Agnes Esker

Archivist's Excerpt from: Alone in the Cold: The Story of Orphan Towne, its Strange History, & its Stranger Occupants, CVI 42.4

Quirky, upbeat, and impossible to forget, Agnes Esker ("Aggie" to her immediate kin) was quite probably the smartest person in Orphan Heights, barring Baron Hiram Lorecroft, of course. Eldest child of Hugo Esker and Elise Esker, Agnes would do the Esker family proud, in her parents eyes, though she would also bring them great sadness. In her own way, she lived always a life distant from them, even as a child. She "roamed in mind-gardens far afield," as her mother put it. Agnes was characterized as something of a manic-depressive girl early on, oscillating between heights of exuberant enthusiasm and energy and grappling with woeful despair. Her family loved her deeply. A gifted but troubled mind, Agnes was born into a simple Tramrunner family. While many among Orphan Heights' blue-bloods pitied her for this, Agnes herself was quite content with her family's social standing. If anything, it fueled her academic passions for improving the future of Orphan. She had a profound respect for the dignity of the common man.

Probably her least-known and appreciated talent was an artist. She was quite gifted at illustration in sketches, drawings, even paintings, but it was a talent she would never nurture, turning her sights on her more academic pursuits, as is the focus in Orphan Heights. Culture is culture.

Agnes suffered from what her mother, Elise Esker, called a "profound discontent" with the doomful and bleak future under Orphan's dome, and longed to hasten . When she realized this was futile, she turned instead to matters of the reconstitution of matter by way of her love of astronomy and cymatics ... now isn't that a mouthful?

In 1892, Agnes had aspiration of having a space to work, a space to call her own, an office where she could have the one thing the Esker home would not easily allow: quiet. She set her eyes on a little space in № 138 Cavendish in nearby Attistock, but could hardly afford the rent. Neither could the family. Agnes took a job as a waitress at the Songbird Cafe just down the way from Cavendish Lane, and saved every penny towards the rent. It is there she met Chancellor J.P. Finch's son, Albany Finch, and quickly drew his affections. Agnes was certain she would lose her opportunity at № 138 Cavendish, as a foreman from the Corps. of Limeiron Forgers wanted it, but the agreement fell through; furthermore, the expected rent on the space dropped considerably. Agnes Esker moved right in.

It would only be her office space, but she was prone to falling asleep at her desk, and so would spend many nights there. Albany Finch provided her a comfortable sofa for her birthday in 1893, which he said was simply for a comfortable place to sit, but the Esker family knew well was for her to fall asleep on.

He was madly in love with her, it is said, and Agnes suffered from what was described as "astounding beauty." Some of the local and more crass of the populous would refer to her as Orphan's "Star Girl," the "Heavenly Body," or even "Virgo," but never within earshot of Albany, or an Esker, if they were wise. Albany eventually proposed marriage, and Agnes accepted, much to the chagrin of many of Orphan's blue-bloods, but it is well known they're mostly a cadre of cold-hearted unromantic pricks, anyway.

Nevertheless, their marriage was, sadly, never to be. Tragically, she is now remembered for the mysterious nature of her death in 1894, or even more so for the "lost potential" it brought to a mind wasted on "frivolous ideas."

Although it is not customary for the people of Orphan Heights to bury their dead, owing primarily to a general lack of ground space), the Eskers broke with this tradition and buried Agnes at Chapel Hill near St. Matthew's. They hold an annual private memorial ceremony there in her honour.