The Forgotten Daughter by Mary Wood

Author:Mary Wood
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan UK

Chapter Nineteen

A week had passed since Christmas. With each day Flora’s heart had sunk further, as the promise in the last letter she received from Cyrus hadn’t materialized. Now, the birth of their child was on her, and agonizing pains wracked her body.

‘Flora, lass, one more try, come on, you can do it. That’s reet, lass, push, Flora, push.’

A scream came from deep within Flora as the pain gripped her. Sweat ran off her face, her teeth clenched and her neck strained. Oh God, let it be over soon, I can’t bear any more.

With this thought dying in her, her next was a curse as she felt as though she would split in two, but then a cry filled the room and her heart swelled.

Our baby. Oh, Cyrus, if only you were here . . .

‘Let it all out, me lass. You’ve sommat to cry over, but sommat to rejoice over an’ all. There, you have a lovely little lass. She’s reet bonny. Eeh, you’re a clever lass.’

Flora looked down into the blood-covered face and felt a love fill her that warmed her whole body. ‘Oh, she’s beautiful. Beautiful!’

‘She will be, when I’ve cleaned her up and put her in her layette that I’ve all ready for her. Oooh, come here, me bonny wee one. I’m your Aunty Pru, and I love the bones of you.’

‘You’re not just her aunt – you’re her namesake, as she is to be called Prudence Alice, only we will use her second name, to avoid confusion. Alice is after Aliz, a girl I met in Belgium who I want to remember.’

‘Aw, that’s lovely. Reet, me little Alice, a bath for you and a nice cuppa for your ma. Then I’ll clean you up, lass. Eeh, I’m going to have me hands full, with the pair of you.’

Flora smiled, a weak, tired smile. Her body reacted to the hours of labour and trembled with exhaustion. She lay back. An awareness of what she held in her hand came to her and she opened it, gasping in horror as she saw how she’d crumpled Cyrus’s photo. He’d sent it to her a few weeks back, in a letter that was full of hope:

We had a great victory today, darling. We secured a ridge that is a strategic advantage. Not only that, but defeating the Germans meant so much to the men. Though, sadly, our casualties are still high and we are not getting the replacements we need.

This means that those still fighting are very tired. Maybe now, with this victory, we can rest for a few days. There’s always a lull when a battle is won, while our enemy regroups and we begin to see their next move.

I’m enclosing a photo taken when a fellow officer and I snatched a few hours and went into Artois; we had a good time, and got a little drunk. A French lady took the picture, and in no time returned to the bar with it developed. She studied photography and tries to earn a living taking shots of the war and of soldiers, and selling them to newspapers.

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