The Christmas Wedding

by Dilly Court

  Daisy drew him aside. ‘Nick, this may be the answer you’re looking for.’

  He stared at her, frowning. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘You wanted to turn Creek Hall into a cottage hospital, but you lacked the funds. This might be the ideal opportunity, and it could save the girls’ lives.’

  ‘But Creek Hall isn’t set up to receive patients, especially ones who are critically ill.’

  ‘You have plenty of rooms, and I’m sure that Mrs Bee and Dove would be willing to make them ready to receive patients.’

  He shook his head. ‘But a hospital, even a small one, needs nursing staff. You know how much hard work goes into running a hospital ward.’

  ‘Yes, I do, and I might not be fully qualified, but I know how a ward is run and I’d be prepared to move in, if necessary.’ Daisy thought quickly. ‘Then there’s Mary Fox, she might be glad of the work and she’s had experience nursing her husband.’

  ‘I understand what you’re saying, Daisy, but it isn’t as simple as that. The house has to be kept spotlessly clean and Mrs Bee couldn’t manage to feed everyone on her own.’

  ‘I’m sure Hilda could help Mrs Bee in the kitchen as well as keeping an eye on the children, and she would work even harder than an able-bodied person. Besides which, there must be women in the village who would do the more menial tasks and be glad of the income.’ Daisy glanced round at the expensively furnished bedroom, and the dressing table laden with cut-glass trinket pots and a silver-backed brush and comb set. ‘I’m certain that the colonel would pay handsomely for his daughters’ care.’

  Mrs Jones cleared her throat noisily. ‘I couldn’t help overhearing, sir. I handle the housekeeping while the mistress is away, but I know she and the colonel wouldn’t count the cost when it comes to their daughters’ welfare. I’ve done my best to look after them, Doctor, but I simply can’t cope with them in this state.’

  ‘Of course not, Mrs Jones. You’ve done your best, but the ladies need constant nursing.’

  ‘I’m most grateful, sir.’

  Nick packed his stethoscope into his medical bag. ‘There’s one thing that puzzles me, Mrs Jones. The source of the infection seems to be fairly obvious in the light of Dr Snow’s findings, but have you any idea how the young ladies might have come in contact with the disease? They seem to lead a sheltered life here at Four Winds.’

  ‘They do normally, Doctor, but they’re wayward girls. It was a particularly hot day in the middle of last week and I warned them against paddling in the creek, but they ignored me. Soaked, they were, when they returned home. I wouldn’t be surprised to discover they’d been dousing themselves with the water. They’re saying in the village that it’s the miasma from the creek that’s causing the illness.’

  ‘Well, we won’t worry about that for now,’ Nick said hastily. ‘If you agree, I’ll have beds ready for the young ladies at Creek Hall, where they’ll have the best treatment we can offer.’

  ‘That will be a relief, Doctor. I’ll have the carriage ready to bring them to you as soon as I receive the word.’

  ‘Thank you, ma’am. I’m going home now to make the necessary arrangements.’

  ‘I’ll come with you, Nick,’ Daisy said as they ascended the sweeping staircase to the entrance hall. ‘I can help Dove to get their rooms ready.’

  ‘If you remain here to help fight the disease you’ll lose your place at the London. I can’t ask you to make such a sacrifice.’

  Daisy caught hold of his arm as they reached the foot of the stairs. ‘This is more important. I know so many of the people in the village and I care what happens to them. You need help and I’m prepared to do what I can.’

  A tired smile lit his eyes. ‘I can see that to argue would be futile.’

  ‘Yes, it would.’ She followed him outside onto the gravelled carriage sweep and the warm summer sunshine caressed her cheeks. The air was fresh and filled with the scent of flowers and the briny tang of the sea. On such a lovely day it seemed incredible that the threat of a dreaded disease was hanging over the village like a thunder cloud.

  The Harkers’ groom had been walking Hero, but at the sight of the doctor he brought the trap round to the front door.

  ‘The head gardener’s two nippers are poorly, Doctor. Will you take a look at them afore you go?’

