The Ship's Midwife by Peta Miller

Author:Peta Miller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HQ Fiction
Published: 2023-04-18T00:00:00+00:00

‘Where’ve you been? You missed the pilot boat!’ Bridie found Sarah in the ward gathering another armful of sweat-laden sheeting.

‘Oh, what good timing.’ Sarah dumped her load into Bridie’s arms.

‘Oi! Anyways, you missed seeing them come. They’ve left us to steer our own passage because we’ve got this blight on board. Word has it we’ll be in quarantine when we reach shore. The whole ship is talking of nothing else.’ Bridie’s voice was loud in the room.

‘Hush a little, Bridie. We’ve had another patient come in.’

‘Oh, bugger!’ Bridie looked around the room until she spotted the bunk in the corner, the prone figure on it facing the wall. ‘Didn’t notice I was so busy gassing. How are they?’

‘Not well at all. He’s a Lancashire man, no family that was mentioned. Bunked in the single men’s, so I think we should expect a few more from that area.’ Sarah didn’t want to voice her fears about the doctor to Bridie just yet, and certainly not in earshot of others. She would wait.

Bridie bundled the sheets tightly. ‘Aach! Let’s get rid of these vile things first then we can go to our cabin for a rest.’

They climbed up out of steerage. Both were puffing, red-faced and breathless by the time they reached the deck. At the portside stove, Bridie shoved her armful into a pot of water with a grunt while Sarah dropped her bundle on the deck. Bridie tossed in a cup of dissolved lye, grabbed a pole and stirred the washing before using it to pull out a load that had been stewing in another pot. The water had almost boiled dry and the sheets were heavy, reeking of salt despite their soapy bath. They would dry stiff and scratchy but at least it killed the fleas.

After she laid the sheets along the rail Bridie tossed the dirty water into the sea. She tied a rope to the pot’s handle and lowered it down over the side. ‘Sarah, come and help me pull this up.’

Sarah hauled and the pot came bumping up the side of the ship, only half full by the time it reached them. More water slopped over as they settled it back on the stove.

‘Bugger, it’s nearly empty!’ Bridie laughed as she looked around. Saul was the only one close by so she hailed him and the sailor ambled over.

‘Good day, ladies! How may I help you?’ His response was genial, his expression open.

Sarah smiled at Saul. ‘Good afternoon, Saul. Neither Bridie nor I seem to be able to retrieve a pot of water without spilling most of it.’ She pulled the near-empty pot from the stove and showed him.

Saul obliged with a wink and tossed it over the side, hauling it up full a minute later and placing it back over the coals.

‘Thank you, Saul. Tell me, if you do not mind, where is it you are from?’ Sarah asked.

‘I am Assyrian,’ he said proudly. ‘We are great travellers and I am from a family of sea men.

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