Bill Bailey's Daughter by Catherine Cookson

Author:Catherine Cookson [Cookson, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781780360386
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

‘It’s a girl.’

‘Well, where is she?’

‘In the nursery.’

‘You’ve got a nursery now?’

‘We’ve made a makeshift one. Would you like to come up and see her?’

‘Well, it’s the least I can do, isn’t it?’

‘Yes, Mother; it’s the least you can do…’

The room held a cot, a small table, a cupboard and two straight-backed chairs. The child was awake and gurgling; they both heard it as they opened the door. There was a permanent night light glowing, as the only other light in the room was from a fanlight in the roof. Fiona switched on the main light; then one at each side of the cot, they stood looking down on the gurgling child.

‘Dear God!’ It was a thin whisper from Mrs Vidler. ‘It’s a…’

‘Yes, Mother, a mongol.’

‘Oh, my goodness! Oh, really! How on earth could this happen to you? Are . . . are you going to keep it?’

‘Yes, Mother, we are going to keep it. And it isn’t an “it”, it’s a “she”.’

‘They…they grow up mental.’

‘They do nothing of the sort, Mother!’ It was a bawl that would have done credit to Bill, and Mrs Vidler reared up and said, ‘Don’t you dare shout at me like that! Anyway, what do you expect from that man? There’s nothing like this on our side of the family; it’s through him.’

‘It isn’t through him, Mother. These things happen to all types of people.’

‘It’s genes; it’s passed down.’

‘It isn’t genes, and it is not passed down.’

‘All right, all right, it is not passed down; but this has come about through him, and what will people say?’

‘I don’t give a damn about what people say, Mother.’

‘Well, you should. And don’t expect me to be grandmother to it. There are homes for such children.’

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