decision to purchase a larger house.
He turned at last into the street and stopped the carriage in the usual place. Thomas appeared within moments, as if drawn by the sound of carriage wheels. After tossing the lad a coin, Alistair turned to help Victoria alight. ‘Before we go in,’ he said, ‘I want you to know that if you feel uncomfortable at any time, or wish to depart, you have only to say so. But it was necessary that I come here today and I wanted to share this with you.’
‘Why?’
A dozen answers sprang to mind. He gave her the most honest. ‘Because your opinion matters to me.’
Intense astonishment touched her face, but after a moment’s consideration, she nodded. ‘Then pray proceed, Mr Devlin. I am curious to see what this is all about.’
He unlocked the door and pushed it open.
Jenny was standing in the entrance hall. Blonde hair hung lank around her cheeks and, upon seeing Victoria, she gasped and ran back down the corridor, disappearing through a door at the end.
‘Who was that?’ Victoria asked.
‘Jenny.’ Alistair ushered her inside and rang a small silver bell on the table. ‘She doesn’t speak. At least, she hasn’t since her arrival here.’
‘Has she been injured?’
‘Not physically. The doctor said her vocal cords are fine, but she witnessed—’
Alistair stopped, not sure how much of Jenny’s sad story he should reveal. But while Victoria’s face was pale, her voice was steady when she said, ‘What did she witness?’
It was the calmness of her manner that decided him. ‘A violent crime. She ended up here because it wasn’t safe for her to remain where she was.’
Victoria kept her eyes on the door through which Jenny had just disappeared. ‘Are there others here like her?’
‘Yes. Their circumstances are all different, but their reasons for being here are the same,’ Alistair said, wondering where Mrs Hutchins was. ‘They were all brought here to recover.’
Finally, Mrs Hutchins did appear, emerging from the same doorway through which Jenny had disappeared. ‘Mr Devlin, I’m so sorry,’ she said, wiping her hands on her apron. ‘I heard the bell but I couldn’t leave Molly. She’s had a terrible bout of coughing. I’ve sent young Teddy for the doctor.’
Alistair felt despair well up in his soul. ‘Take me to her.’ He saw the housekeeper’s gaze go briefly to Victoria and said, ‘Miss Bretton, this is Mrs Hutchins. Mrs Hutchins looks after the children here.’
Victoria immediately put out her hand. ‘I am very pleased to meet you, Mrs Hutchins. Please, take us to see Molly.’
The housekeeper nodded. ‘I hope you don’t mind the sight of blood, miss,’ she said, turning to lead the way.
‘I’m not squeamish. I was always the sister who fell out of the tree.’
The remark brought a faint smile to the older woman’s face. ‘You may find this is a little more unsettling. Mind your skirts there.’
Alistair tried to keep an eye on Victoria as they made their way down to the kitchen. He had complete faith in Mrs Hutchins’s ability to look after the children, but if Molly was coughing up blood, it was just as well the doctor had been sent for. For all Victoria’s claim that she had fallen out of trees, what she was about to see was something she likely didn’t encounter in her everyday life.
Molly was lying on a narrow cot placed next to the fire. Her face was white and the front of her chemise was spattered with blood. A quick glance showed other towels spotted with blood, which Mrs Hutchins quickly gathered up. Molly’s sister, Margaret, was standing a few feet away, her face stricken.
To Alistair’s surprise, Victoria went straight to the child’s cot. ‘Oh, you poor little thing,’ she murmured. She bent down, her skirts pooling like a field of green around her. ‘Hello, Molly. My name is Victoria. Can you hear me?’
Molly’s eyes were half-open and fixed on Victoria’s face. When she nodded, Victoria looked up and smiled at the other child standing close by. ‘Is this your sister?’
‘That’s Margaret, miss,’ Mrs Hutchins whispered as she passed by.
‘Hello, Margaret.’
The girl didn’t answer, but Victoria didn’t seem to expect her to. She returned her attention to Molly and gently brushed the hair back from her forehead. Then she took one of the girl’s hands between her own and rubbed it gently. ‘You’ve not been very well, have you, Molly? But the doctor is coming and he’s going to take care of you.’
Molly nodded and her eyes drifted closed.
Alistair swallowed hard. He feared they were going to lose Molly—possibly her and Margaret both. The damage done by the mills was something even the finest doctors couldn’t repair, and the knowledge that these little girls’ early deaths could have been prevented made him angrier than he would have believed possible.
And then, four more children shuffled in, all huddled close together. He knew each of them by name because he had made it his business to, and they knew him. But they didn’t know the lady crouching by Molly’s cot.
‘Will she be all right, then?’ the tallest of them asked.
Alistair nodded. ‘We’ve sent for the doctor, Thomas, and with luck, he’ll be here very soon. Why don’t you take Ruth and Alice upstairs and then gather the rest of the children together? There’s something I want to tell you.’
‘Aye, go along with you now, Thomas,’ Mrs Hutchins said. ‘Where’s Robert?’
‘Up in t’ schoolroom,’ Peter answered. ‘With David and Beth.’
‘All right. Go and find them and tell them Mr Devlin wants to talk to them.’
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