Chapter 70 – Solved Another Problem
Jade noticed that Sister Geenia returned with a much calmer expression.
To be fair, the domus was used to receiving all kinds of strange and unusable donations. A few barrels of stale beans were hardly the most remarkable. As clergy of the Domus Lucis, they were expected to be grateful for whatever came in their way, even the troublesome kind.
Jade suspected the quick-tempered kitchen nun had already settled her irritation on the way to Father Rochester’s study. At most, she had likely reported the matter and voiced her concerns with a calmer tone instead of an irritated shriek, then began considering a way to deal with the beans. Stale or not, they were still beans; and in an era where even scraps had their uses, they could surely serve some purpose.
But this time, Jade spoke before Sister Geenia could decide. “Sister, I would like to have these.”
“Miss Jade?” Sister Geenia raised her brows in surprise. “Why, surely you do not intend to cook them? They are quite unfit for consumption, and definitely not worth having your boy pipe them.”
Given Jade’s financial situation, everybody in the domus knew Miss Jade could not afford proper ingredients like cream, butter, or sugar to teach her own apprentice decorative piping. She had opted for a downgrade, using mashed potatoes and bean paste for practice.
Sister Geenia assumed this was more of the same. “If you wish for Josh to practice,” she added, “you may continue to use our good beans. We would be delighted to see the dishes decorated with proper baked bean paste. These, however, are quite dreadful in taste.”
“No, Sister, I’m not going to eat them,” Jade said, “I want to see if I can turn them into something else… some kind of craft.”
Sister Geenia and Sister Lucy exchanged a glance. “What sort of craft do you have in mind?” Sister Geenia asked.
Jade picked up a bean and gestured as she spoke. “Imagine threading these beans together. Ideally, we’d drill holes and string them properly, but that’s not practical for us – it’s quite impossible. So instead, we could use thread to make a tiny net or cage to hold each bean in place, forming a long chain.”
She moved her hands downward, illustrating the idea. “Then, we connect the chains of beans into a row and join the rows together. Now, wouldn’t it become a sheet that’s loose enough for air to pass through while still maintaining coverage? Like a curtain.”
She paused, then added, “A summer curtain, breathable for a kitchen, while blocking out insects.”
Sister Geenia and Sister Lucy tried to picture it.
In the heat of summer, the kitchen grew stifling – hot, smoky, and often sealed to keep out flies and insects. A breathable curtain like that would indeed make a difference.
Slowly, they nodded.
“We could dye the beans in different colors…” Jade continued, already picturing in her mind. “Well, it depends on what dyes we can get. Or we could just keep them as they are and make use of their natural colours… Maybe we could use coloured threads? If we weave them into patterns, it might actually look quite nice.”
She frowned slightly as another thought crossed her mind. “It probably won’t sell for much. Maybe only the middle-class or working women would buy it; an upper-class lady likely wouldn’t spare a glance. But if it lasts a few years, that’s good enough, right? Though… if I dye them and people wash the curtain, will the colour run? Maybe they’re better off just throwing it away when it gets dirty. It’s not expensive, anyway…”
“They could simply dust it off; as long as we inform them when selling it, it should be fine.” Sister Geenia said at one. “And we must dry the beans thoroughly – bake them, perhaps – to prevent mold or weevils.”
“A very clever suggestion, Miss Jade,” Sister Lucy praised. “Shall we help you move the barrels to the classroom?”
Jade glanced at the barrels, and said, “I’ll take one to the classroom. The rest can go to the storeroom for now… at least until I figure out how to chain these beans properly. I’ll need some time to experiment, but we can probably distribute the work to the students in a few days…”
“Then we shall place them by the doorway,” Sister Geenia said with a pleased grin. “I’ll fetch the trolley. Oh, Miss Jade, you are the most ingenious woman I have ever met!”
“Aww, thanks,” Jade replied, giving the Sisters a quick wave before hauling a barrel back to the classroom with all her strength.
After handling so many different projects, experimenting with bean curtains felt relatively simple. By the time the tuition class ended, Jade had already worked out a practical method for chaining the beans and even drafted a short instructional pamphlet.
She handed it to Josh. Within minutes, her pupil managed to produce a short strand of chained beans simply by following the instructions in the pamphlet.
She was impressed by how quickly he picked it up.
Josh, on the other hand, was impressed by the clarity of her instructions, which used only simple words and illustrations. He had read plenty of recipes before – mostly cooking, with some on sewing and knitting – from newspapers or scraps of packaging he happened to come across. Most were difficult to follow, and some were outright flawed; after months of apprenticeship, he could easily spot missing steps in those recipes – mistakes that guarantee failure for anyone trying to follow them.
“We’ll prepare thread and a sack of beans for them after supper,” Jade said. “I’ll copy a few more pamphlets. Tomorrow, I’ll end class half an hour early and teach them how to do it. Then they can take the materials home and work on it whenever they have time… and proper lighting. I really don’t want them working in the dark. Even oil lamps aren’t that bright.”
