Erin’s Child

by Erin's Child (retail) (epub)

  Belle’s gaze went to the child in the bed next to the fireplace. Ignoring the three other children who gaped at her she moved across to the bed. ‘I was waiting for the doctor when you called,’ explained the woman, then hastily added that her name was Shaw. ‘She was took poorly in t’night.’

  It was one of the children whom Belle had abducted yesterday. The young woman placed a hand to the glistening forehead. A pair of feverish eyes opened to observe her over the ragged blanket. ‘She’s very hot.’

  ‘Aye, an’ in such pain, too.’ Mrs Shaw handed a cup of tea to Belle – but not to Lol whose class did not demand this courtesy – and the young woman thanked her. ‘Been cryin’ out with it all night. That’s why I had to send for the…’ She was interrupted by a knock at the door and someone inserted his head into the room.

  ‘Mrs Shaw? I’m the doctor.’ He opened the door wider and came in, starting as he came face to face with Belle. ‘Miss Teale!’

  ‘Doctor Dyson.’ Belle did not register her own surprise so openly, as though it was as natural for him to be here as it was for her. She stepped aside for him to approach the bed. He too felt the child’s head, then pulled down the covers to make a fuller examination.

  ‘The boy who came for me told me she’d been crying with the pain, is that correct?’

  Mrs Shaw said it was. ‘Keeps drawing her legs up to her chest, Doctor.’

  The child cried out as Brian placed his palm on the right side of her abdomen, where a slight swelling could be seen through the skin. Even though he was quick to remove his hand she continued to sob for her mammy who came rushing up to comfort her.

  ‘How long has this persisted?’ asked Brian.

  ‘Since late yesterday, Doctor. She’s been sick an’ all. I thought maybe it was ’cause she hadn’t… done her number two, but it seems too bad for that.’

  Brian nodded grimly. ‘I’d like to perform a more detailed examination. May I have some water, please?’ A short time later he was unrolling his sleeves.

  ‘Is it serious, Doctor?’ asked the anxious mother.

  ‘Pretty serious, I’m afraid, Mrs Shaw.’ He rummaged in his bag. ‘I’m going to give her something for the pain.’ A short pause while he did this. ‘Then I’ll have to leave her for a while, as I have more calls to make, but I shall return as soon as I’m able.’

  ‘Should I keep putting the hot water bottles round her, Doctor?’

  ‘By all means… and prop up her shoulders a little; that may make her more comfortable.’ He washed his hands.

  ‘She is going to be all right, isn’t she, Doctor?’ asked a worried Mrs Shaw.

  ‘I shall do my utmost to help her,’ evaded Brian.

  ‘I’m sure you will, Doctor. Would you like a cup of tea now?’

  ‘No, thank you, Mrs Shaw. I’d sooner get on with my rounds.’ He snapped his bag shut and made for the door.

  ‘Just a minute, Doctor,’ called Mrs Shaw, reaching for a pot on the mantel.

  ‘Don’t concern yourself over payment for the moment,’ replied Brian. ‘Just take care of her until I come back – and don’t give her any food, just tiny sips of water if she asks for it.’ He opened the door. Belle, completely taken aback by all this, was poised with empty cup in hands. ‘Are you going my way, Miss Teale? Perhaps I could give you a ride?’

  On another occasion Belle might have spurned such attention but the fact of meeting the young doctor in such insalubrious quarters had snared her interest. Putting an arm around Lol she thanked Mrs Shaw for the tea whilst handing back the cup, and made to leave. ‘And I hope your little girl is soon well again. Would you think it an intrusion if I called to check on her progress tomorrow?’

  ‘That’s kind of you, miss,’ answered the woman. ‘An’ I’m sorry I was so short with you the other day.’

  ‘You were perfectly entided to be,’ forgave Belle. ‘It was stupid of me. I hope the groceries go a little way to salving my wrongdoing.’

  Mrs Shaw replied that they did and thanked her again. The young woman and her charge followed the doctor out.

  Brian made as if to help her into the dogcart but she stood back. ‘Thank you but I have my own carriage waiting up there. I followed you because I’m concerned to know more about the child in there.’ Brian ran a finger down the side of his freckled nose, smiling. ‘And what is your interest, Miss Teale? I must say, I was most surprised – delightedly so – to encounter you in such a district.’

