Chapter Text
“It’s not like anyone actually cares. I’m fifteen, what’s one year more!?”
“A crime. Now go into the bloody kitchen, brat.”
Screaming was nothing unusual at the Red Poppy, though Mina preferred them to be sounds of pleased clients to the bone-chilling screeching of their madame and oldest-non-serving member. Tiredly, Mina dragged herself out of bed. The last night had been long and not all that pleasant. Two of the other girls were down with a cold, leaving everyone else to pick up the slack. When she opened the door to her room, she saw Agnes leaning in the doorway of her own, eating a slice of bread while looking down the hallway where their madame and her assistant were yelling at each other.
“Morning,” Agnes greeted without taking her eyes off the fight, observing it like it was the highlight of her day.
“Good morning,” Mina returned. “What is going on?”
Agnes shrugged. “Oh, the usual. Allen’s asking to be put on the list, Mary’s telling him to wait another year.”
“Is he still that eager?” Mina didn’t understand Allen. She’d come to London to become a dancer, to appear on the large theatres and enchant the masses; now she was stuck whoring herself out like the poor girls back home. She’d entertained the thought of returning to India, but Lady Urmina would never take Mina back as she now, even if she’d once been the woman’s favorite. Never mind that Mina couldn’t pay for the passage back, and her only family resided here in London as well.
She and Narain had been naïve in thinking England would provide them with more opportunities, that it would be the place where they would fulfill their dreams. Mina would give everything to get out of this business now, find another way to provide the money needed for Narain’s education and their bare survival. But between dirty streets and hungry children, beggars could not be choosers, and Mina wasn’t brave enough to leave the relative safety of the Red Poppy. Mary was good to her, better than any other employer Mina would be able to find. She paid fair wages and didn’t abandon a girl the moment she was unable to work for a time. The streets were much rougher and colder, and the men you’d find there were not half as trustworthy as the customers here.
Agnes sighed and reached back into her room, emerging with a comb. “You know Allen. He doesn’t think he’s pulling his weight.”
She held out the item and, without even needing to be asked, Mina took it from her and started brushing through Agnes’s thick black curls. Agnes had never clearly stated where she was from, telling a different tale each time. Mina assumed that Mary knew. The older woman was perceptive and one of her requirements for remaining at the Red Poppy was a background check. As terrifying as it sounded, it only really included being seen by a trusted doctor and some reassurance that your presence here wouldn’t cause any troubles.
The last thing they needed was someone investigating the brothel or a drunkard coming in and tarnishing their reputation.
Well, if they didn’t ruin their own reputation with the loud screaming.
“Lord, have mercy. Are they trying to give me a headache?”
Agnes and Mina turned around to find Cora emerging from her room, dressed nicely for a day out.
“Going somewhere?” Agnes asked, eyes twinkling with mischief.
Cora, somehow still a blushing darling, flushed red and brushed over her skirts. She’d finally put on the light blue petticoat she’d spent all week swooning over, and indeed, it looked good on her.
“Out for breakfast,” Cora replied. “And maybe lunch as well if Mr. Davis doesn’t have an appointment.”
“Breakfast and lunch, hear that, Mina?” Agnes grinned. “Our dear sweet Cora’s being treated like a proper lady.”
“It’s just a meal! Nothing so serious, and he’s paying me for my time.”
“You’d go regardless,” Agnes continued her teasing. “For his wonderful brown eyes and dark hair and, oh what was the last one? His sweet—”
“Agnes, stop it!”
If not for the amusement hidden behind Cora’s mask of indignation, Mina would have interfered. Instead, he left the two to their banter. Cora’s new patron had been awfully nice to her, spending a lot of money and time for her company even outside the bedroom. She wouldn’t be the first to make it out of Whitechapel through a comfortable marriage.
Sometimes, when thinking of these lucky girls, petty jealousy seized her. If she could just catch the eye of some wealthy member of society, she could live in great comfort, pay for Narain’s education, and maybe dance in grand ballrooms.
Mina had traveled so far from all she’d ever known. If anyone deserved some reward, it should be her.
These bitter thoughts lingered, cropped up ever so often after a bad night or hearing another’s fortune, but so far, she’d always managed to discard them after a while.
Her friends deserved better than to be subjects of her anger. The Red Poppy had no obligation to open its doors for her, guarantee her employment and even hire Narain when they did have a medical emergency.
Mina had to be thankful; few good things lingered in these dark streets.
“Four pence that if Mary has to listen to Allen argue the price for his virginity one more time, she’s going to chain him to the kitchen table.”
The conversation had apparently moved back to the heated discussion going on downstairs.
Since coming to London, Mina had shed some of her naivety and traded it for the image of the exotic, alluring, and seductive beauty, grown in confidence and ability to put up with utter bullshit.
“That’s a loser’s bet,” Mina threw in. “We all know she’d keep him there for the rest of the day.”
And true enough, Allen opened his mouth again to argue. “But I—”
“Don’t say another word,” Mary interrupted Allen harshly. “I don’t want to hear it. Now do me a favor and go do the work I actually am paying you for.”
Allen threw Mary another glare, then he turned around on his heel and slammed the door to the kitchen on his way out. If anyone had managed to sleep through the argument, they’d definitely be awake now. A moment passed, and Mary’s posture straightened as if she longed to go after him and give him a good smack, then she turned around and gave the three of them a pointed look. “Good morning.”
“Good morning, madame,” they chorused back and headed downstairs one after another.
Cora quickly said her goodbyes, then hurried off to meet her patron while Mary set the rest of them to work. Their clothes and bedsheets needed cleaning, and the hallways were in dire need of a proper washdown. Food had to be cooked, arrangements for tonight had to be made. Mina stretched, let last night’s exhaustion wash off her, and started her tasks. Narain was bound to have hit the streets already and maybe he’d show by around midday. Glancing at Allen angrily scrubbing plates, Mina dared to pray that it would be sooner rather than later or they were in for a very long day.