The Throwaway Children

by Diney Costeloe

  ‘Then you know all there is to know,’ replied Miss Vanstone, calmly.

  ‘No, I don’t,’ asserted Lily. ‘You can give me their proper address for a start.’

  ‘If your granddaughter has indeed written to you, you have the address already.’

  ‘What d’you mean “if”? Course she’s written to me, otherwise I would still think she was adopted by some people “up north”, wouldn’t I?’

  Lily reached into her handbag and pulled out Rita’s already dog-eared letter, and thrust it at Miss Vanstone, but jerking it away before she could touch it.

  ‘Oh no you don’t,’ she said. ‘You ain’t getting your hands on this. This is my evidence that you’re a liar. I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you.’

  ‘That’s your problem, Mrs Sharples, not mine.’ Miss Vanstone shrugged and looked away as if the letter was of no interest to her.

  ‘So, I need the proper address,’ repeated Lily, ‘and you’re going to give it me.’

  ‘No, Mrs Sharples, I am not.’ Miss Vanstone didn’t raise her voice, but it was clear that she was not going to change her mind.

  ‘But you must.’ Lily knew that she was pleading now, but there was nothing else that she could do. ‘How can I write back to her if I don’t have the proper address?’

  ‘I see your difficulty,’ replied Miss Vanstone, ‘but I’m afraid I can’t help you.’

  ‘But she’ll think I don’t care.’ Lily was desperate now. ‘She’ll think I didn’t bother to answer.’

  ‘As I told you before,’ said Miss Vanstone, ‘a clean break is the best way. Wherever your granddaughters are, they have embarked on a new and exciting life. It will be far better for them to forget their earlier life and make a fresh start, don’t you think?’

  ‘No, I bleedin’ don’t.’ Lily seldom swore and it was a sign of her distress and desperation that she did so now. She saw Miss Vanstone frown at the obscenity and knew she’d done her cause no good. Miss Vanstone would never have used such a word, and Lily having done so marked herself out as being far beneath her, not fit to have the care of children.

  ‘I’m afraid I must ask you to leave now.’ Miss Vanstone rang the little silver bell that stood on the desk top and Miss Drake appeared at the door.

  ‘Mrs Sharples is leaving now, Miss Drake,’ stated Miss Vanstone and picking up the papers on her desk, she began to read.

  Lily got to her feet and stood, irresolute.

  ‘This way, please,’ said Miss Drake, and when Lily still didn’t move she took hold of her arm.

  Lily shook off her hand angrily. ‘Don’t you touch me!’ she growled. ‘Don’t you lay a hand on me!’

  ‘This way, please, Mrs Sharples,’ repeated Miss Drake. ‘Miss Vanstone has another appointment.’

  Slowly Lily turned and leaning heavily on her cane, walked to the door. As she reached it she turned back to face the woman sitting behind the desk. ‘You ain’t heard the last of me,’ she warned, ‘you ain’t heard the last of me, not by a long chalk.’

  Miss Vanstone ignored her but, addressing her secretary, she said, ‘When you’ve seen Mrs Sharples off the premises, please ask the gentlemen to step upstairs.’

  Unable to provoke any further reaction, Lily straightened her back and with her head held high left the room.

  ‘I’ll see you to the front door,’ said Miss Drake, leading the way to the stairs.

  ‘There’s no need,’ replied Lily stiffly. ‘I can find my own way out.’

  ‘Nevertheless, I will see you to the front door.’

  Miss Drake followed her down to the hall where the two men were still there waiting. They watched as Lily was shown out of the front door, and as it closed behind her, Lily heard Miss Drake say, ‘Miss Vanstone will see you now, gentlemen, if you’d care to follow me.’

  Upstairs, Emily Vanstone set aside her papers. That Sharples woman is a real nuisance, she thought, coming here causing a fuss. Let’s hope that’s the last of her. After all, what more can she do?

  In a way, Emily found herself admiring Lily’s determination and tenacity, recognizing traits that ran as strongly in herself. Despite Mrs Hawkins’s warning, Emily had been surprised that the woman had turned up, unannounced, at the office. She had assumed that Lily would ring for another appointment, and had already briefed her staff to refuse her. But by turning up and making a scene in front of reporters from the Belcaster Chronicle, Miss Drake had had no choice but to bring her upstairs, before the newspaper men latched on to what she was saying.

