by Evie Grace
Despondent, she returned to the ward, to find that Oliver was back from surgery, in a half-cast with a dressing over the wound on his spine, and fast asleep.
‘Dear boy,’ she murmured, checking his toes, which were cold, and covering him with an extra blanket before his mother arrived at visiting time, bringing a small bag of his favourite sweets.
‘He’s too sleepy to eat anything yet,’ Hannah said, guiding her to her son. ‘He’s doing as well as can be expected, though. Why don’t you sit and hold his hand?’
The sight of mother and son together reminded her of Ruby, who had never had the chance of having her ma sit with her when she was ill or upset. Hannah swallowed hard, knowing she had to keep going, no matter how much she wanted to get away from the house to look for her.
In the evening, when she’d checked that Nurse May had cleaned the floors properly, the patients were settled in their beds and the ward was ready for the night staff, Doctor Clifton dropped by.
‘It’s been a long day, but I had to come and see one of my favourite patients before I went home,’ he said. ‘How are you, Oliver? Ah, I see you’re sleeping. I’ll leave instructions for the night staff and they can administer more morphia if necessary, after midnight. The wound is clean?’
Hannah nodded, having checked several times during the day for fly eggs that might turn into maggots, a not uncommon occurrence after surgery.
‘When do you finish, Nurse Bentley?’
She looked up at the clock. ‘In half an hour – I have some paperwork to complete and then I’m done.’
‘I’ll wait for you. I haven’t dined yet. Have you?’
She shook her head.
‘We can dine together.’
‘Oh no, that isn’t necessary. I’m not hungry.’
‘Don’t argue. It’s doctor’s orders.’ He smiled again, and her heart lurched. ‘It’s been a tough day, and I could do with the company.’ Suddenly, his face fell. ‘Oh, your sister. I’m sorry, I forgot. You have to get back to her.’
Hannah’s eyes stung with tears.
‘What is it? You can trust me – you know that by now.’
‘I’m very grateful, but I don’t deserve your consideration in this matter in which I’ve been unwillingly caught up.’
‘You deserve every consideration. You go beyond the call of duty with the patients and staff of this house. You’re an angel – look at the way you’ve helped little Oliver today.’
‘I’m not little,’ Oliver muttered, and despite her tears, Hannah smiled.
‘Somebody is earwigging,’ she said.
‘Then we’ll speak in private over dinner. I’ll be back in half an hour to take you to the dining rooms off Cecil Square.’
‘I’m hardly dressed for the occasion.’
‘In my opinion, you look beautiful whatever you’re wearing,’ he said. ‘I won’t apologise or retract my words because I speak the truth. I’ll see you soon.’
‘I have things to do this evening, though.’
‘The service is prompt and I won’t keep you.’
Hannah gave in, and an hour later, they were ensconced in a private alcove in the dining rooms, ordering eel pie and mash, and hot chocolate.
‘My housekeeper has given up cooking for me – Henry’s moved out now he’s a married man, and I’m rarely at home, so the dinner usually spoils.’ James looked her straight in the eye as they waited to be served. ‘I have an idea that your sister is the cause of your troubles. Is that right?’ He went on, ‘Mrs Merry was grumbling that she’s had to do most of the bathing herself recently. If Ruby’s unwell, I’m happy to make a house call—’
‘I’ve told Alice, and everyone else is bound to know soon enough. Ruby left home without telling me where she was going. I have no idea where she is.’
‘You must be out of your mind with worry.’ He paused, waiting for her to speak. ’You know you can rely on my discretion.’
She gazed back at him, deflated.
‘Where do you think a young girl would go to give birth to her child?’ she said quietly.
A query flashed across his eyes, but to her surprise, no condemnation.
‘There are a few options. Would she have gone to other relatives, or taken lodgings elsewhere and employed a private nurse for her lying in?’
‘She has very little money. Only what she earns as a bathing attendant and what I give her. Unless I get my hands on her wages first, she spends them like water.’
