A Mystery for Christmas by Jackie Barbosa

Author:Jackie Barbosa [Barbosa, Jackie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781735320519
Publisher: Circe Press

7

Lullay, Lullay (Coventry Carol)

Artemisia’s fingers shook as she closed the top-most button on her pelisse, and not from the cold. She could not wait to put as much distance between herself and Mrs. Knowles as possible, so she all but ran down the front steps of the orphanage toward the buggy.

“The very suggestion!” she hissed at her husband, who was taking long, brisk strides to keep pace with her. “I would not allow that awful woman within two hundred yards of Noel, much less bring him here to be raised.” When they had explained the circumstances that brought them in search of a wet nurse, Mrs. Knowles had generously offered to take the infant into care so they would not have to concern themselves. She would bill the parish of Grange-Over-Sands for his care, of course, rather than Meathop-Lindale, but perhaps Walter would consider settling additional children with her in future should the need arise. Artemisia shuddered at the thought, looking back over her shoulder at the unremarkable façade of the orphanage. “There is something very wrong with this place.”

Nodding, Walter slid his arm through hers. “I agree, but I don’t know what we can do about it. This is not my parish, so I have no authority over this orphanage, and I doubt the magistrate would consider our dislike of the proprietress to be sufficient grounds to investigate possible wrong-doing.”

She shot him a glance. “So you felt it, too?”

“Yes. From the moment the housekeeper opened the door.”

Her eyebrows arched. As a general rule, her husband tended to be less suspicious than most people. Or, perhaps it was more accurate to say that he seldom suspected people of ill intent. Either way, she was surprised that he seemed to have been put off by the atmosphere of the orphanage even before she had. Her hackles hadn’t been raised until the housekeeper had asked how they’d learned of the orphanage. The question still raised alarm bells in her head, though she couldn’t articulate why, even to herself.

Not only did the place make the hair want to crawl from her head, but the visit hadn’t even yielded them the information they’d been hoping for. Mrs. Knowles had claimed not to know of any wet nurses in the vicinity who were currently between positions.

When they reached the buggy, Walter helped Artemisia up into her seat and then rushed to the other side to climb into his own. He seemed in every bit as a great a hurry to quit Meathop-Lindale Home for Orphans as she was.

But the children here… There was no escape for them. Well, not until they were old enough to be sold off to a workhouse or as an apprentice, which could just as easily be a worse situation as a better one.

As Walter took up the reins and urged Buford into a walk, Artemisia took one long, last look at the house. Movement in a third-story window caught her eye. A curtain twitched and a pale, thin face appeared in the opening.

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