘uns safe. It’s with Beth’s help that we have the market tied up to our liking. Aint that an honest truth, Beth?”
Beth quickly acknowledged that what Kilpatrick had said was the honest truth before she lay close to her mother, pressing her body close in a bid to provide warmth.
Sam once more felt himself to be outside the circle, having returned the club to Kilpatrick and now sat with his back against the arch of the wall.

The night fires had been lit, with smoke billowing and mushrooming then flattening as it hit the arched roof, to flatten and billow back down the walls so the inside of the arch was thick with a grey of smoky soot.
“Keep your heads down low. That way you don’t gets the smoke into your lungs.” advised Kilpatrick as they ate.
Beth and Sam lay near the fire, each wrapped up in a blanket and asleep. Mary lay, the sweat beading her brow and raising her head she looked first at the children and then at Kilpatrick who sat near but with his back to her. Reaching out she touched his hand so he turned and stretched out next to her, leaning back on the blankets.
“What is it?” he whispered.
Mary smothered a cough before speaking.
“Will you promise me something?”
“If it’s me heart to a promise then it’s me heart I give to that promise, no matter what you’ll be asking.” he said.
“You know for sure as I do that I haven’t got long to go in this world. No, don’t stop me! Let me get to a finish.”
“Go ahead then, Missus.” said Kilpatrick, laying his head back onto the blanket.
“I’m asking you a very special permission and perhaps I haven’t got the right but I feel you to be someone the children are trusting.”
Kilpatrick reached out to pat Mary’s hand as she spoke on.
“What I’m asking is for you to help the children through my leaving and see to their good nature, that is what I’m in asking.”
Kilpatrick was silent for a while then rose to look down at Mary with serious grey eyes.
“You ask away and I’ll promise all you ask. It’s to a man’s nature and duty to see the young ‘uns safe. That’s true as me word and I will give you me sacred promise to attend to their needs while I has a good strength.”
Mary smiled.
“I’m thanking you, dear Kilpatrick.” she said and closed her eyes as the tears washed through her lashes.
“Thank you Kilpatrick.” she whispered again.
Kilpatrick hushed her.
“You aint in no dying mood right now, Missus. You’ve got a powerful will to see yourself through.” he whispered fiercely.
Mary began to cough, pushing her face deep into the blankets.
“Oh!” she gasped between outbreaks. “You see the nature of my discomfort and knowing the end is near. I ask you to do me a granting for tomorrow.”
“What is it you want of me?”
“When you go about your business to the market, will you take young Sam with you instead of Beth. At this drawing of my time I need to have her close to the listening of my instruction. To have her needing to see in you a natural respect and to heed my wishes. I need the talking in privacy with Beth.”
“It shall be as you say.” agreed Kilpatrick.
Mary smiled and with the cough subsided she drifted and allowed sleep to take her.

Kilpatrick rose and wandered over to where the men played a round of dice and joined in, though his mind weighed on Mary’s request.

Reviews

[Great Aunt Astri]

You build up the atmosphere wonderfully. You must have done a lot of research. I shall have to start reading thses seies fro the begining! Thank you.

[ron s king]

Hallo to you, Astri and thank you so much for your great comment on my book. As I wrote earlier this book is some 800 pages long and I am nearly into the half of it now (Chapter 3 starts in a couple of days so that you might have to read numerous pages before you catch up. of coursed, there was plenty of research to do but easier because I was raised in this quarter of London's East-End and it had not changed much. Again, my thanks to you and I do hope to get this one published once it is edited...
Ron.