12 The Family Way by Rhys Bowen Read Free Book Online Page B

agency. How did women manage at home in Ireland when they walked several miles into town with one baby on their hip, another in their belly, and a basket full of shopping on their arm? Obviously I was not as strong as I thought.
    Mrs. Hartmann nodded in sympathy when I explained about my predicament. “I didn’t realize he’d already asked his mother,” I said, not wanting to admit that I’d gone against my husband’s wishes.
    “I quite understand,” she said, her gaze indicating that husbands were infernally annoying creatures, “but I’ll still keep my eyes open for you, Mrs. Sullivan. Your husband’s mother may not be able to find a suitable girl in a hurry and I think it’s very important that your servant learns your ways and the running of your household well before the baby arrives.”
    “Thank you,” I said. “You have my address. If the perfect girl shows up, I’d certainly like to meet her.” I stood up to go, then lingered. “There’s one more thing,” I said. “I was going to ask you yesterday before we were interrupted. Is it possible that a girl called Maureen O’Byrne came to your agency about a year ago?”
    She frowned. “The name doesn’t ring a bell, but we deal with so many girls. A year ago, you say?” She called into the outer office, “Jessie, would you check the books and see if we ever had a Maureen O’Byrne as a client, about a year ago?” She turned back to me, “Was this a girl you possibly wanted to hire?”
    “Possibly,” I said. “Actually I’m trying to find where she is employed now for her relatives at home in Ireland. She hasn’t written for a while and they’re worried. I just thought that Maureen might well have been to an agency such as your own.”
    Jessie poked her head around the door. “Nobody by that name that I can see, Mrs. Hartmann.”
    “Thank you, Jessie,” she said. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Sullivan. We can’t help you.”
    “What about a Mrs. Mainwaring?” I asked. “Have you ever supplied her with servants?”
    “Does she live in New York? We don’t really handle clients outside of Manhattan.”
    “I don’t know. That’s the problem,” I said. “Maureen wrote to her relatives that she’d found a good position with a Mrs. Mainwaring. And that was the last they heard from her.”
    “I’ve never dealt with a woman of that name,” she said. “But there must be twenty or more agencies like ours in this part of the city, not to mention the more exclusive ones further uptown.”
    “Would you be kind enough to give me the names of some of those agencies?” I asked.
    “I can have Jessie write out a list of those we know,” she said. “Was this Miss O’Byrne a relative of yours? You’re going to a lot of trouble for her.”
    “I like to help when I can,” I said. “I’m sorry to have taken up so much of your time.”
    “Not at all. Always glad to help a potential future client.”
    I came down the stairs again with a list of similar agencies in my purse. Unfortunately they seemed to be in areas that Daniel wouldn’t want me to go. I suppose that made sense if they wanted to attract girls straight from the boats—but they were off limits to me. I fought back annoyance again until I told myself I was, as usual, being too impatient. I could easily write to the addresses I had been given. It would only be a question of waiting a few days, and her family had already waited months. A week or so longer wouldn’t make much difference.
    Thus appeased for now I came out to the street and stood staring across at the shop window where the kidnapping had taken place. Other women pushed baby carriages past the shop, some pausing to chat as they met a neighbor. The scene was peaceful and ordinary as if no tragedy had happened there. I wondered if the couple at the center of yesterday’s drama had received their ransom note yet and how they would possibly come up with the money. I wondered what would happen if they couldn’t come up