He smiled as he entered a small room that seemed to be full of people and beds. The largest bed was set beneath the only window and on it lay a pale-faced man. He was dressed in a shirt and a pair of trousers but Emmy noticed that one of the trouser legs was pinned above the knee and she instantly felt sorry for him. He must have lost part of his leg in the accident that Jake had told her about, poor thing. In a chair by the empty grate a woman sat with a child on her lap and she gave the doctor a weak smile as he introduced Emmy.
‘This is my dear cousin, Miss Emerald Winter. She wanted to come along today to see if there was anything she could do to help you.’
‘You’re very welcome, Miss Winter,’ the man said politely as he inclined his head.
‘Oh, and we’ve brought you this.’ Jake laid the hamper on the scrubbed table that stood to the other side of the room and when he opened it the children’s eyes grew round with longing, although the man of the house frowned.
‘It’s right good of you to think of us, doctor, but we ain’t quite charity cases yet,’ he muttered, feeling deeply ashamed of the plight they found themselves in.
‘Oh, but it isn’t charity, Mr O’Flanagan, sir,’ Emmy quickly stepped in to assure him. ‘Jake here and myself were going on a picnic today but we changed our mind and if you don’t accept it, it will all be wasted.’
By now the remaining two children had sidled up to the table to peep inside and at the sight of the contents they gasped with delight. Like the little girl that had admitted them, they too were covered in a measles rash and their eyes were feverishly bright.
‘Ah well .?.?. in that case, thank you kindly,’ the man said, watching his children eye the food hungrily.
‘Aye, thank you, doctor, miss,’ chorused his wife. She was a small, dainty woman with a shock of red hair but she looked tired and worn from the hard life she’d led.
‘Perhaps the children would like a little bread and cheese now?’ Emmy suggested. ‘If you could show me where the plates and the knives are, I can cut them some.’
Without waiting for an answer, the middle child, a boy who Emmy learnt was Finn, scampered away to get them and minutes later he, Kathleen and Niamh, the youngest child, were tucking into their feast as if they hadn’t eaten properly for a month while Emmy served their parents with a generous slice of Cook’s pork pie. They washed the food down with ginger beer and once they’d all eaten their fill, Emmy carefully wrapped the rest of the food and placed it in a cupboard for them for later while Jake examined his patients. At least she had the satisfaction of knowing that they would not go hungry that day.
‘What a lovely family,’ Emmy commented shortly after when she and Jake drove away after Jake had given little Tommy his precious penny. ‘And how sad to see them having to live like that. After seeing the state of the rest of the house I didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised to see how clean the children and their rooms were.’
Jake nodded and sighed. ‘I know. It breaks my heart to see anyone having to live in those conditions. They came from Ireland for a better life and I think they might have found it if Mr O’Flanagan hadn’t had his accident. Goodness knows what will happen to them now. His job prospects are sorely limited with only one leg and his wife will work herself into the ground the way she’s going on. It almost broke her when the baby died last week but her milk had dried up and he was so weak that he had nothing to fight the measles with, poor little chap. I heard they had to give the undertaker a penny to put him in with the next corpse they bury because they couldn’t afford to give him a proper funeral. Poor souls will never even know where he is laid to rest, but at least they’ll have the satisfaction of knowing he’s buried in hallowed ground. But I was pleased to find the other three children all slightly better today. Thank you for giving them the food, Emmy.’
‘Oh, you don’t have to thank me,’ she said distractedly, her mind still back with the family in their cramped little rooms. There had hardly been space to swing a cat and she had no idea how they managed. ‘I left them half a crown with the rest of the food,’ she admitted. ‘I saw how proud they were so it was no use offering it to them but hopefully that will feed them for another few days when they find it. And I just wish there was more I could do for them.’
‘Yes, they’re a nice family,’ Jake agreed. Then hoping to lighten the mood a little he glanced at her and asked, ‘Now, how about we go for a stroll around the park and then I’ll take you for tea and a bun seeing as you’ve given all our dinner away?’
‘That sounds like a very good idea,’ she consented as they came out of the alleyways into the sunshine, but it was hard to banish the poverty she had just witnessed from her mind.
Chapter Twenty-Five
‘Come on, queen, put a smile on yer face!’ Lilly said as Abi came down the stairs a few evenings later. ‘You’ve been mopin’ about the place like a wet weekend, what’s up wi’ yer?’
‘Nothing!’ Abi said irritably as she strode past her into the club.
‘What’s wrong wi’ ’er then?’ Lilly asked Bella, who was close by.
Bella sighed. ‘It’s that bloody Hugo Medville,’ she answered. ‘He told her he had to go and visit his sick grandpa but between you and me I saw him and her cousin Jasper out and about with their little gang of mates yesterday. They were just coming out of a gambling den.’
‘Oh dear, an’ the girl’s struck wi’ him an’ all,’ Lilly said worriedly. ‘But she’ll ’ave to get over it. She’s no good to me if she can’t plaster a smile on ’er face fer the customers. Keep yer eye on ’er for me, would yer, queen?’ She tutted as she moved off to speak to one of the other girls.
Bella bit her lip.Poor little cow, she thought as she slowly made her way into the club.She’s fallen for the two-timing bastard hook, line and sinker and I’ve a horrible feeling it’s all going to end in tears.She saw a gentleman smile at her and plastered a smile on her face as she hurried over to keep him company, forgetting all about Abi. As she had learnt, the show must go on.
It was a few days later before Jasper showed his face at the club again, and the second she saw him, Abi’s face lit up, only to fall again when she realised that Hugo wasn’t with him.
‘Have you had any word from Hugo?’ she asked eagerly as she drew her cousin to one side.
He shook his head sympathetically. ‘Not as yet, no.’ He could have told her that he hadn’t seen him for days and that if the rumours that were circulating were true, his parents had finally put their foot down with him when faced with yet more of his gambling bills. He gave her a cheerful smile. ‘He’ll be back before you know it,’ he told her instead. ‘But how is Emerald? I thought I might call on her and our aunt tomorrow. Do you fancy coming with me?’
Abi’s first reaction was to refuse but then as she thought of yet another day sitting in her room pining for Hugo, she had a change of heart.
‘I suppose I could do,’ she answered hesitantly, although she didn’t sound too enthusiastic. ‘Do you want to call for me?’
‘Yes, I’ll pick you up about one o’clock after lunch,’ he promised and with a wink he went off to the card tables, hoping to win for a change, leaving Abi to go and entertain a red-faced elderly man who had hands like an octopus.
The next day Jasper arrived late as usual but Abi didn’t say anything, she knew how unreliable he was. She actually didn’t mind him being late today as she hadn’t felt too well that morning, although she was fine now.
