The Forgotten Family (7 page)

‘I’m finding it hard to accept all of this, Nanny. And I’m ashamed to say I ran away from father before he had a chance to explain fully.’

‘I know what a shock it must be, but they’ve given you a good life – much better than you would have had as a slum child. Don’t turn away from him, Eleanor. You couldn’t have had more devoted parents, and he needs you.’

After hearing about Queenie, she could see how lucky
she had been. As devastating as the news was to her, that stricken-looking man she had left in the study was her father. The only father she had ever known. Nothing would ever change that.

‘Go to him.’

Giving Nanny a quick hug, Ellie ran from the room and to her father’s study. Opening the door quietly she saw he was standing by the window, head bowed.

‘Father.’

He spun round.

Walking slowly towards him, she put her arms around him and held on tightly.

Words were unnecessary.

Father and daughter remained like that for several minutes, neither speaking, both relieved that the bond between them was unbroken. If they could survive this, then they could survive anything. Ellie had loved her gentle mother dearly, but her father had always been extra special to her. Now she understood why.

After a while Ellie looked up, a wistful expression on her face. ‘Nanny said I swore at you.’

‘Indeed you did. It was amazing to hear such language coming from a young child, but it was probably normal speech where you came from. I was determined to have you for my daughter from that moment on. I stormed round to Henry and demanded that he made the adoption legal. I didn’t want anyone else to have a claim on you, ever.’

‘I’m sorry I ran away from you, but I was so very shocked and hurt. I needed time alone to clear my mind and have a talk with Nanny.’

‘I understand.’ He led her over to the chairs and they sat opposite each other, as they had done countless times while they had deep discussions about all sorts of things. ‘Will you tell me how you feel?’

Ellie closed her eyes for a moment. She was still reeling from shock, but her logical mind was telling her that she had been lucky. Opening her eyes again, she took a deep breath. ‘It will take me time to come to terms with this news. In one way I wish you had never told me, but it’s right I should know, even if it is painful. But in my heart it changes nothing. You have been the best parents a girl could wish for. We have, sadly, lost Mother, but you are my father, and always will be.’

Albert breathed an audible sigh of relief, visibly overcome. ‘I was so  afraid I would lose you.’

‘Not a chance.’ She reached across for his hand, watching his long fingers curl around in a firm grip. ‘But I have to find out what Queenie’s family were like. It’s the only way I am going to be able to put this behind me and get on with my life. Do you understand?’

‘I do.’ Albert stood up. ‘Now it’s time to open your mother’s box. Come with me.’

They went to Mary’s room, the first time either of them had been in there since the night she had died. It was clean and tidy, without a trace of that awful time.

Albert removed a small wooden box from Mary’s bureau and placed it on the dressing table, handing Ellie
the key. ‘Your mother said I was to give you this if I felt it was right to do so. If you hadn’t wanted to know about your other family, then I wouldn’t have shown you this, but as you do, then you need to see what Mary has saved all these years.’

With shaking hands she took the key from him and opened the box. On the top was a small scruffy frock. Ellie held it up.

‘Mary’s first thought was to burn that, but you wouldn’t let it out of your sight. When they did eventually get it away from you, she decided to keep it. That was all you were wearing; no shoes or undergarments.’ His voice was full of emotion.

Speech was beyond her as she examined the small item from her past. Lifting up the frill around the hem she could see that it had once been pink, but now it was badly faded. Laying it carefully aside, she picked up a sheet of paper with a list of names written in her mother’s tidy hand. Frowning, she held it out to her father.

‘They are the names of your brothers and sisters. You were determined not to forget, so you kept repeating them over and over. You were little more than a baby, so Mary made a note of them, just in case you needed it in the future.’

She counted the names and gasped in astonishment. ‘There were nine?’

‘Yes, you were the youngest, making ten children in the family.’

Trying hard to bring some memory to the surface, she read down the  list, repeating the names out loud: Ted,
Harry, Jack, Tommy, Bert, Charlie, June, Pearl, Maggie. She ought to know them, but she didn’t. It was distressing to think that she came from a large family and couldn’t remember any of them.

Putting the list aside, she removed the rest of the items, all papers. It was on the adoption correspondence that she discovered her name – she had been Queenie Bonner, from Whitechapel. Right at the bottom was a photograph of a small girl staring at the fish in the pond.

‘That was taken the day after you arrived.’

