A Mother's Courage (35 page)

Maria turned to Eloise. 'It won't, will it, Ellie?
Tell him I may come again.'

'I wouldn't dream of telling Mr Caine anything,'
Eloise said, smiling. 'But I'm sure that
Phoebe and I would be very pleased to have
Maria's help. Wouldn't we, Phoebe?'

Phoebe blushed scarlet and bobbed a curtsey.
'I'd be honoured, sir.'

'I can see that I'm outnumbered,' Caine said
with a reluctant smile. His eyes flickered to
Eloise and then he looked away. 'Come along,
Maria. It's getting late.'

'Phew!' Phoebe said, breathing a sigh of relief
as they left the room. 'I thought we was going to
be for it then.'

Eloise said nothing. She had seen another side
of Governor Caine that day and it had left her
feeling confused and even a little sorry for him.
He obviously cared deeply for his daughter, but
he neither knew how to show his affection for
her nor how to handle a small, wilful girl.

'Tell you what, Ellen,' Phoebe said, fanning
herself with her hand. 'I could do with a break.
Will you stay and get the nippers ready for bed
while I take the dirty crockery back to the kitchen
and get meself a cup of tea?'

'Yes, I'll be glad to,' Eloise said, jumping at the
chance of a few minutes alone with Joss and
Beth.

'You're a glutton for punishment, that's all I
can say.' Phoebe picked up the tray and Eloise
ran to open the door for her.

Having had time to play with her children, and
having taken care to include the other toddlers in
their game, Eloise wiped their sticky hands and
faces and began changing the infants into their
nightgowns. She was just laying Beth in her cot
when the door opened and Miss Marchant
strode into the room. 'So, you're here, Monk. I
was told that you would be.'

Eloise straightened up. 'It's my afternoon off,
Matron. I was helping Phoebe.'

'You were seen in the gardens earlier. I saw
you talking with Mr Caine and you brought little
Maria into the hospital without my permission.'

'I – I'm sorry, Matron. Mr Caine agreed to it
and I thought . . .'

'That's just it, Monk. You did not think at all.
The reason we keep these new additions isolated
here in the nursery is for the protection of all the
children in the hospital. You might have exposed
little Maria Caine to any one of a number of fatal
childhood diseases.'

'But Mr Caine . . .'

Miss Marchant drew her neck back and her
green eyes glittered with malice. 'You will not
advance yourself by sucking up to Mr Caine. He
might have singled you out for special notice, but
don't think that makes you important in my
eyes, Monk.'

'I have not gone out of my way to be noticed,
Matron. If Mr Caine has shown me any kindness,
it is just his way.'

'You presume to know your employer better
than I do? You are impertinent, Monk. You put
on airs above your station and I will not stand
for it.'

'If the governor speaks to me I can hardly
ignore him,' Eloise protested, stung by the
unfairness of Miss Marchant's accusations. She
had not gone out of her way to be noticed, and
she had taken pity on Maria simply because she
was a motherless child.

With an angry hiss, Miss Marchant raised her
hand and struck Eloise on the face, causing her
neck to snap backwards with the force of the
blow. 'One more word out of you and you can
pack your bags and leave this establishment. I
won't have you speaking to me as if you were an
equal, and I will not stand by and watch you
making sheep's eyes at the governor.'

Joss had witnessed the slap, and that, together
with the sound of raised voices, made him utter
a loud howl of fright, and the rest of the children
began to snivel in sympathy. Miss Marchant
covered her ears with her hands and slammed
out of the nursery. It took Eloise some time to
calm them all and despite her sore face she
managed to sing lullaby after lullaby until each
one of them succumbed to sleep. It was dark outside
and as she lit the night lights she wondered
what had kept Phoebe so long, or perhaps she
had simply taken the opportunity to finish early
that evening, and who could blame her? With
one last check on the sleeping infants, Eloise
leaned over the cot rails to kiss Beth and Joss, and
then she crept out of the nursery, closing the
door softly behind her.

The corridor was unlit and the long shadows
seemed to shift about, creating eerie pools of
darkness as Eloise made her way towards the
staircase. A door that had not been secured
properly swung on its hinges in the draught and
the sound of it closing made her jump. She was
not normally nervous of the dark, or of walking
the deserted corridors alone at night, and she
could only think that Miss Marchant's tirade and
physical assault must have upset her more than
she had thought possible. It might have been
some primitive instinct that warned her of
danger or perhaps a slight movement in the
shadows, but as Eloise was about to pass the
sluice, she realised too late that someone was
lurking in the doorway. A figure leapt out at her,
grabbing her by the arms and pinning them
behind her back with a triumphant cackle of
laughter. Eloise could smell the sour stench of a
woman's unwashed body and she fought to free
herself, but her attacker had the advantage over
her, and no matter how hard she struggled Eloise
could not prevent herself from being dragged
bodily into the sluice. 'Who are you?' she gasped,
wincing with pain as the pressure on her arms
increased. 'Let me go.'

