The Lost Child by Emily Gunnis

Author:Emily Gunnis [GUNNIS, EMILY]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Headline
Published: 2019-09-16T16:00:00+00:00

Another frantic knocking on the door brought Harriet back to the moment. ‘I’m sorry to bother you again, Mrs Waterhouse. I have the milk here. Louise just came to find me in the kitchen. Madam is very distressed, and the baby is inconsolable. She’s asking please can you come.’

‘I’m coming now, Violet,’ said Harriet, slamming her diary shut and pushing it under the mattress. She checked her swollen eyes in the small mirror on the dressing table, dabbing them quickly with cold water, then unlocked her bedroom door and opened it to see Violet standing there, as white as a ghost. ‘Thank you, Violet. I’ll go to them now.’

The long corridor felt oppressive as the servants scuttled past her, each one of them knowing about the scene with Jacob and trying not to stare at her face which was swollen from crying. She could hear the baby’s cries growing stronger and fiercer as she reached Cecilia’s bedroom door. She took a deep breath, knocked and then opened it.

Cecilia was standing near the open window holding her baby. One of the younger servants stood on the other side of the room, looking utterly terrified. Cecilia was dressed in a long white nightie, her blonde, wavy hair falling in front of her green eyes, her high cheekbones and collar bone jutting out from her emaciated frame.

‘Harriet! Where have you been?! I was so worried about you and Jacob. What’s happened? Why have they taken him away?’ Cecilia’s eyes were red from crying and she stared at Harriet like a deer in the road about to be mowed down and killed.

‘I’m sorry I was delayed, Cecilia. Would you like me to take the baby and feed her?’ Harriet walked over to Cecilia, who was holding her daughter in a vice-like grip.

Cecilia backed away, clutching her baby to her, walking towards the balcony window, which was letting in the harsh January air. ‘But I saw the ambulance – what happened?’ said Cecilia. ‘What did Jacob say to you when he walked past? I saw him say something. What was it?’

Harriet looked over at the young servant girl cowering in the corner. ‘You can go now, Louise. Please don’t speak of this to anyone, or you’ll have me to answer to,’ she said quietly.

‘Yes, Mrs Waterhouse,’ said the girl, shooting from the room like a hunted fox.

Harriet turned to Cecilia, who was moving closer to the window. ‘Jacob was taken away by ambulance this morning. He has suffered terribly since he came home from fighting in Normandy, but he is in the best place for the moment. I apologize for all the disturbance.’

Harriet looked at Cecilia as she stood by the balcony, clutching her crying baby and shaking her head. ‘Did he tell you? Is that why you can’t look at me, Harriet?’

‘I don’t know what you mean,’ said Harriet, but before she’d finished saying it, realization started to dawn. Goosebumps prickled up her arm as she stood by the fire and the cold room suddenly became unbearably hot again.

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