I had a great decision on my hands - this intelligence could not be ignored. I had, in those three days, considered going back home to Ebeneezer, shunning this concept of marriage; but Edward had been faithful to some extent, leaving his mistresses before he proposed. She had no knowledge of any current mistresses, which gave my soul rest. I wrote a letter, composed of my feelings about this secret scheme, and hid it in the back of a drawer in his desk. He would find it sometime, and by then, my vexation would have passed, so that my response would not be so heated by anger.
He returned, and his first action was to take me out for a meal, oblivious to my slightly changed nature. I dressed in my finest dinner dress, fastened my pearl necklace around my neck, swept my hair back and descended to meet my suited suitor. He offered me his large, bear-like paw, and as mine daintily outstretched to meet it, a sharp knock was heard on the door, not ten paces from us. I retracted my hand, and redirected it to the door handle. Click - I pulled it open, just
wide enough for the visitor to see me, but little else. In front of me was Belle.
"Miss Frances..." she trailed of , visibly shocked by my apparel.
Eddie whispered, "Fanny dear, who is it?", he pulled the door wider so he could see who it was.
"Aah... Umm... Belle... This is... Fan... my wife..."
"Your wife?.." her face turned white, she looked completely stunned, almost as though she had
seen a ghost.
"Come in Belle," I opened the door wide and signalled her to enter.
I turned to Eddie, "We've conferred before - Belle and I. [Pause] I know your secret; it hurt to learn, but you are forgiven, so don't fear it."
He breathed in deeply, exhaled heavily, and mouthed 'thank you', the words flowing from his lips as though he were opening a little flower - before leading Belle into the neighbouring room.
I did not withdraw with them, but afterwards, Ed informed me that she was aware of two apprentices starting work with her father in the next year, one of whom she was sure to find a
lifelong companion in, and was satisfied. She would not be back again.
YOU ARE READING
Dear Fred
FanfictionFan, Ebeneezer Scrooge's older sister has a story rarely told on the stage. Based upon a production I acted in (playing Francesca Scrooge herself) in December 2019, I took the opportunity to write out Fan's backstory (with ideas from the cast and cr...
