Mrs Hopkins by Shirley Barrett

Author:Shirley Barrett [Shirley Barrett]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2024-04-12T00:00:00+00:00

The sight that greeted her as she flung open the door and entered her quarters caused her to drop to her knees.

‘No!’ she cried. ‘No, dear God, please, no!’

For there on the bed lay Josephine, deathly pale, her eyes sunken. Standing in the middle of the room was Rosabella, weeping. The smell of urine hung heavily in the air, for poor Josephine had wet the bed.

‘Oh, Mrs Hopkins,’ cried Rosabella. ‘We tried! We tried our best, truly we did!’

At that moment, Josephine emitted a strange gasping breath. Mrs Hopkins lurched to her feet and rushed to her side. She was alive, but barely so. Her skin was cold to the touch, and she appeared to be unconscious. Her skin was beginning to mottle just as Eugenie’s had, her lips quite colour-less, and her eyes—those dear mismatched eyes, now glassy and unseeing—those had been Eugenie’s eyes in the hours before her death. A sob rose up from the very pit of her belly.

‘Oh no, darling girl,’ she cried. ‘Stay with us! I cannot lose you a second time!’

She pulled the girl into a seated position, propping her limp body against her own. Taking a jug of water, she held it to the girl’s parched lips, attempting to tip some into her mouth. Water spilled down the front of the girl’s nightshirt, but this did not deter Mrs Hopkins. She stuck her fingers into Josephine’s mouth, prising it open wider; then, pulling her head back by the hair, emptied the jug of water directly into her mouth. Immediately Josephine began to splutter and choke, the water spilling out of her mouth. She gasped for air, flapping her hands desperately, her eyes wide with panic.

‘Come on, girl,’ she cried. ‘Drink! Drink, for God’s sake.’

Rosabella and Catherine stared. Mrs Hopkins was being awfully rough with the sick girl.

‘Maybe if you try a flannel soaked in water,’ suggested Catherine. ‘She could maybe suck on that. It might be easier for her.’

‘Yes!’ cried Mrs Hopkins, and she pulled out her handkerchief and dipped it in the jug of water and held it to Josephine’s lips. And after a moment, Josephine made a little sucking sound, and then she sucked a little harder. Mrs Hopkins dipped the handkerchief in the water again and held it to the girl’s lips. She gave a small tentative suck but then her head lolled back on her neck and she fell quite limp.

‘Oh God! Oh dear God!’ cried Mrs Hopkins. ‘Save this little soul, I beseech you!’

She laid the girl back against the pillow and gazed at her in despair. Then she began to weep. Catherine and Rosabella looked on in dismay. They did not know what to do. All they knew was that they very much wanted to get out of there.

‘Mrs Hopkins, we haven’t had any dinner,’ ventured Catherine. ‘Could we go and have something to eat?’

‘Yes! Yes, of course. You have been such good girls. I thank you, I thank you!’ cried Mrs Hopkins. ‘You must think my grief extreme,’ she continued, as she followed the girls to the door.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.