Gracie was cutting out a piece of cloth according to Mavis’s instructions.
‘Can you hold the end for me please, Doreen?’
‘I’ve never seen such a beautiful bolt,’ said Doreen as Madge shouted, ‘Right, count me out of the sewing for now, I’ll make the butties. I’m always happier in the kitchen, anyway and you know me, Mavis, I’m good at zips and buttons but I can’t sew a straight seam to save my life.’
‘I’ll do your seams,’ said Doreen, ‘you make nice butties. Can I have my egg with salad cream? Did anyone bring any Battenberg?’
Gracie looked uncomfortable. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know to bring anything and I haven’t been home.’
Only Gracie knew that even if she had been home, there would have been nothing to bring with her. Her money had to spread far and wide at home and, with Christmas coming, every penny was accounted for.
‘Oh, Gracie, love,’ Mavis said, ‘you weren’t expected to bring anything, for goodness’ sake and I’ll tell you what, if your mam doesn’t mind, there will be loads of leftovers – do you think your kids would fancy them for tomorrow?’
Gracie’s eyes lit up. ‘Oh, of course she won’t mind. Thank you, Mrs Tanner,’ she said and flushed with pleasure.
‘Don’t you be thanking me, love,’ said Mavis. ‘Madge goes a bit mad when she makes the butties, you’ll be doing me a favour. And there’s no shortage of cake here. We made too many for the WVS so you can take some home for Christmas.’
Gracie had never felt happier. Her mam loved cake. Granny Ida and Granda Bertie would bring food round to the house on Christmas Eve so the family never went hungry at Christmas, but they always argued with their son and the Christmas atmosphere left as soon as they arrived.
Suddenly everyone stopped talking and looked towards the back door when they heard someone shouting and running down the path.
‘It’s Melly from the Seaman’s Stop,’ said Elsie. Not someone Mavis approved of due to the amount of time she spent down in the Silvestrian.
‘What’s that woman doing here?’ said Doreen as she removed a row of pins from between her teeth. Doreen didn’t care for her much, either.
She didn’t have long to wait for her answer as the back door burst open, and Melly, holding onto her side with her hands, tried to catch her breath.
‘Oh, God in heaven,’ she spluttered as she bent over. Mavis was already at her side, as was Elsie. They were all silent, fearful, something was very wrong. Mavis had lived through the war, as had Elsie, they had known the worst, heard the worst and lived through hell. Nothing could truly faze them and it had left them able to recognise danger before it fully revealed itself.
‘What is it, Melly?’ asked Mavis as she held onto her arm and Elsie guided her towards the table.
‘Here, sit in the chair,’ Elsie said as she pulled a chair out. ‘Pammy, get some water. Tell us what it is, Melly!’
‘It’s the baby, the one who belongs to the Sister Biddy works for.’
‘Sister Horton?’ said Elsie.
‘Louis?’ said Mavis.
Melly took a gulp of the water. ‘That’s right, that’s the one. He’s been kidnapped. Disappeared into thin air, he has, with that Polish girl who’s cleaning at the hospital.’
The room fell quiet. Gracie stopped cutting the fabric and placed the scissors on the table.
‘Why would she do a thing like that? Where would she take him?’ asked Mavis. Panic was rising but she needed more information.
‘I have no idea,’ said Melly. ‘She doesn’t know anyone. She lives at Malcolm’s place so she has nowhere to take him. Biddy left him outside in the pram for a sleep and from the upstairs window I saw Eva take him. I thought nothing of it, thought Biddy must have known, but Biddy, she’s told the police she thinks the Polish woman is his real mum come back to get him.’
The air left the room as everyone gasped. Each one knew the circumstances of his life and the fear Emily and Dessie had lived with, falling in love with the child, counting the days to his adoption.
‘The police have searched her room and there’s money in her bag and even a passport because she came here from America.’
A heavy silence fell, broken by Mavis. ‘Does Emily know?’
‘No, she doesn’t. Biddy is with the police and I have to go back because I saw her take him. Biddy said to tell you, Mavis, to get to Emily before the police do. The police have more cars coming and they are driving around the streets like maniacs, looking for her.’
A small voice piped up, ‘I think I might know where she is.’
