The Wet Nurse's Tale by Erica Eisdorfer

Author:Erica Eisdorfer [Eisdorfer, Erica]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Family Secrets, Mothers and Sons, Historical, Great Britain - History - Victoria; 1837-1901, Family Life, General, Historical Fiction, Wet Nurses, Fiction
ISBN: 0425234479
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Published: 2009-01-01T04:00:00+00:00

I could not get a ride. There was no one on the road and those few who did ride by were but single horsemen who, when they saw my size, ignored my pleas and rode past me at a gallop. It took me a good forty minutes to get to the Great House, and the whole time I was thinking thoughts that made the walk seem like the path to hell.

I supposed my father would go to the Great House to tell them what he had heard about the baby’s father and try to get some money out of them. I supposed Mrs. Bonney would intercept the problem so she might protect Freddie from his father if she could.

But what if I could not get to Mrs. Bonney? What if she refused to take the baby, what would he do with it? What if she did take the baby, what then? What if the family was not at home: what would I do? Where would next I go to find my child? What if one of the few riders coming down the road was my father? Would he hurt me bad enough so that I could no longer search for Davey? Who would feed Davey? I tried to banish thoughts of feeding from my mind immediately, lest they bring my milk down, but it was too late: that familiar tightening arose, and my breasts filled and leaked onto my shift. I could not run; my bosoms was too big and it hurt to bounce them. I made do with a trot, more like, and finally, there in front of me was the Great House.

I made my way as quick as I could to the downstairs entrance and slipped in. Twas late by then, but the house was lit and I could tell by the kitchen that there was a fancy supper upstairs. The soup had been served; I could see the big silver tureen on the kitchen table ready for washing, and for an instant, it recalled to me my hours of polishing when still I was a maid and a maiden, too. The Bonneys and their guests upstairs were on to the meat course, which I knew because the cook and the kitchen girls were sitting at their own table, eating their own suppers, which they might do before the salads were served.

I knew the place like I knew my Davey’s hand. I snuck by the servants as they ate and turned left down the hall toward the pressing room, where we laundry girls would stack the sheets and shirts after they was all cleaned and ironed. I went in and closed the door. I did not know what to do next and felt quite wild at being so very close to them as perhaps had my child. I wondered if he was in that very house, hungry, while they ate their quail and drank their wine.

Then the door opened and in came Mrs. Hart. She opened the door very sudden, just as she used to do when I lived at the Great House.

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.