'We got our orders and it'll be a pleasure to
take you down a peg or two, missis. I got her,
Maud. Come and do your stuff.'

Eloise recognised the voice – it was Flo, one of
the charwomen who had taken against her from
the start. 'I don't understand. Why are you doing
this to me?'

'Shut up, you.' Maud emerged from the back of
the room brandishing a pair of scissors. The
silver blades flashed in a shaft of moonlight as
she advanced on Eloise, eyeing her with contempt.
'You took work from us, you stuck-up
bitch, and you've upset the matron good and
proper this time.'

'Get on with it, Maudie. She's kicking me shins
to bits.'

'Hold her tight, Flo. Let's see if the governor
fancies her without them long tresses she's so
proud of. Don't struggle, missis, or you'll be
saying hello to the sharp points of these here
scissors, and it would be a shame to spoil that
pretty face with an ugly scar.'

Eloise lashed out with her feet but Flo was surprisingly
strong, and with each movement she
tightened her grip, twisting Eloise's arms until
she felt that her bones would snap. Maud
reached out to grab a lock of her hair but as Eloise
jerked her head sideways in an attempt to avoid
the snapping blades, one of them gashed her
cheek and she yelped with pain.

'You bloody fool, Monk,' Maud shouted. 'That
was your fault. Keep still or I'll lop your ear off
this time.'

More furious than frightened, Eloise dug her
heels into the ground and with a mighty effort
she pushed backwards, catching Flo off guard so
that she stumbled against the door with a
resounding thud. Momentarily shocked by the
force of colliding with solid wood, Flo loosened
her grip and Eloise pulled free. She clapped her
hand to her cheek and felt warm, sticky blood
trickling through her fingers. She was desperate
to escape from the sluice, but Flo was barring her
way and Maud was preparing for another strike.
Just when it seemed that there was no way out,
someone rattled the doorknob. 'What's going on
in there?'

'Phoebe!' Eloise recognised her voice with a
sob of relief. 'Help me.'

'Let me in,' Phoebe cried, pounding on the
door. 'Open up or I'll fetch Matron.'

Flo shuffled away from the door, muttering
beneath her breath, and Phoebe burst into the
room. She stopped, staring aghast at Eloise.
'What the bleeding hell has been going on in
here?'

'Mind your own business,' Maud said, pushing
past her. 'Get out of me way or I'll spoil your
face too.'

'You did this to her, you vicious bitch. I know
where you live, Maud Riley, and you too, Flo
Brown. Lay a finger on me and me dad will be
round your place with his fists flying.'

'Keep out of this, Phoebe. It ain't got nothing to
do with you. No need to say nothing of this to no
one.' With a menacing scowl, Flo squeezed out
through the door, leaving Maud to face a furious
Phoebe on her own.

'I'll report you to Matron for this,' Phoebe said,
advancing on Maud with her hands fisted.

Maud backed towards the doorway. 'It was
Matron who told us to teach the silly cow a
lesson,' she snarled. 'Anyway, it was Monk's
fault. All I meant to do was snip a bit off her hair.'

'It's all right, Phoebe. Let her go.' Eloise leaned
against the sink as a wave of dizziness
threatened to take her feet from under her.

Phoebe gave Maud a shove that sent her
tottering into the corridor. 'Get out. And you'd
best leave Ellen alone in the future, or you'll have
me to deal with, and all me brothers too.'

Closing the door and shutting out the sound of
Maud and Flo muttering to each other, Phoebe
pulled up a chair. 'Here, sit down before you fall
down and let me look at that cut.' Eloise sank
down onto the hard wooden seat and reluctantly
took her hand away from the wound, allowing
Phoebe to examine her cheek in the light of a
single candle. 'It's just a nick, luckily for you, but
it's bleeding a lot. I should send for a proper
nurse to see to it for you, Ellen.'

'No, no, it will be all right. Can you just clean it
up for me?'

'I'll do me best, but I ain't no Florence
Nightingale.'