  ‘I’ll stop at their cottage on the way.’ Nick helped Daisy onto the driver’s seat and climbed up beside her. ‘Let’s hope it’s some childish ailment and not cholera. Walk on, Hero.’

  ‘I’ve been reading up on the disease,’ Daisy said, holding on to her bonnet as Hero lurched forward. ‘If we can keep people from passing it on through poor hygiene and ignorance, maybe we can prevent it from spreading.’

  They stopped at the head gardener’s cottage, but Nick returned quickly and took the reins from Daisy.

  ‘There’s nothing wrong with those two that a dose of castor oil won’t cure. The little monkeys have been eating unripe fruit from the hothouse. They’ll survive, thank goodness. Walk on, Hero.’

  Daisy and Dove worked hard to get a room ready for their first patients. They removed the Holland covers, and took the rugs downstairs to hang on the washing line, using wicker carpet beaters to send clouds of dust into the air. Despite the seriousness of the situation they turned the task into a competition to see who could finish first and ended up helpless with laughter at each other’s efforts. A word, accompanied by a disapproving frown, from Mrs Bee sent them hurrying back to the pleasant upstairs bedroom that overlooked the saltings, where they swept and polished the floor and changed the bed linen. The rugs were replaced and the room was ready just as the Harkers’ carriage drew up outside. Nick and the Harkers’ coachman carried the sick girls upstairs to their light and airy room, where Daisy and Dove attended to all their immediate needs and made them as comfortable as possible.

  Later that afternoon Mary arrived, ready to do anything that was required of her, and Nick brought home three more very poorly patients. Everyone worked together, including Hilda, who took charge of the children, keeping them well away from the sickrooms. She also helped Mrs Bee by preparing vegetables for the evening meal and they worked in perfect unison. Daisy suspected this was due to the fact that Mrs Bee was clearly in charge, and Hilda was content to take orders and obey them to the letter. Kind and generous she might be, but Mrs Bee was queen in the kitchen and not about to abdicate.

  Daisy sent Billy with a note to her aunt explaining her absence. He returned later with her luggage and a response from Aunt Eleanora expressing her fears that Daisy would succumb to the disease. Daisy chose to ignore the note. There was nothing she could say that would make the situation any easier to bear, and she was too busy looking after their existing patients to worry about anything other than their progress.

  Sadly, one of the older men passed away during the night, but his wife survived and next morning the Harker sisters were showing hopeful signs of recovery. Daisy had taken turns with Dove to watch over their patients during the long hours of darkness, giving Mary time to catch up with some much-needed sleep.

  During the next few weeks there was a steady flow of patients admitted to Creek Hall Hospital, as it was now known in the village, and many simply turned up at the door demanding to see the doctor with a variety of ailments and minor injuries. Nick treated everyone, taking a fee from those who could afford to pay, but Daisy suspected that he let most people off or accepted garden produce and the odd chicken or rabbit in return for treatment. Charity and Patience recovered slowly and Mrs Jones paid the bill for their care promptly, a benefit that Nick said would not have happened had the colonel been at home. The gentry, he added, were notorious for keeping tradesmen waiting for months, if not years, for their money, and that included medical fees. But the news that both the Harker girls were recovering well had circulated and Nick had urgent requests for treatment from people who were more than able to pay. He was too busy to keep the accounts, but Daisy discovered that she had a head fo
r figures and she kept a detailed ledger, noting down each remittance and their day-to-day expenditure. At the end of the first two months the books balanced. They were not making a fortune, but they could pay the staff, and she had even managed to put a little aside for repayments to the squire.

  Gradually, aided by Dove and a couple of women from the village, Daisy managed to get all twenty bedrooms ready for the inevitable influx of patients. The suffering were admitted, treated and many recovered. The tragedy was that equally as many succumbed, and the village graveyard was filled to capacity. The vicar did his best to comfort the bereaved, and Mrs Peabody organised Eleanora and the other ladies on her committee to make calf’s foot jelly and other nourishing foods for those who were recuperating. Elliot Massey’s mother was one of those who died, and Linnet spent most of her time at the school, taking lessons in Elliot’s absence and assisting him when he returned. Daisy suspected that a romance was blooming, despite the sad situation that had brought Linnet and Elliot together.

