For The Sake of Her Family (30 page)

She helped Nancy into a clean nightdress and changed the bloodstained sheets, then lit the oil lamp in the window before leaving the new mother and baby. As soon as she got to the kitchen she
threw the soiled sheets on the floor while she poured boiling water into the dolly tub, adding a good handful of soda crystals. Then she put the sheets in to soak. Once that was done, she sank into
the kitchen chair. What a day! Screams, tantrums and now a new baby. Wherever Will was, she hoped he was paying for the sin of walking out on them.

The knock on the door gave her a start. She must have dozed off in the warmth of the kitchen. Alice stirred herself, checking in the mirror to make sure that she looked
presentable before opening the door to Dr Bailey. The colour drained from her face when she saw it was not the doctor but the delivery boy from Dent post office. In his hand was a black-edged
envelope.

‘Beg your pardon, missus. Message for Miss Bentham.’ The boy looked down at his shoes, his face red. Then he turned and mounted his bike in a bid to get away as fast as possible.
This one wasn’t the first he’d delivered and he didn’t want to be around when the contents were read.

Alice was shaking as she opened it. She read the message once and then she read the message again.

Not Will. It couldn’t be Will. He’d have kept his head down. He thought too much of life to get killed! Then Alice thought of the new life asleep in the cot upstairs, oblivious to
the cruel world she had just been born into. Poor little thing, she’d never know her father.

Alice sank into the chair, trembling as she read the lines over and over again. There’d been a mistake. Surely there had been a mistake? Will had not long gone. Surely they meant Gerald?
Why had it been addressed to her? Nancy was his wife and next of kin. Alice lay her head on her folded arms, the message crumpled in her hand, tears rolling down her face and her small frame
heaving with sobs, oblivious to the fact that she’d left the kitchen door open. She felt a hand on her shoulder and lifted her tear-stained face up to see the doctor standing by her side.

‘Alice, are you all right? I met the telegram boy on the road up here.’ Dr Bailey spoke kindly to her in a soft voice. ‘Is it Gerald . . . ?’

Alice rubbed her red eyes and blew her nose. ‘It’s Will, Dr Bailey. He’s been killed in action.’

‘My dear, I didn’t even know he’d gone to war! My condolences. I always seem to be bringing bad news to your door. Now, I must see Nancy, but I will talk to you once the
baby’s been delivered.’ Dr Bailey was already on his way to the stairs, upset to think one of the local lads had become a war casualty.

‘The baby was born about half an hour ago. Both mother and baby are doing fine. Nancy’s exhausted – you’ll need to take a look at her – and the baby’s tiny,
but she’s all in one piece. I delivered her.’

‘Does Nancy know about Will?’

Alice shook her head. How could she tell her on the day their baby had been born?

‘It would seem you have had your fair share of worry today, my dear.’ He patted Alice on the shoulder. ‘Put the kettle on and we will have a talk once I’ve examined
mother and baby. I’m a good listener!’ He smiled and picked his black bag up, taking his time as he climbed the stairs. He was beginning to feel his age and the cold northern climate
was not kind to his rheumatics.

By the time he came down, Alice had stoked the fire and made a fresh pot of tea.

‘Mother and baby are fine, Alice. You did a good job. Now, what are we to do with you? Are you all right, my dear? Life does seem to be throwing everything at you.’ He pulled a chair
up to the table and stirred a spoonful of sugar and a dash of milk into his tea while studying Alice’s face. ‘Will you be able to manage tonight with all this responsibility? The death
of your brother is bound to take its toll, and on top of that there’s the baby – I doubt Nancy will be able to cope with her. I’d keep the death of your brother to yourself as
long as you possibly can. It’s liable to send Nancy over the edge, and we want the baby to have the best start in life now, don’t we? After all, she may well be the next heir to all the
Frankland estates. God willing, Gerald will come back in one piece, but if he doesn’t, that little girl will be worth a fortune. Of course, I shouldn’t be commenting on this, but it
would be in your interest to look after the baby, keep her safe, and one day you’ll get your reward.’

Alice was taken aback. She’d known Dr Bailey was the Franklands’ family doctor, but she didn’t realize he knew so much about the family’s affairs.

