by Dilly Court
‘They’ll be so delighted to have their ma home they won’t even notice,’ Mrs Bee said firmly. ‘Is that right, Miss Marshall?’
‘Yes, indeed.’ Daisy gave Hilda an encouraging smile. ‘They love you no matter what.’
‘Put the kettle on, Dove.’ Mrs Bee reached for a knife and began slicing a loaf still warm from the oven. ‘Now then, Hilda. We must build you up.’ She buttered the bread and finished it off with a large dollop of plum jam.
Daisy could see that Mrs Bee had everything under control and she knew that Hilda was in good hands. Despite Dove’s assurances that her aunt and uncle had escaped the dreaded disease, Daisy wanted to check on them for herself, and it was just possible that she might cross paths with Nick. Work and study had kept them apart even after his apology, and the bunch of violets on Hilda’s bedside locker had long since died, but Daisy had kept several of the flowers pressed between the pages of one of her weightier textbooks.
‘I’m leaving for a while, Hilda,’ Daisy said, backing towards the doorway. ‘But I’ll come back later to see how you’re getting on.’
‘Will you be sleeping at Creek Cottage, miss?’ Mrs Bee turned to her with a smile. ‘I can always make up a bed for you here.’
‘Thank you, but I’ll stay with my aunt and uncle tonight.’ Daisy left before Mrs Bee had a chance to question her further. She really had no idea how long she might spend in Little Creek, although she was prepared to assist Nick in any way possible if he needed her help, but that would be up to him.
She set off through the wood, heading for Creek Cottage, and yet again she found herself wondering at the beauty of nature. The summer foliage was fresh and green and the damp earth smelled rich and plummy, like the best fruitcake. The air was fresh and balmy compared to the city stench she had left behind, and it seemed impossible to imagine that there could be some deadly disease lurking in the bubbling waters of the creek. Even so, as she walked along the river-bank, she could see traces of effluent muddying the water, and unhealthy flotsam. Dr John Snow had traced the Soho cholera epidemic of 1854 to a pump in Broad Street, and she wondered what he would make of the polluted creek. She made up her mind to ask Nick for his opinion, although it seemed unlikely that he would have ignored the state of the water that was used for every purpose in the village.
She grew more and more anxious as she neared Creek Cottage and she quickened her pace to a run. Cholera could strike quickly and when there was no immediate sign of life she convinced herself to expect the worst. Her frantic knocking on the door was answered by a healthy-looking Linnet, who beamed at her in delight.
‘Mrs Marshall will be so pleased to see you, and Jack will come home after school. He’s been staying here because Pa is sick.’
‘Yes, I heard,’ Daisy said breathlessly. ‘I’ve just come from Creek Hall, and Dove told me that your father has been taken ill. How is he?’
‘I don’t know. I haven’t been there today. Ma told me to keep away in case I caught the sickness. She said you can get it from the bad air.’
‘I don’t think that’s so, but I’ll call in later, if you like.’
‘Yes, please, miss. I heard that the doctor is back so I hope he’ll have been to see Pa, although I doubt if they can afford to pay him.’
‘I don’t think that would make any difference. Dr Neville is more concerned for his patients than he is with making a fortune.’
‘Daisy? Is that you?’ Eleanora emerged from the parlour. ‘I thought I heard your voice.’ She bustled towards Daisy, enveloping her in a hug. ‘You shouldn’t have come, dear. There’s sickness in the village.’
‘I know, Aunt, that’s why I’m here. I wanted to make sure that you and Uncle Sidney are all right.’
Eleanora looked past Daisy, frowning. ‘You didn’t bring any luggage, dear. Does that mean you’re not stopping?’
‘I had to go to Creek Hall first and I left my valise there. It was too heavy to carry so Billy is going to drop it off for me.’
‘So you’ll be staying for a while – how lovely. Linnet will bring us tea.’ Eleanora hustled Daisy into the parlour. ‘I think about you all the time. I wonder how you’re getting along and I envy you being back in London. At least I do sometimes, until I remember what it was like in the hot weather and the dreadful smells, and the peasoupers in the winter.’ Eleanora took her usual seat by the fireplace, only now there was a vase of flowers on the hearth instead of a coal scuttle.