At the sight of the small girl, Ellie began to sob. ‘How could they have sold me?’

Albert gathered her in his arms. ‘They had too many children. They didn’t want you – but we did.’

When she had stopped crying, he looked into her eyes, his face etched with strain. ‘What do you want to do now you’ve seen this, Eleanor? If you want to leave it, that will make me happy, but whatever you decide, I’ll help and support you all the way.’

The last thing she wanted to do was make him unhappy, but she knew herself well enough to know that she couldn’t ignore this as if she had never been told. The news had shattered her comfortable world, and she needed to put it to rights again. It was the only way she could think of doing that. ‘I want to find every one of them; see them face-to-face. Find out what kind of a life I would have had if I’d stayed in the slums with them.’

‘That will be quite a task. I expect they are scattered around by now, but we know where you lived, so that will be the place to start. After that I could employ a man
to track down the rest of them for us. When each one is found, we shall go and see them together.’ He grimaced slightly. ‘Unless you wish to meet them on your own, of course.’

‘No, Father, I would like you to be with me.’ She gave a watery smile. ‘I want them to see how lucky I’ve been.’

The intensity of the emotion he was feeling was written across his face – relief, love and joy at her words. ‘I take it that you would like to see Mr and Mrs Bonner first.’

Ellie’s mouth set in a firm line. ‘Yes. They are the ones who sold me. Then the others in any order we can find them.’

Albert’s expression was serious. ‘Be very sure this is what you want to do, Eleanor. It could be painful for you.’

‘I know that.’ She lifted her head, a determined glint in her eyes. ‘But it’s something I must do.’

‘Very well, we shall begin our search tomorrow. Do you wish to keep this between ourselves, or shall we involve others?’

‘Uncle Henry should certainly be dragged in to help, and Philip must be told.’

‘That’s sensible. It would be difficult to keep this from him, especially if we keep disappearing to check out leads.’

‘Oh, yes.’ Ellie pulled a face. ‘What about Mr Rogers? He isn’t going to like me skipping classes.’

‘He’s London born and bred, so he might prove useful if we have several places to investigate at the same time. If you don’t mind him knowing, then he might be able to help.’

‘I don’t see there is anything to be ashamed of, Father.
I may have started life as Queenie Bonner, but I am legally Eleanor Warrender, and proud of that.’

‘And I’m proud that you are my daughter.’ Albert bent and kissed her cheek. ‘I knew you were a sensible girl when you asked me if we eat the fish in the pond.’

‘What?’ Ellie’s eyes opened wide. ‘Why would I have thought that?’

‘Because food was short where you came from. You were tiny and undernourished, but I saw intelligence in your bright blue eyes, and I knew at that moment that I wanted you for my daughter.’

‘I’m so pleased you chose me.’ Ellie’s mind began to clear. This darling man had had no part in taking her away from her family. He had been presented with a child they could not possibly return to the slums. What a dilemma that must have been, but he had immediately set about putting things right. She had always loved him, but now her heart swelled with respect and pride for what he had done.

‘We chose each other, and you brought us great joy. Your mother suffered from bouts of depression over the fact that she couldn’t have children, but once you were ours, she was happy.’ He stood up. ‘Come now, we must both get some sleep. Tomorrow morning, we shall all gather in Nanny’s room to discuss our strategy.’

Sleep was out of the question for Ellie as she tossed and turned, her mind in turmoil. No amount of effort made her recall the time before she came here. She had always believed she was an only child, but now she had nine brothers and sisters. It was hard to grasp that fact. One
of them, Harry, was supposed to have been her favourite, and she couldn’t help wondering what he was like. Her earliest memory was when she had been around four and her parents had taken her to the seaside. And yet there must be something buried deep in her mind, because Philip said she’d called him Harry when they’d been messing about. It was frustrating, but perhaps things would come back when she saw where she had come from.

Climbing out of bed, she put on her robe, pulled back the curtains and stared up at the sky. It was a clear night with stars twinkling in the darkness.

‘Are you one of the stars now, Mother?’ she whispered. ‘Are you looking down on us? Am I doing the right thing? I’m so worried. Would it be better to leave it alone? I know Father would prefer that. And does it really matter? Will I be making things worse and cause us unnecessary pain?’

Ellie rested her head on the cold window, trying to stem the flow of doubts surging through her.