‘I see. You support your sister?’
‘Ruby had this idea that she would marry a man with an income of several thousand pounds a year, but she’s thrown away any chance of that.’
‘May I ask the identity of her lover?’
‘You know of him – Mr Milani.’
‘The b—’ James swore out loud, then quickly apologised. ‘He hypnotises young ladies as well as lions,’ he muttered. ‘I’m not a violent man, but if I ever set eyes on him again, I’ll give him what for. You don’t think she’s gone off with him?’
‘I doubt it. He’s on the run.’
‘Have you spoken to the police?’
‘I’ve given them her details, but all they could say was that they would keep the information on record, in case someone found her and reported back to them. They didn’t take me seriously – they said that young women who’d got themselves into a pickle often went missing. That’s how the constable described it, “in a pickle”.’
‘Does she have friends in Margate?’
‘I don’t know. She can be very secretive, revealing only what she thinks will please me. There’s a possibility that she’s gone to the Allspices’. Mrs Allspice befriended her a while ago.’
‘Then it’s a simple matter to rule that one in or out.’
‘It should have been, but the address the Allspices gave when Alan and his father were admitted here is false.’
‘I should have guessed that was the case,’ James sighed.
‘Of course, she might be out on the street.’ She thought of her sister cold, frightened, hungry and even in labour. ‘Oh my goodness, what if I can’t find her?’
‘We’ll find her,’ he said firmly.
‘Sometimes I think I was too harsh with her, too keen to criticise – a bit like my father was – and she ended up too scared to tell me the truth. I can’t believe I did that. I didn’t look at anything from her point of view. What kind of nurse am I? What kind of sister?’
‘You’re the best kind,’ James said gently. ‘You wouldn’t have spoken your mind if you didn’t care. Now, eat your pie and we’ll make a plan. What is that adage? Two heads are better than one.’
After dinner, they asked around at some of the local inns without success, then knocked on the doors of a few of Margate’s lodging houses.
‘This is hopeless,’ Hannah said eventually.
‘Don’t despair. Tomorrow, I’ll send my man, Dobbs, out – on the quiet, of course – to see what he can find out. In the meantime, you should get some rest. I’ll walk you home.’
She wanted to keep going, but she could hardly put one foot in front of the other and her spirits were drained, so she let him see her back to her lodgings, wondering if she’d ever see Ruby again.
Chapter Twenty
On the Side of the Angels
Mr Mordikai came to the Lettsom to speak to Hannah just before she took her break for lunch the next day.
‘There’s a young man – one of your former patients – asking for you. I asked him to wait in reception.’
‘Thank you.’ She hurried away to find Alan sitting on one of the benches with his arms twisted around his head. He straightened himself out and, apologising for delaying her with his antics, walked across the new Turkish rug to join her. ‘Master Allspice, what are you doing here? Are you well?’
‘I’ve never felt better.’ He was a little taller than she remembered, and his voice gruffer. ‘I need to ’ave a word with you, in private.’
‘My sister?
You have news?’ Her heart beating faster, she guided him outside where they stood in the shadow of one of the giant columns.
‘Pa will kill me if ’e finds out it’s me who grassed, but I owe you a favour. That’s why I’m ’ere – to tell you that Miss Ruby’s at our lodgin’s in Ramsgate.’ He gave the address. ‘I thought you should know, for your peace of mind. She’s bein’ looked after, but if you want to check on her yourself …’
‘I won’t say anything to your father, but I will go to her. Are you going back to Ramsgate now?’
‘That’s my intention.’
‘Please give her a message: that I will meet with her as soon as I can. I have a day off tomorrow.’ She thought for a moment. ‘No, don’t say anything. I don’t want to alarm her.’
‘Understood,’ he said.
‘Allow me to pay you for your trouble.’
‘It isn’t necessary,’ he said, but he let her press a shilling into his hand before he left.