Daisy stifled a sigh of relief. Everything seemed reassuringly normal. ‘London is the same as ever, Aunt.’
‘Yes, I suppose so, but what brings you home so unexpectedly?’
‘You’ll remember that I told you about the poor woman who was so badly injured in the street, and I brought her children to Creek Hall? Anyway, Mrs Begg has been discharged from hospital after having part of her leg amputated, and she wanted to be near her children. I left her with Dove and Mrs Bee to fuss over her. Also I was worried about you and Uncle Sidney. I wanted to make sure you are both well.’
‘As you can see, I’m perfectly fine and so is your uncle, although I do wish he’d keep away from that Lemuel Fox. He visits the cottage every day and I’m afraid he’ll catch the disease.’
‘I’m sure that Dr Neville wouldn’t allow it if he thought there was any risk involved.’
‘I certainly hope so. Anyway, how long are you staying, dear? I do hope you aren’t travelling back tomorrow.’
‘I have three days off, thanks to Sister Tutor, but if things are really bad here I might stay on and help Dr Neville.’
‘Linnet told me that he’d returned in order to treat the sick. He’s such a good man. You could do worse, Daisy. Although I still think you might have given the squire more of a chance. He can’t be all bad, especially if he’s taken a fancy to you. I mean a good wife might have a positive influence on the man.’
Daisy shook her head. ‘If I have anything to say to the squire it will be to tell him what I think of a landlord who allows his tenants to live in squalor. The outbreak of cholera could be laid directly at his feet.’
‘I don’t know about that, dear.’ Eleanora looked up and beamed at Linnet, who arrived with a laden tea tray. ‘Hattie must have known you were coming, Daisy. I think that’s your favourite cake.’
Having listened to her aunt’s detailed account of everything that had happened in the village since her previous visit Daisy managed to get away at last, and she set off to check on Lemuel Fox. Not that she liked the man, but his daughters were loyal to him and Daisy felt sorry for Mary, who had suffered first at the hands of the squire, and then years of bullying from the man who was supposed to love and care for her. But first, and even more importantly, Daisy went to the carpenter’s workshop, which was a lean-to attached to his cottage. The sound of sawing and hammering led her straight to his door and the smell of sawdust and wood chips filled the air. The door was open and Fred Shipway was finishing off a pine coffin.
He looked up. ‘You’re that Marshall girl from London, ain’t you?’
‘Yes, Mr Shipway.’
‘Thought so.’ He nodded and went back to sanding off the rough edges. ‘Can’t take too much time over this one,’ he added. ‘Got several more to make.’
‘Has the cholera taken many?’ Daisy asked anxiously.
He grinned. ‘Good for business, you might say – if the families was able to pay the going rate. As it is I’m barely making anything on each one.’
Daisy did not know how to respond to this. Making a profit from the misery of others seemed wrong, but the carpenter had to live and feed his family, and if she remembered rightly his son Danny was one of Jack’s young friends.
‘Yes, it’s a very difficult time for everyone,’ she said tactfully.
He gave her a calculating look. ‘Have you come here to watch me work?’
‘No. I’m sorry, I should have said at the outset, but I can see that you’re very busy.’
‘If it ain’t a coffin you�
��re after, then what is it?’
‘I was wondering if you could help a lady who was crippled by an accident earlier this year.’
‘What was you thinking of, miss? I don’t make Bath chairs.’
‘The lady has had part of her right leg amputated, Mr Shipway. I was wondering if you could fashion a peg leg, which would enable her to become more mobile?’
Fred straightened up, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. ‘Well now, I’ve been asked to make some strange objects, but never a peg leg.’
‘Is it possible?’
‘I suppose so, but I’d have to see the lady first and take a look at her injured limb.’
‘Mrs Begg is staying at Creek Hall for the time being. Maybe you could visit her when you have a moment.’
A suspicious frown deepened the furrows on his brow. ‘It ain’t a charity case, is it?’
