A Mother's Secret Read Online Free PDF

racked his tiny body. ‘Leave him alone, missis.’
    Biddy squinted at her through half-closed eyes. ‘Where’ve you been?’ She took a swipe at Cassy’s head but her aim fell far short. She staggered drunkenly and would have fallen if Bailey had not caught her. He pushed her unceremoniously back onto her seat.
    ‘I think you’ve had plenty, missis. The drink will be the death of you if you ain’t careful.’
    With the bottle still clutched in her hand, Biddy pulled the cork out with her teeth and took a swig. ‘I ain’t drunk enough. When I can’t see or hear them horrible brats, that’s when I stop.’ She closed her eyes, holding the bottle to her lips and tipping its contents down her throat as if it were water.
    Cassy hitched baby Freddie over her shoulder, patting his back in a vain effort to help him breathe. ‘He ought to see the doctor,’ she whispered. ‘I dunno what else to do, Bailey.’
    He angled his head, glancing from the suffering infant to the shapeless form of Biddy slumped in her chair. ‘He don’t look too good. I think it’s the hospital for young Freddie, if we ain’t too late already.’
    ‘Don’t say that,’ Cassy cried, hugging Freddie closer to her thin chest. ‘I won’t let him die. I won’t.’
    ‘Well, she’s dead to the world,’ Bailey remarked, jerking his head in Biddy’s direction. ‘C’mon, we’ll take him to Bart’s. They’ll see him for free, only it might be a long wait.’
    Cassy bit her lip. She knew that Bailey was right, but it would mean leaving the other young children to Biddy’s tender care, and that was worse than nothing. She was torn between love and duty. She had formed a bond with little Freddie and he was clinging to her now as if his life depended upon it, which of course it did. ‘I’ll take him if you’ll stay here and look after the others.’
    Bailey shook his head. ‘I ain’t no nursemaid, Cassy.’
    ‘Oh, please, Bailey.’ Her bottom lip trembled as she fought to hold back tears. ‘He needs me to hold him. He’ll be scared stiff of them men in white coats.’
    ‘Then I’m the best one to take him,’ Bailey said, gently prising Freddie from her arms. ‘I won’t stand no nonsense from them doctors and nurses. You stay here and tend to the babes; they need you more than he does just now.’
    Cassy knew that he was talking sense but the sight of Freddie’s stricken face and the way he held his arms out to her almost broke her heart. ‘Take him then, and hurry.’
    ‘I’ll be quick as I can.’ Holding Freddie as tenderly as any woman, Bailey strode out of the room.
    Tending to the remaining infants kept Cassy fully occupied, but her thoughts were with Freddie. She knew that doctors were clever coves who had spent years at school studying books, and that made them able to cure even the sickest person. Bailey had told her all manner of interesting things that he had learned at the ragged school. Biddy had sent him there, he said, because she could neither read nor write and she needed someone to answer letters from anxious mothers who had put their children in her care. Then there was the matter of sending out bills to those tardy in paying the cost of care for their offspring, although Cassy was painfully aware that Biddy accepted payment for infants long dead, and only admitted their demise if threatened with a visit from the parent or if they were in a position to reclaim their fostered child.
    Cassy sat on a low stool with baby Anna in her arms, feeding her cow’s milk from a spoon. Head lice crawled through the infant’s thin blonde hair and Cassy’s scalp itched at the sight of them. They were all infested with parasites, including fleas and roundworms, but so were all the other children who lived in Three Herring Court. Cleanliness came a poor third to having enough to eat and keeping warm in winter. There was a pump on the corner of the court but the water was often contaminated with sewage, causing outbreaks of