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.’
‘Ruby, I’m begging you to come home with me.’
‘How can I?’ Ruby’s voice quavered as Mrs Allspice covered her with a blanket and opened the curtain. ‘You don’t want us getting under your feet.’
‘Look at this place – it isn’t healthy.’
‘You can’t frighten me. It’s all right, really it is. Look at all the children Mr Allspice and his wife have brought up.’
‘It’s at least twelve and countin’,’ Mr Allspice cut in, from a veil of pipe smoke.
‘Mr Allspice, it’s thirteen …’ his wife corrected him. ‘You’ve forgotten one of the littluns again.’
‘What am I going to tell Matron? I’ve told her you’ve been indisposed …’
‘Tell her I’ve moved away, gone back to Canterbury.’
‘Think of the baby, your daughter. We can care for her between us. I’ll support you. I’ll do anything to have you back at home … safe …’
‘I’m sorry.’ Ruby’s eyes filled with tears.
‘She’s made up ’er mind,’ Mrs Allspice said. ‘I reckon you should go now. They need to rest, both of the little darlin’s.’ Hannah had softened slightly towards Mrs Allspice. She was a devoted, fierce mother if not a gentle one. ‘Don’t you worry about ’em. We won’t let ’em out of our sight.’
Hannah gave in. She pressed her fingers to her lips then touched them to the baby’s forehead, before leaning across to kiss Ruby’s cheek.
‘I’ll be back soon. Take care of yourself and the child. Send word as soon as you decide to come home and I’ll be here to collect you. I love you, Ruby.’
‘I love you too …’ she whispered.
Wishing her goodbye, Hannah left the house in Ramsgate.
Ruby was in good health and the child, although small and frail in appearance, was feeding. Call it her nurse’s instinct, but she wasn’t unduly worried for them at this stage.
However, when she returned to Margate, the more she thought about it, the more her fears began to grow. Why would the Allspices want to look after Ruby and her child when they had so many of their own? They lived in poverty and squalor – more mouths to feed would only drag them down further.
It wasn’t her only concern. In the morning, she would have to see Matron and tell her that Ruby wouldn’t be returning to her post. She couldn’t keep her sister’s shame a secret any longer.
The next day, she went in to the house early and knocked on the door of Matron’s apartment.
‘Good morning, Sister,’ Matron said as she opened the door.
‘I’m sorry to disturb you at this hour.’
‘I’ve been up and dressed for a while – life is not a bed of roses, more’s the pity. I have a meeting with the Board to attend later. I’m glad you’ve come to find me. I wanted to speak with you last night, but you’d already gone home. This is about your sister, is it not? I presume she’s indisposed yet again … Mrs Merry is short-handed and pressing me to take on a replacement. With patients needing to be bathed daily, her absence is most inconvenient.’ Mrs Knowles paused for a moment. ‘Oh dear. You’d better come in.’
It was the first time Hannah had seen inside Matron’s private rooms. The parlour was well-appointed, decorated in pale blue and cream, with likenesses of people she assumed were family members, along with some of the dignitaries who had honoured the infirmary over the years.
‘Do sit down.’ Matron looked towards the carriage clock which ticked quietly but insistently on the mantel. There were twenty minutes before Hannah needed to be on the ward. ‘Would you like some tea?”
Hannah declined, but Matron poured two cups from the pot on the tray beside her anyway. She added milk from the jug, along with a lump of sugar, stirred it and handed it to her. The cup rattled on the saucer as Hannah held it on her lap.
‘My sister won’t be returning to the house,’ she began.
‘She has left Margate?’
The truth spilled out: Ruby had confessed that she was with child.
‘I’ll write my letter of resignation later …’
‘Why would you want to do that?’
‘I haven’t been able to give my patients my full attention over the past few days, and of course, my sister’s reputation … well, it’s mine by association.’
‘You’ve hidden your concerns well. I wouldn’t have known if Doc—’ Matron broke off abruptly, then went on, ‘if someone hadn’t mentioned that you seemed out of sorts. How is your sister?’
‘She’s staying with a family … you know of them: the Allspices.’
‘The potty-mouthed parents, and the incontinent ropewalker with the incurable case of the wandering hands?’
‘The very same.’
‘That is very unfortunate.’ Matron raised one eyebrow which continued to hover as Hannah told her a little more of the story.
‘I found her confined at their home. I begged her to come back with me, but she refused, so I left Mrs Allspice attending to her and the infant. Now I don’t know what to do.’
Hannah sipped at the tea.
‘I suspected there was something wrong – we all did, but what a fall from grace!’ Matron exclaimed. ‘I think you must let her make up her own mind – she’ll be back in her own sweet time.’
‘You don’t know my sister. She’s hot-headed, stubborn and easily led. The Allspices seem to have a hold on her.’
‘That’s obvious, isn’t it? I didn’t think he had an ounce of good in him, but Mr Allspice has taken responsibility for his child and its mother at least.’
‘Oh …’ Hannah almost blurted out the truth, that he wasn’t the father, but Mrs Knowles went on, ‘One has to hope that a man with such an injury won’t be able to father any more children. I know that Mr Allspice’s harem is a rather unconventional arrangement, but under the circumstances, it isn’t a bad thing. It leaves you free to continue working here – the last thing I want is to lose a sister of your calibre.’
‘People will point fingers,’ Hannah said.
‘Without doubt. They’ll gossip about your sister’s fall from grace and they’ll examine your conduct more closely for a while, and then they’ll move on to another topic of scandal.’
Hannah couldn’t help flinching at the word.
‘Why don’t you move back into the nurses’ home? There’s no reason for you to go on living out.’
Only that she had grown used to her new-found independence, having time away from the hospital, and being able to go wherever she liked – and with whom – without scrutiny, she thought.
‘I’ll give it a little while, in case Ruby does decide to come back,’ she stated. ‘I’ll have to give my landlady notice anyway.’
‘Of course. In the meantime, if there’s anything I can do …’
‘Thank you. I’m very grateful for your understanding.’
‘Just remember, these troubles will pass.’ Matron looked out towards Westbrook Bay. ‘Worse things happen at sea.’
Hannah left for the ward, wondering if she should have enlightened Matron about the identity of the father of Ruby’s child. She felt bad for not telling her the whole story – half the truth was often a whole lie.