Leaving Bridget staring anxiously after them, Ruby and Daisy hurried away to catch a tram, which thankfully arrived just as they reached the tram stop. They didn’t talk much during the journey – there wasn’t much to say after all – but Daisy sat biting at her nails and giving little worried glances every minute or so as though Daniel was going to appear out of thin air.
It was as they left the vehicle and sped off towards Lombard Street that Ruby said, ‘Why didn’t she leave him and come to me, Daisy, when she knew she was pregnant? I could have helped her, she must have known I’d do anything for her.’
‘She was frightened for you, lass.’ Daisy shook her head. ‘You’ve got no idea what Dan’s capable of – he’s a devil, I tell you straight. Howard got mixed up with him before he knew what Dan was really like and then he was too scared to leave, and he’s a bloke, not like Ellie. I said to Ellie to come to you but she said she couldn’t let anything happen to you because of her. She – she thinks the world of you, lass.’
Through the lump in her throat, Ruby managed to say, ‘I think the world of her too, Daisy.’ And this time she was going to get Ellie out of there. She didn’t care if Daniel Bell came back before she managed to spirit Ellie away – she’d fight him physically if she had to – but she wasn’t going to leave Ellie in his clutches a moment longer.
When they reached Lombard Street Ruby saw three or four women with shawls over their heads standing huddled together close to Daniel’s house. As she and Daisy approached them, one called out, ‘Your man’s bin sticking his head out of the door every two minutes since you’ve been gone, but the other one’s not back yet. Reckon old Aggie’s done for her – she oughta be locked up, the dirty old crone.’
Daisy didn’t reply to this; instead she gestured at Ruby. ‘This is Ellie’s pal, the one I told you about earlier. She’s goin’ to get Ellie away from here, Moll. Away from him.’
The woman looked at Ruby, taking in her fashionable coat and hat and her feet shod in smart leather shoes. Her tone doubtful, she said, ‘You ought to have brought a bloke an’ all, Daisy. There’ll be ructions if Bell turns up.’
Daisy shrugged her shoulders and opened the front door of the house. A groaning wail was coming from upstairs and it was spine-chilling. As they climbed the stairs it changed in pitch so it didn’t sound human, more the sort of shriek an animal might make if it was caught in a trap.
Howard came out of Ellie’s room to meet them and his face was as white as a sheet, his former bravado gone. ‘She’s not stopped since you’ve been gone,’ he muttered to Daisy. ‘I can’t stand no more of this.’
He couldn’t stand any more? Ruby brushed past him and the metallic smell of blood hit her as she walked into the room. The bed was soaked with it and there were pools on the floor; she wouldn’t have believed a human body had so much. Ellie was lying with her knees up to her stomach on her side moaning softly now, and then the awful cry came again, shrill and stretched out, and Daisy began to sob.
It was as she reached the bed that Ruby saw the pitiful little creature between Ellie’s legs. The miniature human being was perfect but so tiny the little girl had had no chance of surviving out of her mother’s body. Telling herself she had to concentrate on Ellie and with tears streaming down her face, Ruby looked at Howard who was standing transfixed in the doorway, visibly shaking. Ellie was a hundred times worse than she could have imagined; they were going to need transport to get her to hospital.
‘There was a horse-drawn cab outside the bank on the corner when we passed a minute ago,’ she said huskily. ‘See if it’s still there, pay the driver anything he wants, and if it’s gone, get something else. Here, take my purse.’
Howard shook his head, turning as he said, ‘I’ve got money.’
Thanks to her conversation with Clarissa, Ruby knew what to do to separate mother and child, and after Daisy had fetched a pair of scissors and a clothes peg, they did the necessary and then stripped Ellie of her nightclothes and dragged the filthy sheet from under her, pulling a clean nightie over her blood-caked body and wrapping her cocoon fashion in a fresh sheet. Ellie seemed unaware of what was happening and although still moaning was a little quieter, but already blood was seeping through the sheet.