Word of the assault spread rapidly round the
hospital and by morning it seemed to Eloise that
everyone knew what had happened in the sluice.
People were sympathetic but wary. It also
appeared that Matron's part in the affair was
either known or suspected and she was not the
sort of person who took kindly to gossip,
especially when she herself was involved. Eloise
tried to pass the incident off lightly but a swollen
cheek and an angry-looking gash were impossible
to hide. She kept out of the way as much as
possible, spending the morning cleaning the
privies in the back yard and emptying night soil
from the chamber pots, which she then took to
the sluice on the ground floor to be washed. She
was in the middle of doing this when Matron
entered the room with a forbidding look on her
gaunt features. 'I hear that you had a slight
accident last evening, Monk.'

'Yes, Matron.'

'You should be more careful in future.'

'Yes, Matron.'

Miss Marchant's lips curled in a spiteful smile.
'You will have a scar which will mar your good
looks.'

'Yes, Matron.'

Having failed to induce a reaction from Eloise,
Miss Marchant tossed her head impatiently. 'You
will spend the rest of the day in the nursery. We
don't want any idle talk in the hospital, and you
will tell your friend Phoebe that if her silly
tongue runs away with her she will find herself
dismissed without a character. Do you understand
me, Monk?'

Eloise bit back a sharp retort. 'Yes, Matron.'

'Then finish up here and go directly to the
nursery. You will work there and take your
meals in the nursery until your face heals. I do
not want you flaunting yourself around the
hospital. Do I make myself absolutely clear?'

'Yes, Matron.'

'Good.' Miss Marchant whisked out of the
room, slamming the door behind her as if to
prove a point.

So, she doesn't want the governor to know her
part in the business, Eloise thought grimly.
Matron need not have worried. Barton Caine
was the last person that Eloise wanted to see with
her face disfigured by an ugly red gash. Not that
she cared if her looks were spoiled; that would be
pure vanity, and Papa had included that in his
sermons, merging it with pride as being one of
the seven deadly sins. Eloise peered into the
small mirror that the nurses kept on a shelf so
that they could make certain their caps were on
straight and there were no smudges of dirt on
their noses. The light in the sluice was not good,
but she was relieved to see that the livid streak of
congealed blood was less than an inch in length
and it was on the side of her face. If she kept her
head turned a certain way, no one would even
know that she had received such an injury. She
set about washing the rest of the utensils before
making her way to the nursery.

Phoebe greeted her with a hug. 'You poor
thing. Just look at your face.'

'That doesn't fill me with confidence, Phoebe,'
Eloise said, with a gurgle of laughter. 'Anyway,
one good thing has come of it – Matron insists
that I work in here until my face heals, which
couldn't please me more.'

'Well, I wouldn't find it a laughing matter, I
can tell you that for nothing. I'd want them two
harpies sacked on the spot.'

'They won't dare to touch me again, and I
think Miss Marchant has had a bit of a fright
too. She wasn't expecting it to go so far, or to
get round the hospital so quickly. I think she
would be in trouble if her part in it was
discovered.'

'I've a good mind to tell Mr Caine, just to spite
the old cow.'

'No, Phoebe, please don't. There's been
enough trouble. I just want to forget it ever
happened.' Eloise went over to Beth, who was
holding her arms out and calling for her mama.
Joss looked up from the floor where he was
playing with some wooden bricks, and she
thought she saw a glimmer of recognition in his
blue eyes, but his dogged refusal to speak was
still a constant worry. She picked Beth up in her
arms and she knelt down beside Joss, passing
him a brick that was just beyond his reach.

'That Beth really thinks you are her mum,'
Phoebe observed. 'It's a pity that the boy isn't as
bright as his sister. He's a simpleton, if you ask
me.'

'That he is not,' Eloise said hotly. 'He spoke to
me, if you recall. He told me his name and his
sister's name. I'm sure he'll find his tongue one
of these days.'

'Well, I hope you're right for his sake, or he'll
end up in a school for imbecile children.' Phoebe
turned away to pick up a toddler who had fallen
over and was crying.

Eloise felt her blood curdle at the prospect of
Joss's being taken away to a special school. This
was a possibility that had not occurred to her
before Phoebe pointed it out, but now she saw
that it might just happen and she was frightened.
It would be better to give Joss to the Cribbs than
have him suffer that appalling fate. She ruffled
his golden curls and Joss looked up with a
seraphic smile, but his blue eyes clouded with
sympathy when he saw the wound on her cheek.
He touched it gently with the tip of his forefinger
and, for a moment, Eloise thought his lips
formed the word Mama, but she could not be
certain. Almost instantly, he turned away to play
with the bricks and Beth struggled free from her
mother's arms to join in the game. Eloise swallowed
hard as a lump in her throat threatened to
engulf her in tears. Beth was too young to understand
everything that was going on around her,
but Joss had chosen this silent world as the only
way in which he could protest at being separated
from her. His suffering only made her all the
more determined to find a way out of their
present situation. One day they would have a
home of their own again and Joss would find his
voice.

