The Gilded Age

[SandraDeelightful]

Grace Harris awoke later than usual. Her eyes widened. She turned in the bed she shared with her little sister, Ada, who was only six years old. Grace gently shook Ada awake. Ada stirred in her sleep before her brown eyes that matched Grace's fluttered open. Grace instructed Ada to get ready. They got out of bed and Grace quickly put on her brown dress that was tattered and torn. She fixed her hair in a bun. She grabbed Ada's hand and led her to her neighbor's house, Ms. Cassidy, a middle age old maid.


Grace did not eat breakfast. She did no have time to do so. She didn't worry about Ada though. Ms. Cassidy would feed her. Grace did not have enough food for lunch today. That didn't bother her. With eating less food, Ada would have more to eat. Grace put Ada before everything. Ada was energetic and spunk, yet loving, just like Mama, who had died giving birth to Ada. Papa had left before Mama had even told him she was pregnant.


Grace bid farewell to Ada and Ms. Cassidy, reminding Ada to be a good girl. Ada nodded and said she was always a good girl. Grace laughed as she left. She was going to work at the factory. It didn't pay well, but it paid enough to pay the rent and for enough food so that they wouldn't go hungry. Grace was grateful that Ms. Cassidy had agreed to watch Ada for free. Grace was grateful that Ms. Cassidy was her neighbor. She had a widowed sister, Mrs. Hess, who worked at a different factory than Grace did.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Marius crawled out of bed after the maid came in and informed him thatbhe had to meet his parents to go to the factory. Marius wasn't eager to head down and learn how to order others around with the same sharp, barking voice that his father used.


"Character," the man would bellow, "it builds character."


Marius would have been content building character elsewhere, like at a station where he could hunt down the worst of the worst, or as a lawyer filing away criminals. Running a factory did not build character. Shouting at others and deeming oneself better than everyone else did not build character.


Marius crawled down to the kitchen, where there was a meal set for him already. It was a pity that his older brother had already sniffed at the job of running a textile factory, leaving Marius to pick it up. Marius had learned of a place that was near the textile factory, allowing Marius to make his way there quickly.


The young man wore his plain suit and combed back his black hair in preparation to leave and climbed into his car before driving off.


He climbed out and into the factory, a rather clean place with floors that were filled with people sitting at sewing machines and various other machines putting together clothing and dying them different colors.


He glanced around as his father, a broad shouldered and intimidating man, approached him.

 

[SandraDeelightful]

Grace hurried along the streets, her worn brown shoes clicking against the ground. She was late and she knew the foreman would be angry with her if he saw her come in late. The foreman, for some reason, loved to pick on Grace. Whether it be by chastising her work or by whispering inappropriate comments in her ear, making her cheeks heat up, he loved picking on her.


She made no attempt to report him for his behavior. She had no right to do that. He was of higher status than her in the factory. They would never listen to the shy, skinny girl working at a sewing machine.


As she walked, she saw two people who worked at the factory. One was a grown woman, and the other was a small girl, no older than eight, holding the woman's hand. Grace knew that they were mother and daughter. Grace found it awful that such a small girl had to work in a factory to help make money for her family. She knew that there were girls younger than Ada who worked in factories. Grace would do everything in her power to make sure that Ada would never have to work in a factory.


Grace made it to the factory. She hurried inside, keeping her eyes downcast. She didn't want to make awkward eye contact with anyone. She wasn't looking where she was going and she bumped into someone. Her eyes darted upward slightly and saw a man. She hadn't seen him before, but she could tell he was rich, judging by the clothes he was wearing. Her eyes widened slightly and her cheeks heated up, a blush coloring her pale cheeks.


"Oh, sir, I'm so sorry," Grace spoke quickly. She had a tendency to do that when she was nervous, which was very often.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Marius blinked when someone crashed into him, turning around and glancing down at the small woman. He flashed her a reassuring smile. "No harm done," he said softly, "I'm fairly hardy."


His father cleared his throat behind Marius and he stifled the urge to roll his eyes at the man. Flashing one last grin at the woman in reassurance, he turned to face the burly old man that was watching over the factory.


"Come meet the foremen," he boomed, clasping Marius on the shoulder roughly and hauling him forward. Marius was about three inches taller than his father but not as broadly set, which had him at a slight disadvantage. However, his decision and want to go into the field of criminal justice had made him practice fighting with his older brother and whoever was willing. He had planned on joining the police academy and learning among the hardened and ready men, but instead found himself stuck in business school. Marius, being who he was and as stubborn as his father, would sneak out to practice with his old friends nonetheless, in case his older brother ever really did decide to take over the factory again.