Sick with fear, Ruby kept up a steady stream of reassurance as they pulled a thick eiderdown round Ellie, but she doubted if her friend could hear her. She herself was now smeared with Ellie’s blood as was Daisy, and as they heard Howard running up the stairs, they both sagged with relief.
Howard came panting into the room. ‘I caught the cabby an’ explained what was what. He wasn’t too keen to have her in his cab at first but I gave him five bob on account and told him we’d pay whatever he asked if he gets us there.’
Ruby was glad of Howard as she and Daisy had tried to lift Ellie out of bed after they’d changed her clothes and they’d all nearly landed up on the floor. Howard simply bent down and lifted her, eiderdown and all, into his arms, carrying her out of the room behind Ruby. It was as Ruby reached the head of the stairs that Daniel walked in the front door.
He looked up at them, his face showing his surprise for a split second before he said, his eyes unblinking, ‘And where do you think you’re going?’
‘I’m taking Ellie to hospital.’ Funnily enough, now he was here the fear of him had fled and all she felt was a rage that had her wanting to tear him limb from limb. If she’d had a weapon in her hand she would have used it without compunction and relished doing so.
His gaze moved to Howard behind her. ‘Take her back to her room,’ he said softly. ‘I’ll deal with you later. And as for you, my fine lady, I told you what I’d do next time you poked your nose in my business.’
‘She’s going to hospital.’ Far from being cowed, Ruby began to walk down the stairs, praying that Howard and Daisy would follow. If they stood by her she could still get Ellie out.
His eyes narrowed. ‘The hell she is. She’ll be right as rain in a day or two and I’m not having no doctor asking questions about this and that.’
She had reached the hall and he was between her and the front door, which was slightly ajar. Howard was behind her and Daisy now moved up to stand at the side of her. Their combined attitude of defiance wasn’t what Daniel had expected, Ruby could tell that, but neither was he giving way. Ellie was quieter than she had been – whether she was unconscious or not Ruby didn’t know – but then she gave one of the animal-like moans and Ruby didn’t hesitate. Walking up to Daniel, her voice almost a growl, she said, ‘Get out of my way, you Devil in hell.’
His answer was to raise his hand and slap her so hard across the face that she catapulted into Daisy and then slammed hard against the wall. She didn’t have to think about what to do next. She launched herself at him, swinging her handbag wildly so it hit him full in the face, and suddenly it was Daniel screaming. He clutched at his eye, blood spurting between his fingers. Ruby realized the metal clasp must have caught him. She’d cut her finger on it only the other day, but as he stumbled towards the kitchen it was their chance to escape. Once outside, she bundled Howard and Ellie into the cab, she and Daisy climbing in after them, and the cab driver needed no encouragement to be off. They were halfway down the street when Daniel emerged with a roar from the house, clutching a bloody towel to his face and shouting and swearing at the cab driver to stop.
Ruby instructed the cabby to drive straight to the workhouse where the hospital was situated. Five years previously the administration for the infirmary was separated from the rest of the workhouse and the infirmary’s name was changed to the Wingrove Hospital, and it was now an efficient and well-run building within the workhouse. Once they’d arrived, the fact that Ruby held a position of authority at the workhouse enabled her to cut through the normal red tape involved with admissions, and when Matron Henderson was called by the officer in charge she aided Ruby in this, whilst making it clear she thoroughly disapproved of Ellie’s circumstances.
The chief gynaecologist
was called in, and he operated on Ellie within an hour of them arriving at the hospital. Once Ellie was back on the ward and heavily sedated, he didn’t mince words with Ruby who had obtained special permission from Matron Henderson to remain sitting by Ellie’s bed.
‘She’s been butchered,’ he said grimly. ‘I’ve done all I can but she’s very ill indeed. You’re her friend, I understand? Do you have any idea who’s done this to her?’
Ruby stared at Ellie. She was drained of colour and completely still. She already looked like a corpse. Only the faintest of pulses told the nurse consigned to check her every few minutes that her patient was still alive.
‘Oh, yes, I know.’ She dragged her eyes from Ellie. ‘A woman called Aggie did the abortion, but it was the man Ellie lives with who took her to this Aggie and made her go through with it. She didn’t want to but he forced her.’