  ‘Your surprise can surely be no greater than my own. I’d expected you to hold your surgery in a much more genteel area.’

  ‘I’m most flattered to hear I’ve been the subject of your mental exercise, Miss Teale,’ he grinned. ‘From our last meeting I would’ve imagined that when we parted I would be completely obliterated from your lovely brain.’

  ‘What can be lovely about a brain?’ responded Belle tiredly.

  ‘Oh, to a medical man it is a wondrous thing. And as for my surgery, it’s just around the corner in Pavement.’

  ‘Then I should imagine the majority of your patients are drawn from the slum areas,’ guessed Belle. ‘The dividends for such a practice must be limited.’

  ‘If by dividends you refer to pecuniary gains then you’re absolutely right,’ conceded Brian. ‘But I prefer to measure success in terms of effect rather than profit. Money was not a prime consideration when I decided to join the medical profession. My main interest is the welfare of my fellows and especially the sections of the community of which my colleagues seem sadly neglectful. That in itself I find strange. Supplied with the knowledge that it’s from districts such as this that epidemics are spread, one would think the entire medical profession of York would centre its skills here, if only out of self-interest. With improved sanitary facilities there wouldn’t be half the disease there is. And this isn’t the worst street I’ve seen, by a long chalk. I persuaded a colleague of mine to show me round the other slum areas. My God, I’ve never witnessed anything like it. Some of those yards down Walmgate defy description.’

  ‘I don’t need a description, I’ve already seen them,’ murmured Belle.

  ‘You have?’ frowned Brian. ‘Forgive me for finding that so unlikely but it’s extremely difficult to visualise a young lady of your standing in such circumstances.’

  ‘It was my mother’s idea, Doctor,’ answered Belle with a smidgeon of defiance. ‘She took me there in order to cure my holier-than-thou attitude.’

  ‘Yet it didn’t have the desired effect, I fear,’ teased Brian. She bridled at first, then gave a dry laugh. ‘If I’ve been unduly rude in the past I didn’t intend to be.’

  Brian smiled. ‘Miss Teale, I deal with much ruder people than yourself. I recognise the symptoms of inclemency.’

  She was immediately on her guard once more. ‘Oh? Pray give me your diagnosis, Doctor.’

  His expresssion was soft with understanding. ‘I think, Miss Teale, that you have suffered much in the past due to your unfortunate spinal disability and have developed this aura of loftiness as a means of protection. It forbids people from making approaches to you.’

  ‘Really? How very perspicacious of you. What a pity this aura of mine does not deter interfering medical men. Perhaps you could give me the information that I originally requested so that Lol and I may be on our way.’

  Brian cursed himself for not recognising the depth of her sensitivity. ‘I meant no insult. Only to sympathise.’

  ‘The child, Doctor Dyson,’ said Belle. ‘Well, you certainly didn’t imagine that I stood to listen to your gossip purely from enjoyment?’

  ‘Ah yes, the child,’ sighed Brian, climbing into the small carriage.

  ‘Well?’ snapped Belle.

  ‘She’ll die,’ said Brian bluntly.

  Belle was shocked. ‘If it’s a question of money…’

  ‘Why do you people have to bring everything down to the level of money?’ rejoined the doctor testily, then calmed himself. ‘I apologise… It’s not you who angers me bu
t the fact that there’s a child in there who needs my help and all I can do is stuff her full of morphine.’

  ‘You really mean she’s going to die?’ gasped Belle. ‘But you told her mother…’

  ‘What did I tell her?’ he demanded. ‘I said I’d do all I could to help her, which in effect is nothing.’

  ‘But aren’t you even going to send her to hospital?’

  ‘What’s the point? If she’s going to die it might as well be at home.’

  ‘But you must!’

  ‘Dammit, the child has appendicitis! No surgeon I know would be willing to touch her. There’s poison in her gut and no way to syphon it. She’s going to die and I can’t do a bloody thing about it.’ He turned his anguished face from her, whipped the horse savagely and the dogcart jerked away, leaving a dumbfounded Belle on the pavement. Mother of God! She had taken that child yesterday and crammed its shrunken belly full of rich food, stuffed it to bursting point. What effect must that have had on a stomach that only ever saw gruel or bread?

  ‘Where we off now?’ She looked at Lol vaguely. ‘Yer said yer wanted me to help yer find more kids like me.’

