Jack the Ripper Victims Series: The Double Event (5 page)

Frederick-Lars Olovsson had a modest, attractive two story wooden house among residences and shops in the Majorna district, with three bedrooms upstairs, a nursery, parlor, small study, and kitchen downstairs. The lady of the house, Fru Ellstromsdotter, received Elizabeth in a business-like manner, and guided her through the home, explaining what would be expected of her. Thin and pale, the woman had sharp facial features and a mouth that opened crookedly when she spoke. Her dark hair was pulled back tightly and secured at the back of her head with decorative pins.

Elizabeth was shown the room she would share with the nursemaid. The cozy chamber had two beds that looked warm and comfortable.

“As a maid of all work,” Fru Ellstromsdotter said, “you must cook all the meals, serve at mealtimes, change the bed linens, clean the house, haul water and slops, and share in the laundry duties.”

Elizabeth expected the hard work, and felt up to it. She might have wished for an employer with a friendlier personality, however. Fru Ellstromsdotter had not offered a single smile or pleasant sentiment during the tour of the house.

“For the considerable sum offered,” she said, “we expect constancy of service, and a minimum of requested absence. The children are everything to us. Pursuing two incomes as we do, we sacrifice our own presence in their young lives to secure their future and ensure that they have a happy, healthy, and safe home. We’ll be fair with you, but you must accept that you’re our inferior by virtue of the fact that we can afford to employ you. Your needs come after ours. As you must know, God, in his infinite wisdom, has fashioned such tests for all of us. My husband and I ceased to struggle against His will, and expect those within our household to do the same, for none of us are better than our God-given circumstances.”

Elizabeth found Fru Ellstromsdotter words to be extraordinary, especially from one who’s own circumstances were relatively modest. The wages offered for the position were certainly not sufficient to warrant such an attitude. Somehow, Elizabeth could not believe the woman meant what she said.

You should think twice about taking employment within this household,
Liza said.

The woman merely expresses herself poorly,
Bess said.
She will warm with time.

Fru Ellstromsdotter looked Elizabeth in the eye as if awaiting a response. She merely nodded, and the woman tilted her head and widened her eyes as if to say she expected more of an answer.

“Yes, Fru Ellstromsdotter,” Elizabeth said. “I understand.”

“Then it’s settled,” the lady of the house said. “Welcome to our home.”

She guided her new employee into the nursery to introduce the nursemaid and her children.

“These are my boys, Otto and Johan, one and two years of age respectively.” Finally, Fru Ellstromsdotter smiled as she watched her boys. “And this is their nursemaid, Fru Leena Jensson.”

The nursemaid, engaged in dressing the children, paused, stood, and smiled for Elizabeth. Fru Jensson was small and blonde, with a weak chin that took away little of her fragile beauty. The two pale boys had dark hair and green eyes. Despite having no wings, they looked like the cute cherubs she’d seen once in a painting.

“I’ll leave you to become acquainted,” the lady of the house said. “Fru Gustavsdotter, come to me in the kitchen in half an hour.”

“Thank you, Fru Ellstromsdotter.”

Once the lady of the house had left, Fru Jensson sat and resumed dressing the children. She spoke to them as she did so, giving instructions. The words were obviously meant as encouragement and were delivered with a heavy dose of baby talk.

“Can you tell me something about Fru Ellstromsdotter and Herr Olovsson?” Elizabeth asked.

“The gentleman was a military officer and later a policeman,” Fru Jensson said. She paused for a moment, then whispered in Johan’s little face. “He’s not a bad sort.”

Johan giggled and Elizabeth smiled.

“He’s highly trusted and respected in his dealings with large groups of men,” Fru Jensson continued, “and is hired a month at a time to oversee laborers. The work takes him away from home much of the time. When he’s home, he keeps to himself, and would prefer not to talk to those in service.”

Her words were clearly spoken, although delivered with the same affected happy cadence used in her baby talk. Elizabeth assumed Leena spoke that way for the benefit of the children who could not understand, but would respond positively to the tone.

“Fru Ellstromsdotter is a personal maid in the service of a noble family. She’s home Sundays, and much of each Monday. She works the rest of the days of the week, being frequently gone through the night.”

Again, she paused for a moment, then whispered. “I’ve found, Ewisabet, that it’s best to keep my opinions to myself while around her.” The woman’s baby talk didn’t let up.

“My name is Elizabeth,” Elizabeth said humbly.

“Yes, I understand.” Fru Jensson went on with her task.