Mavis turned to the youngest person in the room. ‘You, Gracie? How, love? What has it got to do with you?’
‘I know the Polish lady is working on nights with my nan and I know my nan did a very bad thing – she wrote a letter to the children’s services complaining about how Louis was being raised. Grandad told me because he wasn’t happy about it.’
There was another sharp intake of breath around the room.
‘That doesn’t surprise me in the least,’ said Elsie. ‘I’m afraid she was always a bitter one, your nan, Gracie.’
Madge placed her arm around Gracie’s shoulders. ‘Don’t worry, it’s not you,’ she said.
‘Well, come on then, Melly, come with me. We need to take Gracie to the police to give them this information,’ Mavis said and grabbed her coat off the back of the kitchen door. ‘Elsie, you come with me to Emily’s. This is going to be bad and it will take both of us.’
A piercing scream filled the room that made everyone jump.
‘Oh, Holy Mother of God,’ said Mavis, ‘Victoria, you’re in labour.’
‘No, I’m not,’ Victoria gasped. ‘It’s just the Braxton Hicks, I’m practising. The pain, it’s just a bit of wind.’
‘Pass me her coat, would you, Mam?’ said Pammy.
Mavis began lifting coats down from the nail on the door.
‘Don’t no one tell Mrs Duffy anything,’ said Mavis, ‘she’ll go out of her mind.’
‘She’ll have to go some to catch up with Biddy,’ said Melly.
‘I bet,’ said Pammy. ‘You go to the police, Dana and I will get this one to the hospital.’
‘No, no, really, it’s just wind,’ said Victoria.
Mavis shook her head. ‘Victoria, love. You’ll be feeding that wind a bottle in a few hours. I don’t think you’ve got very long by the looks of you and you are best up at the hospital because we all have to go now – and anyway, Emily is always banging on that the first should be in the hospital.’
‘Come on, Doreen, you come with me. Let’s go and man the switch,’ said Madge. Everyone was heading out of the door when she asked, ‘Does anyone know where Mrs Gaskell is? She was supposed to be coming this morning.’
‘I have no idea,’ said Elsie as she turned out of the gate, linking arms with Mavis and heading down to the Dock Road, while Gracie and Melly made their way back to Malcolm’s and Pammy and Dana hooked onto Victoria, one on each side, and Madge and Doreen made their way up to the hospital.
‘She’s probably had enough of us lot already and gone back to being the hermit,’ said Madge. ‘Can’t say I blame her – look at the state of us, kidnapped babies, satin gowns all over the show, a baby about to be delivered miles from home and, to cap it all, it’s snowing. Hardly the bridge set, are we?’
Chapter 21
As if by a miracle, they had just stepped over the entrance to the receiving ward when the noise Victoria made ensured they were noticed as Sister Pokey and Teddy came running over.
‘Oh goodness me, what is going on here?’ said Sister Pokey. ‘No, forget that, a very stupid question. Lovely to see you back with us, Nurse Davenport, it’s a contraction, just breathe through it, it will soon be over.’
Victoria wasn’t listening to a word she said. She was already lost in a world of pain and preoccupation.
‘Porter,’ shouted Teddy to Jake, who was walking through the door that led to the wards, pushing an empty wheelcha
ir. ‘We need to transfer a patient to the new maternity block, straight to labour ward, please, Jake.’
Dana completely ignored Teddy, her gaze fully fixed on Victoria, as was Pammy’s.
‘Come on, Victoria, you will be fine,’ said Pammy who had helped the midwife deliver five babies at home, in a minor, peripheral way, but as a result, childbirth held no fear for her. It was a different story altogether for Victoria, who was an only child from a family where such things as childbirth and pain were never spoken of.
Teddy’s eyes never left Dana’s face. ‘Actually, doctor,’ said Sister Pokey, ‘I don’t think there is any time for that! Nurses, I know you aren’t in uniform, but could you stay, please? Half the staff are on a Christmas shopping day because we expected this to be a quiet one – it usually is, at this time.’
‘Oops,’ said Dana, as Victoria’s waters went, ‘it looks like we’re off.’
Within minutes, Victoria wasn’t just panting, she was pushing too.