Marius didn't like half the foremen when he spotted them. They eyed his clothing (no doubt thinking about thieving from him), chewed on tobacco (unsanitary), or had dirty clothing (once again, unsanitary). While their clothing was as worn as some of the people he had seen, he could also tell that they did more walking than actual working; their hands were relatively non-calloused and their shoes were scuffed while their shirts were the cleanest part of their clothes.


He was told their names in a long stream that fizzled out of his brain. Marius nodded to each respectably, but did little to indicate he was interested in them.


His father hauled him off to the office, to stare at all the numbers and papers that came with running the factory.

 

[SandraDeelightful]

Grace blushed when he smiled at her. She had always blushed easily. With one last apology, she went to her machine and began sewing clothes. The machines could be dangerous, and she had seen many people get hurt because of them. She was terrified that one day she would get hurt because of the machine. She also hoped she would never break a needle. She knew that if she broke the needle of the machine, it would come out of her paycheck and she couldn't afford that. It could mean one less meal for her and Ada. One foremen, Mr. Gregson, the one that had always picked on her, walked up to her. Grace braced herself for the lecture that was soon to come.


"Late, are we, Miss Harris," said Mr. Gregson. While Grace was no 'Miss' she knew that he did not mean it like that. His tone was mocking and rude. Grace was used to that tone, as he had always talked to her like that. Grace hated it, but there was no way she would be able complain.


"I'm sorry, sir," Grace said softly and shyly, looking down, afraid to meet his gaze. He always gave her stern glares, and they always frightened Grace. She still talked fast, as she was nervous. "It won't happen again, sir."


"Be sure that it doesn't happen again," said Mr. Gregson. "And for the time you missed today, it'll come out of your paycheck." Mr. Gregson's voice was unsympathetic. If he found a way that he could torment Grace, he would do it. Grace turned to him with wide eyes like saucers. She looked like a scared and innocent doe, and looked like someone could easily pit her. Yet no one did. It didn't bother Grace, though. She didn't want to be pitied and she couldn't think of anyone who did.


"Mr. Gregson, sir, please," said Grace desperately. "I promise it won't happen again. I need the money to feed my younger sister. She is only six and I am barely getting by."


"Don't bother me with your problems, Miss Harris," said Mr. Gregson coldly.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Marius sat down in a leather chair by his father, staring at the numbers whizzing by. "The foremen work on the paychecks," his father continued. "They deduct what needs to be deducted."


"What?" Marius asked, blinking in surprise. "When do you ever deduct pay, besides absences?"


"Never," his father said quickly, glancing at Marius. Marius had studied law alongside his business proceedings and while Marius wasn't someone to openly go against his father every chance he got, he still had his morals.


Sometimes, his mother told him that he was the only one who could scare his father, if only because he had connections to law enforcement and had never been afraid to use them.


"You're feeding their paychecks," his father would complain.


"If I'd taken up their jobs, I'd be feeding my own paychecks," Marius would mutter back, which would shut his father right up. Sometimes, the old man would attempt to scold Marius, but he had gotten too large for spankings and half the time, Marius could outwit his father from attempting anything.


"You'll drive us into the ground, boy," his father would roar when Marius suggested better paychecks.


"If the employees stage a strike, we'll loose more," Marius responded.


"We don't need those implementations, boy," his father would snap when he suggested new assembly lines.


Marius would grind his teeth and choke out, "If you want an efficient system, you have to keep up with it. Switch our new parts."


It felt more like Marius was fighting his father every step of the way rather than actually learning the ropes. His father would call him, when somewhat drunk, a liberal bastard.


His mother would scold his father for speaking of Marius in such a way while his older brother would just huff. Everyone knew that Marius was liberal, always supporting the things that "men ought not to". It was quite annoying.


As Marius pawed through the paychecks, he frowned at a pattern. "Doesn't it seem to you as if some people seem to be loosing much more money than others?" he asked, pointing down a stream of lists.

 

[SandraDeelightful]

"Get to your work girl," said Mr. Gregson coldly before leaving.


Grace hurried to get to work. She worked diligently and she gasped when she heard a little girl scream. The same little girl she saw walk to work earlier. The little girl had gotten her finger stuck in a machine. Grace immediately got up and went to help the little girl. Grace heard Mr. Gregson scolding her because the little girl broke the needle and saying that it would come out of her paycheck because of it. Grace went to help the bleeding stop with her shawl. The little girl's mother began scolding the girl, saying that her family needed the money. The girl began crying and begging her mother for forgiveness. Grace, always wonderful with children, comforted the girl, despite the girl's mother telling Grace that her daughter didn't deserve pity.