The gynaecologist nodded. He already had a pretty good idea of the relationship between his patient and this man, having seen it all a hundred times before. Prostitution was rife in the city and had got worse as the slump had continued. The men who controlled these girls were ruthless and only interested in the money they could earn.
He stared at the well-dressed young woman in front of him. He knew from the matron that Miss Morgan was a respectable and intelligent individual and he wondered how she had come to be mixed up with the poor girl in the bed. But that was by the by. It made his blood boil to see what he’d seen this night.
His voice grim, he said, ‘It’s rare that names are named in circumstances like this. Are you prepared to speak out, Miss Morgan? To tell the authorities what you know?’
She nodded. ‘His name’s Daniel Bell and I want him to pay for what he’s done to Ellie.’
‘Is there anyone who can support your accusation?’
‘The couple I came with know what happened.’
‘So you have no objection to the police being informed?’
‘None at all.’ She just hoped Daisy and Howard would be prepared to stand up to Daniel Bell. They had left the hospital shortly after Ellie had been taken to theatre, but Daisy had promised her she would come back to see Ellie in the morning, although it had been obvious the pair of them were terrified at the prospect of facing Daniel after what had happened at the house.
Ruby spent the rest of the night holding Ellie’s limp hand in hers, crying and begging God to spare her. Ellie couldn’t die, she told herself – and God – over and over again. Her friend had had such a horrible life with her mam and da, and then since meeting Daniel Bell it had got so much worse. She couldn’t bear to think of what Ellie must have been subjected to. Once she was over this, she would take care of Ellie for the rest of her life or as long as Ellie needed her. She’d forget the dream of a dress shop; compared to Ellie’s well-being it was nothing. She could use the money she had saved thus far for a deposit on a small house for the two of them and carry on working at the laundry. Matron Henderson had hinted more than once that the job of head laundress would be hers in due course. She would do anything, anything if Ellie could get well; her life couldn’t end in this terrible way.
It was seven o’clock in the morning when Ellie gave a great shuddering sigh and opened her eyes. She didn’t ask where she was or move so much as a finger – it was clear she didn’t have the strength – but she looked straight at Ruby as though she had known she’d be there, giving her such a sweet smile that Ruby’s eyes filled with tears despite the promise she’d made to herself that she wouldn’t let Ellie see her cry. She had to be strong for her.
‘Ruby . . .’ It was the faintest of whispers.
‘Hello, lass.’ Ruby kissed her cheek, stroking a strand of hair from her forehead. ‘You frightened me,’ she said softly, ‘but you are all right now and I’m here and I’m staying.’
‘I . . . I didn’t want to do it.’
‘I know, lass, I know. Don’t talk. Save your strength to get well.’
‘He – he made me drink something and then I couldn’t stop him taking me there. My baby . . .’
‘Don’t think about that now, please, Ellie, don’t.’ Ruby wanted to make it all better but she couldn’t. ‘You’re safe and I promise I’ll look after you from now on. We’ll get a little house together – you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Just the two of us where we can be together again.’
Ellie whispered something but Ruby had to lean right over her before she could make out what her friend was trying to say. ‘Daniel . . . Be careful.’
‘Forget about him, he’ll never hurt you again. No one will and I’m not frightened of him, Ellie.’
The great eyes in the chalk-white face were pleading for something, but again Ruby had to put her ear to Ellie’s mouth, so faint was the whisper. ‘Do you think I’ll be with my baby?’
‘Oh, Ellie, lass, don’t talk like that, you’re going to get well,’ Ruby murmured softly as she straightened up. ‘I promised I’d call the nurse if you woke up – I won’t be a minute.’ But then, as Ellie’s fingers moved to grip hers, she whispered, ‘All right, I won’t go, but shut your eyes now and go back to sleep. I’m here and I won’t leave you.’ She bent over and kissed Ellie’s cheek again, and when she drew back it was a few moments before she realized what had happened. Ellie had gone. Just like that.