“They could gather under a streetlamp,” Josh replied to Jade’s concern. “Some of them are quite bright. Or they could bring their oil lamps together and work in one place. With enough lamps, the room should be brighter.”
Jade sighed and nodded. That was probably the best solution she could come up with.
Honestly, she wasn’t sure which was worse – threading beans in dim light, where precision matters, or twisting ropes in the dark, where they could at least work by feeling the hay fibres without looking.
Still, in terms of profit, the bean curtains were clearly the better option. Rope-making would bring in little, and the quality would be questionable.
“Sensei, I don’t think you need to end the class early,” Josh added, lifting the pamphlet in his hand. “It’s easy to follow. Just give it to them, they’ll figure it out. Or I can teach them if they don’t understand the knots.”
Jade hesitated. She wasn’t sure the other students would grasp it as quickly as Josh. Her apprentice was unusually sharp – quick-thinking, instinctive, always alert. Out of all her students, he had been the first bold enough to step forward and become her apprentice.
She had long suspected his IQ, or EQ, or whatever Q, was higher than average. Not a genius, but definitely above the rest.
“Okay. Then maybe I’ll end the class fifteen minutes early instead?” Jade said, taking Josh’s words into account and adjusting her plan.
Josh didn’t seem to entirely agree. He still felt Miss Jade was pampering them too much, despite the fact that they were as hardy and wild grasses. But he nodded anyway.
His concern shifted in another direction. “I am not worried about whether they can learn the bean-chaining. I am more concerned about whether they can follow the patterns. As you said, Sensei, people pay more for things that look nice. It applies to cakes, to embroidery, to almost everything. You’ve given them a few patterns, but I’m not sure if they can follow them properly, or adjust the number of beans when needed.”
The beans weren’t uniform in size or shape. Even though Jade had counted and noted everything down in the pamphlet, real-life work would always vary. Some might follow her instructions blindly, without adapting to what they actually had.
“Well, even a not-pretty one still works,” Jade said with a shrug. “They already have jobs and very little free time to spare. So, as long as the curtains they make are functional, I don’t mind; they can still be sold. I'm sure we’ll figure something out.”
“Yeah, there’ll be a way somehow,” Josh said. Noticing her calmer mood, he quietly took it as a lesson for himself. He had no intention of becoming gloomy and unwell, and reaching the state where he’d need to be sent off for some cleansing ritual or examined by a doctor. Or worse, locked in an asylum.
Illness cost money. He couldn’t afford that.
Days had passed.
The penny skewers had finally used up all the donated meat that had been on the verge of spoiling. Thanks to that unexpected donation, the school earned a surprising amount of money in a short period of time. Jade immediately asked Brother James to proceed with purchasing the blankets from the second-hand dealer she had made a verbal agreement with.
Thus, in mid-winter, every student at the Domus Ragged School in Wyrnfield received a blanket. Each was large enough to cover not just the student, but a few younger siblings as well, should they have any.
Words spread quickly among the poorer neighbourhoods, passing from mouth to mouth like wildfire. Before long, people were talking about a ragged school that could sustain itself, and even provide for its students. Nothing extravagant, nothing excessive, but exactly what was needed during the cold season.
The name of Miss Jade Lysmere rose quietly among them.
Among the poor and parts of the working people, her reputation had never been higher. They admired her efforts, her sincerity, her willingness to support the ragged school and its students. People had seen the children outside the school – the brightness in their eyes, the ease in their expressions. That alone was something not many schools could achieve.
But beyond that sphere, little was known.
To the middle and upper classes, 257 blankets were notable, but not extraordinary. They, too, could make such donations if they wished.
“My dear brother,” Lady Eleanor said, casting Lord Ashborne a measured glance, “If she has truly planned all of this to build a reputation within a specific circle, then I must say, she is remarkably clever. Among the most perceptive I have encountered.”
“I am quite certain she has planned none of it,” Ashborne replied with a dismissive wave. “Spare your suspicions, Elly. Miss Jade is the most genuine person I have ever met.”
“No one of rank or standing knows of her – other than you,” Eleanor said, narrowing her eyes. “You are aware of all her actions, all her efforts. She had impressed you, and much of the parish besides. You cannot expect me not to suspect that she seeks to become your wife.”
Eleanor had once dismissed such doubts regarding this Miss Jade Lysmere. A fortune huntress surely would not have a mind full of magnificent and epic stories; such things did not bring them wealth or status.
But now, she found herself reconsidering.
To her, her well-meaning but naive brother seemed to be walking straight into a web carefully spun for him.
Recalling Jade’s disdain for noble etiquette and manners, Ashborne replied with quiet certainty, “She would very much prefer not to be my wife. You may trust me on that, Elly.”
“I doubt it,” Eleanor said curtly, before leaving her brother alone in the drawing room.