The morning passed quickly, almost too
quickly as far as Eloise was concerned. It was
ironic that in instigating the attack on her,
Matron had actually done her a favour. It was
worth a cut on the cheek if it meant that Eloise
could spend all day with her children, and
Phoebe was delighted to have an extra pair of
hands to help her cope with her charges. In the
middle of the afternoon, when the babies and
toddlers were having their nap, Phoebe had gone
off to the kitchens to get a cup of tea and Eloise
was left in sole charge of the nursery. She was
busy tidying up the wooden bricks that had been
left scattered on the floor when the door opened
and Maria Caine skipped into the room followed
by a sour-faced Miss Trinder.

'I've come to play with the babies again,' Maria
announced with a bright smile. 'May I wake
them up, Ellen?'

Eloise laid her finger to her lips, shaking her
head. 'Not yet, Maria, but you can help me pick
up all these bricks.'

'She is to stay here for the rest of the afternoon,'
Miss Trinder said icily. 'And good luck to you, I
say. That little madam has made my life a misery
since the first day, and I am glad to be going.'

'You're leaving?'

Miss Trinder's eyes narrowed as she glared at
Maria, who was unconcernedly scrambling
about the floor picking up bricks. 'I am leaving
this wretched place as soon as I have packed my
portmanteau and I shall be on the next train for
Chelmsford, where my family reside. I thought I
would enjoy working in London, but I was horribly
mistaken and I will seek another position in
the country where, hopefully, I will find a better
child to instruct. Good day to you, Miss Monk.
And good luck.' Without waiting for a response,
Miss Trinder whisked out of the nursery, leaving
a trail of cheap cologne in her wake.

'She's gone,' Maria said, grinning. 'I'm glad.'

'What happened?' Eloise knelt on the floor
beside Maria as she laid the bricks neatly in a
wooden box. 'What did you do to poor Miss
Trinder?'

'Nothing. I promise you.' A roguish smile
dimpled Maria's round cheeks and her blue eyes
twinkled with mischief.

Eloise couldn't resist giving her a hug,
although she didn't believe the innocent act for a
moment. 'I think you are a very bad girl, Maria.'

'I'll be good for you, Ellen.' Maria leapt to her
feet in a flurry of lace-trimmed petticoats. 'Now
may I wake up Joss and play with him?'

It was early evening when Caine came to the
nursery to collect Maria. The babies had all been
fed and laid down to sleep, including Beth who
had been playing with Maria all afternoon and
had gone down without a murmur. Maria was
helping Eloise to wash the hands and faces of the
toddlers before their bedtime and Phoebe was
attempting to settle a particularly fractious child
who objected to being put to bed.

'I was unavoidably delayed,' Caine said
brusquely. 'I hope Maria has behaved herself,
Miss Monk.'

'Perfectly, sir.' Eloise put Joss in his cot, taking
care to keep her face averted so that Caine could
not see her injury. Joss lay silently staring up at
her. Without thinking, Eloise leaned over the cot
rail to kiss him goodnight and he stroked her
cheek with an oddly adult expression in his eyes.
She straightened up quickly, fearing that she had
betrayed herself, but Caine seemed to be preoccupied
with his daughter, who skipped across
the floor to hold his hand.

'I have been a great help, Papa. Now Miss
Trinder has gone I can come again tomorrow and
the day after that.'

Eloise stole a sideway glance at Caine and was
surprised to see a smile transforming his
features, but he was looking in her direction and
not at his daughter. 'I think that Miss Monk and
Phoebe have enough to do without looking after
you, Maria.'

Phoebe looked up with an anxious frown. 'I
would find it difficult, sir.'

'Ellen will look after me,' Maria said
confidently.

'Miss Monk has other work to do.'

Eloise heard the constrained note in Caine's
voice, but she said nothing. It was better if he
remained in ignorance of her clash with Matron.

'Ellen has to stay here until her face gets better,'
Maria said, running over to Eloise and tugging at
her skirt. 'Tell Papa, Ellen. Tell him that you have
to stay here because they cut your face with a
pair of scissors.'

'Hush, Maria. You don't know what you're
saying.' Eloise covered Joss with a blanket and
she moved away from the cot so that her face was
in shadow.

'What's this?' Caine's voice was harsh as he
moved towards her, taking the oil lamp from the
table and holding it high above her head. 'Look
at me, Ellen.'

It was the first time he had ever called her by
that name and she raised her head to meet his
piercing gaze. 'Maria is mistaken, sir. I – I had a
slight accident.'