  She only half-emerged from her stupor. ‘I don’t think we’ll bother today, Lol.’

  He squinted up at her. ‘What’s up? Yer’ve gone all pale.’

  ‘I don’t feel very well at all.’ She reached out to him and he supported her.

  ‘Soft article! Yer should’ve got a ride wi’ the doc ’stead of havin’ to find that John.’

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ said Belle, then stopped to face him. ‘Oh, Lol, you heard what the doctor said: she’s got something wrong with her stomach and she’s going to die.’ At his incomprehension she said loudly, ‘Don’t you see? It’s all that food she ate yesterday. It’s damaged her insides.’

  Lol scoffed. ‘Don’t be daft. It didn’t do owt to me, did it? An’ I trenched like a good’n.’

  ‘Yes, but she’s much smaller than you, Lol. Only a baby. Oh, what have I done?’ They began to walk again, Belle worrying at her lip with shaking fingers. ‘I’ve told Mrs Shaw I’ll call tomorrow. How can I stand there looking at the child knowing it was me who caused her suffering?’

  ‘She’ll be all right,’ replied the boy unconcernedly. ‘Away, let’s go ’ome an’ get Mrs H. to serve us a plate of her cakes. I’m starvin’.’

  * * *

  Belle told no one else of her fears – not even her grandfather – it was too horrible. There she’d been, accusing them of neglecting their children, thinking that she was much more qualified to care for their needs, and how had she shown that proficiency? She had abducted those unfortunate children from their homes, filled one of them so full of food that its insides had burst, then taken it back to its mother who must now watch it die.

  Lol grew impatient at her prolonged attack of guilt and sneaked off to play a practical joke on the maid. By the evening Belle’s worry had expanded and, unassuaged by fitful sleep, the morning saw it achieve unbearable dimensions. Though she had no desire for breakfast she was forced to show herself at the table.

  No one commented on her poor appetite, attributing it to the rift that had set in between her and Erin. After drinking half a cup of tea Belle could wait no longer for Lol to satiate his appetite and rose with the excuse that she would go and prepare his lessons for that day and he could join her when he had finished doing his impersonation of a pig.

  ‘I’ve got me jobs to do first,’ said Lol, munching. He had been designated a number of small tasks around the house such as cleaning the brass letter plate and bringing in the coal.

  ‘That’s fine,’ replied Belle. ‘Come when you’ve finished, then.’ It would give her a chance to do what she must.

  Instead of going to the schoolroom she went through the hall, picking up a cape on the way, and set off towards Hungate. It took great courage to set her knuckles at that door, but she must know one way or the other.

  Her knock was answered by one of the children. ‘Is your mother at home?’ she asked. The child nodded. ‘May I come in?’ The child nodded again and stepped aside.

  When she stepped into the room it was to face a dishevelled Brian who was in the motion of unrolling his shirtsleeves. He gave her barely a glance. His crumpled clothes, untidy hair and circles of fatigue beneath his eyes signified that he had been here all night. Her automatic glance was for the bed by the fireplace. The blankets had been pulled over the child’s face. Mrs Shaw, stricken with grief, rocked to and fro at the bedside. Brian finished straightening his hair and came towards Belle, speechlessly drawing her aside. But the girl resisted, unable to tear her eyes from the bed. He continued to press her to the door. ‘There’s nothing you can do here, Miss Teale’.

  Wordlessly, Belle allowed herself to be led outside. Even on the pavement she found it hard to voice her distress. Finally she managed to force out the word, ‘When?’

  Wincing, Brian reached up to grasp the knotted muscles in his shoulder, kneading them. ‘Fifteen minutes ago.’ Glancing round he saw there was no carriage. ‘Can I get you a cab?’

  She shook her head dazedly. ‘I only live at Peasholme Green… next to The Black Swan.’ She had divulged what he had omitted to ask her yesterday. Somehow he would find the excuse to visit her. Despite his own weariness he noticed the whiteness of her face and wondered out loud at her involvement with this family.

  ‘The day before yesterday,’ she revealed mechanically, ‘I came to this street, loaded half a dozen children – including that one in there – into my carriage and took them back to the house for what I vainly considered to be a treat.’ He frowned, his mind dulled by the night’s exactment. ‘I gave them carte blanche in the larder, Doctor Dyson; let them eat whatever took their fancy.’

