The Little Orphan Girl

by Sandy Taylor

  We started running along the quayside behind him, pushing through the crowds. The sailor was shouting as he ran: ‘Hold the gangplank!’

  A man beside the gangplank looked at us as if we were mad.

  ‘These people have to get on the ship,’ said the sailor.

  ‘Too late,’ said the man.

  ‘Do you want the wrath of God to come down on your head, man?’ said Father Kelly.

  ‘No, Father, but you’ve left it too late. I have my orders.’

  ‘What’s your name, son?’

  ‘Sean O’Brian, Father.’

  ‘And are you a good Catholic?’

  ‘I am, Father.’

  ‘Then you will know that there comes a time in your life when you must answer to a higher authority than that of mere men.’

  ‘Of course, Father,’ he said, standing aside. ‘Please board the ship.’

  ‘Good man, Sean, I shall read your name out at Mass on Sunday.’

  ‘Thank you, Father.’

  I clung to Colm’s hand as we almost ran up the gangplank. My heart was pounding out of my chest. I wanted to tear the ship apart to get to my baby. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. What if I hadn’t seen Betsy? I couldn’t bear to think of it – Nora would have been lost to me forever.

  We followed the sailor down some steep steps and along a corridor.

  ‘I’m taking you to the captain,’ he told us.

  We stopped outside a door and the sailor knocked on it.

  ‘Enter,’ said a voice from inside.

  We followed the sailor into the cabin.

  ‘Sir,’ he said. ‘These people say that a crime is being committed on this ship, so I thought it best to bring them to you.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said the captain. ‘You did the right thing.’

  Father Kelly stepped forward and shook the captain’s hand. ‘I am Father Kelly from the parish of Ballybun.’

  ‘Please sit down, all of you,’ he said, ‘and be assured that if there is some wrongdoing here, this ship will not leave until it is sorted out to your own – and my –satisfaction. Now will one of you tell me what is wrong?’

  Father Kelly looked at me and I nodded for him to do the explaining.

  ‘There is a woman on board this ship who is travelling with a child that is not her own. She has stolen the baby from this young girl here.’

  ‘You have to believe us,’ I pleaded.

  ‘Get the purser,’ he said to the sailor. ‘I need to look at the passenger list.’

  ‘Right away, Sir,’ said the sailor.

  ‘What is the woman’s name?’ asked the captain.

  ‘Her name’s Mrs Grainger,’ I said.

  ‘And apart from the child, is she travelling with anyone else?’

  ‘A girl called Betsy, I don’t know her other name.’

  ‘Don’t worry, dear, if what you say is true, and I am inclined to believe that it is,’ he said seriously, ‘your baby will soon be returned to you. Is the child a girl or a boy?’

  ‘A little girl, Sir.’

  The door opened. ‘Ah, Purser, do you have the passenger list?’

  ‘Here it is, Captain,’ he said, handing it over.

  ‘I imagine the lady will be travelling First Class,’ said Father Kelly. ‘If that helps.’

  ‘It does,’ replied the captain, running his finger down the list.

  ‘Here we are,’ he said. ‘A Mrs Veronica Grainger, travelling with her daughter, Miss Charlotte Grainger, and a Miss Betsy Perkins. Do you have any proof that the child is yours?’

  I’d carried Nora’s birth certificate around ever since Mother Ignatius had given it to me.

  I took it out of my bag and handed it to him. He read it and then looked at me.

  ‘This child’s name is Nora.’

  ‘Mrs Grainger changed it to Charlotte, Sir.’

  He handed it back to me. ‘I’m afraid this isn’t proof.’

  ‘I’ve known Cissy Ryan all her life, Sir, and I can vouch for her honesty,’ said Father Kelly. ‘If you need further proof then you can contact the Sisters of Mercy in London, who allowed Mrs Grainger to take care of the child until Cissy could take care of her herself.’

  ‘I might have to do that. Now I think it’s time to speak to the lady in question, don’t you?’

  There was a time when I would have been afraid to face Mrs Grainger but not today, today I was going to take back my daughter if it meant dragging her from Mrs Grainger’s arms.

