Читать книгу Letters from Alice: Part 3 of 3: A tale of hardship and hope. A search for the truth. - Petrina Banfield - Страница 6

‘The habit of begging naturally leads to the exaggeration of facts; often true and pitiable, which become the beggar’s stock-in-trade. The habit of responding to begging letters leads to the encouragement of lying. The fault is with both beggar and giver … the donor gives as a quittance a contribution; which is probably spent … turned to evil uses. The one lacks charity and gives money; the other learns the lesson of begging … [Donors should] support only useful and well-regulated charitable institutions … Many so called charities exist by begging of strangers … One worthy of mention is the Volunteer Fire Brigades, which appear[ed] in the dress of firemen [but were] quite useless for extinguishing fires.

(C. S. Loch, How to Help Cases of Distress, 1895)

The conference concluded at 3 p.m. on Sunday, 12 February with a rousing speech from Alexander Hargreaves. The philanthropist then bade farewell to his colleagues and set off for the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where he was to meet with a society of Scottish fundraisers. Alice, Bess Campbell and Frank took a West Anglia line train back to London and disembarked at Liverpool Street Station at a quarter to five, plumes of steam billowing around their ankles.

The Royal Free Hospital must have been a welcoming sight in the dusk, the light from its many windows bestowing the pavements of Gray’s Inn Road with a silver glow. Like the medical staff resting in their rooms along the dark passageway of the nurses’ home, Alice sank into bed exhausted that evening, and woke to a misty dawn.

The faint click of Winnie’s typewriter keys was a familiar sound to the almoners as they descended the stairs to the basement. The typist got to her feet with a groan when Alice came into the office the following Monday. ‘Welcome back, dear,’ she said, dumping a thick pile of post unceremoniously into the almoner’s outstretched hands.

Alice sighed, perhaps in anticipation of the unpleasant task before her. Begging letters were regularly received by the almoners. Sifting through the post each morning and identifying those deserving of further investigation was a duty that usually fell to a junior almoner like Alice.

A number of sighs could be heard above the whistle of the boiler as Alice scanned the letters and then dropped several into the waste paper bin. When she was almost two-thirds through the pile, however, she stilled, one of the letters still gripped in her hand. She ran her eyes over the type several times, and then sprang to her feet.

Without a word she left the basement and hurried to the chest clinic, almost colliding with Jimmy when she reached the top of the stairs on the first floor. On sight of her, Jimmy dropped the luggage he was holding and pulled her into a bear hug, lifting her feet from the ground.

‘Jimmy!’ she said with a laugh, straightening her hat and smoothing her clothes when he’d released her.

He grinned. ‘You’re a tough woman, Miss, but you brought out my better nature, so you did. I feel so light on my feet with all the goodness in my heart, I think I could probably float home. All I need to decide now is which woman to bestow myself on first.’

Alice rolled her eyes and shook her head at him. ‘You are incorrigible, Jimmy Rose.’

Head nurse Nell Smith was in the process of shifting a pile of files from her high reception desk to the floor when Alice walked into the department, her thin arms quivering with the effort. ‘If you’ve finally turned up to claim that cup of tea, your timing’s dreadful,’ the nurse huffed. ‘I have six bed baths and a chest drain to organise, and two of my nurses have just come down with diarrhoea.’

Alice grimaced. ‘No, I would like to see Dr Harland, if he is here?’

At that moment, Dr Harland emerged from his office. ‘Miss Hudson, a word.’

If Alice had intended to conceal any dislike she might have harboured towards him after the revelations from Alexander, she most certainly failed. At the sound of his voice, her expression hardened. She gave Nell Smith a look before turning and walking towards him, her gaze fixed somewhere to the right of where he stood.

‘I spoke to my colleague this morning, the one treating that patient of yours,’ the doctor said brusquely as she came to a stop in front of him. The emphasis on the pronoun was heavy with the suggestion that her presence in the hospital was of continuing inconvenience to him. ‘He’s come to the unfortunate conclusion that nothing more can be done for her, and since you’re so heavily involved with the family, we thought it best that you should be the one to break the news.’

Alice’s features crumpled. She had been to visit Hetty at home after her recent mastectomy, and, though in considerable discomfort, she had appeared to be making good progress. The news that her daughter and grandchildren had been boarded out in a cottage home in Harrow through the Waifs and Strays Society had cheered her, especially when Alice told her that the Samaritan Fund had covered the cost of purchasing a wringing machine, so that Tilda could provide for herself by taking in laundry, when she finally came to moving into a place of her own. ‘But –’ the almoner began.

‘The cancer has spread,’ Peter Harland cut in sharply. ‘Nothing more can be done.’