  As the weeks went by Daisy was too busy to think about returning to her position at the London Hospital, and in any case she doubted whether she had a place now. The occasional letter from Minnie brightened up the dull days when nothing seemed to go right, or the cholera claimed yet another victim, but as the weather cooled the cases were fewer, and there was hope that the epidemic might be coming to an end. Daisy continued to visit her aunt and uncle whenever possible, and they remained in good health, as did Hattie and Linnet. Jack was still living with Eleanora and Sidney, and they encouraged Mary to call on them whenever she could snatch an hour or two of free time. She lived in at Creek Hall as her old home was uninhabitable. Heavy rains in August had flooded the cottage, turning the packed earth floor into a sea of mud, which was inevitably contaminated by the overflow from the privies. Most of the families in the terrace had no alternative but to stay in their homes and try to make the best of it, but Nick was appalled. He did his best to seek a solution through official channels, but the properties all belonged to Squire Tattersall, and he refused to do anything, claiming it was an Act of God, and the tenants must sort it out for themselves.

  On a chilly late October morning, Daisy had her hair covered by one of Dove’s mobcaps and her plain linsey-woolsey dress was protected by an apron that came up to her chin. It was her turn to empty the chamber pots into the outside privy, and she was rinsing them at the pump when a tall man came striding into the stable yard. She had never met Colonel Harker, but this person fitted the description that Mary had given her.

  ‘You, girl!’ he shouted, pointing his cane at her. ‘Where is everyone? What sort of establishment is this when no one answers the door?’

  Daisy wiped her hands on her pinafore. ‘I apologise for that, sir. We are very busy at this time in the morning.’

  ‘It doesn’t say much for your organisation, young lady. Where is your superior?’

  ‘I am Daisy Marshall and I’m in charge while Dr Neville is out on a call. Might I ask your name?’

  ‘You aren’t from round here or you would know that I am Colonel Harker. My wife and I came to thank Dr Neville for saving our daughters’ lives.’

  ‘How do you do, sir? Perhaps you would like to come indoors and wait for Dr Neville to return?’

  ‘I’ll see what my wife says. She isn’t used to being kept waiting, and she most certainly won’t want to walk through the stable yard.’

  ‘I’ll go through and open the front door, Colonel.’ Daisy abandoned her task and crossed the cobbled yard to enter the house through the back entrance. She had not taken to the colonel, and if his wife was of a similar disposition she did not think she would like her either. Snatching off the mobcap, Daisy patted her hair in place as she ran through the house to open the door. Much as she disliked the way the colonel had spoken to her, she knew that she could not afford to offend a wealthy client, and it was well known in the village that Mrs Harker was the one with the money. She had inherited a fortune from a distant relative who owned a cotton mill in Lancashire, while the colonel came from a relatively poor family and had only his army pay. Daisy shrugged off her apron and dropped it onto a chair as she hurried to open the door before the colonel had a chance to hammer on the knocker.

  Mrs Harker greeted her with a warm smile as she stepped over the threshold, followed by the colonel, who appeared to be more subdued when in his wife’s company.

  ‘My husband tells me that you are Miss Marshall.’ She grasped Daisy’s hand and held it to her cheek. ‘My girls have spoken so warmly of you that I feel I know you already.’ She glanced over her shoulder and her tone changed. ‘Roland, close the door. You’re letting in the cold air and there are sick people here.’ She tucked her gloved hand in the crook of Daisy’s arm. ‘We’ve come to thank you for saving our daughters’ lives and to make a donation to this little hospital, which is so badly needed by the people of Little Creek.’

  Daisy could hardly believe her ears. She led their prospective benefactress to the drawing room where a log fire blazed up the chimney. ‘Dr Neville might be a while. He had two visits to make, and I never know how long they’ll take.’

  Mrs Harker settled herself gracefully on the sofa and began to peel off her gloves. ‘Do sit down, Roland. You’re making the place untidy.’

