A Mother's Trust by Dilly Court Read Free Book Online Page B

were mostly women on their way to market with baskets slung over their arms and a few old men poking about in the rubbish in search of something to eat. A clerk from the law courts hurried past, refusing to stop and listen to her plea for help, and she experienced the same indifference from a carter and a drayman delivering beer to a nearby pub. Shielding her eyes against the sunlight she hoped to see Minnie or Ethel hurrying towards her, but it seemed there was no one who would give her the time of day let alone offer to help in an emergency. There was no point in returning to Saffron Hill as all the men, including her grandfather, were out peddling their ice cream to the hot and thirsty public.
    There was nothing for it but to brave the taproom of the nearest pub. She opened the door and went inside. Heads turned and bewhiskered faces eyed her curiously. She was well aware that no decent woman would put her foot in this establishment but she had seen the angel of death hovering above Dolly’s inert form. She peered through the veil of tobacco smoke looking for someone with a kind face, but too late she realised that she had stumbled into a meeting of the Leather Lane mob. She knew one or two of them by sight and they were criminals of the worst order. She backed towards the door, avoiding the clutching hands of a man with a livid scar running down the left side of his face.
    ‘Don’t go, sweetheart,’ he said with a throaty chuckle. ‘Stay and chat for a while.’
    She turned and ran out into the street, closing her ears to the sound of raucous laughter that followed her. She hailed a passing hansom cab and when it did not look as though it would stop she leapt into the road, waving her arms. Swearing volubly, the cabby drew his startled horse to a sudden halt. ‘Get out of the way, you silly bitch. D’you want to get killed?’
    The occupant of the cab opened the half-doors. ‘Phoebe Giamatti?’ Paxman stared at her in disbelief. ‘What’s wrong?’
    Despite the fact that it was Rogue who was staring at her with his brows knitted together in a frown, he was the first person to have noticed her distress. ‘There’s a badly injured child in Bleeding Heart Yard,’ she said breathlessly. ‘I need to get her to hospital. Will you help me?’
    He leaned down, holding out his hand. ‘Get in.’ He hauled her onto the seat beside him. ‘Bleeding Heart Yard, cabby.’
    ‘Make up your bloody mind.’ The cabby flicked his whip and urged his horse to a trot.
    ‘I’ll ignore that remark,’ Paxman said, relaxing against the stained leather squabs. ‘Since you gave the poor fellow the fright of his life just now.’
    ‘Thank you.’ Phoebe stared straight ahead. It took all her self-control to be civil to him.
    ‘For what? I haven’t done anything yet.’
    She could tell by the tone of his voice that he was laughing at her but still she refused to look at him. ‘The girl has had an accident. She’s barely breathing.’
    ‘And I suppose you want me to go into some dirty hovel and touch this creature who is no doubt alive with vermin.’
    ‘She’s likely to die if she doesn’t get urgent medical treatment.’ This time she did turn her head to give him a straight look. ‘But if you’re too much a gent to get your hands dirty I’ll thank you for the lift and find someone else to help.’ She reached up to tap on the window. ‘Stop here, please, cabby.’
    She prepared to leap from the vehicle as it drew to a halt but Paxman caught her by the arm, holding her in an iron grip. ‘Don’t be a fool. You’ll break your neck if you’re not careful and then it will be you who ends up in hospital.’ With the ease of an athlete, he sprang from his seat and before she had time to protest he lifted her to the ground. ‘Wait here, cabby.’
    Phoebe ran on ahead, racing down the steps into Bleeding Heart Yard. She could hear his footsteps close behind her and his presence, even though he was the last person on