  ‘Of all the…!’ Brian reared in anger. ‘Do you realise what you’ve done?’

  ‘Yes, I…’

  ‘I’ve been forced to sit by that young child’s bed watching that racked little face go through its death agony, and all because of your stupidity!’

  ‘I only thought to inject a little happiness into her dreary life,’ came Belle’s weak protest.

  ‘Did you indeed? Are you certain it was her welfare you had at heart, or was it merely an exercise in self-indulgence? God, the times I’ve seen it happen! You’d be amazed at the amount of people there are like you, Miss Teale. Oh, you surely didn’t think you were unique? Oh no! There’s an abundance of little rich girls like you playing at Lady Bountiful, wealthy housewives bored with their circle of friends so they seek out new toys and call it their charity work. Well frankly, Miss Teale, your sort makes me sick! I just hope you think your spree was worth the death of a child.’

  With this he strode away up the street.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  When Patrick arrived home from his work on the evening of the same day Mrs Howgego sought his attention. He perched on one of the kitchen stools to remove his soil-encrusted boots; it was a habit born of old custom. Before the advent of servants Thomasin would never countenance the use of the front entrance in muddy footwear. Rosanna and he always parted company at the gate.

  ‘Well now, Mrs Howgego, an’ what can we be doing for you? Jaze, that’s better.’ He brought one of his feet to rest on a knee while he massaged his toes.

  ‘It’s Miss Belle, sir,’ said Cook. ‘We’ve not seen her all day… well, I wouldn’t normally think there was anything odd about that but young Lol here says she’s shut herself in her room an’ won’t come out.’

  Patrick turned his attention to the boy who was trying to comfort his insatiable appetite with a lump of sponge cake. ‘What’s all this, Lol?’

  Lol champed as he spoke. ‘I went up for me lessons this mornin’ an’ she weren’t there. So I came down to ’elp Cook.’

  ‘To see if there was owt he could scoff, he means,’ pronounced Mrs Howgego, adding salt to a saucepan on the stove.

  ‘Anyroad,’ Lol continued, ‘when I got chucked out o’t’kitchen I went ba
ck to t’schoolroom an’ she still weren’t there so I tapped on her bedroom door.’ Patrick asked if she was in there. ‘Aye, but she didn’t come out. Just shouted that she weren’t feelin’ too good an’ lessons were cancelled for today an’ for me to find summat useful to do.’

  ‘So he came down here to fill his belly again,’ snorted Cook. ‘Well, when he told me Miss Belle was poorly I sent Helen – oh, that’s another thing! She wants to hand her notice in… anyway I’ll see the mistress about that. I sent Helen up to see if she wanted a tray but Miss Belle sent her away. She’s been up there all day.’

  ‘Have ye told Mrs Teale?’ asked Patrick.

  ‘She’s not in yet, sir. You’re the first to know.’ Not that there’d be much point in telling her, thought Cook, who was aware of how things lay between mother and daughter.

  ‘Very well, I’ll go and see what I can do. Thanks for telling me, Mrs Howgego. Pass us me slippers will ye, Lol?’ Lol jumped from his stool and transferred the slippers that sat on the hearth to the old man’s hand. ‘Thank ye, boyo.’ Patrick slipped his feet into them, then went to find out what was amiss upstairs.

  Midway up the staircase he met with Rosanna who was in the act of flouncing down. ‘Oh, good, Gramps. Look, can you do anything about Belle? She’s locked herself in and I’d like to get into our room if it’s possible. Honestly, I can’t see why I should still have to share with her when we’re hardly children any more.’

  ‘First things first,’ replied Patrick, breathing heavily as he took the rest of the stairs. ‘You go down an’ wait in the drawing room. I’ll get no sense out of her if you’re leppin’ about on the landing.’ If it isn’t one it’s the other, he thought as Rosanna descended. He reached Belle’s room and tapped at the door, calling her name softly. There was no response and he was prepared to knock again when the door slowly opened a fraction. Speechlessly she let him in and wandered over to stand by the window, staring out.

  ‘Cook said ye’d been up here all day,’ Pat told her. ‘She omitted to mention ye’d joined a silent order.’ She flashed a brief look of apology, then went back to staring from the window. ‘Well?’ She looked at him again. ‘Are ye going to volunteer the information or do I have to resort to torture?’