Eventually, Elizabeth left her to go to the kitchen. As she passed by the study, she saw a gentleman within, sitting with a book in his lap. Elizabeth bowed her head slightly and intended to continue on to the kitchen, allowing privacy to the one she presumed to be the master of the house, but he glanced at her and smiled. “Fru Ellstromsdotter had to step out for a moment,” he said. “I am Herr Olovsson. Please come in.”

You are already in trouble
, Liza said.

Elizabeth entered and stood with her gaze fixed on the hardwood floor, unable to find her voice.

At least fifty years old, the gentleman had a head of grey hair, a strong jaw and bright blue eyes set within a face clearly capable of appearing stern and commanding. Glancing up at him, Elizabeth decided he had a friendly smile. “Good evening, Herr Olovsson,” she said at last.

“Welcome to our home. I understand that you come to us from Fru Andersdotter by way of my friend, Herr Rikhardsson.”

“Y-yes, Herr Olovsson.” Elizabeth stammered, surprised to hear that he knew of the sweet, old woman.

“My father fought along side Herr Bjorkman, Fru Andersdotter’s husband, at Lier in the Swedish-Norwegian war. He knew Fru Andersdotter quite well. We’ll do our best to take care of you.”

Again, Elizabeth wondered, if the old woman was so important, why more was not done to help her in her old age. She remembered that Herr Rikhardsson had suggested the woman’s pride stood in the way.

People say nice things to impress others
, Liza said.
They often don’t mean them.

Her Olovsson is a good man,
Bess said.
He’s the sort who will look after you when you truly need help.

“Thank you, Herr Olovsson.”

“My wife knows nothing of how you came to us, and I will refrain from speaking to you in her presence, as I do with Fru Jensson. Please don’t take offense from that. Fru Ellstromsdotter is a jealous woman. She had a hard life in her younger days and suffers the need to know just what belongs to her.”

“I understand, Herr Olovsson,” Elizabeth said. Concerning the demeanor of the woman of the house, however, she truly didn’t understand—not yet.

~ ~ ~

As agreed, Elizabeth cooked, cleaned, kept the house, and helped with the laundry. Fru Ellstromsdotter did the shopping at market for their food on her way home from her work on Mondays. Two weeks into her new employment, Elizabeth gratefully endured the discomfort that came with her monthly flow, and felt much relieved to think that an unwanted pregnancy would not jeopardize her precious domestic servant position. She held warm feelings toward the children currently in her life, yet was glad she had no long-term responsibility toward them. During the long absences of both Herr Olovsson and Fru Ellstromsdotter, she worried that Otto and Johan would grow up not knowing their own parents. Despite the difficulties Elizabeth had with her own family members, she admitted to herself that she missed them.

The thought prompted her to begin the practice of writing to her mother once a week. She wrote of her experiences in Gothenburg, of her new position, and of the Olovsson family. She also told of the death of Fru Andersdotter, but Elizabeth conveyed nothing of her own activities during the incident. She received an answer perhaps once a month. Her mother’s words, although not expressive, conjured images of home that surprisingly warmed Elizabeth’s heart.

Living in Herr Olovsson’s home was pleasant, if uneventful. Elizabeth gratefully remained warm and well-fed through the winter. By spring, the familiar restlessness had returned. Remembering the troubles boredom had brought her in the past, she did her best to find happiness in her work. She stayed well away from alcoholic drinks.

Since her wages were small and she had little time to herself, Elizabeth spent few of her earnings on the occasions she went to market or browsed through shops in Gothenburg. As her funds accumulated, she decided that if she continued to save them, she would one day have enough to book passage to London. Whether she would merely visit the English capital or start a new life there was uncertain. She had no desire to stay in Gothenburg. Dirty and over-crowded with the poor, most working low-wage industrial jobs or begging on the streets, the metropolis held little charm. Crime abounded. Those who earned a good wage were angry and in too much of a hurry.

Of one thing she was certain: working as a maid of all work would not be a long term walk of life. Again, she wanted something better, and had hope that in England new opportunities would open for her.

The nursemaid, Leena Jensson, was twenty-four years old. Her family name, Jensson, unlike Elizabeth’s patronym, Gustavsdotter, was a heritable one. The practice of giving heritable names had been gaining favor in the last few decades, especially among families dwelling in the city.

As Leena’s use of baby talk when speaking to children and adults alike continued, Elizabeth began to think the woman spoke that way naturally. The baby talk reminded Elizabeth of Bess, but with none of the charm. She gritted her teeth every time she heard her name pronounced as Ewisabet.