‘Trolley,’ roared Teddy as he leapt into action and, kicking one of the brakes off, he pulled a trolley across.
‘Isn’t Roland with you?’ asked Pammy.
‘Roland, no, he’s gone to the match with Oliver. I had to cover here.’
‘Oh, no!’ Victoria did not hold back and screamed her dismay. ‘Can someone get him, pleeeease.’
Pammy turned to Teddy so that Victoria could not see her face. ‘Can he be found?’ she mouthed to Teddy, who mouthed back, ‘No. Unless you want to head over to Anfield and search the kop?’
In seconds he was at Victoria’s side with his arm around her. ‘Sister-in-law, please don’t panic, but I’m afraid that you and my niece or nephew in there are going to have to make do with me for the moment – and frankly, I think we both know how useless my brother would be. I’d just like to say that for your first baby, this is all going swimmingly well.’
Victoria grabbed at the air with her free hand. ‘Dana, Dana,’ she gasped, ‘it’s another one, it’s coming!’
Dana was on the opposite side to Teddy and they were both helping Victoria to sit on the trolley Jake was holding in place.
‘Off you go,’ said Sister Pokey, to Teddy and Dana, ‘take the bay. It’s out of the way and Jake, fetch the Entinox, fast, and get back here as soon as you can. Oh, the blue light is flashing over the desk – something is coming in. It looks like we are going to be busy. Nurse Tanner, I know you are off duty, but may I borrow you for the afternoon?’
Teddy and Dana pushed the trolley towards the bay just as Beth marched through the doors of casualty. ‘Sister Antrobus sent me down; apparently there’s a blue light coming in. But what are you doing here?’
A scream filled the unit and Beth turned her head. ‘Do I know who that is?’ she asked.
‘You do. It’s Victoria and it looks as though she is well on the way to delivering her baby.’
‘Oh my God!’ Beth felt an overwhelming surge of emotion. ‘Are you sure?’
‘I am and the lucky little one is going to be delivered by Teddy and Dana by the look of it because there’s no time to get her to the maternity unit.’
‘Dana and Teddy?’ said Beth. ‘Did I just hear you right?’
‘Yes, you really did,’ said Pammy. ‘Have I got time to find a uniform before this blue light comes in?’
As if on cue, the sound of a siren filled the air.
‘I would say, no,’ said Beth. ‘And have you looked out there?’
Pammy turned around, the snow had changed from a light flutter to a heavy fall. Sister Pokey appeared at their side.
‘That is in for Christmas, if you ask me,’ she said. ‘Look at the sky, it’s so heavy.’
Behind the ambulance parking up outside, they could see nuns making their way up from the convent.
‘They start the ward carols, tonight,’ said Sister Pokey.
‘I don’t know why,’ said Pammy, ‘but they always make me cry.’
Sister Pokey laid her hand on her arm. ‘That’s because you feel the music in your heart, Nurse Tanner.’
*
Dr William’s car pulled up outside Miss Devonshire’s house and Dr Gaskell turned around in the passenger seat to face his wife in the back. ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ he asked her.
‘I most certainly do,’ she replied. ‘Let me have fifteen minutes and if I can’t persuade her to change her mind, I’ll come out for the reinforcements. If she insists on continuing along this path there is nothing for it. We will have to lock her in the pantry whilst I think of another plan. Is that all right with you, Dr William?’
Dr William looked surprised. ‘That’s fine by me,’ he said and grinned as he winked at his patient in his rear-view mirror. ‘Let’s face it, no one can make the situation any worse. She is deadly serious. I telephoned Strawberry Fields from the surgery and they have been told to prepare a cot and to contact suitable parents on their list for adoption. They waste no time in that place. A potential family can receive a call at nine in the morning and the baby will be with them before lunch. Miss Devonshire means business.’ He turned on the windscreen wipers to clear away the snow and wiped the misted window on the inside with his leather glove.
Just as Doris was about to step out of the car, her husband spoke and she sat back in. ‘All my professional life has been spent trying to make things better for people, to heal not just the patients, but their families and society as a whole. God alone knows, it’s not easy working in such poverty, but we try to make people’s lives better. When I meet someone like this, who is immune to reason, who takes a position because it makes them feel good, important – or whatever it is they do it for, it makes me wonder, is it all worth it? There will always be a Miss Devonshire, out to make mischief and misery.’