‘I’ll take care of her as if she was my own. And I’ll break the news to Nancy when I think she can handle it.’ Alice offered him another cup of tea.

‘Good girl, I knew I could count on you. Now, I’ve given Nancy a sleeping draught for tonight. Have you everything you need to feed the baby by bottle? Ben Harper’s cows give
good creamy milk; it’ll not hurt her to be on that for a day or so. It’ll take a bit of pressure off Nancy – that is, if you think you can cope with giving the baby her night-time
feeds? You don’t want Nancy up and about, wandering on her own in the early hours.’

Alice nodded. She’d rather be in charge of the baby; at least that way she’d know that it was getting fed.

The doctor rose and put his hat on. ‘Take care, Alice. I’m so sorry for your loss. I have a feeling there will be many more to follow, leaving behind a lot of broken hearts.
I’m getting too old – I know what this world is capable of.’

Alice watched the aged doctor mount his horse with some difficulty. As he trotted off down the lane, her eyes filled with tears. She needed peace to mourn her brother. She longed to go up and
talk to her Maker on the wild fell, but instead of the balm of fresh mountain winds on her tear-stained cheeks she would have to make do with the snug warmth of the kitchen.

Alice held the letter from the solicitors in Kendal in her hand, shaking her head in disbelief. What a state of affairs! She couldn’t believe how men ruled the world when
it came to money. She’d had a much better business brain than her late brother, yet here she was, left with nothing. Worse still, Nancy was penniless too. On Will’s death, Nancy’s
inheritance had reverted to Gerald, leaving them with nothing to live on except the vegetables in the garden. What were they going to do now?

She stared out of the kitchen window, trying to organize her thoughts and come up with a plan as to what to do next, but it was impossible to think with Baby Alice screaming the house down. It
seemed to Alice that her namesake had started crying the moment she was born and hadn’t stopped since. Perhaps the baby could pick up on the tension that was building in the cottage. Alice
clenched her hand in anger, screwing the letter into a tight ball. Shut up, just shut up for one hour, just sleep!

It looked as though she was going to have to pacify the screaming baby, because as usual Nancy was oblivious to the child’s needs. She seemed to be oblivious to everything since the
baby’s birth. All she did was sit in front of the dressing-table mirror, staring at her reflection as she combed her hair. When she could be bothered to come downstairs, she’d sit
gazing out of the living-room window. Although a month had passed since Alice had learned of Will’s death, she still hadn’t got round to telling Nancy. Given her current state of mind,
it was too risky. For the time being, she was better off living in her own world and not knowing the truth. Oh, that dashed baby and her screams! There was nothing else for it – she’d
have to go and get her.

‘Now then, you awkward little devil, what’re you screeching for?’ She lifted the angry, red-faced bundle of noise from her cot. ‘You’ve come to test us all round,
haven’t you, Baby Alice? I see – or should I say, I smell? – that we need our nappy changing. Where’s your mother at? I’m sure she could do this – let’s
find her.’

The baby continued to scream as Alice carried her downstairs. A cold blast of air greeted them as they entered the living room. Nancy was sitting in her usual place, with the top sash window
wide open and the wind blowing the curtains wildly about as she stared unseeing at the outside world.

‘What are you up to? Shut that window. It’s the end of November, not the middle of the summer! Here, take the baby while I close it.’ Alice passed the baby to Nancy, making
sure she was wrapped up warm in the cold of the living room. She slammed and fastened the window. ‘What’s the point of wasting money on coal for the fire if you’re going to have
all the windows open? Anybody would think we’d money to burn. I had to go scavenge the bit of coal we have off the railway batters as it is. Give me Alice back – she needs her nappy
changing. Do you want to watch again? Then perhaps you can do it next time.’

Alice looked at Nancy as she took the baby from her, the little mite still screaming and yelling for attention. There was no response; Nancy acted as if she hadn’t heard.

‘Go and put some more clothes on, Nancy. You must be freezing, sitting in that draught with that thin dress on.’ Alice lifted the baby over her shoulder and patted the screaming
child on her back, hoping that she would stop screaming just long enough for her to get Nancy to put more clothes on.