“Please, call me Leena,” the nursemaid said, and Elizabeth complied with difficulty, wanting instead to call her Weena.

Leena’s personality matched her grating voice in many ways. Although Elizabeth tried to befriend the woman, she found spending time with the nursemaid tedious and irritating. Leena frequently acted in a manner too childlike, her concerns simple and unambitious. Still, after Elizabeth’s neglect of Hortense, she considered her relationship with the nursemaid a penance of sorts; a good opportunity to practice putting someone else’s interests above her own.
If I can do that for Leena,
Elizabeth decided,
I can do it for anyone, and I’ll be a better person for it.

She saw Herr Olovsson rarely, and would speak to him in a conversational manner on four more occasions in the three years of her employment within the household, always at a time when Fru Ellstromsdotter’s was gone from the home in the afternoon. Each occasion, he asked for her to make him a cup of coffee. He sat in the kitchen and drank it while she worked, and asked about her happiness. She always assured him that life in his household brought her contentment.

“Yours is the best coffee I’ve ever had,” he told her. “My morning coffee is never enough. When I’m away, and must drink the mud others make, I long for yours.”

Her heart swelled with pride and she thanked him. She thought of her father who had always expressed appreciation for her coffee, if not for her alone. She imagined that Herr Olovsson would make a fine father when he could devote more time to his children.

“I can imagine a day when you’re married to a man who loves your coffee as much as I do,” Herr Olovsson said, “so much so that he drops whatever occupation he holds and opens a coffee shop. He will believe he’s in charge, but he would have nothing without you, my dear.”

Although Herr Olovsson laughed, Elizabeth liked his fanciful notion. She also liked being referred to as his “dear.” If her father never noticed her worth, Herr Olovsson certainly did. Knowing she had his approval made her more tolerant of the man’s cold, hard wife.

One morning in May of 1861, while Elizabeth helped Leena fold linens, the nursemaid asked, “Will you keep a secret for me from our employer?”

Elizabeth didn’t answer immediately. She was curious, though, since the woman had dropped her baby talk when asking for the favor.

“My mother is ill, suffering from grippe. I must go to her. I asked Fru Elstromsdotter for permission to do so, but she won’t allow it. Since she’ll be gone attending
her
lady overnight, I could leave for a time and she wouldn’t know I was gone. If you’d keep the children during the evening, I would go see my mother and return around midnight.”

Elizabeth responded well to Leena’s change of tone.

Perhaps she dons the childish manner for effect,
Liza suggested.

“What if she comes home early?” Elizabeth asked.

“She won’t.” Leena said flatly.

In the four months Elizabeth had worked for Fru Ellstromsdotter, the woman had returned in the evening only on one occasion when she’d said she’d be gone for the night. The reason given was that the noblewoman Fru Ellstromsdotter served had had to leave suddenly to be present for the birth of a granddaughter.

Elizabeth smiled and said she would keep the secret. She had few concerns beyond the possibility of being caught in a deception, and, since the duty would be only short-term, she looked forward to being in charge of the children. Even so, Elizabeth experienced relief when Leena returned home that night and their conspiracy remained a secret.

In the months that followed, the nursemaid asked for the same favor several times. As Elizabeth became skeptical of the woman’s consistent excuse, Leena explained. “My mother has had problems with her health ever since I was born. I do my best for her.”

“I worry—”

“Yes,” Leena interjected, “but the hazard is truly mine.”

“I’m not certain what I should say if Fru Elstromsdotter comes home while you’re gone.”

“You should say whatever seems reasonable.”

She’s certainly confident,
Liza said.

Because Elizabeth was sympathetic and willing to hold her secret, Leena took the habit of leaving one night a week to visit her mother.

Life within the Olovsson household was so boring that Elizabeth found herself vicariously enjoying the nursemaid’s risk.

~ ~ ~

Fru Ellstromsdotter came home unexpectedly on an evening in the autumn of 1861, and asked about the nursemaid’s absence.

Liza had a simple lie prepared for Elizabeth. “Someone called at the house to say that her mother had taken ill. I told her I would take care of your sweet boys until she returned.”

Fru Ellstromsdotter seemed satisfied, but obviously unhappy with the news. Although something about her manner suggested she felt thwarted in some way, she didn’t give voice to it.

When Leena returned, she displayed no surprise upon seeing the lady of the house.

Fru Ellstromsdotter asked after the nursemaid’s mother.