How could Ruby entertain living in the same house as the dreadful Mr Allspice? She went to tell Alice, and then Doctor Clifton who was holding a clinic for the outpatients.
He offered the use of his brougham to cover the six miles to Ramsgate the next day, but she declined, saying she would take the train.
He smiled gently. ‘By tomorrow evening, you’ll have your sister back with you where she belongs.’
‘I hope so,’ she said.
The lodging house was in the middle of the town. It looked rundown, with peeling paint and arched windows of different shapes and sizes, as though the builder hadn’t been able to afford matching ones. Having rung the doorbell, Hannah had to wait until a young girl holding a toddler on her hip opened the door. Both had runny noses and tangled hair.
‘What do you want?’ the girl asked.
‘I’m here to see my sister, Miss Ruby Bentley.’
‘She i’n’t here.’
‘So you do know her?’
The girl nodded. ‘I’m not allowed to say where she is,’ she added fiercely.
Hannah sidled past her, putting her hand across her nostrils to block out the scent of cold cream, musk and cesspool.
‘’Ey, missus, you can’t come in ’ere.’ The child sounded terrified, but Hannah had no choice.
‘Where’s your ma?’ She followed the girl’s anxious gaze, darting nervously to and from an open door with stairs leading down to what she assumed was the cellar. At the sound of voices and a sharp cry of pain, Hannah hurried down the steps into the gloom, with the girl close behind her.
‘I told ’er not to come in, but she didn’t take no notice.’
‘Who is it?’ Hannah heard Mr Allspice bark, as she stepped across a heap of dirty laundry towards the middle of a windowless underground cavern. The walls were black with mould, matching the colour of the mattress on which several of the Allspice offspring were playing, rolling around and scrapping over an old bonnet. ‘Oh, it’s you,’ he went on. ‘’Ow did you find your way ’ere?’
‘I spoke to one of the staff at the Hall by the Sea,’ she lied. ‘They told me your address. I’m looking for my sister.’
‘Oh yes.’ Mr Allspice leaned back in his bath chair and sucked on his pipe. ‘The one who played fast and loose with that murderin’—’
‘You can’t talk,’ she snapped back, the hairs on her neck standing up on end at the sight of him. ‘You are as evil and dissolute as each other. Where is she?’ Hannah moved towards the corner of the room where a pale, wet snout appeared between the slats of a pallet. One of the children tossed a cabbage leaf into the pen and the pig gobbled it up.
A muffled cry came from behind a curtain further along into the bowels of the house.
‘She i’n’t here. I don’t know what gave yer the impression – oi, leave that alone – it’s my property,’ Mr Allspice warned, as Hannah yanked the curtain aside to find her sister lying on a makeshift bed, her face pinched with pain, with Mrs Allspice perched beside her.
‘I don’t want you here. Go away,’ Ruby gasped.
‘You ’eard what she said.’ Mrs Allspice dabbed at Ruby’s forehead with a damp rag.
‘I’m not leaving. She needs a doctor. We must send for a physician straight away.’
‘Oh, she don’t need a quack. The babe’s on its way, that’s all.’
‘How long has she been like this?’ Hannah pushed in and grasped Ruby’s hand – she didn’t protest. ‘Half an hour? An hour?’
‘Since about six last night.’
‘It feels like an awful lot longer,’ Mr Allspice sighed.
‘That’s too long, surely …’ Hannah began to doubt herself. She had never nursed a woman in childbirth.
‘It took over a day and two nights for my first. The others were quicker.’
‘The last one just fell out, didn’t it?’ Mr Allspice said crudely. ‘It isn’t a good sign that it’s takin’ so long. A tiny infant would ’ave been born by now.’
‘Remember that everythin’ is in proportion,’ Mrs Allspice said. ‘If both mother and infant are small, then it’ll take the same time as if both mother and infant are large.’
‘Why, wife, never ’as a truer word been spoken.’ Mr Allspice sounded surprised. ‘Then we must keep the faith – the bottle is ’alf full.’