‘Did you not hear him?’ said Nancy, as if in a trance. ‘Did you not hear him shouting my name? I heard it on the wind. I’ve seen him walking up the path on a moonlit
night as clear as day.’

‘Who? What are you talking about? It’s just the wind. It’s blowing a gale.’ Alice rocked the baby and patted her as she watched Nancy with her wild eyes.

‘I’m not telling you! I’m not sharing with you. He’s always been closer to you than me! Well, not this time; this time he’s mine.’ Nancy laughed a strange
laugh and rose from the chair. She seemed to float past Alice, her silk dress swishing softly as she left the room.

‘Since she had you, little woman, your mother’s been getting worse, not better. I swear some days she acts as if she doesn’t know you exist.’

Alice took the baby into the warm kitchen and removed her full nappy, replacing it with a clean one from off the airing rack. While the baby lay on the table kicking her legs, she filled a
bottle with warm, creamy Jersey milk. Sitting on Alice’s knee in front of the kitchen fire, the angry little body relaxed and suckled contentedly. ‘You don’t like being ignored by
your mother, do you? That’s why we have these tantrums. I’d be the same if I was in your shoes. I was lucky: I had a perfect mother. She was my best friend, my guardian and a wonderful
mother, and I didn’t even have the manners to say goodbye to her as she lay dying. How I regret that. No matter what your mother’s like, she’s still your mother.’

She stroked the little girl’s rosy cheeks until she fell asleep. Alice gazed at her, thinking of the baby she’d lost, her mother and father dying, and what her brother must have gone
through on the battlefield. Now he lay buried in a foreign land. Life had dealt her some hard blows in the last two years, but each time she had managed to bounce back. And she’d go on
bouncing back. Somehow she would sort out the money problem. Gerald would surely have made some provision for the baby his sister was carrying before he went to war. She would book an appointment
with the solicitor in Kendal, see what he had to say. Once she told him what had happened, Jack would probably offer to take her. She’d mention it to him when he next called by.

‘Don’t you worry about a thing, Miss Alice. They’ll both be all right with us. I’m fair looking forward to having this little mite for a day.’
Hilda Dowbiggin was cuddling the baby so tight it was a wonder she could breathe. ‘And Miss Nancy will enjoy the change, so don’t you worry, we’ll be just fine.’

Alice looked over her shoulder at the plump housekeeper waving them off from the steps of the manor.

‘I hope they know what they’re in for with Nancy. Instead of getting better she’s been getting worse since the birth of the baby.’ Alice shuffled her clothes and made
herself more comfortable next to Jack.

‘Aye, she’s in a bit of a state. I can see why you’ve not told her about Will yet. That would push her right over the edge. It’s taken me a week or two to realize that
I’ll never see him again. I keep going over and over our last night in the Moon. If I’d known the silly bugger was serious about wanting to shoot the Huns, I’d have played hell
with him. I thought it was all talk.’ Jack flicked the reins and the horses broke into a canter along the flat road under Helmside and on towards Kendal.

‘I miss him so much, Jack. He was the only one I had left. If it hadn’t have been for Baby Alice being born on the day the news came, I think I would have probably fallen to pieces
myself.’ Alice smiled at Jack. She’d come to appreciate his company more and more, regarding him as her closest friend.

‘I know, lass. I miss him too. I’ve no one to have a pint with or go shooting with now. He may have been an awkward bugger, but he isn’t half missed.’ He squeezed
Alice’s hand with his free hand and gazed longingly at her. ‘Do you mind if we pull in for a minute or two when we get to the Black Horse under Killington Fell? I’d like to give
these two a bit of a break before climbing the fell road.’ He nodded at his team of horses.

‘No, that’ll be fine. I haven’t set a time with the solicitor. I only hope he can see me today, else it’ll be a waste of our time.’

‘No, Alice, I don’t call it a waste of my time. We’re back talking. Just like I miss Will, I’ve missed you all this time. You don’t know how much I’ve missed
you. I’ve never let on until now, but I heard you that day talking to the old horse in the stable.’ Jack couldn’t bring himself to look Alice in the eye while he confessed.
‘I wish to God that I hadn’t overheard – it broke my heart to think what you’d done with that baby.’