  ‘She was accusing you of stealing her granddaughters and of lying to her,’ Miss Drake had explained. ‘I thought it was better to get her out of sight and earshot as quickly as possible.’

  ‘You did quite right, Miss Drake,’ Emily had replied. ‘Send her in to me, I’ll deal with her.’

  That Lily had a letter from Rita, posted from Australia, Emily found worrying. She’d been relieved to see, when Lily held out the letter, that a great deal of what the child had written had been blacked out. At least Daphne had had the wit to do that, but why allow her to write at all?

  Emily felt no remorse or guilt at having separated the children from their family. She had rescued them from a feckless mother and an abusive stepfather; she had done God’s work. Remorse and guilt never came into her mind.

  But what will the grandmother do next? wondered Emily. What would I do next, if it were my grandchildren? Then she thought of May Hopkins. I’d go and see the Children’s Officer. Emily allowed herself a tight smile. Well, you’ll get no luck there, Mrs Sharples. May Hopkins doesn’t know where they are.

  However, the troublesome woman might make difficulties with the Children’s Committee. Emily reached for the phone, but before she could ask the operator for the number, there was a knock on the door.

  ‘Excuse me, Miss Vanstone, the gentlemen from the Chronicle are here.’

  Emily Vanstone replaced the receiver. Mrs Sharples and Miss Hopkins could wait, the men from the newspaper couldn’t. ‘Please show them in,’ she said, and rising from her seat, came round her desk to greet them.

  Terry Knight was one of the senior reporters on the Belcaster Chronicle. Tall and slim, he had an intelligent face with deep-set blue eyes. His fair hair was well cut, his face freshly shaved. Snappily dressed in dark suit and white shirt, he was out to make an impression. He was writing a feature article on the rise of women in business since the war. Emily Vanstone was one of the obvious candidates for interview. She had been running her own business empire since the thirties, and he wanted to discuss the changes, particularly in the role of women, that she’d seen over the years.

  The interview went well, and as it drew to a close, she posed at her desk for Mike Holden to take his pictures.

  ‘I understand that you are very much involved in charity work as well,’ Terry Knight said as he put his notepad away.

  ‘I do what I can,’ said Emily modestly. ‘If one is in a position to do good, it behoves one to do so. I’m sure you’ll agree.’

  ‘Of course,’ smiled Terry. ‘Wasn’t the EVER-Care Orphanage founded by you?’

  ‘Yes,’ agreed Emily, ‘that is one of my projects.’

  ‘What good work you must do there,’ remarked Terry, ‘helping children who’ve been orphaned by the war; your home giving them a new start.’

  Statement, not question. Emily liked that and smiling, she nodded. ‘Certainly. We give them a home, and when they leave us, we help them find their place in the world.’

  ‘And I expect some children are left with you for just a short while,’ suggested Terry. ‘That must be very helpful in time of family crisis.’

  Emily gave him a wary smile. ‘Not often,’ she replied. ‘We become the legal guardians to the children who come to us, as we have to assume complete responsibility for their welfare.’

  ‘Oh, I see. I assume they stay in touch with their extended families, though. You know, aunts, uncles, grandparents?’ He spoke casually, with no not
ebook in his hand, but hearing this question, Emily knew at once what he was after. He’d heard the Sharples woman sounding off downstairs about her granddaughters and he was fishing, fishing for a story.

  She decided to confront him, head-on. ‘I expect you overheard the lady downstairs who’s looking for her granddaughters. That poor woman, she’s a case in point. She’s heard that her estranged daughter has placed her daughters in our care, and she’s been trying to find out where they are. I wish I could help, she’s so distressed, but I could tell her nothing. It would break professional confidentiality. We never reveal details of the children placed in our care.’

  ‘So you do know where her granddaughters are,’ said Terry.

  Emily gave him a practised smile. ‘As I said, Mr Knight, I’m afraid I can tell you no more than I could tell her. We never discuss our children.’

  ‘Not even to say whether they are your children?’

  ‘I’m so sorry, Mr Knight,’ Emily said sweetly and got to her feet. ‘If you’ve finished, I’m afraid that must be all for today.’

  ‘And the lady downstairs,’ persisted Terry. ‘What was her name again?’

  ‘I’m sorry, Mr Knight, I’m afraid I can’t discuss the subject with you any further.’ She rang the bell on her desk. ‘Miss Drake will show you out, gentlemen. I’ll be so interested to read your article in due course.’ She extended her hand and both the reporters shook it before following Miss Drake out of the room.