  Daisy kept a straight face with difficulty. She wondered how the colonel’s men would react if they could hear the way his petite and attractive wife spoke to him. She treated him as if he were a small boy, and maybe that’s what he was beneath the bluster.

  ‘Very well, my dear, but perhaps we ought to go home and return at a more convenient time.’

  ‘Certainly not. I want to talk to Miss Marshall.’

  ‘I’ll take a stroll in the grounds.’ Colonel Harker marched out of the room, closing the door with enough force to emphasise his bad mood.

  ‘My husband is at a loss when it comes to drawing-room manners,’ Mrs Harker said, smiling. ‘He is much more at ease on the parade ground. But tell me about yourself, Miss Marshall. What is a young lady like you doing in a backwater like Little Creek?’

  ‘Much the same as yourself, I imagine, ma’am. I grew up in London, but I’ve come to love the village and its surroundings. I’ve seen your beautiful home, so I imagine you love it here, too.’

  ‘Yes, I do. When my husband retires from the army it is my ambition to live the rest of my days in Four Winds. Which is why I think it’s important for Dr Neville to keep this hospital open for the continuing benefit of all the village, rich and poor.’ She opened her reticule and took out a slip of paper, which she handed to Daisy. ‘I think this will help.’

  Daisy scanned the banker’s draft and she could hardly believe her eyes. ‘This is most generous, Mrs Harker. Dr Neville will be delighted, and I can’t thank you enough.’

  They chatted for a while, but there was no sign of Nick, and the colonel kept peering through the window and tapping on the glass, waving his pocket watch at his wife. After several such interruptions Mrs Harker decided it was time to leave, but she promised to set up a committee amongst her wealthy friends and acquaintances in order to raise funds to support the hospital. Daisy was overcome by the sudden turn of events and she could barely wait to pass on the good news to Nick. There was, she calculated, enough money to pay off the interest demanded by the squire, with enough left over to keep the hospital running for the next few months.

  It was mid-afternoon when Nick finally arrived, but he looked so pale and tired that Daisy insisted he must eat before she gave him the good news. Mrs Bee ladled soup into a bowl and Hilda sliced bread from one of the loaves she had helped to bake. Nick sat at the kitchen table and was not allowed to move until he had finished his meal, ending with a slice of apple pie made from windfalls that had been collected by the children. Although the orchard was neglected and overgrown, the trees had produced a bumper crop and Judy had helped her mother to peel and core the fruit. Daisy was quietly proud of the way they all worked together, and Hild
a’s prosthesis would soon be finished and she would learn to walk again. The outbreak of cholera had been brutal, although in a strange way it had created an extended family that supported each other. The end of the terrible epidemic was in sight, but it was not over yet.

  Nick had managed to escape the clutches of the women who were doing their best to look after him and he joined Daisy in the drawing room.

  ‘You said you have good news. I certainly need something to brighten my day. There was another death in the village. I couldn’t do anything to save the old fellow. He lived in the terrace that the squire refuses to renovate, despite the fact that the cottages are virtually uninhabitable.’

  ‘The squire has a lot to answer for.’ Daisy took the banker’s draft from the mantelshelf and handed it to him. ‘Mrs Harker gave us this. She wanted to do something to show how much she appreciated the treatment her daughters received.’

  Nick sat down, staring at the piece of paper as if he could not believe his eyes. ‘But this is a huge amount.’

  ‘I know, and you’ll be able to pay off the squire with some to spare.’

  ‘It should go on improving our facilities here,’ Nick said doubtfully. ‘But it would be wonderful to pay off that bloodsucker.’

  ‘Mrs Harker is going to raise money for the hospital, and we have a few well-off patrons who pay their way. I think you ought to settle with the squire and be done with it.’

  ‘You’re right, of course, and it will give me great pleasure to cash this and throw the money in his face.’

  ‘I wish I could be there to see his reaction,’ Daisy said, laughing.

  Nick eyed her seriously. ‘Then come with me. We’ll show him that we’re in this together and he can forget any ideas of trying to bully you into doing what he wants.’

  ‘I’d love to, but he might take it out on my aunt and uncle. Their lease is due to expire shortly.’