Daisy opened her reticule and took out the pouch that Mrs Carrington had thrown at her. She had earmarked the money for the sole purpose of helping Hilda and her children, and she took out a half-crown. ‘This is a deposit, Mr Shipway.’
‘Accepted, Miss Marshall. I’ll pay the lady a visit first thing in the morning, but I can’t promise to be quick with the work. Folk are dropping like flies from the sickness and I can barely keep up with orders as it is.’
‘There’s no hurry.’ Daisy dropped the coin into his outstretched hand. ‘Her wound needs to heal, but the hope of being able to move reasonably freely in the future will surely help her to recover more quickly.’
‘You’d need to ask the doctor about that, miss. He called in less than half an hour ago to tell me that there was another coffin needed.’
‘Do you know where he went?’
‘He said something about visiting Lemuel Fox, but I told him not to bother. That family is cursed.’
‘Why do you say that?’ Daisy demanded angrily.
‘She brought the wrath of the squire down on the village. If he gets his way Little Creek will be a ghost village.’
Daisy had no answer for this. It seemed that Mary was still suffering from the squire’s abuse, and the misfortunes that had befallen her family were considered in some way to be a punishment for her wickedness, when in fact she was the innocent victim.
‘I have to go now, Mr Shipway.’ Daisy managed to keep an outward display of calm, but as she left the workshop she was inwardly fuming. Squire Tattersall had caused so much misery in his lifetime, and it was possible that the outbreak of cholera could also be laid at the door of the neglectful landlord. Spurred on by anger she set off to find Nick.
She arrived at the Fox family’s cottage just as Nick was about to leave. He looked tired and drawn and he blinked dazedly as he stepped out into the sunlight.
‘Daisy. What are you doing here?’
‘I brought Hilda to be with her children. I hope you don’t mind, because she had nowhere else to go.’
He shook his head. ‘No, of course not. There’s plenty of room at Creek Hall, but you should have stayed in London. Didn’t you know there is an outbreak of cholera in this area?’
‘Yes, I knew, and that’s another reason for coming. I wanted to make sure that my aunt and uncle were all right, and I thought you might need some help. I know I’m not fully qualified but I’ve learned a lot in the last few months, at least enough to be of some assistance, if only in making beds and general hygiene.’
‘I know I’m tired – I’ve been up all night – but are you telling me that you’ve given up your place at the hospital?’
‘Not exactly. Well, it depends on you, Nick. Have you anyone else to help you?’
‘No. It’s true I’m single-handedly trying to stem a possible epidemic, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up everything you’ve worked towards.’
‘We’ll argue about this later, but you look as though you need to go home and have a rest.’
‘I can’t, not yet.’ Nick lowered his voice. ‘Lemuel is fading fast, Daisy. There’s nothing more I can do for him.’
‘Is Mary all right?’
‘She shows no sign of the disease, at least not yet. She’s a strong woman.’
‘What about the girls and Jack? Shouldn’t they be allowed to come and say goodbye to their father? Or at least be given the choice.’
‘Mary doesn’t want to risk them catching the sickness, even though I told her it’s unlikely. Although to be honest, by the time they get here it may be too late.’
‘Have you any other patients to see?’
‘Not yet, but that could change.’
‘Then go home, Nick. I can’t tell you what to do but I think Dove deserves to know that her father is dying. She’s a grown woman and she can make up her own mind.’
He nodded dully. ‘I expect you’re right.’
‘And you are dead on your feet, Doctor. As your senior nurse I insist that you get some food and rest. I’ll stay with Mary.’
‘Doctor! Thank God you’re still here.’ Mary Fox appeared in the doorway, white-faced and trembling. ‘Come quickly.’
Chapter Twenty
Lemuel’s death had come as a shock to his family. He had been a strong man, used to working outdoors and seemingly indestructible. The disease had overtaken and overwhelmed him with terrifying suddenness, and Daisy knew that her uncle would miss his fishing companion. Although the two men had been quite different in character they had become good friends. Mary was obviously shaken by her husband’s unexpected demise, but Daisy could not help wondering whether it had come as a blessed release from an unhappy marriage. But now there were the girls to consider and Jack. How Jay would feel was another matter. Daisy broke the news to Linnet and Jack, leaving Nick to tell Dove when he returned home to snatch a meal and a brief rest. Linnet was visibly upset, but she put her own feelings aside to comfort her younger brother.