  When the door had closed behind them she sighed. How infuriating that they’d picked up on Lily Sharples so quickly. Still, she thought, at least they don’t know who she is, so they won’t be able to write anything except in a very general way. Still, she’d better warn Miss Hopkins.

  Lily Sharples plodded away from the Vanstone Enterprises building, emotionally exhausted. She had met her match in Miss Vanstone; that lady hadn’t got where she was without being ruthless. Lily knew that she’d get nothing more from her. Miss Vanstone hadn’t expected her today; from now she’d be surrounded by the protecting ranks of her staff. However, Lily hadn’t given up all hope. There were the others on her list that she intended to visit. The next was Miss Hopkins, the Children’s Officer.

  She probably don’t know they’ve been sent to Australia, Lily reasoned. She’s probably been told that they was adopted, same as me. This thought encouraged her. Perhaps the Children’s Officer would be as outraged as she was. Perhaps Miss Hopkins and the Children’s Committee could make Miss Vanstone say where the girls were.

  Feeling another faint flicker of optimism, Lily slowly walked back to the Main Square, and was soon struggling up the stairs to the second floor of the council offices in search of Miss Hopkins. Once again she was forced to sit in the crowded waiting room.

  ‘I’m sorry, but Miss Hopkins has a full diary this afternoon.’ It was the same pale, pinch-faced woman behind the glass hatch. ‘You can wait if you like,’ she sniffed, ‘but Miss Hopkins won’t finish her list till late, and then she may not agree to see you.’

  ‘I’ll wait,’ said Lily. Sighing, Miss Parker wrote down her name, and said, ‘You’d better take a seat then.’

  Lily sat there for two hours before she heard her name being called through the glass.

  ‘Next appointment hasn’t turned up,’ she was told. ‘You can go in now.’

  Miss Hopkins didn’t get up to greet her new visitor, just gave her a vague smile and waved her to a chair. ‘Now, Mrs Sharples,’ she said when Lily was seated, ‘what can I do for you?’

  She didn’t need to ask. She already knew why Lily was there. She had been expecting her. An earlier meeting had been interrupted by a phone call from Miss Vanstone.

  ‘Mrs Sharples will be coming to see you,’ she’d said. ‘She knows that the Stevens girls have gone to Australia, but she doesn’t know where. Please ensure that it stays that way.’

  ‘Oh, of course, Miss Vanstone. I quite understand. I wouldn’t dream of—’

  ‘The best thing to do would be for you to plead complete ignorance of their whereabouts,’ went on Emily, smoothly. ‘She may well show you a letter from Rita, the older one, you know? But there’s no return address on it, and that’s what she’s after.’

  ‘You can rely on me, Miss Vanstone,’ purred Miss Hopkins. ‘Mum’s the word.’

  ‘Thank you, Miss Hopkins. Good afternoon.’

  ‘Just one other thing, Miss Vanstone,’ the Children’s Officer cried as Miss Vanstone was about to put down the phone.

  ‘Yes,’ had come the abrupt reply.

  ‘I was going to phone you later today. I’ve just heard there’s to be a full inspection of Laurel House in the next couple of weeks.’

  That caught Emily’s attention. ‘When?’ she demanded.

  ‘I don’t know, they’re unannounced spot checks, but I just thought I’d tip you the wink. Good afternoon, Miss Vanstone.’ And this time it was May Hopkins who’d replaced the receiver and cut off the call.

  She turned her attention back to the woman in front of her. ‘You were saying?’

  ‘I’m Lily Sharples, Rita and Rosie Stevens’ grandmother,’ began Lily. ‘I came to ask if you know where they are. They ain’t at Laurel House no more and they ain’t been adopted like I was told.’ She paused to allow the Children’s Officer to speak, but as she said nothing, Lily went on, ‘They’ve been sent to Australia!’

  Still Miss Hopkins said nothing, showing none of the outrage that Lily had hoped for.

  ‘Australia!’ repeated Lily. ‘The other side of the world! Did you know that, miss? No one told? Not even their mother? Did you know that?’

  ‘No,’ replied Miss Hopkins evenly, ‘I didn’t, but I’m not surprised. I seem to remember that their mother signed the children over to EVER-Care. In which case,’ Miss Hopkins held up her hand to silence Lily as she was about to interrupt, ‘in which case, that charitable society is entitled to do whatever it feels is in their best interests. If that means sending them to make a fresh start in a new country, well, so be it.’