She stared at the still figure, an emotion tearing through her that was too great to express and compounded of such grief and loss and disbelief that its very intensity was numbing. This wasn’t real, it couldn’t be. In a minute or two Ellie would take another breath and then another and another. Anything else was unthinkable. She sat willing it to happen, believing it, screaming it in her head because if she didn’t accept that Ellie was gone, then it wasn’t true.
Even though she knew it was.
Chapter Fourteen
Daisy and Howard arrived at the workhouse just as Ruby walked out through its gates. The weather had changed again and a few desultory snowflakes were beginning to drift from a low, leaden sky as she saw Daisy jump down from the horse and cart Howard was driving and come towards her. As Daisy reached her, she said softly, ‘Oh, no, lass, no. She’s not passed?’
Ruby nodded, she couldn’t speak. She felt her heart had been cut out, the feeling a hundred times worse than when she’d found out about Adam and Olive. She had remained sitting by Ellie until the nurse had come to check her again, and when the girl had said quietly, ‘I’m afraid it was too much for her,’ and had leaned across to pull the sheet over Ellie’s face, she had made the nurse jump when she’d said sharply, ‘No, don’t do that, she likes the light, she’s always liked the light. Her da used to shut her in a cupboard when she was little and she’s frightened if she can’t see anything.’
The nurse hadn’t said anything to that, but when ten minutes later she still hadn’t been able to persuade Ruby to let go of Ellie’s hand, she had fetched her superior, who in turn had sent for Matron Henderson. She hadn’t cried in front of them – the shock of Ellie’s passing had been too great for tears – but she had been adamant they weren’t taking Ellie down to the morgue. It would be Ellie’s worse nightmare to be shut in there.
It had been Bridget coming on duty that had broken the impasse. Matron Henderson had brought Bridget to her and after a while Ruby had been persuaded to leave Ellie’s side. Bridget had taken Ruby through to the laundry and everyone had been very gentle with her, helping her to wash and then sponging down her coat and dress, which had Ellie’s blood on them, and cleaning her shoes. Ruby had submitted to their ministrations in a kind of vacuum. It had only been when they’d tried to persuade her to eat something that she had protested. Matron Henderson had come to see her shortly afterwards and had insisted she go home and rest and she hadn’t argued. In truth, she felt nauseous and her head was thudding.
Now, as Daisy put her arm round her, she said, ‘Come on, lass, me an’ Howard’ll take you home.’
Ruby looked across at Howard sitting holding the reins. ‘No, it’s all right. I c
an catch the tram.’
‘We’re taking you, lass. You’re in no fit state. Besides, I need to fill you in on what’s been happening while you’ve been at the hospital.’
It was only as Daisy helped her climb up onto the thin plank seat of the cart that Ruby noticed the back held a number of boxes and bags. As Daisy followed her gaze, she said, ‘We’re going down south, lass, to make a new start. When we got back last night Dan was ranting and raving about the mess you’ve made of his face. I reckon he might have lost the eye, it looks real bad. Anyway, him an’ Howard had a fight and Daniel said he was throwing us out an’ Howard said that was fine by him. Me an’ Howard went to get this horse an’ cart from a pal of Howard’s, paid through the nose but beggars can’t be choosers, an’ while we were out, Moll said the Old Bill turned up saying it was to do with Ellie. Did you give ’em his name?’
Ruby nodded.
‘Oh, lass, you shouldn’t have done that.’
Quite why she shouldn’t, Ruby wasn’t sure, but thinking about it she supposed in reporting Daniel it might have put Howard and Daisy in an awkward position.
‘Anyway,’ Daisy went on as the horse began to trot and the cart bumped along the road, ‘these coppers weren’t the usual ones Daniel deals with, if you know what I mean. They gave him short shrift when he tried to buy ’em off an’ he lost his temper and went for ’em. I think he was all riled up about his face – put some store by his looks, Daniel did – but he cooked his own goose sure enough. Moll said he was like a looney throwing his weight about and after he’d floored one of ’em, they arrested him and then searched the house. Course, that was the last thing he wanted with what he stashes in that upper room but Howard always said Dan’s temper would be the ruin of him one day.’
One Snowy Night Page 18