troubles.
“How did this young woman know to send you to me?” Mrs. Van Orner asked.
“She said the other women who work in the house talk about you all the time, about how you rescue girls from brothels.”
“I wish we did,” she said with a sigh, “but we seldom have an opportunity to do so. The women are watched so closely, it’s difficult for them to ask for help, and it’s even more difficult for us to get inside, so we mostly work with streetwalkers. They may have a man who protects them, but it’s still much easier to approach them and get them to safety than to break into a brothel.”
“How will you get into this house?”
“We’ll figure out a plan. We’ll probably go in the morning, when everyone is still sleeping, and catch them by surprise. We’ll have to have a carriage waiting to take the girl away, I suppose.”
“Yes, she won’t be able to walk very far. What about the other women in the house?”
“What about them?”
“Will you rescue them, too?”
Mrs. Van Orner folded her hands on the desktop and leaned forward slightly, her expression solemn as she stared right into Sarah’s eyes. “Mrs. Brandt, this is very difficult work, made more so by the fact that few of the women in these places truly want to be rescued.”
“I can’t believe that!”
“I couldn’t believe it either, when I first started. I assumed that all of them longed to live respectable lives and would gratefully accept my help to free them from their bondage. What I have learned, however, is that even those who do accept my help in escaping will very often return to their lives of shame. They find they prefer that to earning their bread through honest labor.”
“But Miss Yingling said you have a house where they can stay,” Sarah remembered.
“We do, but we can’t keep them forever. Gratuitous charity works evil rather than good, you see. If we continue to support these women, they will learn the dreadful lesson that it’s easy to get a day’s living without working for it.”
Sarah didn’t know where to begin to argue with that philosophy. “What about a woman like Amy, who has a baby? Surely, you can’t expect her to go out and earn her living.”
“The Salvation Army has a crèche where women can leave their children while they work. We wouldn’t expect her to go to work immediately, of course, but eventually she would have to. You earn your own living, do you not?”
“Yes, but—”
“You do have advantages these women do not, however,” Mrs. Van Orner continued. “You could have returned to your parents’ house when you were widowed. You might even eventually remarry and have a husband to support you. If these women do have families—and they usually do not—the families don’t want them back. And I assure you, Mrs. Brandt, there are few men in the world who would knowingly marry a woman who has been a prostitute.”
She was right, of course, as difficult as it was to accept. “But you will try to rescue Amy.”
“Of course. This is a wonderful opportunity. Her story would bring all sorts of attention to the cause.”
Sarah would have preferred her to want to rescue Amy for the girl’s sake, but she would take what she could get. “What can I do to help?”
“As I said, we have to make a plan. First we’ll have to decide when the girl can safely be moved.”
“I’ve arranged with Mrs. Walker, the madam, to take the baby next Tuesday.”
“She’s going to let you have the child?” Mrs. Van Orner asked in surprise.
“Yes, I made a nuisance of myself until she agreed. Amy was terrified that they would take the baby and she’d never see him again, so I wanted to be able to keep him safe.”
Mrs. Van Orner seemed to be seeing Sarah in an entirely new light. “That was very clever of you.”
“I don’t feel very clever. I feel helpless.”
“You won’t feel helpless when this is over, Mrs. Brandt. You are going to be of tremendous assistance to us. You
“How did this young woman know to send you to me?” Mrs. Van Orner asked.
“She said the other women who work in the house talk about you all the time, about how you rescue girls from brothels.”
“I wish we did,” she said with a sigh, “but we seldom have an opportunity to do so. The women are watched so closely, it’s difficult for them to ask for help, and it’s even more difficult for us to get inside, so we mostly work with streetwalkers. They may have a man who protects them, but it’s still much easier to approach them and get them to safety than to break into a brothel.”
“How will you get into this house?”
“We’ll figure out a plan. We’ll probably go in the morning, when everyone is still sleeping, and catch them by surprise. We’ll have to have a carriage waiting to take the girl away, I suppose.”
“Yes, she won’t be able to walk very far. What about the other women in the house?”
“What about them?”
“Will you rescue them, too?”
Mrs. Van Orner folded her hands on the desktop and leaned forward slightly, her expression solemn as she stared right into Sarah’s eyes. “Mrs. Brandt, this is very difficult work, made more so by the fact that few of the women in these places truly want to be rescued.”
“I can’t believe that!”
“I couldn’t believe it either, when I first started. I assumed that all of them longed to live respectable lives and would gratefully accept my help to free them from their bondage. What I have learned, however, is that even those who do accept my help in escaping will very often return to their lives of shame. They find they prefer that to earning their bread through honest labor.”
“But Miss Yingling said you have a house where they can stay,” Sarah remembered.
“We do, but we can’t keep them forever. Gratuitous charity works evil rather than good, you see. If we continue to support these women, they will learn the dreadful lesson that it’s easy to get a day’s living without working for it.”
Sarah didn’t know where to begin to argue with that philosophy. “What about a woman like Amy, who has a baby? Surely, you can’t expect her to go out and earn her living.”
“The Salvation Army has a crèche where women can leave their children while they work. We wouldn’t expect her to go to work immediately, of course, but eventually she would have to. You earn your own living, do you not?”
“Yes, but—”
“You do have advantages these women do not, however,” Mrs. Van Orner continued. “You could have returned to your parents’ house when you were widowed. You might even eventually remarry and have a husband to support you. If these women do have families—and they usually do not—the families don’t want them back. And I assure you, Mrs. Brandt, there are few men in the world who would knowingly marry a woman who has been a prostitute.”
She was right, of course, as difficult as it was to accept. “But you will try to rescue Amy.”
“Of course. This is a wonderful opportunity. Her story would bring all sorts of attention to the cause.”
Sarah would have preferred her to want to rescue Amy for the girl’s sake, but she would take what she could get. “What can I do to help?”
“As I said, we have to make a plan. First we’ll have to decide when the girl can safely be moved.”
“I’ve arranged with Mrs. Walker, the madam, to take the baby next Tuesday.”
“She’s going to let you have the child?” Mrs. Van Orner asked in surprise.
“Yes, I made a nuisance of myself until she agreed. Amy was terrified that they would take the baby and she’d never see him again, so I wanted to be able to keep him safe.”
Mrs. Van Orner seemed to be seeing Sarah in an entirely new light. “That was very clever of you.”
“I don’t feel very clever. I feel helpless.”
“You won’t feel helpless when this is over, Mrs. Brandt. You are going to be of tremendous assistance to us. You
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