Nancy stood silent, her lips pressed together, but Maud had the satisfaction of seeing that her eyes were dull and she had an air of defeat. She knew straight away that she wouldn’t get an answer from Nancy, but she stood there for a few moments longer before walking over to the slop bucket and emptying out the contents of the flask before pushing it back into Nancy’s hand.

  ‘There, you might need that,’ spat Maud. ‘I know exactly what you’ve done, Nancy, but don’t worry, we will not rest till we find the boy and bring him home. And another thing: stay right away from Alice.’

  Nancy opened her mouth but no words would come. For the first time ever she had been silenced.

  As Maud headed back to the Nurses’ Home she started to feel lighter than she’d done for some time. With every step she felt a bit stronger and she knew that she was ready to get on with the search for Alfred. Now she felt like she could conquer the world.

  Maud was soon changed and stepping out of her room as quietly as she could, almost on tiptoe, even though there was nobody else in the dormitories at this time. Or at least that’s what she thought, but she was almost sure that she could hear some noise coming from across the gallery, from the room opposite. It sounded like someone crying. Yes, she was sure that’s what it was. Was it possible that Nancy had made some excuse to come off the ward and followed her out? Well, if that was the case, then she was glad. Maybe something had at last struck a chord with Nancy. Maybe she had realized what she had done and she was actually feeling sorry. But these were just passing thoughts. Maud felt absolutely nothing for Nancy, so she turned away from her door and headed quietly down the stone stairs.

  Maud hadn’t been back to the big house for weeks and it felt very strange indeed standing outside on the back step, rapping on the door. It made her realize how settled she had become in the new world of the hospital. For the first time she felt like a visitor coming back to a place that she had once known so well. She stood for a while before she gave the solid wooden door another knock. She knew how busy they always were in the kitchen, but this second time the door opened instantly and a kitchen maid she had never seen before showed her in. Before she knew it she was standing next to Cook in front of the huge black-enamelled range.

  ‘Maud,’ Cook said, grabbing hold of her shoulders and hugging her so hard that Maud could hardly breathe, ‘have you decided to come back to us?’

  ‘No,’ said Maud, leaning back to escape Cook’s mighty grasp. ‘I’ve come to see Miss Fairchild. Is she in her room?’

  Cook glanced at the kitchen clock. ‘She will be at this time. She’s a creature of habit, as you well know. Let our new maid show you the way. It’s only her second day. She can’t find her way around the kitchen yet, never mind the rest of the house, so the practice will do her good.’ Cook called across the kitchen at the maid, who was polishing the best knives with a cloth.

  Maud saw the fear in the girl’s eyes when she looked up instantly.

  She seems really nice, thought Maud, and she wished that Cook could be more patient with the new maid. She remembered her own first few days, how hard it was, and the girl was so young.

  Cook must have seen Maud’s sympathetic gaze because she gave a sigh and then softened her voice as the maid came over. ‘Go on then, you flibbertigibbet,’ she said, setting off the giggles from the girl, who had at least started to move and then followed Maud out of the kitchen.

  ‘I’ll let you lead the way,’ said Maud as they came out into the passageway, ‘then you’ll start to get used to it. I know what it’s like: it seems like a maze of rooms at first.’

  The maid smiled at her again and then slipped in front.

  ‘I’m all right now,’ said Maud, ‘thank you,’ as the new maid walked her straight past the door to Miss Fairchild’s room. ‘You’d best get back to the kitchen … that way,’ she said, pointing in the direction that they had just come. ‘And don’t worry, underneath all of that bluster Cook has a heart of gold.’

  The kitchen maid smiled her thanks and Maud turned to the door, tapped on it and went straight in. She found Miss Fairchild sitting behind her small desk by the window and as soon as she saw Maud she stood up and came over to embrace her.

  ‘I know, I know,’ said Maud, ‘I came as soon as I could. I’m sorry it wasn’t sooner.’

