The Ladies of Longbourn (38 page)

When the formal invitation arrived, Anne-Marie pointed out that it was probably unnecessary to open the hospital.
"It would never be more open than it was on that dreadful night, when the train from London rolled down the embankment into Sidley's Creek and the hospital opened its doors to the victims," she said, "One could wish that so many unfortunate people did not have to die, before the Council was convinced, but I am glad their change of heart has come at last."
For Colin Elliott, to whose mother's memory the hospital was dedicated, the compliment paid to his wife brought great satisfaction. Having watched her work tirelessly for the fulfilment of her dream of a children's hospital, he had come to love her generosity and compassion.
Anne-Marie was a beautiful woman with a naturally affectionate nature and when he had realised how deeply he cared for her, he knew it was her warmth and beauty that had drawn him to her with feelings no other woman had aroused in him. But her passionate concern for others, that he had learned to share, had changed his life.
Unlike many young county gentlemen brought up in a culture of selfindulgence, Colin Elliott had always wanted to do more with his life than achieve material and social success. His wife, whom he loved dearly, had shown him the way.

HE
L
ADY
D
OROTHY
E
LLIOTT
H
OSPITAL
for women and children was opened by Mrs Colin Elliott, well in time to treat the victims of an epidemic of whooping cough and influenza. In past years, these and

other diseases had carried away many young children and often one or more of their older siblings. Infections, which could have been avoided with early detection and treatment, had led to grave complications before families, too poor to pay and much too proud to beg, called in the apothecary or a physician.

"At least this Winter, death will not have to be accepted into the homes of the poor with fatalistic resignation, since modern medical treatment will be available to all children of this community," Mrs Elliott had declared in her speech and her words had clearly touched many hearts, since public donations for the hospital had continued to pour in.

The family was not surprised to discover that Charlotte Collins had been the secret donor of one thousand pounds and though they were not supposed to speak of it openly, they knew and blessed her for her generosity. Having been saved from a life of penny-pinching poverty and loneliness by the benevolence of Jonathan Bingley and the kindness of Mary Bennet, Charlotte had seized the chance to assist the hospital and through it the community in which she had lived happily and with dignity for many years. The sum of one thousand pounds left to her by her uncle was, she considered, appropriate recompense.

Jonathan, Anna, and Anne-Marie all knew full well the value of such a sum of money from a woman of modest means and blessed her for it.
As Charles Bingley moved to live at Netherfield and established himself as a hardworking and skilled physician, his reputation and that of the hospital at Bell's Field grew and its effectiveness in the areas around Netherfield and Longbourn increased considerably. Even those who had initially harboured some distrust of doctors and hospitals, preferring the old ways of herbalists, folk remedies, and spells, began to appreciate the benefits they had brought into the community.
That more infants and young children survived the Winter was proof enough for most families. Anne-Marie, advised by her husband, whose political instincts were improving every day, determined that the community would get even more than improved health care for their children. At his suggestion, she would draw upon the people of the area for workers at the hospital; cooks, gardeners, labourers, even nurses were to be found in the district. Young women, attracted to nursing by the example of Miss Florence Nightingale and her band of probationer nurses, were provided with training in nursing and hygiene, while older women with some experience of caring for the soldiers after the war were pleased to be paid fair wages for their work.
None of this would guarantee success, of course, as her father gently pointed out. "You do know, my dear, that the success or failure of the hospital will be judged only by the beneficial effects it has upon the health and wellbeing of the community, especially its children. And this," he had warned, "will take many years to ascertain. Meanwhile, you must be prepared for the sceptics and critics to become quite vocal from time to time."
"Indeed, Papa, I do know it and I am prepared, but I also am aware that many of the women, especially the mothers of children, are deeply grateful for the services we provide. They express their gratitude quite openly," she had replied, confident of its success.
That the hospital was a vast improvement upon the harsh, rudimentary facilities available to the poor at the workhouse was acknowledged even by the Council, whose members had been shamed into acknowledging its value to the community.
To Jonathan Bingley it was a source of deep satisfaction. A benevolent and solicitous landlord, Mr Bingley had urged the Council to set up a clinic to treat the poor in the area, offering to donate the land if necessary. In the face of their opposition, he had despaired of it ever being accomplished until his daughter began her campaign for a children's hospital. He had also confided in Anna that he had once worried about Charles's future in the medical profession.
"I wondered if he would remain in London, looking to take advantage of a more lucrative practice, perhaps, or maybe return to Edinburgh. I never believed he would be satisfied with a position in a country hospital. It is hard work and not as financially rewarding," he had said, adding with a sardonic smile, "which goes to show, my dear, how very wrong one can be, even about one's own children."
His wife had replied that, with his example of public service, it was no surprise at all that both his elder children had chosen to serve as they did. "I am immensely proud of both of them, as you are, dearest, but I think we must not forget that Charles has had the advantage of his sister's remarkable example. Anne-Marie's strength of purpose, her resilience, and dedication have astonished me."
Jonathan agreed. It had given them both great pleasure to see her recover from the morbid malaise of her previous marriage and regain her zest for life. There had been fearful times when this had seemed almost an impossible goal.
For Anne-Marie, who with her husband had worked with tenacity and courage to regain her self-esteem and bring a dream to reality, there was the greatest fulfilment of all. For along the way, difficult as it had been, she had discovered love, passionately felt and honestly acknowledged. Having endured the dreariness of a loveless union with Mr Bradshaw, she had learned with Colin Elliott to give and accept his love in return.