She didn’t know how long she’d been standing there, but gradually the cold made her move. However, her mind was made up. Right or wrong, she had to find the Bonners, and somehow put that past life to rest in her thoughts, or she would never find any peace. It would haunt her, and the only way to deal with something frightening, was to face it.

With one last look at the stars to say a silent thank you for helping her to sort out the jumble of her thoughts and fears, she jumped back into bed, pulling the covers around her ears. Dawn wasn’t far off, but she fell asleep at last.

Uncle Henry, Philip and Mr Rogers had been summoned to Nanny’s room at nine o’clock that morning. One of the maids had brought in a large tray of tea, and while Ellie poured, Philip collected two more chairs from the hall. It was rather crowded in the room, but everyone was far too curious to mind.

Ellie handed round the tea, and then when everyone was sitting, she went and stood beside her father.

‘I apologise for disturbing your class times again, Mr Rogers, but there is a chance we shall be doing this quite often for a while, and we would appreciate your cooperation. My daughter wants this news out in the open, and I agree with her.’

Stanley Rogers nodded, looking as puzzled as Philip.

‘Fifteen years ago a little girl of only two and a half was brought into this house by my wife and her brother. Her name was Queenie Bonner, and her home had been in the slums of Whitechapel. We adopted her and renamed her Eleanor.’

Philip gasped in astonishment.

Mr Rogers said nothing, listening intently as the story unfolded.

Placing an arm around his daughter, Albert continued. ‘Eleanor wishes to trace the Bonners.’

‘All of them?’ Henry was aghast at the suggestion. ‘Queenie was the youngest of ten.’

‘We know it might be impossible to find all of them, Uncle Henry, but we should be able to trace some of them.’ Ellie spoke firmly, seeing her uncle was going to protest.

‘Oh this is madness!’ Henry stood up, glowering.
‘And what are you going to do if you do succeed?’

‘I really don’t know.’

‘They’ll take one look at you and beg for money. That’s all they were interested in, and if you turn up looking like the fine lady you are, they’ll expect more.’

‘Then they will be disappointed.’ Ellie shook her head.

Henry still protested, but gently now. ‘Why do this, Eleanor? It will cause a lot of pain, and most likely, trouble. The Bonners were a rough lot, and if they find out who you are and where you live, you will never be free of them. This is a dangerous course to take. Leave it where it belongs – in the past.’

‘They won’t be told my name, and Father will be with me all the time,’ Ellie said. ‘We have discussed this and know the risks.’

Albert nodded in agreement at his daughter’s words. ‘Have no fear, Henry, we’ll be careful. This is something Eleanor feels she must do.’

‘You have no idea what trouble this could unleash, Albert.’ Henry still wasn’t convinced. ‘But if your mind is set, then we must all do what we can to help.’

‘I know London well, sir.’ Mr Rogers got to his feet. ‘I would be happy to assist you in any way. I also was adopted, and therefore have some understanding of the situation your daughter finds herself in.’

‘Really? Would you share your experiences with us?’ Albert studied the young man in front of him, surprised. This had not shown up on any of the information he had received before employing him. ‘Unless, of course, you prefer not to talk about it?’

‘I don’t mind at all.’ Mr Rogers smiled encouragingly at Ellie. ‘My situation is different from yours. I was left at a workhouse when no more than a week old. A young couple soon adopted me, and, like you, I have been very fortunate to find kind parents. There is no way to trace my natural mother.’

‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’ Ellie was finding it difficult to understand why anyone could abandon their child. ‘Would you find them if you could?’

Mr Rogers nodded. ‘I would do the same as you. Not because I have any desire for permanent contact with them. I have had a happy life, but I would like to face them and ask why they abandoned me.’

‘Exactly. That is what I want to do. Mr Rogers understands, Father.’

‘Indeed he does,’ Albert said. ‘Your help would be much appreciated.’

‘We’ll all help.’ Philip’s face was alive with excitement. ‘What can we do, Uncle Albert?’

‘Nothing for the moment. Eleanor and I just wished you all to know what was going on.’

‘Very wise.’ Nanny spoke for the first time. ‘Ever since Eleanor reached the age of fourteen I have been urging the mistress to tell her the truth, but I understood her reasons for not doing so. She was becoming too ill to deal with the trauma the revelation would cause.’ Nanny looked around the room. ‘There is nothing to be ashamed of here. That little girl was brought here in an unconventional way, but the master soon put that right. Eleanor has grown into a sensible girl, and I’m positive she will handle this with care.’