Doris placed her hand on her husband’s shoulder. ‘Of course it is. You are only upset because you feel powerless and that’s not something you are used to. Trust me on this, I think I can really help. Leave it to me.’
Dr Gaskell patted his wife on the hand. This new woman wasn’t only answering him back, she had decided that she could solve the biggest problem to face St Angelus for some considerable time. ‘I will happily leave this one to you, my dear.’ Dr Gaskell got out and opened the car door for his wife. The brim of his trilby hat immediately began to collect the snow and she smiled up at her husband.
‘Fifteen minutes,’ she said and, pulling her scarf up over her hair and the collar of her coat up to protect her neck, walked down the drive to the front door. She held her head high, felt no nervousness whatsoever. She reached out her hand and lifted the door knocker with confidence. She was in control. She had information – and information was power.
Chapter 22
Pammy had found a clean apron in the utility room that she slipped over her neck and fastened around the back. Beth and Sister Pokey would receive the patient and she would hover in the background in case they needed her. As soon as the ambulance men barged in through the doors, sister was at the head of the trolley.
‘Can you get the houseman please, Nurse Tanner?’ she said to Pammy, but Pammy didn’t need to, Teddy was already on his way.
‘How is she?’ Pammy asked him. ‘Shall I go in?’
‘She’s very calm and loving the Entinox. She’s too far advanced for any Pethidine. We don’t want to deliver a flat baby and I was worried about that, but she doesn’t seem to need it. The labour suite is free in the unit so Jake is going to take her down there next as long as she doesn’t have any dramas on the way.’
‘Teddy, Victoria is a lady, she will be very in control, you should know that. She would rather die than be seen to be out of control. You are from similar breeding.’
‘That doesn’t make her immune from complications, Pammy, but you are right. She didn’t threaten to hit me over the head once, or strangle Dana. Remarkable for a first baby, but everything is just fine.’
‘Have you heard, Teddy – someone has taken Emily and Dessie’s baby? I’m no
t panicking because Gracie knew where he would be. It looks like his mother has come back for him.’
Teddy looked incredulous. ‘What? Are you serious?’
Pammy felt a blast of cold air and looked towards the doors as in walked Malcolm with her mother, Mavis.
‘Oh, good Lord, what is going on?’ Pammy exclaimed as she saw Biddy, looking distraught and carrying Louis in her arms behind them, with Gracie shivering at her side. A policeman walked in next to Ida, the night cleaner.
‘Doesn’t look as though he’s been kidnapped to me,’ said Teddy, who sprang over to Sister Pokey’s side as a trolley with a figure lying on it was then pushed in. ‘Right, what have we here?’ he asked and looked down into the face of a young woman who was barely alive.
*
‘Hello, Dukie,’ said Mrs Gaskell as the door opened.
Miss Devonshire blinked and looking past Mrs Gaskell, took in the snow and said, ‘Hello, Doris, I am not sure to what I owe the pleasure, unless of course it’s your husband who has sent you.’
Doris felt a flutter of anger. The old Doris would have been sent – this Doris chose to come herself. ‘Actually, I decided to come and I think you know why.’
Miss Devonshire took a deep breath and let out a low sigh. Doris could see that, somewhere in her mind, she was searching for a justification to send her away, but there was none. They both knew that.
‘Look at that snow. You had better come in before you freeze to death.’ Miss Devonshire stood back to let Doris into the immaculate and perfect home that had once belonged to her parents. Watercolours from Cornwall, placed ridiculously high up on the wall, marked out the path to the sitting room. ‘Can I offer you a drink, tea?’
Doris had brought her handbag in with her and she slipped it down her arm. ‘No thank you, Dukie, I have something important to talk to you about and the sooner we get this over with, the better.’ Doris smiled. She felt totally in control. Walking over to the window she looked out to the car where her husband and Dr William sat waiting patiently. The snow had reduced her visibility, but nonetheless, she could see her husband’s face, looking anxiously towards the house.
Snow Angels: An emotional Christmas read from the Sunday Times bestseller (The Lovely Lane Series Book 5) Page 25