  ‘Come with me, Purser,’ said the captain. ‘I may need your help.’

  ‘Yes, Sir.’

  Then he turned to the sailor. ‘Make sure the First Class gangplank stays in place and keep guard at the top. Don’t let anyone leave this ship.’

  ‘Right away, Sir,’ said the sailor.

  ‘Thank you for your help,’ I said, as he went towards the door.

  ‘You’re welcome, Miss, I hope it all works out for you.’

  ‘It will,’ I said, finally beginning to feel like there was some hope.

  ‘Right,’ said the captain. ‘She’s in cabin forty-eight.’

  ‘Follow me, Sir,’ said the Purser.

  We went back up the stairs and through a door marked ‘First Class’. The Purser stopped outside cabin forty-eight. The captain knocked but there was no answer.

  ‘This is your captain, Mrs Grainger, I need you to open the door.’

  I could hear whispering inside and then Betsy’s voice.

  ‘It’s the captain, Madam, we have to do what he says.’

  ‘Come away from the door, Betsy.’

  ‘If you don’t open this door immediately, Mrs Grainger, I will be forced to get the police on board.’

  I could hear the fear in Betsy’s voice as she said. ‘We have to open it, Madam, he’s gonna get the law. What ’ave you done, Madam?’

  ‘I said, come away from the door.’

  ‘You’re frightening me,’ said Betsy.

  ‘Can you hear me, Betsy?’ said the captain.

  ‘Yes, Sir.’

  ‘You need to open this door. You are in no trouble but I need to speak to Mrs Grainger on a very serious matter.’

  There was no sound for a moment and then the door slowly opened and we were looking at a white-faced Betsy.

  ‘Good girl,’ said the captain. ‘Purser, will you look after this girl?’

  ‘Of course, come along with me, lass.’

  ‘Hello, Cissy,’ she said softly as she passed.

  ‘Hello, Betsy,’ I whispered back.

  Mrs Grainger was standing in the corner of the room. She had Nora in her arms and the baby was whimpering.

  ‘You’re holding her too tight,’ I said, beginning to panic.

  ‘Don’t tell me what to do with my own child,’ she screamed.

  ‘But she’s not your child, Mrs Grainger, is she?’ said the captain.

  ‘She sold her to me,’ she said, pointing a finger at me.

  ‘You’re a liar,’ I shouted. ‘I would never sell my own child.’

  The captain stared at Mrs Grainger. ‘So you admit that this is not your child, then?’

  ‘I can look after her better than she can. I can give her a better life, she will want for nothing. What can she give her? Nothing.’

  ‘I might not be able to give her the finer things in life, Mrs Grainger, but I can give her love.’

  Nora was whimpering again. It was all I could do to stand there and not make a grab for her.

  Colm and the captain moved further into the room. ‘Give me the child,’ said the captain.

  ‘Get away from her,’ screamed Mrs Grainger, red-faced.

  ‘If you don’t hand me the child immediately, I will have you arrested and taken off the ship.’

  Mrs Grainger slumped down onto the bed. She knew she’d lost. ‘Take her,’ she snarled and almost threw Nora at the captain, who handed her to Colm.

  Colm walked over and gently placed her in my arms. ‘Your baby, Cissy,’ he
said, smiling.

  My cheeks were wet with tears as I looked down at Nora. It had been so long since I’d held her in my arms, my heart was bursting with joy. I looked at Mrs Grainger slumped forward on the bed and I felt nothing for her, nothing at all. ‘Do you want to press charges, Miss Ryan?’ asked the captain.

  ‘Do you, Cissy?’ said Father Kelly.

  I shook my head. ‘I just want to go home.’

  Father Kelly shook the captain’s hand. ‘What will happen to her now?’

  ‘I shall hand her over to the American authorities when we dock. I’ll let them deal with her. If you would please leave your details, Father.’

  ‘Of course,’ said Father Kelly.

  I looked at the captain and smiled. ‘Thank you.’ I said.

  He smiled back. ‘I’m glad that I was able to help.’

