“Oh, please, John—Miss Price is not at liberty to stop and listen to everything relating to our misfortunes.” Eliza looked pleadingly at Fanny.
“Indeed sir, I regret that your wife and I must return to our duties. Perhaps sir, it is best for you to consult a tailor, for the work on the coat,” Fanny offered. “Our academy is intended for training young girls, and therefore our work proceeds more slowly than you may desire.”
“Indeed, I had hoped to have the work accomplished as soon as possible. Good day, Miss Price. Good day, my dear. Be of good cheer. All shall be resolved very soon.”
As she watched her husband depart, Mrs. Bellingham sighed, evidently relieved that he was gone, but she was at the same time barely maintaining her composure. Fanny wordlessly took her arm, and led her upstairs to the privacy of the counting room, and sent a girl for a cup of tea.
“Oh! Miss Price,” whispered Mrs. Bellingham, wiping tears from her eyes. “What must you think of me. I am humiliated beyond words to have to explain my situation. That was indeed my poor husband, John Bellingham. I told you he was unable to work, which is not a lie, but I was too ashamed to reveal the whole truth of it. John has been...” she searched for the right words, “…he believes that our government will restore some considerable financial losses he suffered in Russia a number of years ago, and nothing I, or anyone can say, will put the notion out of his head. Indeed, he has sometimes promised me, to leave the past behind and find some kind of employment, but when I followed him to London I discovered that he had been lying to me.”
“My dear Mrs. Bellingham, if you would rather not speak of it, now or ever, I will honour your discretion. But, if confiding in a friend may bring you some relief, please consider me as your true friend.”
“You have been a friend, indeed, Miss Price. And you deserve an explanation, as well.”
“What was the injustice of which he speaks?”
Mrs. Bellingham smiled wanly. “He has suffered. That much is true. My husband was working at Archangel—I suppose you know, Archangel is a Russian port, up north, and the only place where English ships can land to trade with Europe since we started fighting the French. At any rate, John was an insurance agent for the shipping and he had some trading affairs of his own. But he fell out with another merchant—I still do not understand it all, but it seems this merchant was charged with making a false claim on his insurance, and he believed it was John who betrayed him to the insurance company.
“The merchant caused my husband to be arrested on false charges of unpaid debts. He was kept in prison, in the vilest conditions, unable to bring the matter to trial! He lost his employment of course, and his ventures failed. I was only twenty years of age, with an infant at my breast and another child expected, when John was taken away. When he was finally freed, after almost six years, John was a changed man.”
Fanny murmured sympathetically. Mrs. Bellingham absentmindedly twisted a bit of ribbon in her hands, not meeting Fanny’s eyes, as she continued the tale:
“Miss Price, he may appear calm and reasonable, but do not be deceived. All he can think about is how he begged the British embassy in Russia to help him, when he was imprisoned, but in vain. ‘He was in a foreign country, and subject to their laws,’ was the only advice he received.
“On all other subjects he is as rational as you or I, and you can see he is not loud or violent, but, I fear that in relation to our misfortunes, he has lost his reason entirely. He is not the man I once knew.”
“This is a most affecting tale indeed, Mrs. Bellingham. You have had much to bear.”
“At the time of his imprisonment, not knowing if or when he would be released, Miss Price, I did not know how I bore it, but I had to preserve my health and spirits for the sake of my children, as I still do today. My own resolution is, that I must support my sons by myself, for I can never hope to rely upon him in the future.”
“Oh, my dear Mrs. Bellingham, how I do admire your fortitude! I wish there was more I could do to assist you! I wish Mrs. Blodgett would consent to retain you for more hours of work here.”
“You have already done so much for me, Miss Price—I could never thank you enough.”
“I wonder if my friend Mr. Gibson could investigate this case. He is always alive to questions of injustice. And he has many powerful friends in the government.”
“Alas, I doubt Mr. Gibson could do anything, Miss Price. There are cases of injustice everywhere in this world. I have urged John that it would be best if he could endeavour to put the past behind him and work on rebuilding his fortunes, but, he will not, he cannot. I can see that now. I do not know what is to become of him. He is now notorious to half of the politicians in London. He is forever haunting the Parliament, watching from the gallery, button-holing anyone he can in the lobby. How it will end, I cannot say, but—” the