Once the little girl's tears subsided, she begged her mother to go home. Mr. Gregson stepped in, saying if she left the machine, she would lose the machine. The girl's mother ordered her daughter to get back to work. The girl sadly nodded and got back to work. She smiled at Grace and thanked her for comforting to her.


Grace gave the girl one more smile before going back to work. Grace's heart broke when she saw the girl getting yelled at for that. She was too young to be working at a place like this. Grace would be sure to keep Ada away from the factories for as long as she could.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Marius glanced over some of the employment checks. "Some of these are children," he told his father.


"And?" his father responded. "Their families need money. So they work."


Marius frowned but said nothing more, working through the various numbers and totaling up the payments before adding up the expenses and adding the two together.


"Do you usually do this?" Marius asked, pointing at the long list of broken needles and jammed fabrics that were subtracted from paychecks.


"What else can we do?" his father scoffed. "They ought to be careful."


"Machines are unpredictable, as are humans," Marius replied. "You can't assume everything will go smoothly forever and punish people for using bad equipment. Shouldn't you replace pieces anyways?"


His father shrugged.


"If they wear down, they'll be replaced. Don't worry yourself about them," he added quickly. "Deal with the things you need to work on, like profit."


Marius gritted his teeth but obeyed, scanning the numbers and totals for the amount of money they had earned from selling items. Their factory sold clothes out to department stores and sometimes made pieces to go to other factories, though they usually assembled finished pieces.


"We're planning on expanding," his father continued. "A whole chain of them."


Marius rolled his eyes as he worked on ensuring the numbers added up correctly. If this one factory was any indication, all of them would be as rotten and as moral-less as the West.

 

[SandraDeelightful]

After Grace got back to work, Mr. Gregson walked up to her. Grace braced herself for a scolding. She knew it was bold of her to help the little girl, and Grace wasn't usually bold. But she couldn't stand people treating children unjustly. Children, in Grace's mind, where the last innocent thing in society, and some of them were already stealing and trying to survive on the streets. Grace had always loved children, and she was going to make sure that Ada stayed innocent and pure for as long as Grace could ensure.


"You shouldn't have left your machine, girl," said Mr. Gregson.


"I'm sorry, Mr. Gregson," said Grace softly.


"Let me and the mother scold the girl, and you keep working, Miss Harris," said Mr. Gregson. "Do you understand me girl?"


"Yes, Mr. Gregson," said Grace obediently.


Mr. Gregson gave Grace a glare before leaving. Grace quickly went back to work hoping to avoid another scolding by Mr. Gregson. She just wanted to get today done with. She hated the daily scoldings she got from Mr. Gregson and she hated coming here everyday. But it paid for food and it paid for her apartment.and so she couldn't really complain.


Grace knew that she would most likely work in the factory forever, and the sad fact was that one day, Ada would probably have to come work there too.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Marius finally finished up tallying the numbers and stood up.


"Where are you going?" his father asked.


"To see the factory," Marius responded. "I'm not going to sit behind a desk all day."


Marius' father frowned. "You're going to have to," he said gruffly. "You can't keep thinking that you'll go into that whole law business and find yourself a rich policeman, like there are any around."


Marius bit his tongue to keep himself from declaring that he didn't want to be rich at the end of the day. He was not interested in being rich. He was much more interested in being someone that was making a meaningful impact on the world than someone who could get by with doing next to nothing. True, his father would argue that there were great businessmen, like the one that gave them the assembly line and the ones that worked in the railroad and metal making industry. But this factory was not an industry for that; this factory was one that made clothes for those that had money to spend on them.


Straightening out his shirt, Marius made his way out onto the factory floor, his father's grumblings following.


A few foremen nodded at him and a few of the workers glanced up as well, though they would always duck their heads back down.


To his utter shock and dismay, there were children working in the factory, some much younger than they should be. He wondered how blind his father was and how much he liked work that he would so blatantly ignore the fact that children ought to be in school, learning so that they wouldn't be trapped working forever.


Then who will work?





He had no answer for that and shook his head. Marius had always been one for thoughts that were too heavy for him to decipher in a sitting.


As he made his way through the floor, he glanced about for another foreman to speak with and ask about the children. He wasn't quite watching which way he was going and accidentally bumped into someone's back.

 

[SandraDeelightful]

Grace grunted slightly when she felt someone bump into her. She turned around and saw that it was the man she had bumped into her earlier. She could tell that this man was rich, judging by the clothes she was wearing, that this man was high up in the business.


She had to admit that this man was quite handsome, though she was sure that he would never find her attractive. Grace could be pretty, if she wasn't so small and skinny, and she wasn't wearing rags.


