The Corpses at Waterloo: Book 4 in the Mayfair 100 Series by Lynn Brittney

Author:Lynn Brittney [Brittney, Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Iris Books
Published: 2022-07-16T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

PROTECTING AGNES

It was late afternoon by the time Elsie, Sissy and the baby arrived at Bow. They had decided to take an omnibus to Charing Cross and then a tram all the way to east London.

“We can’t be doing with taking the baby down the underground,” said Elsie firmly. “Do you remember the palaver it was when we used to take Billy down the underground, when he was a baby?”

Sissy answered that she did, “And he was twice the weight of this one,” she said, as she tried to wrestle Grace into a little jacket whilst also trying to part her from the felt rabbit that never left her grip. “At least with an omnibus and a tram, you get to sit down for a while.” Although, she reflected later, when they arrived, that it was a long time since she had been on a tram and her backside had not thanked her for it. “It’s about time they had some padded seats in trams, if they want people to carry on using them,” she grumbled, as they made their way down Bow Road towards the East London Federation of Suffragettes office in Old Ford Road.

When they got there, it was a hive of activity. There was a queue of women and children outside the door, and it looked like there was a great press of people inside the building, which had a large sign above the door saying THE WOMEN’S HALL. Elsie and Sissy took their place in the queue and waited. However, a smartly-dressed woman came out and was going down the line of mothers and children checking the reason for them being there. Occasionally she would pull someone out of the line and take them in the building, ahead of the others and if, when she came back, anyone complained about preferential treatment, she would chide them and say “We always deal with those who are absolutely desperate first, you know that. You’ll get seen today, don’t worry.”

Sissy noticed that most of the children had no shoes – just dirty bare feet – some had coughs or runny noses – and all the women looked tired and old before their time.

When the supervisor woman came to Sissy and Elsie she looked most surprised. “Ladies! Are you sure you are in the right queue? You all look far too well-nourished to be one of our clients!” Elsie laughed and said, “Sissy, I think she’s calling us fat, don’t you?” The woman blushed and apologised, “I didn’t mean to imply…” Sissy brushed it off. “Don’t worry about it, love,” she said and she nodded to the queue in front of them. “We understand what you mean.”

The woman said, “Shall we start again?” and she held out her hand. “I’m Norah Smyth, how can I help you?”

Elsie explained that her experience with a young war widow had left her with a strong feeling that she wanted to help in some way and that they had come to Bow hoping that they might be able to speak to Sylvia Pankhurst.

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