Ruby cried out again.
‘If you won’t send for a doctor, let me take her to see one,’ Hannah said in desperation, wishing she had James at her side with access to chloroform like Queen Victoria had had for her confinements.
‘It’s too late to move ’er – she isn’t going anywhere until this babe is born,’ Mrs Allspice said. ‘Pull the curtain across. I need to ’ave a look at what’s goin’ on down below. Open your legs, girl.’
This was no time for modesty, Hannah thought, tugging at the curtain to hide her sister’s nakedness from Mr Allspice’s stare.
‘Ah, it’s comin’. I can see the top of the littlun’s ’ead. Ruby, I want you to strain with the next pain. Are you ready?’
‘Listen to Mrs Allspice. Do exactly as she tells you!’ Hannah said.
Ruby’s face contorted as she took a deep breath and strained to get the baby out.
‘It’s almost there. ’Ere are the shoulders …’
Hannah felt her hand being squeezed even tighter …
‘It’s ’ere.’ Mrs Allspice swept the infant into the air – she couldn’t have sounded more delighted than if it had been one of her own. In contrast, Ruby sank back ashen and exhausted, and the child opened its mouth and began to whimper.
‘Well done,’ Hannah whispered, stroking a tress of Ruby’s hair from her cheek.
‘Put it straight to the breast.’ Mrs Allspice dangled the baby and lowered it on to Ruby’s chest.
‘What is it, Mrs Allspice?’ called her husband.
‘It’s a little girl, my dear.’
‘Is she as we expected?’
‘Oh yes. She’s perfectly formed, a babe in miniature.’
‘Excellent. Miss, you have done well, very well,’ Mr Allspice chuckled. ‘Don’t let ’er suck for too long.’
Hannah was grateful for his consideration of her sister’s health, but a little perturbed by the extent of his interest. She supposed he must find life very dull, confined to his bath chair and dependent on help to get him out of the cellar, because there seemed to be no exit apart from the steep steps.
‘Fetch the gin to wet the baby’s ’ead,’ he ordered. ‘And stout for the mother, and sweet tea …’
‘All in good time.’ Mrs Allspice gazed down proudly at the child. Ruby managed a smile, her hand cupping the baby’s head as she nuzzled at her breast.
‘Isn’t she beautiful?’ Hannah could hardly speak. This was her niece, her own flesh and blood, and the sight of her brought out all her protective instincts. ‘As soon as you can get to your feet, we must go.’
Ruby looked at her, astonished. ‘I’m not going anywhere. I don’t want to sit indoors all day on my own while you’re at the
infirmary. Mr and Mrs Allspice have kindly offered to look after us.’
‘Why?’ was Hannah’s reaction. ‘They owe you nothing.’
‘We’re doin’ it out of the kindness of our ’earts,’ Mrs Allspice said, and Hannah stared at her in disbelief.
‘I told you before – Mrs Allspice has been very kind to me since Antonio disappeared,’ Ruby said. ‘I’m delighted to consider her a friend of mine.’
How could she? Hannah wanted to say, but she bit her tongue. How could Ruby lower herself to stay in a cramped and filthy place with a wife beater and the woman whose brother – a criminal, no less – had left her with a child born out of wedlock and with no hope of regaining respectability in the eyes of society?
‘We’re on the side of the angels,’ Mr Allspice went on from the other side of the curtain. ‘Your sister was wronged by one of our own kind – my wife’s brother and a member of our circus family – and, as a gentleman with a conscience, it’s my duty to make up for what ’e done to ’er. Oh, you might think I’m touched … but my ’eart has softened over the years, and I ’ate to see a young lady brought down by misfortune, and an innocent child disadvantaged.’
‘I can’t bear to think of you losing your place on my account, Hannah,’ Ruby said. ‘I know how much it means to you, especially now you’re a sister – although I suspect that Doctor Clifton’s regard means just as much, if not more.’