The Forget-Me-Not Girl by Sheila Newberry

Author:Sheila Newberry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bonnier Publishing Fiction

SIXTEEN

Southwark, 1866

Emma and TF decided to move from a place with too many sad memories. The LFEE had become the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, responsible for ‘all life and fire’ in a 120-mile radius. TF, together with Chas, applied to the London Salvage Corps, a new brigade in London. After receiving a glowing testimonial from Captain Shaw, which he treasured all his life, TF was offered a post as a full foreman, a well-paid position which provided the family with excellent housing in Southwark Bridge Road, and other good benefits. Chas was to be his deputy, as before.

Emma, TF and little Immi shared their new accommodation in Southwark Bridge Road with the Goodchild family. Fanny was always willing to listen to Emma when she felt low, and Edwin similarly supported TF through the grieving period. Their two small girls, who were baptised together, would grow up to be firm friends.

The houses were large and well-designed with three storeys. Emma appreciated the extra space and airiness of the rooms – there were no damp patches on the walls here. Chas found lodgings with other single colleagues opposite the fire station. This had originally been a slum area, which had been cleared and regenerated as a decent place to live.

Later, Chas would tell Emma about the Evelina Hospital for Sick Children built in 1869 on the site of the demolished South Sea Court, also once a slum. The hospital was endowed by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild as a memorial to his wife, who had been involved in a train accident and gone into premature labour, when both she and her baby died.

The hospital was a cheerful place with its light, airy rooms, cosy cots and special nurses, there was a playroom for convalescent children, and although there was heartbreak because of the nature of some of the illnesses, all were handled with compassion and kindness. The staff was willing to listen to parents who called in for advice. After losing Gussie, this hospital would be where Emma would turn for reassurance.

Emma also attended St George’s Church in the Old Mint area of Southwark Bridge Road. Old Mint was a place of narrow courts, winding alleys, and large, lofty dwellings, often roofless, but some of the lower floors were inhabited. It was not, TF counselled Emma, a place to venture to after dark. Historically, St George’s had a close connection with Charles Dickens and his novel, Little Dorrit. A relic of the Marshalsea prison was part of the church boundary. Although Emma still read the worthy magazines of her youth, including Mrs Beeton, and of course, her bible, she had been introduced to the novels of Dickens by her friend Fanny, and these were given to her by TF at her request on her birthday and at Christmas. She found Little Dorrit a sad and disturbing tale, but a compelling read none the less.

*

Emma had been at Southwark Bridge Road for some two years when she received an unexpected invitation. She had heard from

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