  Once we were back up on the deck I looked down at Nora. She’d changed, she was bigger than when I’d last seen her. Mrs Grainger had stolen those precious months from me. I held her up to my face and kissed her sweet little head. Oh, to have her in my arms again! My heart was bursting with happiness.

  ‘She’s beautiful,’ said Colm, smiling down at her.

  ‘She is, isn’t she?’ I said.

  The young sailor was still keeping guard. ‘Do you want me to carry her down the gangplank for you?’ he asked.

  But I wasn’t ready to hand Nora over to anyone, not even this kind young sailor. ‘No, thanks,’ I said. ‘I can do this.’

  ‘I’m glad you got her back, Miss.’

  ‘You helped,’ I said.

  ‘Glad to,’ he said, grinning.

  Colm steadied me as we stepped down onto the quayside.

  There were still crowds of people waiting for the ship to leave.

  ‘Can you see Mary?’ I asked.

  ‘No… hang on, there she is,’ said Colm.

  I spotted her and lifted Nora up.

  I could see her laughing and waving at us.

  We waited as the great ship pulled away from the quay. I looked at the name on her side: it was a strong name. This ship would carry Mary safely across the ocean to her new life in America. People around us were weeping, but with Nora in my arms I was too filled with happiness to feel sad.

  ‘Home?’ said Colm.

  ‘Can I have a minute on my own?’ I said.

  ‘Of course, my love.’

  I walked a little away from him and watched as the RMS Titanic grew smaller and smaller, carrying with her the hopes and dreams of so many souls.

  I looked down at my baby, safe and warm in my arms. ‘Your name is Nora Ryan,’ I said softly. ‘Beloved daughter of Cissy Ryan, granddaughter of Moira Ryan and great granddaughter of Malachi Ryan and you are loved.’

  Epilogue

  I wandered across to the stables with Stevie balanced on my hip. My sweet boy was growing by the day, a sunny-natured little feller who smiled at everyone and was loved by all. At almost fourteen months old he should have been walking, but Mammy said he was too lazy.

  ‘He’s like yer granddaddy,’ she said. ‘We’ll be waiting on him until he finds himself a wife.’

  But I liked the fact that he still held his chubby little hands up to be carried; that he still wanted to be close to me. I was enjoying his babyhood and I was in no hurry for him to grow up. I’d carry him in my arms for the rest of his life if I could.

  ‘Shall we go and see Nora?’ I said, kissing his cheek. ‘Shall we see how your big sister is getting on with the horse?’

  I walked around to the back of the stable, where Colm was giving Nora her first riding lesson. I stayed out of sight, watching him lead the horse slowly around the yard. I could see darling Blue up in the field, too old now for work, happy to let this newcomer take over from him.

  Nora looked so serious up on the little horse’s back that I smiled. At only five, she was old beyond her years. Whatever task was assigned to her, she put her heart and soul into it. Life for this beautiful little girl was a serious affair. I often wondered whether her personality had been formed in those first few months of her life when we had been apart.

  ‘I don’t hold with that sort of modern thinking,’ said Mammy. ‘The child is like me and it will stand her in good stead when she has to deal with fools and eejits.’

  Mammy loved both the children but it was plain to see the special bond she held with her first grandchild. Nora felt the same about her. The highlight of her week was the time she spent with her nanny and granddaddy up at Collins’s farm.

  When I was a child, hugs and kisses were few and far between, yet Mammy seemed able to give Nora all the love and affection that I myself was at times denied. I knew that Mammy loved me but she hadn’t always been able to show it. It warmed my heart to see her eyes soften when she looked at my little girl.

  Mammy had moved into the farm with Mr Collins but the pair of them hadn’t felt any urgency to get married.

  ‘People are talking, Moira,’ said Father Kelly.

  ‘People are always talking,’ Mammy had said.

  ‘Then do it for your grandchildren, or do you want them mocked in the town?’

  This of course changed her mind and she agreed to a small ceremony down at the church, as long as there was no fuss and no fancy tea and cakes afterwards. Now at least she had the town’s approval and I think she quite enjoyed being addressed as Mrs Collins.