Grace figured it would be best for her to get back to work and just ignore him. He was clearly of a higher status than her. He could easily fire her, she was sure of it. She figured it would be best for her to just ignore him and get back to work.


She blushed slightly, as mostly everything made her blush, and turned back to her work, going back to sewing clothes that she would never be able to afford or wear.


She was sure, though, that if she did wear these clothes, she would never feel comfortable. She had seen the dresses that most girls wore. They looked very uncomfortable. They looked so restricting and while rags weren't the most attractive clothing, they were much less restricting than the clothes that rich women wore.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Marius rightened himself after colliding with the woman and touched her shoulder lightly. "Apologizes," he said calmly, "I should have watched where I was going."


He frowned at the state of her clothes. It seemed that most people working at the factory were rather poor people, wearing barely anything. And yet here they sat, working and practically slaving away at clothes for the posh women that could wander about in the great marble shops, loading their arms with more items than they could carry. Marius had seen his mother do it, too and he had always felt like it was wrong for some to be so wealthy while so many more were suffering away.


"Ah," he said, lifting his fingertips from her shoulder, "if it is not too much trouble, would you tell me your name and how long you've worked here?"


If he really wanted to change how the factory operated to make it better for all involved, he ought to begin by seeing what people wanted changed.

 

[SandraDeelightful]

Grace blushed slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw the man that had bumped into her.


"It's alright, sir," said Grace gently. "My name is Grace, sir, Grace Harris I've been working here for the past six years. But I've been working in factories for about ten years."


She had gone to work in a factory when she was ten. Mama felt so guilty for taking her there, but they needed the money. Grace worked at that factory for about four years. She had to leave when Mama gave birth to Ada and died. Grace spent four months taking care of Ada before she decided to go back to work. She had left Ada with Ms. Cassidy and sought out her old job. She was not able to get it back, so she ended up here. It wasn't much different than the other factory. The only real difference was that this factory had Mr. Gregson, which is what made her prefer the other factory. But the pay was the same and the conditions were the same.


She was earning money and she was using it to put food on the table and keep a roof over her's and Ada's head, so she really couldn't complain. And she definitely couldn't complain to the man standing before her. He could very well have the power to fire her and Grace was not about to put her job in jeopardy.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Marius' brow furrowed. "How old are you?" he asked. "If you've been working here so long, you must not have had time to do other things."


His father would sometimes call him soft, that he cared too much for the working class.


"It's in their name to work," the old man would bark.


But was it not in their duty to ensure that the working class were happy as well? Were they not humans that ought to have been treated with respect and dignity? Children should not be working in a factory when they still had life in them to enjoy the great outdoors and no one should be trapped in a cycle that forced their children to work day in and day out.


"Did you work as a child?" Marius asked. "And with a relative?"


He had heard from his college that there were people that worked together in factories, so adults could look after children. It brought home money, as his father was so quick to point out, so there wasn't anything bad about it. Glancing around, however, Marius could tell that this was no condition or environment for a child to grow in.

 

[SandraDeelightful]

"I'm twenty, sir," said Grace softly and a bit shyly. "I started working when I was ten. My mother didn't want me to work at such a young age, but we had no other way to make money. I stopped for a few months when I was fourteen to take care of my younger sister, who had just been born, but I went back to work as soon as I could."


Grace decided to leave out the part where Papa would take some of their earnings and buy alcohol with it and the part that by doing that, it caused a lot of fights between Mama and Papa. Grace was ashamed of Papa, she brought him up as little as possible and always changed the subject when Ada brought it up. The less Ada knew about Papa, the better, Grace thought.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Marius arched an eyebrow at her remark about going back to work as soon as she could after looking after her sister. He was impressed at her diligence and figured that she could give him some insight into what life was truly like for the working class.


He knew a few people striving towards improving working and living conditions through unions. Marius was familiar with the famed photos of Jacob Riis, the ones that sent middle-class women into peals of tears, only to force their husbands to do the work which they hardly did. He knew that his mother had at one point been supportive of him and had later dropped the subject once it was clear that Marius' father would do nothing.


Marius, however, was entranced with the idea of furthering the life of those that were living in perpetual poverty.


"Tell you what," he said, "go on with your work. Don't leave when your shift end's; when does it end, by the way? I'd like to hear more from you about what it is like working in this factory."

 

[SandraDeelightful]

Grace was a bit shocked that someone of his status wanted to know more about the lives of someone of her status. She had never thought that anyone like him would care about something like that. She hated generalizing people, but she had not heard of one person of his status that actually cared about the lower class.


"Very well, sir," said Grace with a small smile, recovering from her shock.. "I get off at seven, sir."