  ‘But without even telling my daughter? Without even telling their mother?’

  ‘Certainly,’ said Miss Hopkins. ‘Your daughter gave up her right as their parent when she signed the papers.’

  ‘But that can’t be right!’ protested Lily.

  ‘I’m sorry, but I’m afraid it is,’ Miss Hopkins assured her.

  ‘So you did know they was sent to Australia,’ stated Lily.

  ‘No. Once they’re with EVER-Care, they’re no longer my responsibility.’

  ‘But you’re the Children’s Officer, ain’t you? You’re supposed to look after children.’

  ‘And so I do.’ Miss Hopkins was tired of Mrs Sharples. ‘I looked after the Stevens girls. I removed them from a home where they were not wanted; from the influence of an abusive stepfather and a weak and ineffectual mother who couldn’t stand up for them. I placed them in the care of a reputable children’s home, and my job was done.’ She rose to her feet to indicate that she considered the interview at an end. ‘And now, Mrs Sharples, it is time for my next appointment.’

  ‘But you must know where this place in Australia is,’ said Lily, sitting firmly in her seat. ‘You must know where they’ve been sent.’

  ‘No,’ Miss Hopkins maintained, ‘I do not. Australia is a huge country, and there are many homes like the EVER-Care. If your granddaughters have indeed been sent there, they could be anywhere.’

  ‘Oh, they’ve been sent all right,’ said Lily. ‘I’ve had a letter from Rita…’ She retrieved the letter from her bag and getting to her feet, held it out towards Miss Hopkins.

  ‘Then you know where they are, and that they’re safe and well,’ said Miss Hopkins, ignoring the proffered letter. ‘I’m afraid there’s nothing else I can do for you. Good afternoon!’ She brushed past Lily, opened the door, and called out, ‘Next.’

  Lily walked slowly out of the room, but as the door shut behind her, she looked round the still full waiting room and said, �
��Don’t let that woman take your children off you.’ Heads jerked up as she went on, ‘Don’t let her get her hands on your kids. They don’t look after them for you, they pack them off to Australia, out of the way!’

  ‘Really, Mrs Sharples,’ cried Miss Parker, emerging from her cubbyhole behind the glass, ‘you’ve no right to spread such lies.’

  ‘They ain’t lies,’ snapped Lily bitterly. ‘That woman’s took my granddaughters, and sent them away, thousands of miles. Don’t let her do it to you!’

  ‘Mrs Sharples, you must leave this office at once,’ begged Miss Parker. ‘You must stop saying these dreadful things and go home… or I’ll have to call the police.’

  ‘Yes, why don’t you?’ demanded Lily, but when she saw that the woman was reaching for the phone, she turned towards the door. ‘All right, all right, I’m going,’ she muttered, and then with one last look round the waiting room, she added as the tears began to slide down her cheeks, ‘but I’m telling you the truth. I was in the hospital and couldn’t look after my girls for a week or two, and they sent them to Australia.’

  Lily had planned to go round to Ship Street next, to tell Mavis what she’d discovered, but when she reached the square outside the council offices, she was suddenly so tired she wasn’t even sure she could make it home. Exhaustion overcame her and she almost collapsed onto one of the stone benches in the square. One or two passers-by, seeing her tear-streaked face, looked at her awkwardly and hurried past. After a moment or two, Lily’s pride reasserted itself and ashamed of being seen to weep in the street, she pulled out her handkerchief and wiped her eyes.

  The clock on the town hall struck four. Lily stared up at it in amazement. Could it really be four o’clock in the afternoon? She’d left home soon after nine. No wonder she was tired. She thought again about going to see Mavis, but by the time she got there, Jimmy would be coming home for his tea. No, Lily decided, I’ll go home, and go round Mavis’s first thing in the morning, soon as Jimmy’s gone to work.

  It was well after nine the next morning when Lily left for Ship Street. The day was still chilly but the drizzle of the day before had disappeared and there was a pale winter sun in the pale winter sky. She walked slowly through the comfortably familiar streets, her mind calmer now, despite the dull ache that she’d carried with her ever since she’d received Rita’s letter. She didn’t hurry. Lily wanted to be sure that Jimmy had gone before she arrived; she needed uninterrupted time with Mavis.