‘I see,’ Alice said, nibbling on her lower lip. ‘I shall go and see the Woods this afternoon.’ The almoner glanced over her shoulder towards reception, where Nell had abandoned all pretence of tidying the files and was watching the pair with undisguised intrigue. When Alice turned back she dipped her head towards the closed door of the doctor’s office and said under her breath: ‘May I have a word with you? In private.’

The doctor closed his eyes briefly then looked up at the ceiling, nostrils flaring. ‘My colleague is a highly skilled physician, Miss Hudson. If he says there’s nothing more to be done, it means that he’s tried everything he can.’

‘It’s not about Mrs Woods,’ Alice said through gritted teeth, her eyes flicking to Nell and quickly back again. She gave him a meaningful look. ‘It’s another matter.’

The doctor’s expression clouded over. ‘I don’t have time to –’

‘If we could just step inside your office,’ Alice interrupted. The doctor shook his head. ‘I really need to speak to you privately,’ the almoner hissed, and then added: ‘about Charlotte.’ She tried to sidestep him but he shifted his weight and folded his arms.

‘I’m not having you in there.’

Alice glared at him. ‘Why ever not?!’

‘Because it’s the only space in the entire hospital that’s free from your woman-ism and I intend to keep it that way.’

She stared at him in disbelief. ‘As you wish,’ she said scornfully, with another quick glance towards Nell. The nurse had turned away and was in the process of delivering a severe dressing down to a young, tearful nurse whose apron had come adrift. ‘I have just received written confirmation of a placement for Charlotte, one where her baby will also be welcome, and so it is imperative for us to register the birth as a matter of urgency. Daisy is six weeks old today.’ She paused and withdrew the letter she’d just received from the pocket of her skirt. With no sign of any change in the doctor’s expression, Alice continued: ‘It is excellent news, is it not?’

Dr Harland looked at her. ‘I don’t believe the young woman is in any fit state to live freely in the community, Miss Hudson. Now, if that’s all?’ He made a move to retreat back into his office, but Alice went after him.

‘No, that is not all at all.’ When he turned back she asked: ‘How would you have any idea of the state Charlotte is in?’

The doctor sighed. ‘I’m basing my assumption on her condition when we last saw her. The girl can’t be allowed to wander at large, for heaven’s sake. She needs specialist help.’

‘I believe with some support she is perfectly capable of living in the community. If you would come with me to Banstead and see her for yourself, unless of course … you have already done so.’

The doctor glared at her. ‘Why is it you’re so determined to pull me into other areas of expertise?! First, gynaecology, now psychiatry! I’m in no position to override the opinions of the doctors at Banstead Asylum –’

‘It is not an asylum!’ Alice cut in again. ‘It is a hospital! And come on, you must hold some sway?’

He shook his head. ‘None whatsoever. And anyway,’ he mumbled, glancing away, ‘the infant is progressing satisfactorily where she is. It’s best for everyone if we stick to the status quo.’

Alice’s jaw dropped in disbelief. ‘You can’t possibly mean that?! You want to leave Charlotte’s child with your sister? Permanently?!’

‘She’s better off where she is. Being dragged around the slums of London by an unstable youth isn’t going to improve her life chances, is it?’

‘You cannot do that! Elizabeth is nearing middle age already; I cannot imagine her dealing with the rigours of a toddler, let alone a teenager.’

‘My sister is in perfectly good health as it happens.’

‘But what about when Daisy is of an age to play? She won’t be allowed to move in that museum of a house, just in case she breaks something, or gets a mark on the precious furniture. And I can hardly imagine Elizabeth kneeling on the floor to play – the woman dresses in full-length gowns and pearls to take tea alone. It is a most unsuitable placement for a child long term; most unsuitable.’

The doctor gave her a sardonic smile. ‘I’ll be sure to pass onto my sister your good thoughts and best wishes.’

The almoner stared at him. ‘I press on you most ardently to reconsider. How can it be fair for the poor girl to mourn a part of herself that still lives?’

‘This is not any of your concern. The girl has warmth, shelter and food, and so does her child. Leave things as they are, for pity’s sake!’

Alice continued to stare at him, and then her eyes narrowed. ‘Why would a man with convictions such as yours be so keen for a low-born child to reside within his own family?’

The doctor’s shoulders tensed. Alice continued to stare at him, and then she began to nod slowly. ‘So it was you, wasn’t it?’

‘What madness are you talking about now?’

‘The note. I suspected as much, but now I know. You sent it. You were trying to frighten me off.’

‘You have finally taken leave of your senses, woman,’ he said, turning away.

‘It won’t work, doctor!’ Alice called after him. ‘The harder you push, the deeper I will delve.’