  Miss Fairchild nodded and then went back over to her desk and sat down heavily on the chair, gesturing for Maud to sit opposite. She seemed thinner than Maud remembered and the starched white cap on her head was slightly askew. Maud could see that she had dark smudges under her eyes and, leaning back in her seat, she looked weary. Seeing this woman who had always been so straight-backed and strong look so troubled triggered a surge of strength inside Maud that she had never known she had. I will sort this out, she thought. I will make this all right.

  ‘So, Miss Fairchild,’ she said, mustering all the energy that she could into her voice and leaning forward in her seat, ‘tell me everything you know.’

  ‘Well, I’ve been up to the school and the man on the door said that Alfred was missing after the weekly visiting time. The children had all been out in the courtyard and it was very busy so it was difficult to say, but he thought that a woman had visited him that day. He had remarked on it because although Alfred seemed to know her he was looking a bit subdued. Anyway, the place was so busy and there had been other children visited that day as well so it was only when they were doing the register in the classroom that they realized that he was missing.’

  Maud reached a hand out to Miss Fairchild when she gave a sob, determined to hold back her own tears, which weren’t that far away. She held the housekeeper’s hand until she was able to carry on with the story.

  ‘They didn’t worry too much at first, the doorman said, because sometimes the rascals do go missing for a few hours, but Alfred didn’t come back and that’s when they sent word to me. The thing is, Maud, from the description that the man gave of the woman who visited Alfred I thought that it could be Bill Greer’s wife. I’m not certain but my suspicions were strong enough for me to go straight over to Greer’s place on Market Street and ask them if they knew anything. He was there and she was busy out in front of the house selling pots and rags on that stall that she runs. I’ve met her a number of times. She knows who I am but she never even looked at me. Anyway, of course Greer said he knew nothing but he looked shifty as hell. Mind you, he often does so that’s not really anything to go on. He showed me all through the house and even out to that infernal shed at the back where he keeps the donkey. There was absolutely no sign of the boy. But I’ve known Greer for years and I’m sure he wasn’t being straight with me. Him and that wife of his are behind all of this.’

  Sadly, Maud had to agree. As she sat there nodding her head she was surprised at how calm she was feeling.

  ‘I suppose what we have to think about is this,’ she said steadily. ‘If it is our Mr Greer who has taken Alfred, he wouldn’t have gone to the trouble to do that unless there was some profit to be gained. So, if that is the case then maybe we can assume that Alfred will be kept safe somewhere?’

  Miss Fairchild didn’t look too sure but she said, ‘I suppose you’re right, Maud, and of course I’ve known Mr Greer for years. He isn’t all that savoury, if you know what I mean, but I don’t think he would set out to deliberately harm the boy. I mean, in his day, the man was the best sweep for miles around – I wouldn’t have kept him on for so long if that hadn’t been the case – and at that time all the sweeps were sending small boys, and sometimes girls, up the chimneys. So we had no choice. Thank goodness that at last, in this modern world of ours, things are changing. We did the right thing rescuing Alfred that day and now we need to make sure that he is safe yet again.’

  ‘We will,’ said Maud firmly.

  ‘I hope that you are right,’ said Miss Fairchild quietly. ‘He is such a dear boy and he was doing so well at the school. The teacher there said that he was one of the brightest boys that they’d ever had.’

  ‘So what shall we do?’ Maud said practically, looking over at Miss Fairchild with a determined expression.

  To Maud’s relief she saw Miss Fairchild straighten her back and a bit of a glint was coming back into her eyes.

  ‘Well,’ she said, ‘I’ve already commissioned some handbills with a full description of Alfred and a drawing of him, which are now circulating around the city. I’m hoping that someone might recognize him. I made sure that I mentioned his bright blue eyes, which are quite distinctive. The problem we face, however, is that there are so many missing children in Liverpool and so many living on the streets. It is just terrible, Maud, to think of all those poor children out there with no proper beds, freezing cold at nights and at risk of all sorts. I can’t bear to think of Alfred – or any of them for that matter – without homes to go to. If only we could rescue them all.’