It had been a long and exhausting day, and late that evening Daisy was alone in the parlour, studying one of the nursing textbooks she had brought with her. She was disturbed by someone tapping on the door and she dragged herself away from the chapter on ward hygiene. ‘Come in.’
‘Might I have a word with you, miss?’ Linnet stood in the doorway, a pale shadow of her usual cheerful self.
Daisy put her book down. ‘Of course. Come in and sit down. You look exhausted.’
‘I’ve just been to our cottage. I wanted to make sure that Ma was all right.’
‘She’s a brave woman.’
‘Yes, she is, but she’s worried about Jack. I told her that he was taking Pa’s death as well as could be expected but she wants him to come home.’
‘I can understand that, but is the cottage a safe place for him to be? I heard that the outbreak started with overflowing effluent from the shared privies in that area.’
‘I don’t know about that, miss. I haven’t got any medical knowledge. Not like you.’
‘I’ll go and see your mother, if it would help, but I think Jack should stay here until the danger is past.’
‘I agree.’ Linnet stared down at her tightly clasped hands. ‘Ma wants to see Jay, but after the last set-to with our dad, Jay swore he’d never cross the threshold again.’
‘He isn’t in trouble with the law now, is he?’
‘No. At least, I don’t think so. He might have been a bit wild as a youth, but he was never guilty of serious crime. The squire sent him to prison supposedly as a warning to others, but if you believe that you’ll believe anything.’
‘I find it hard to understand how that man could treat his own flesh and blood in such a way.’ Daisy shot an anxious glance in Linnet’s direction. ‘I hope I haven’t said the wrong thing.’
‘Ma told me what happened to her when she was a young girl in the squire’s service, but I don’t know why that man is set on ruining our family. You’d think he’d done enough damage already, and if anything he’d want to make amends.’
‘I agree, but the only person who could answer that is the squire hi
mself,’ Daisy said slowly. ‘But perhaps Jay will come home when he finds out that his mother needs him.’
‘I’ll ask the local fishermen if they know where he might be found, and I’ll try to get a message to him.’
‘I think that’s the best thing to do.’
‘Is there anything I can get for you, miss? I was going to turn in early, if you don’t need me again.’
‘You go and get some rest, Linnet. I’ll be going to bed soon anyway. It’s been a very tiring day, and I’ve a feeling tomorrow is going to be even busier.’
Linnet hesitated in the doorway. ‘You’re not going to leave us again, are you, miss?’
‘Not while this disease is rife. Dr Neville can’t do it all on his own.’ Daisy settled down to write a letter to Minnie, explaining that she was going to remain in Little Creek until the cholera outbreak was over. She penned another more formal letter to Nurse Johnson, explaining her situation and then another, much briefer note to Toby, asking him to pay her half of the rent on Minnie’s room until such time as she was able to return to London. She left the correspondence on the salver in the hall with the money for postage. That done she went to bed, her conscience appeased.
Next day there were more cases and the most notable were Charity and Patience Harker, the daughters of Colonel Harker from Four Winds, a large property on the edge of the village. The colonel and his lady were stationed in Poona, although expected home very soon, but Mrs Jones, their housekeeper, was apparently distraught. She sent a message with the coachman, begging Nick to visit the sick girls.
Seated beside Nick in the trap, Daisy accompanied him to the Harkers’ imposing house on the headland. The interior was even more impressive than the exterior, and Daisy looked around in awe at the elegant furnishings and priceless antiques as she followed Nick and the housekeeper upstairs to the sickroom. Nick examined each of the girls in turn, but even to Daisy’s eyes it was obvious that they were very ill.
‘What will we do?’ Mrs Jones wept openly. ‘If anything happens to the young ladies I’ll be held responsible.’
‘They ought to be in an isolation hospital, but the nearest is St Mary’s in Colchester,’ Nick said thoughtfully. ‘I think the journey might be too much for the young ladies.’