  A lot had changed since the day I’d brought Nora home. The shock of losing Mary to the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean had the town paralysed with grief. For weeks we waited in the hope that she was in a hospital somewhere and that we would hear from her, but as the weeks turned into months, we had to accept that she was gone. Father Kelly held a memorial service for her at the church. It was so packed that there were people kneeling outside on the steps, wanting to pay their respects to one of their own, a young girl who had dreamt of a new life in America.

  The one piece of good news in all the sadness was that Betsy had been pulled from the water by a young man to whom she was now happily married. They had made their life in America and she was soon to give birth to her first child.

  The day after the service I walked up the hill with Nora in my arms.

  I rang the bell and Mr Dunne let me in.

  ‘A desperate sad day, Cissy, I’m sorry for your loss.’

  ‘Thank you, Mr Dunne.’

  ‘And is this your little one?’

  ‘It is, Mr Dunne.’

  ‘She will give you comfort.’

  I nodded.

  ‘Are you wanting Mrs Foley?’

  ‘No, I’m going around to the graveyard.’

  I walked around the side of the house, through the little gate and up the path to Nora’s grave. I sat on the ground, holding my baby on my lap. It was a beautiful spring day and the graveyard looked less grim with the pretty flowers scattered between the wooden crosses.

  ‘Hello, Nora,’ I said. ‘I’ve brought my little girl to see you. I named her for you, I hope that makes you happy. Mary should have reached you by now. If she has, will you hold her tight? Because she’s had a terrible shock and I’d say she needs the warmth of your arms around her. I miss you both and I will never forget you. Look down on my child and keep her safe.’

  Colm and I married a week after we came home with Nora and we moved into the grey house with Colm’s father.It was soon after our wedding that Mammy moved in with Mr Collins, which meant that the little cottage was standing empty.

  ‘I’d like to give it to Kate Foley,’ Mammy said. ‘I want her to have a life away from that place.’

  ‘I think that’s wonderful, Mammy, but do you think she might like some company?’ I said.

  ‘Who do you have in mind, Cissy?’

  ‘Annie.’

  Mammy smiled at me. ‘Of course, Annie.’

  And so the little cottage in Paradise Alley that held so many happy memories for me gave Mrs Foley and Annie a home of their own.

  Buddy and Eddie ran ahead of
me as I walked across the yard to Colm, who took Stevie in his arms and kissed his little cheek.

  ‘I’m riding the horse, Mammy!’ said Nora.

  ‘You are, my love.’

  Colm looked fondly at our little girl, who he’d loved as his own since the day the captain had placed her in his arms. ‘She’s going to be a fine little rider,’ he said.

  My heart was full as I looked at my little family: Colm, who I grew to love more every day; Stevie, my beautiful boy and Nora, the child of my heart who I’d almost lost. I was indeed blessed.

  If you fell in love with The Little Orphan Girl, you’ll adore The Runaway Children by Sandy Taylor - a moving story of unconditional love, friendship and the fight for survival during a time of unimaginable change. Available here.

  The Runaway Children

  An unforgettable journey of two evacuee sisters during the Second World War – and their determination to stay together, no matter what.

  London, 1942: Thirteen-year-old Nell and five-year-old Olive are being sent away from home to escape the devastation of the East End during the Blitz. Leaving behind their beloved mother and brothers, they don’t know if they will ever see them again.

  As the sisters adjust to their new life in a close-knit Welsh village, they gradually find hope in the friendships they make. And Nell kindles a special bond with fellow evacuee Jimmy, who makes her smile even at the hardest of times.

  But when little Olive’s safety is threatened, Nell makes a decision that will change their lives forever. They must run from danger and find their way home…

  Together, through tears and laughter, the two sisters hold each other’s hands as they make an incredibly brave journey across war-torn England. Will they be reunited with the family they have missed for so many years? Or is there more heartache to come?

  A moving story of unconditional love, friendship and the fight for survival during a time of unimaginable change. This book is guaranteed to find a place in your heart. Perfect for fans of Orphan Train and The Girl With No Name.