“She was feeling a little better when I left her,” Leena said. “I’m sorry I left so suddenly. I believe I left the children in good hands.” She nodded toward Elizabeth.

“I expect this is something that won’t happen again.”

“Yes, Fru Ellstromsdotter,” Leena said, “You can expect that.”

The nursemaid lower her eyes and head in a submissive stance. While Leena wasn’t speaking to the lady of the house in baby-talk, her words were simple and her tone that of a guileless young girl.

She’s knows just what to say and how to behave to avoid punishment,
Liza said.

~ ~ ~

As Elizabeth cleaned the nursery the next day, she spoke to Leena. “I don’t feel good about lying to Fru Ellstromsdotter.”

“I understand,” Leena said. She rocked the children in their cribs with the hope that they might nap through the afternoon. “Perhaps I can make it worth your while by giving you my wages for the hours you stand in for me.”

Elizabeth found the deal attractive and agreed. Leena had ceased to use baby talk when in conversation with Elizabeth. Liza had been right when she suggested that the nursemaid donned the innocent face, complete with baby-talk, for effect. Elizabeth had broken through to the genuine Leena, and they were becoming friends.

What had been a once per week occurrence became more frequent. In the summer of 1862, Leena was caught missing again. Elizabeth told Fru Ellstromsdotter the same story she had the last time, then added a detail she regretted. “The doctor came for her this time.”

The lady of the house had a look of skepticism. Elizabeth shrugged. Fru Ellstromsdotter shook her head slowly and turned away.

Belatedly, Elizabeth realized that a doctor would not leave a gravely ill patient to run such an errand.

When Leena returned, the lady of the house demanded to know why she’d left.

“I’m very sorry, Fru Ellstromsdotter,” Leena said. “My mother was ill again. She suffers pleurisy after a bout with pneumonia.” Gesturing toward Elizabeth, she said, “Again, I left your precious ones in capable hands.”

Fru Ellstromsdotter had a stiffness about her, as if a rebuke stood on the tip of her tongue, but apparently she couldn’t find a reasonable argument against the compassionate grounds for Leena’s absence.

“Did the doctor come for you?” she asked Leena, her words short and sharp.

The nursemaid glanced at Elizabeth too briefly to communicate anything. “No, Fru Ellstromsdotter, his assistant.”

The lady of the house looked at Elizabeth suspiciously. Following an awkward silence, she said to Leena “In the future, you must send word to me before leaving the house.”

“Yes, Fru Ellstromsdotter,” the nursemaid said.

The lady of the house turned to Elizabeth. “At the very least,
you
should have sent word that Fru Jensson had been called away.”

“Yes, Fru Ellstromsdotter,” Elizabeth said. She lowered her eyes and then her head the way she’d seen Leena do.

“Now, off to bed with the both of you,” the lady of the house demanded.

~ ~ ~

Elizabeth did not feel comfortable with Fru Ellstromsdotter becoming upset with her for Leena’s deception. Since the nursemaid was paid little more than Elizabeth, the added income from the deal they’d struck didn’t amount to much.

While taking a break from washing pots and pans in the kitchen to allow more water to heat on the stove, she sought Leena in the nursery. Elizabeth found her sitting on the floor with the children, playing with soft dolls the nursemaid had made from yarn and telling a story about them. Although the toddlers couldn’t understand the tale, they gave her all their attention. Elizabeth smiled to think that Leena genuinely cared for the children.

When a pause occurred in Leena’s story, Elizabeth said, “I’m sorry, but the extra income is not worth the risk. If Fru Ellstromsdotter finds out I’m lying to her, I’ll lose my position. She will understand if you explain about your mother’s continuing illness.”

“No,” the nursemaid said, looking up, “she won’t. I once tried to take a day to see my sister married, and she would have none of it. She is a woman of humble origins who never expected to have servants. She likes it too much, and prefers to think she owns us.”

Elizabeth didn’t want to argue. Again, she weighed the risk and the money.

Leena’s lips pinched together as though she were considering something, then she said, “I’ll give you two riksdaler each time I go out.”

That equalled a day’s wages. Elizabeth knew her eyes had become wide and her mouth had dropped open.

She’s up to something besides visiting her mother,
Liza said.
Still, that’s a good deal. Don’t question her, just accept it.

We’ll become rich enough within a year to book passage to England,
Bess said.

Elizabeth merely nodded her head for Leena.

