Christmas at the Farmhouse - Rebecca Boxall Page 0,44

to see her and the baby.’

‘What colour was he?’ I asked.

‘What colour? What sort of a question’s that?’

‘I mean, was he coloured?’

‘I’ve no idea! Esme will know, ask her tomorrow. Janet won’t be happy, anyway, when she finds out her man got turned away.’

‘I should think she’ll be very pleased he was,’ I replied.

Doris looked curious. ‘Why?’ she asked. ‘Most of us would do anything to have a knight in shining armour turn up here to whisk us and our babies away.’

I sighed and thought of my own knight – aware that time was running out for us. ‘No reason,’ I said to Doris, not wanting to betray Janet’s confidence. ‘Just got the impression he wasn’t a good sort.’

‘That’s what Esme said about him,’ Doris said, nodding. ‘Got ever so angry, apparently. Was threatening the nun! I know some of those nuns are a pain in the backside, but you wouldn’t threaten them, would you?’

The following day I was going to ask Esme more about this supposed man of Janet’s, but my plans went out the window when I heard the sound of a row going on in Matron’s office. I was meant to be scrubbing the lino in the downstairs corridor, but I crept along towards the noise. I listened hard and realised, with surprise, that one of the voices I could hear was Janet’s.

‘You can’t do this to me!’ she was wailing.

Matron sounded calm, but icy. ‘You need to go back to the maternity wing,’ she said. ‘You’re in no fit state to be wandering about the day after giving birth.’

‘No fit state to be a mother, either, according to you!’

‘You’ll do yourself no favours talking to me like that. I can assure you we’ll do our best to find suitable parents for the baby, but being of mixed race is going to delay matters.’

‘And what if you can’t find someone to adopt her?’ Janet asked, her voice raw.

‘Then she’ll be looked after by the State.’

Janet started wailing again. I heard the door to Matron’s office open and all of a sudden Janet came shuffling along the corridor, her face red and sodden.

‘Janet! What on earth’s the matter?’ I asked, emerging from the shadows.

‘They won’t let me keep the baby, no matter what!’ she cried. ‘All because of that fight I had with Esme. They’ve got me down as “violent”. They’d rather send her to some Children’s Home than let her be with me. They can’t do it,’ she wailed. ‘They can’t do this to me!’

I glanced nervously towards Matron’s office. ‘Come on,’ I said. ‘You need to get back to your bed. You need to recover. For the baby.’

‘What’s the point?’ asked Janet, hopelessly, though she let me lead her along.

‘Because I’ve got a plan,’ I whispered. ‘I’m going to get you out of here. You and the little one.’

‘How?’ asked Janet, her tears finally abating.

‘I’ll tell you,’ I said. ‘But first, we need to get back to the maternity wing.’

Chapter Twenty-five

November 1969

Susan

‘What’s your plan, then?’ asked Janet, still sniffing after her outburst but calmer now. She was back in her bed on the maternity wing and I’d made her a cup of tea. There was no sign of the baby so I assumed she was sleeping in the nursery. I looked around to check there were no midwives earwigging.

‘I’ve got a friend called Penny,’ I explained. ‘She’s nice as pie, and her parents have hearts of gold. They live in the town I come from and offered to have me and the baby stay with them, only my father refused as he doesn’t want me going back to Silverhurst with a child and sullying his good name.’

‘That father of yours,’ Janet muttered.

‘Anyway,’ I whispered. ‘I’m sure if I tell her your predicament her family would be glad to help you. Even if just for a short time till you get something else organised.’

‘You mean you think I should escape? With the baby?’ Janet looked all wide-eyed.

‘Well, what other option have you got? Either she’s going to be adopted or they’ll put her in a Home.’

‘But how do you know this Penny girl and her family will be willing to help? It’s not like they know me. They’ll probably think I’m the lowest of the low.’

‘They won’t; they’re a lovely family. But I do need to speak to Penny. To check with her, and see if her dad will drive up here and pick you and the baby up.’

‘Well, there ain’t no telephones here, are there? If