  Maud could feel the ebb and flow of Miss Fairchild’s emotion and tried to reassure her dear friend. ‘All we can do for now, Constance, is look for Alfred. When he is safely back at the school, then let’s think about what we can do for the other children.’

  ‘Yes, you are right – of course you are – Maud. I knew that you had a level head on you. You always seemed so quiet and wistful when you were working here as a housemaid, but now, with your work at the hospital, I am starting to see the strength in you.’

  Maud reached over and gave Miss Fairchild’s arm a squeeze. ‘Now look, I will walk every street in this city and speak to every person on every street corner if I have to. I will do everything in my power to find Alfred.’

  Miss Fairchild looked up and offered Maud a small smile. ‘I know you will, Maud. I know you will …’ she said.

  ‘Now I need to get going,’ said Maud, standing up from her chair. ‘I’ll start by having a look at Greer’s place and then I’ll walk out through the city and try to get some idea of where a missing boy might go. I know some people I can ask,’ she added.

  ‘That’s good,’ said Miss Fairchild. ‘Thank you, Maud. I will send a note to you directly if I hear anything at all.’

  ‘I will do the same,’ said Maud.

  As soon as Maud was back in the kitchen Cook glanced round from the stove where any number of shiny copper pans stood bubbling and, as always, there sat the kettle singing away next to them.

  ‘You done now?’ said Cook.

  ‘Yes,’ said Maud.

  ‘Right then,’ said Cook, shoving her sleeves further up her meaty forearms. ‘Before you go I want you to sit down at this table and have a cup of tea and a piece of cake.’

  ‘No, really I need to—’

  ‘Sit,’ said Cook.

  It was the first time that Maud had sat at that scrubbed, deal table since her last day at the big house all those months ago. She slipped tentatively into one of the chairs, sitting a bit sideways, feeling almost like the thirteen-year-old girl that she had been all those years ago on her first day in service.

  Cook brought the tea and cake over. ‘Swivel your legs under, lass,’ she said. ‘Make yourself comfortable.’

  Cook urged her to drink, saying, ‘Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean we’re expecting you will be coming back to work with us. Miss Fairchild has been telling us how well you are doing up there at the hospital and we are all very proud of you.’

  Maud looked up and gave a small smile. She felt a warm glow inside her. She had no idea that her progress was being followed so closely. She’d thought that once she had left then she would be forgotten. She continued to smile at Cook as she picked up the china cup by its delicate handle and carefully sipped the hot tea. As she lowered the cup and felt it clink on to the saucer she knew for certain that although this was still the finest tea that she would ever taste, and she really missed drinking from a fancy cup, there was no way that she would choose to go back into domestic service.

  Maud went straight to Market Street. She knew where Greer’s place was because she’d once been sent by Miss Fairchild with a note. The place was packed out with people buying and selling and she had to elbow her way through to get a closer look at the house. She could see Mrs Greer at her stall full of pots and grimy rags. She always wore black and her skin was grey. She didn’t look up from her work and, in amongst the crowd, Maud could take some time to study the closed windows and the door of the house. It looked empty and gave nothing away.

  Disappointed, Maud turned away at last and went further down the street, looking for clues and determined to check the whole area. She walked until her feet hurt, scanning the crowds for stray children, trying to get some idea of where children gathered. They seemed to be everywhere and by the end of that day she knew how vast this task she had set herself actually was. She had been heartened to see a few of Miss Fairchild’s ‘missing boy’ handbills on lampposts and in shop windows and she took one, folding it carefully and putting it into her pocket. But what she became aware of immediately was that the notices about Alfred were set amongst many such notices: missing boys, girls, women and men. It felt like half the city had gone missing. Towards the end of the day, when she saw some of the bills with the drawing of Alfred on them scattered in the street and trampled underfoot, she began to feel desperately sad.