"Miss Harris, why aren't you working?"


Grace froze when she heard Mr. Gregson's voice. She saw him walking towards her. Grace's eyes widened.


"I'm sorry, sir," said Grace, turning back to her work.


Mr. Gregson turned to Marius.


"I'm sorry, sir," said Mr. Gregson. "Is this urchin bothering you?"

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Marius frowned at the man before him, straightening to his full height. He was taller than most men his age and some whispered that he had the blood of giants in him when he was young. Marius would roll his eyes; children were ridiculous at all ages to him.


"I hope you don't use that kind of language often," Marius said stiffly, "and if you do, you best make sure you curb it. I was simply speaking to her; if anything, I was bothering her."

 

[SandraDeelightful]

"As you wish, sir," said Mr. Gregson. He continued, "You don't want to waist your time with this one, sir. She's just some simple factory girl. No one of importance, really."


Mr. Gregson's words didn't bother Grace like they should have. Grace had gotten used to the idea years ago that she would never be more than a simple factory girl. She had realized that she would never be anyone of importance the day she came to the factory. Mr. Gregson hadn't realized that she already knew that and reminded her of that fact every chance he got.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

"I said," Marius said, emphasizing the last word, "I hope you don't use that kind of language often."


He smoothed out the front of his own shirt to give his hands something else to do so he wouldn't punch the man in the face out of frustration. It had always annoyed Marius, the way that power could corrupt so easily. Give a man a few people to control and he believed himself a king, that his words had no consequence. Marius' father wasn't running the company well if this was what the foremen were like. A factory that operated and worked like a well-oiled machine needed people who were respectful and willing to understand and aid. Happier workers were more willing to work faster and more diligently, motivated by the desire to work rather than the fear of it. People who dreaded going to work usually didn't work as hard or as cleanly, wanting to leave as soon as possible.


Marius looked up at the man once more. "Continue on with your job," he said formally.

 

[SandraDeelightful]

"Yes, sir," said Mr. Gregson. He gave a glare at Grace before turning away. Grace knew he would be back when Marius was gone and she dreaded that moment. Grace, was shocked, however, that someone was actually sticking up to her, turned to Marius with a grateful smile on her face.


"Thank you, sir, thank you so, so much," said Grace happily with a kind and grateful smile on her face. "No one has ever stuck up for me like that."


Grace had known very little kindness in her life, and it had never come from someone of a higher status than her. She was completely shocked by his kindness and very happy because of it.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Marius turned to her and gave her a small and polite smile. "No need to be so formal," he responded. "I detest people who believe that those under them are worthy of scorn and disrespect. We are all human at the end of the day, no?"


He glanced around the shop before giving her another smile.


"If he gives you trouble later, inform me," he said before heading off to see more of the factory.

 

[SandraDeelightful]

Grace smiled at him once more before returning to her work. She had never met anyone who believed that everyone was human, even if it was true. Most of the time, Grace felt that sh was less than human around those of higher class than her. Though usually, the people above her in class that she was near were the foremen in the factory. Grace had never been around someone above middle-class.


Grace had always been told she was some urchin, she was starting to believe it. She already knew she would never be more than a factory girl, but by now she was starting to believe she was less than human.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Marius went about the factory, watching from afar as people worked. The foremen seemed to sense his presence and were trying to make their workers move faster as to impress him.


Frankly. Marius was less than impressed and would often tell the foremen so. "If you want to have cooperative people, you need to be cooperative first," he told them. "I cannot see how someone who cannot treat others like equals can command respect or aid in being part of a team."


The day drew on and he eventually had lunch with his father and their lawyer, who drawled on and on about the destruction of the factory through the laws that "the bleeding liberals" were making. Some were clamoring for child labor laws while others were asking for the right to unionize.


Marius thought that was reasonable. The lawyer gave him a look at Marius held until his father interrupted.


By the end of the day, Marius was a bit more agitated than he had been at the start. He headed over to Grace to see if she was still around and how her own day went.

 

[SandraDeelightful]

Grace's day dragged on. Mr. Gregson stopped by a few times to pick on Grace, but it was nothing she wasn't used to. She took it with all the dignity and class she could. She hadn't had the time to make lunch for herself and hadn't had breakfast, so she went hungry through the day. She very rarely had time to make breakfast or lunch, so the feeling wasn't exactly knew to her.


By the end of the day Grace was exhausted and starving and she really couldn't wait to get out of this place. She hated coming here every day, but it paid for food and her apartment and it kept Ada out of he factory, which is what Grace cared about most. She waited for Marius, curious as to why he wanted to know about the lives of the poor. She had never met anyone of his status who actually cared about people like her.