The Best of Sisters by Dilly Court Read Free Book Online Page A

nostrums in the streets. Eliza suspected that this was sour grapes as Mr Jack’s nose was put out of joint by the dashing doctor, whose smile could brighten the dullest day. Dr Prince was loud and flamboyant, a larger than life character with a line in patter that, in the end, silenced even Mr Jack. Eliza was rather shy of him at first, but he always had a kind word for her, and always said ‘thank you’ when she served him with his food. He never laughed at her discomfort as the other men did when their coarse jokes brought a blush to her cheeks. Dr Prince told them to hush, and to watch their tongues in front of a young lady. He even gave her a pot of salve to rub on her work-roughened hands, and he made it seem as though she was doing him a favour by testing out his new ointment before he tried it on the general public. He was all right, was Dr Prince – and quite good-looking for an old man of twenty-three or twenty-four.
    Eliza wrote about all these people, never once mentioning the beatings with Stinger doled out almost daily by Mrs Tubbs for the slightest mistake or, more often than not, for something of which Maisie had falsely accused her. The only good thing she could have said in Mrs Tubbs’sdefence was that she was not as strong as Uncle Enoch, so the thrashings were painful but less severe. The letters could not be posted until Eliza had an address for Bart, but she was certain that he would contact her one day soon, and, until that time, she kept them hidden beneath her mattress.
    August was a month of sweltering weather when the whole of London baked beneath a relentless sun. Even the Thames seemed to flow slowly and more sluggishly towards the sea. East Enders, desperate to get cool, plunged into the turgid, filthy waters to obtain some relief and some died of shock, others drowned and were carried off downriver and the less fortunate ended up with cholera, dysentery or typhus.
    It was over a month since Eliza had started working for Mrs Tubbs, and she came downstairs one morning at the end of August, wondering how she could face another day in that hateful establishment. Ted and Dolly had been sitting quietly at the table and they leapt to their feet as she entered the living room, rushing over to hug her and wishing her a happy birthday.
    ‘H-how did you know?’ Stunned and suddenly choked with tears, Eliza could only stare at them. Uncle Enoch had never wished her happy birthday; he thought such treatment only spoilt a child.
    ‘Davy told us,’ Dolly said, wrapping her arms around Eliza in a motherly hug.
    ‘Let your dad give you a birthday kiss, Liza,’ Ted said, opening his arms.
    ‘Dad?’ Eliza was crying now, she couldn’t stop herself. ‘I wish you was me dad, Ted. And you, Dolly, you’re just like a real mum to me. Th-thank you both.’
    Dolly sniffed and wiped her eyes on her apron. ‘I love you like a daughter, Eliza. If you could bring yourself to call me Mum, I’d like it above all things.’
    Eliza nodded, unable to speak.
    Ted hugged her and kissed her on the tip of her nose. ‘You’re a good girl, Liza. Dolly and me got you a birthday present to show how much we care for our little daughter.’
    Clapping her hands like an excited child, Dolly pointed to the table, on which were set out a brand new pair of leather boots, and a blue bonnet adorned with silk roses and an ostrich feather.
    ‘New boots. I never had a pair of new boots in me life, and a bonnet too. Oh! It’s beautiful,’ Eliza gasped, picking up the bonnet and fingering the blue silk. ‘It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.’
    Dolly clasped her hands to her bosom, beaming with pleasure. ‘It ain’t new, Eliza. I have to be honest with you, but the pawnbroker said it had belonged to a real lady.’
    ‘Put it on, Liza,’ Ted said. ‘Let’s see how you look in it.’
    Eliza put the bonnet on her head, fumbling with the long blue ribbons. Dolly snatched them from her hands and tied them in a bow