  She called by Stella’s. She needed to know her little friend had gone missing and she might even have some idea where a missing boy might be. But Marie told her that Stella was ‘out all day’; she would have to wait to speak to her. As Maud walked away from the blue painted door with which she was becoming increasingly familiar, she knew that there was only one other option if she wanted to feel that she had made some progress that day. The one person who, of course, had come to mind first as a source of help would, she knew, be in the park that night. Harry Donahue was her only hope now. She would go out that evening after Eddy had gone into the city and Alice was resting on her bed. She would go back to the park and seek him out. As she walked back to the Nurses’ Home she was telling herself over and over that there was no way on earth that she would even be thinking of doing that if Alfred hadn’t gone missing.

  Maud was stunned by the number of people crammed into the small park. She couldn’t see properly what was going on but she could hear a man’s voice shouting out. He seemed to be standing in the middle of it all. As Maud stood on tiptoe she saw the head of the big fella, the one that she had nursed on the ward, Daphne’s man. He must have been knocked down on the ground because it looked like he was just getting up. Maud could see that he was swaying around and there was blood coming from his nose and, my, did he look fierce. He looked like he could rip someone limb from limb. She felt a tightness in her chest when she realized who the big fella’s opponent must be although she couldn’t see him. Was he already laid out on the grass? Was he injured … was he dead?

  No, he can’t be, thought Maud. The people squashed up next to her were alive with excitement as they watched and she sensed that they were waiting for something. So there must still be two men standing, at least for now. She knew that she needed to get much closer if she was going to have some chance of seeing Harry so she started to push and shove her way through. The more she pushed and the more people were still in front of her, the more desperate to see Harry she became. She began to wish that she was huge like the big fella and that she could just scream and roar and send bodies flying to either side until she got to him.

  Then she could see a gap near the front as a woman turned away with a groan and Maud pushed through. She was at the ringside just in time to see Harry, facing her, blood streaming from a small cut above his eye. He was breathing fast, his face contorted and dripping with sweat, and stripped to the waist so she could see the muscles in his arms and his chest as he stood ready to deliver the next punch. The crowd seemed to be holding its breath as one.

  Bang! Harry punched the big fella and he swayed but didn’t go down. Then Harry looked in Maud’s direction and caught her eye. She saw the fleeting surprise on his face and then, in that instant, the big fella cracked Harry square on the chin and knocked him flat. There was a groan from the crowd and the other man in the ring stood over Harry counting: one, two, three, four … Harry started to struggle up from the grass, leaning up on his elbow … five, six, seven, eight … There was blood dripping from his nose, and Maud made a move to go to help him, but the man next to her grabbed her arm and wouldn’t let go.

  ‘You stay where you are,’ he said, his voice gruff.

  Maud’s heart was pounding, but she could feel the man’s hand digging into her upper arm. She couldn’t move; all she could do was watch.

  ‘Nine, ten,’ said the man in the ring, and Maud saw Harry’s head drop straight back down. There was a cheer from some of the crowd as the big fella held both hands in the air to signal his victory. Then he went straight over to Harry, who was still lying on the ground, and Maud saw with horror that he didn’t seem to be moving.

  She pulled her arm free from the man and threw herself forward in an effort to move towards Harry but she stopped as if frozen when she saw Nancy appear from the other side of the crowd, walk straight across to Harry and crouch down by his side. Maud could see that she had a cloth in her hand and she was sponging his face.

  Of course, thought Maud, of course she is here. She is probably always here, hanging around. Maud wanted to turn away immediately and push her way back through the remaining crowd but she knew she had to stay for Alfred’s sake. She had to see if Harry was in any fit state to help her.

  She could see that Nancy was still crouching beside him on the ground and the big fella was looking down, his brow furrowed. Maud marched straight up and went round the other side of Harry, but he was out cold. She wouldn’t be getting any information out of him this evening, that was for sure. She knew that Nancy was looking at her. She didn’t want to show that she was shocked at seeing Harry’s poor battered face and bloodied nose – surely it was broken yet again – so she muttered something along the lines of it being his own fault and then strode away with her head held high. Once she was at a safe distance she felt her knees go weak. She was so anxious about Harry – what if he died there on the grass? Then anger started to build inside her. What a stupid man, she thought, furious now with him and with the feelings that she had for him, and for the sheer frustration of not being any nearer to knowing where Alfred could be.

 

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