~ ~ ~

Elizabeth began watching out for Leena’s return on the nights the nursemaid was out of the house. Once the children were safe in bed, she’d sit in the shadows of her upstairs bedroom where the view from windows allowed her to see up and down the lane in front of the house. She became weary of the practice after a couple of months of seeing the nursemaid return alone. Finally, in the autumn of 1862, she saw a carriage arrive in the lane perhaps one hundred yards away from the house to the west. At first she thought the vehicle was a coach for hire. Then, as Leena and a man stepped down from it, Elizabeth decided that the man had been driving. They stood among the shadows of a shopfront, kissing for some time, then Leena left him and made her way inside.

Her lover must mean the world to her,
Bess said.
If the carriage belongs to him, he is certainly a prosperous fellow.

Thinking of all she’d earned from Leena since they’d struck their new deal, Elizabeth was fascinated by the idea that a man could be worth so much to a woman. Then, she realized that the money she received to keep Leena’s secret might have come from him. Elizabeth wanted to get a good look at the fellow. She continued her vigil through the winter and into the year of 1863. As the months passed, she did see Leena with the man, sometimes arriving on foot, sometimes by carriage. Elizabeth couldn’t quite make out his features. One night in late summer, he looked a bit shorter than usual.

She has a new lover,
Bess said,
one who loves her even more than the last.

That didn’t seem right.

Keep watching
, Liza said, her suspicion obvious, but uncomfortable.

On a night in December of 1863, an older man seemed to stand in the shadows kissing Leena, and Elizabeth came to a conclusion she didn’t want to accept, yet was hard to avoid.

She stopped looking out for the woman’s return, kept her suspicion to herself, and continued to take the nursemaid’s money.

~ ~ ~

In February, 1864, Fru Ellstromsdotter again came home unexpectedly in the evening.

Upon seeing the lady of the house, Elizabeth’s thoughts came in a panicked rush, too fast for careful consideration. She chose not to use the same excuse as before, and told Fru Ellstromsdotter that Leena’s mother had been taken to the hospital. Inspired by her own fall, Elizabeth said, “I believe she fell from a height and broke her leg.”

The lady of the house looked at her in disbelief. “Fru Jensson’s mother is of advanced age,” she said. “She would not be scaling any heights.” She was quiet for a moment, then donned her cloak and left the house in a rush.

Elizabeth was relieved until she realized that the hospital was not far away. Her dread built in intensity until Leena, her head bowed, entered the house with Fru Ellstromsdotter following right behind her.

Elizabeth tried to catch Leena’s eye, but couldn’t.

“For your lies, I am terminating your employment, Fru Gustavsdotter,” Fru Ellstromsdotter said, glaring at Elizabeth. “And you’ll receive no references from me.” She seemed to compose herself before continuing. “Fru Jensson has persuaded me to allow you to stay the night. Tomorrow she will take you to her mother’s home where you may stay briefly until you find other lodgings.”

Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak and Fru Ellstromsdotter slapped her across the face. “I’ll hear no more from you. If you speak again within my home, I’ll put you out immediately. Now, go to bed.”

Elizabeth followed the nursemaid to their room. If Herr Olovsson had been home, she might have considered taking the problem to him and pleading for her job. He had left within the week and wouldn’t return for almost a month.

Once the door to their room was closed, Leena spoke to her in a whisper. “Why did you tell her my mother broke her leg?”

Mortified with embarrassment, Elizabeth sat on her bed. Leena sat next to her.

“I thought she needed to believe your mother was in great danger to justify your absence. I didn’t think she’d find out I was lying.”

“I’m so sorry,” Leena said. “I know you were trying to help.”

“I’m sorry I failed you. What will
you
do?”

“I’ll be fine,” the nursemaid said. “I still have my position.”

Elizabeth opened her mouth, but found herself speechless.

You covered for the woman, and now you’ll suffer for it,
Liza said.
She continues to deceive you. That’s what comes from placing other’s interests above your own.

At least you earned something for your trouble,
Bess offered.

“She went to the hospital,” Leena said, “then came to my mother’s home. She could see that my mother is ill.”

Elizabeth turned and looked her in the eye. “You’re a prostitute!” she said, her expression showing anger while her words were whispered.

Leena hung her head. “Yes,” she said. “I could not afford to take care of my mother otherwise. I was with my mother, not a man tonight. Lucky for me, since Fru Ellstromsdotter came to our door.”

Her mother was indeed ill—Elizabeth finally understood. She took Leena’s hand, and the nursemaid turned and hugged her.