A Mother's Trust by Dilly Court Page B

lay.’
    Dr Murchison folded his arms across his chest, his pale eyebrows drawn into a knot over the bridge of his large nose. ‘I’ve heard enough. You, ma’am,’ he jerked his head in Ethel’s direction, ‘would be up before the beak on a charge of child cruelty if I thought it would stick. Your daughter has a fractured skull and needs urgent medical intervention in order to save her life. Now, do you agree to allow the procedure to go ahead, or do you want to risk a charge of murder being brought against you?’

Chapter Four
    ‘MURDER?’ ETHEL PALED visibly and then appeared to recover, bristling like a turkeycock. ‘Who says so? A sawbones like you? I don’t have to believe you, cully.’
    ‘Hush, please,’ the nurse said urgently. ‘You’re upsetting the other patients, Mrs Fowler.’
    ‘Perhaps you’d best send for a constable, nurse,’ Dr Murchison said, glowering. ‘I haven’t time to stand here and argue with this person.’
    ‘Here, who are you calling a person?’ Minnie advanced on him with a belligerent set to her jaw.
    Eyeing Minnie nervously, Phoebe noticed for the first time that she had whiskers growing out of her chin like a man. This confirmed her long-held suspicion that Minnie Sykes was only half female. She held her breath, hardly daring to intervene in case she made matters worse. It was a stand-off now; a battle of wills between the doctor and the two sisters.
    ‘Well, ma’am. Make up your mind,’ Dr Murchison said icily. ‘Do I send for the police or will you agree to the life-saving operation on your child.’
    ‘She’s no child,’ Ethel said, brazen to the last. ‘She’s all but fifteen. Old enough to be wed, so she’s no longer my responsibility. Chop her head off for all I care, but don’t send her back to me. I never want to see the simpleton again. Come, Minnie. We know where we’re not wanted.’
    ‘I’ll take that as a yes, then.’ Dr Murchison turned to the nurse. ‘Make Miss Fowler ready for the operating theatre, please. There’s no time to lose.’
    He was about to walk away but Phoebe caught him by his coat tail. ‘Doctor, one moment if you please.’
    He turned his head to give her an appraising glance. ‘Yes, but hurry.’
    ‘Who will pay for Dolly’s operation? I’ve half a crown I can give you now.’
    His stern features relaxed a little. ‘That will be a matter for the ward clerk to sort out later. We do have some charitable beds and maybe we can utilise one of those for Dolly since her mother seems to have washed her hands of the poor creature.’
    ‘Will she die, doctor?’
    He hesitated. ‘I won’t lie to you, Miss er …’
    ‘Phoebe Giamatti. I’m just a friend.’
    ‘And a good one too, if I may say so. Well, Miss Giamatti, I’ll do my very best. The outcome is in the hands of a higher authority.’
    Phoebe sank down onto the hard wooden seat. She knew Dolly only a little, but she had been touched by the sorry conditions in which she found the girl, and even more so by the knowledge that her wretched mother had disowned her. She could not imagine her own mother doing anything so cruel and callous. Ma might be many things, but she had always been kind and loving. A little too loving perhaps when it came to the opposite sex, but that was just Ma. It was in her nature to give and it seemed that it was in Mrs Fowler’s nature to take. Phoebe settled down to wait for the outcome of the procedure in theatre. She knew that Nonna would be angry with her for being away so long, and that Ma would be fretting for the fancies that her appetite craved, but they would have to wait. She sat upright against the rigid panel at the back of the bench, praying that Dolly would survive the operation.
    She must have drifted off into an uneasy doze as suddenly she realised that someone was shaking her gently by the shoulder. Phoebe opened her eyes with a start and found herself looking up into the smiling face of the young nurse.
    ‘The procedure