THE DEPRIVED... Chapter 3... Part 21.

A continuation of my book.

“Yes.” Beth admitted readily. “I was in fault and I lied about the girls and the man who ravished my body. I had me a bad night of dreams and it seemed so real to my poor mind, it really did. And I was lead by false devils to thinking it was all true. But now I know I was in falsehood afore God.”
“Thank the Lord!” cried the woman, clasping hands. “Let us pray for your salvation and pray that the good Lord finds it in his heart to forgive you for your lies.”
Beth pressed palms and closed her eyes as the woman began to pray for her sins to be forgiven.
“Amen.” ended the woman, a wide smile playing her mouth as she hugged Beth.
“Amen.” said Beth, the tears filling her eyes.
“Now let’s go down and see the Matron. You can confess your lies to her and beg forgiveness. Then you will be allowed back into the girl’s dormitory.” said the woman, her eyes full of compassion.
Beth was lead up the stairs and back into the main hall, to be stood waiting outside the Matron’s office.
The woman had left after having patted Beth on the shoulder and made her way down the corridor and lost to view.
“Stand in front of the desk, number four. I understand you have something to tell me.” said the Matron, her eyes stern.
“I have to tell you it all. I was into a bad dream and I really believed I was being held and my body taken in evil!” cried Beth, her eyes tearful with passion. “And I was telling such awful lies at that time. But I know now that the devil was in me and I prayed to the Good Lord for forgiveness. And the Lord answered my prayers and gave me sense.”
The Matron sat, her eyes hard as she listened then rose as Beth stopped talking.
“It’s good you saw to tell the truth at last. I am sure your prayers will lead the Lord to see that you gave honesty to your mind. However number four, lies and dishonesty are not tolerated here and it is my duty to punish you. Do you agree?”
“Oh honestly, I fully agree with your intention!” cried Beth.
“Then I shall sentence you to a month’s solitary confinement where you shall spend your time breaking rocks and stones and at the same time you will practice your prayers so that God’s love will fill your heart. You will also forfeit any pay for that month and also forty-eight hours of missed mealtimes.” said the Matron.
“Thank you, Matron. Thank you for such leniency.” said Beth, curtsying a bob.
The Matron allowed a smile, to show that all was forgiven.
“Now go with the Master and you will be set to work.” she said.

 

Beth was taken along with another girl to a small building which housed a row of cells, each containing a thin mattress and blanket laid on the stone floor.
“You will be staying here for the month’s solitary confinement. You will work in the cell and there’s to be no shouting or whistling. Each time you do, you will have to spend another day in here with no food. Each morning a bucket will be brought to your cell and that’s what you empty your bowels into before the bucket’s taken away again. Those are the rules.” said the Master before closing the door. Beth heard him relay the same rules to the other girl before her cell door was slammed shut.
Sitting on the mattress, Beth stretched out and closed her eyes. At least this was better than being locked in with all those mental cases, she thought. The ‘Angel’ woman had been right. What good had her stubbornness done her? She would have been kept indefinitely in that hellhole. Beth drew up on happy thoughts, times when she had played happily with her mother and father, before her father had died and her mother had turned into a grey and hapless woman, leaving her and Sam alone for hours on end while she roamed the streets and docksides for men. Beth remembered Sam and how he had giggled happily as his father had lifted him high into the air. But the thoughts turned gloomy, each happy thought ending in the tragic way her parents had died and how Sam had got caught and was nowhere to be seen, maybe even hung with his body left to rot on the gibbet at the crossroads of Tower Hill.

 

The door opened and a man dressed in Workhouse uniform came into the cell. He carried a large heavy bucket.
“Get up and move your mattress over by the wall.”
The man spoke in a dispassionate voice and put the bucket down and watched as Beth did as he said.
“This is your lot for the day.”
The man drew out a small hammer from the rope tied round his waist and threw it onto the mattress before lifting the bucket upside down so the content of bricks and stones clattered to the floor, bouncing around till they settled in a heap.
“Break them up.” ordered the man, taking the empty bucket with him and making for the door.
“I’ll be back afore bedtime to collect the dust so you had better have them done or it’s another day to spend in here with no grub.” came the threat as the door opened and then closed as he left.
Beth picked up the hammer and sat cross-legged on the floor, beginning to pound the bricks and stones to powder. It was no easy task, with the bricks far easier than the flint stones which flew away from the hammer blows like bullets so Beth had to round them up and start again. The handle of the hammer was rough hewn, causing the blisters to rise and bubble and then to burst into a watery fluid which made the handle slippery so that Beth continued to wipe at the handle and her hands with the hem of her nightdress.

 

By the time the man returned the bricks and stones were a pile of fine dust, a mixture of red, green and brown.
“That’s good. Now give me the hammer.”
Beth handed him the hammer which he wedged into the rope round his waist. She noted he already had other hammers circling his waist and assumed he had collected them from other women who worked in other cells. He placed the bucket on the floor and lifted out a small brush and piece of hard board which was thin to one edge.
“Here you are, girl. Sweep all the powder into the bucket.” he ordered.
Beth did so, keeping her eyes down and handing him the brush and board when it had done.
“Here! Take this, girl.” the man said suddenly, drawing out a small phial made of wood from the inside of his shirt.
“Pour it over the blisters and it will help heal them else the skin will toughen as to give you no feelings.”
Beth unscrewed the cap and poured the liquid over her hands, crying out as her palms stung fiercely. The man looked round at the door fearfully and took the phial away.
“Lord sakes, girl, you’ll get me crooked!” he whispered harshly.
Beth blew on her hands and remained silent as the man left the cell and the door was locked once more. Pulling the mattress to the middle of the floor she settled herself down and drew up the blanket. Putting her fingers into her mouth she drew out the small round pebble she had taken from the pile and then popped it back into her mouth, sucking on it hard so it helped deny the hunger pains and thirst which caused her stomach to rumble and groan.

 

Each day seemed to be the same as the last, each morning being woken up by the same man who came into the cell with the large bucket of stones and small rocks and returning each night to collect the powder. There were no meal breaks which would have given an idea to the times of day, not until the fifth day when another workhouse inmate came with a tin tray of vegetables which ran within a watery gravy, along with some water in a small bowl. The man left, wheeling a wooden barrow with more tin trays of food to feed others who were locked in. Later, the man made a return visit to collect the empty tray and bowl. If Beth had not finished then the man simply took the tray and bowl away and leaving without a word. Beth soon learned to gobble up the food quickly which often left her with sever bouts of indigestion and leaving her in tears as she continued to crush the bricks and stones. It was the man who came to collect the powder each night who whispered that Beth should swallow a small portion of the dust.
“That will settle your stomach and relieve the pain. If you look careful you’ll find some chalk bits in among them stones. Crush the chalk and eat a bit.”
Beth had smiled in thanks and found what the man had said to be true.