She paused, but Daniel still waited, unaware she’d already shared her news. She spread her hands in appeal. “If I continue obstetrics work after our child comes, I’ll be in the company of the midwives—hundreds of married women who helpdeliver babies. People are already accustomed to the situation of working mothers, especially in midwifery, so why wouldn’t they accept me?”
She waited for his brow to loosen with relief, but he only ground his teeth.
“Midwives have no prestige. No training. It’s beneath you. You’ve studied for years. You’re a surgeon, Nora.”
She drew in a deep breath and plunged onward. “And this way I can continue to perform surgeries. There would be cesareans and torn wombs and cysts of the ovaries.” She tempered herself. She shouldn’t sound so enthusiastic about calamities. “We know from experience most men won’t consent to being treated by me unless it’s a trivial complaint, but women surely will. Some might even prefer treatment from me once they know I’ve experienced motherhood myself.”
“A licensed midwife?” he asked dubiously. “What does that even mean?”
“Not a midwife. An obstetrician. You well know the difference. I’m certified. I can practice surgery and medicine. But I can do it in the birth room, where other doctors show little interest. There’s a chance they’ll leave me alone there.”
Daniel huffed. “Very little chance, given our luck. Adams was just telling me all families expect their private doctor to attend births. If you disrupt that, you threaten their livelihoods.”
Nora stared at the thin red fissure glowing on a piece of coal. “It’s so silly. They hate overseeing births. Harry doesn’t like obstetrics, and you are so busy it’s a burden.” Even Horace rolled his eyes occasionally when called to a primigravida. “And in the meantime, I can’t keep my ward filled because no menwant me to treat them. We’re all working on the wrong cases, Daniel.” She sighed out a short blast of frustration. Sometimes seeing a solution galled more than a mystery, knowing there was a serviceable answer no one would accept…
“But if we make the decision to restrict care here—treating only women and children, developing a reputation for scientific, excellent care that’s provided by women…”
Why wasn’t he nodding? She’d painted a compelling future they could step into together, with satisfying work for both.
“Nora.” His low voice vibrated with warning. “Your idea might have worked before, but…” He swallowed and exhaled. “There’s been a development. An article in the papers about a midwife.”
“What midwife?” Her blood froze. Surely nothing about Ruth.
“A young woman in Surrey. She placed advertisements in the local papers. No training whatsoever. It sounds like…” He hesitated. “She did a few deliveries before branching out into abortions. Apparently, she was doing quite well for herself until last week, when she killed a mother and her child, seven months along. My father and Aunt Wilcox informed me of the case yesterday.”
Weight settled on her shoulders: cold, dull, and smothering. Nora forced a quick breath, but it caught in her throat. She swiped at her eyes, embarrassed by her quick feelings. She was so volatile lately.
Death was everywhere, but this news stung. Two tragic losses—and perhaps another coming, because the lawless girl would be prosecuted. Manslaughter was the usual verdict for abortionists and punished by death—or transportation, if thejudge felt merciful. But any pity Nora might have felt for her was scorched away by one thing: “She was advertising?”
Daniel nodded. “Not for abortions, not explicitly. The ad promised ‘effective treatment for blockages and feminine complaints,’ or something like that.”
Nora snorted. Clear enough language for luring desperate women. Exploiting them. “She wasn’t a real midwife,” Nora spat out.
“No, but she claimed it, and some poor woman trusted her. According to Adams, who examined the bodies, both baby and mother were terribly mutilated. The mother died four days later of infection.”
Daniel leaned forward, his voice too soft. “Adams is making the most of it, I’m afraid. Drumming up public support for his petition. It’s not just an academic issue among doctors anymore; all of London is joining the debate.”
Nora straightened. “Understandably. But it’s nothing to do with me. I’m advocating for better education. Licensing. Stricter controls.” Not this current shamble where anyone could make up an advertisement and promise anything.
Daniel shook his head. “Adams is calling out any doctor who supports midwives. Says they’re a danger to female patients who cannot know which ones are safe and which aren’t.” He turned away, pacing the floor. “He even mentioned—not by name, mind you—a foreign-trained doctor who is misguided enough to—”
“Heis?” She spoke just above a whisper. “Are you sureyou’renot the one who believes that?”
“Nora.” He sighed. “I’ve supported you in everything. If Ihad my way, you’d train dozens of midwives and make this hospital everything you imagine. I think your idea is a brilliant one. But Adams is starting a fight, and I can’t allow you to set yourself against him when we both know you can’t win. We’ve got to bide our time. Take things slower. In a year or two, circumstances might be—”
“At this rate, in a year or two, things will be that much worse.”
“We don’t know that,” Daniel said. “In any case, we can judge the obstacles now. Standing up to Adams, especially in light of what’s happened, is like”—he shook his head—“sending a lightweight against a title champion. You’ve fought too hard to lose everything now. Adams isn’t just looking to give you a bruising, Nora. He’ll knock you right out of the ring.”
Her shoulders felt rigid enough to break. “I am not a lightweight.”
“I meant—”
“I know what you meant.”
“I don’t think you do,” Daniel said.
She wanted to stalk out of the room, but she’d need a walk of several miles in the driving rain just to damp the embers seething in her stomach. And her midwife pupils would arrive in less than an hour.
