The Daughters of Eden Trilogy: The Shadow Catcher, Fever Hill & the Serpent's Tooth Read Online Free PDF Page B

baby settled’.
    ‘How did you manage that?’ Madeleine said crossly as she was putting the last of the damp napkins over the fender. It seemed the blackest ingratitude for the baby to howl at her for ages, then snuggle up to her mother and behave.
    ‘She’s feeding,’ her mother whispered. ‘She’ll be quiet now.’
    Setting her teeth, Madeleine picked up the washbasin and stalked off to empty it. Then she stalked back and set it firmly on the wash-hand stand.
    Her mother raised her head and gave her a considering look. ‘Poor Maddy. You’re exhausted. And you haven’t eaten a crumb for hours. After everything you’ve accomplished!’
    Madeleine tried not to look pleased.
    ‘Run down to the kitchen and cut yourself the biggest piece of seed cake you’ve ever seen. Take the whole thing if you like. And pour yourself an enormous glass of milk.’
    Obediently, Madeleine went out onto the landing. But she never reached the kitchen, for without warning her stomach began to heave. She barely made it to the water closet before she was violently sick. When it was over she stayed kneeling on the freezing tiles with her elbows on the seat. She never wanted to move again.
    Then she realized that she hadn’t closed the bathroom door, so her mother must have heard her being sick. A wave of shame washed over her. Her mother had been through much worse, and she hadn’t been sick once.
    ‘Sorry,’ she mumbled when she returned to the bedroom.
    Her mother gave her a dreamy smile. ‘You’re exhausted, sweetheart. This has been ghastly for you. I’m so sorry you had to go through it. But you’ve been splendid. Utterly, utterly splendid. I couldn’t have done it without you.’
    Madeleine sucked in her lips.
    ‘Let’s get this little one settled, shall we? Then you shall climb into bed with me, and we’ll sleep till the middle of next week.’
    That sounded more like her proper mother. But there was still the matter of ‘settling’ the baby.
    According to Dr Philpott, it must be placed in a cot beside the mother. But the cot was in the new nursery, and far too heavy to drag in. So instead Madeleine emptied a drawer from the bureau and put in a pillow for a mattress, and then her mother’s thick Paisley shawl, doubled up. Then she hauled the drawer onto the bed and put it at the bottom, against the footboard. Then she put the baby inside and folded the shawl over it, with the head just showing, like a jam turnover. To her relief, the baby slept through the whole operation. Whatever her mother had given it to eat had obviously worked.
    Suddenly, Madeleine was too tired to undress. Fortunately, she was wearing her favourite soft grey jersey sailor frock, with loose flannel petticoats underneath, as her mother didn’t believe in corset-waists for children. Yawning, she tugged off her hairclip and crawled beneath the covers.
    It was wonderful to burrow into the great mound of bedding, and her mother felt marvellously soft and warm to curl up against. She also smelled reassuringly of soap and eau-de-cologne – although the smell of baby still lingered in the air.
    ‘Sorry I was sick,’ Madeleine mumbled.
    She felt a gentle breath stirring the top of her hair, as if her mother were trying to kiss her but lacked the strength to reach. ‘You were wonderful,’ her mother said. ‘So grown-up. And brave . You’re amazing, Maddy. Quite, quite amazing.’
    For a while there was silence, and Madeleine thought her mother had fallen asleep. Then once again she felt the breath on her hair. ‘Tomorrow,’ her mother said drowsily, ‘when you’ve had breakfast and fetched Dr Baines, everything will be back to normal. The doctor will bring a nurse to look after us, and you won’t ever have to wash the baby again. And after that, you shall eat nothing but cake all day long, and I’ll have the biggest brandy in Christendom – and we’ll send an enormous bunch of carnations to Dr Philpott. And then we’ll put our heads