Two events, both unexpected, though inevitable, affected the lives of the families at Longbourn and Netherfield at this time. Their general consequences, however, flowed well beyond Hertfordshire, changing the course of English political history, itself. The election of 1865 saw the rising politician Mr Gladstone move to contest a seat in South Lancashire, where he immediately threw his considerable influence behind the campaign to extend the vote to ordinary working men, while at Westminster, the death of Lord Palmerston brought Lord Russell to the leadership of his party.

Colin Elliott was reelected after an exhilarating campaign in which he was assisted not only by the gentlemen of the Reform League, but also by several members of his family. Caroline Fitzwilliam, despite her own family responsibilities, arrived to help Anne-Marie and Anna as they visited homes and addressed meetings in his support. Together with great national Reformists like Edmund Beales and Samuel Morley, Mr Elliott promised to press Russell and Gladstone to hasten the pace of reform. On one occasion, Caroline told a meeting of supporters that her husband had told her that "Lord Russell has had a Reform Bill in his back pocket for ten years, hoping to sneak it in, when Palmerston was not paying attention."

To which Colin Elliott had added that, there would be many members in the new Parliament eager to get that bill out of Lord Russell's back pocket and onto the statute book! "There will be those who will try to thwart us, be assured, it will not be easy. They will claim that if men like you have the vote, the sun will not rise and the corn will not ripen, but we shall persevere and in the end, the demands of the people, the momentum for change in the country will carry the day," he had declared amidst applause.

After the election, Anne-Marie, her father and sisters made frequent journeys to Westminster to hear him speak in the great debates that raged in the Commons over the next eighteen months.

Not in all that time, did she once countenance the possibility of failure. The death that Autumn of Sir Henry Wilcox, a neighbouring landowner and prosperous textile manufacturer who owned many mills in the Midlands and Yorkshire, brought a completely unforeseen development.
It arrived in the form of a visit from Miss Laura Wilcox, who called on Anne-Marie with a proposal for the endowment of the parish school. She offered to finance it with money she had inherited from her deceased father's estate.
Anne-Marie's astonishment at her approach was tempered somewhat by the reaction of her husband and her brother, both of whom enthusiastically supported the idea. Not even the fact that Sir Henry Wilcox had been an uncompromising Tory, who had resisted all attempts to assist the poor or improve working conditions in the mills, seemed to concern them.
"What does it matter now? If Miss Wilcox wishes to use some of her father's ill-gotten gains to improve the lives of the children of the parish, she should be encouraged to do so," said Colin Elliott. He was supported by Charles Bingley, who pointed out that the children of the area, who had no proper schooling, needed and deserved a chance to be educated. Though convinced they were right, Anne-Marie wrote to her Aunt Emma Wilson at Standish Park for advice.

If there was one more thing we needed for the improvement of the estates of Netherfield and Longbourn, it was a good parish school. Because of times in the country being rather uncertain and constant talk of depression, we have had little hope of finding the necessary funds.

That was until one wet afternoon, when a Miss Laura Wilcox called to see me. I knew of her, but we had never met; not surprising since she and her father Sir Henry Wilcox, the "textile Tory" moved in very different circles to our family. Yet, she came to me with a proposal to endow the parish school at Netherfield, if it would agree to teach reading, writing, and numbers to all the children in the parish who may wish to attend, and not just the children of churchgoers.

She struck me as sincere and determined. She said she had worked in East London among the children of the poor for almost two years and has taught at the parish school of St Francis, where I recall you did some work, too.

I am inclined to trust her and both Mr Elliott and my brother, who knows Miss Wilcox from meeting her in London, are in favour of accepting her offer. For my part, I think it would be a great joy to be able to have a real school and teach the children to read, write, and count as well as sing hymns and listen to Bible stories, as they do now, but I should like to have your opinion, before I put the proposal to Papa.

I mentioned the offer to Mr Griffin the Rector this morning after church and he, the dear old thing, can only see the advantage of it for his precious choir! "If they can learn to read, Mrs Elliott, they will learn to sing even better," was all he could say. So, it seems all we need is Papa's approval.

I trust you and my dear Uncle Wilson are well and look forward to seeing you when we are next in London.
Your loving niece,
Anne-Marie Elliott.

What excellent news! If, as you have described, Miss Wilcox is genuinely interested in endowing the parish school, your Uncle James and I believe you should grasp the opportunity for the sake of the children, who will undoubtedly benefit from the scheme.

We think it will be a great advantage to the district and will do equally as well as your children's hospital. Your uncle agrees that there is no greater need for the children today than health and schooling, and since the government, to its shame, still spends a mere pittance on their education, the children of the poor, who never learn to read and write, are denied a decent chance in life. Should you and Miss Wilcox succeed in getting this school started at Netherfield, you will be helping to change that.

Believe me, my dear, nothing can be more worthy of your attention. We wish you every success and look forward to hearing more about it soon.
God bless you,
Your loving Aunt,
Emma Wilson.
P.S. Mr Elliott dined with us at Grosvenor Street last week, in between the debates on Lord Russell's Reform Bill. I must say he sounded very optimistic about the chances for reform, now Lord Russell leads the Whigs.
My dear Anne-Marie, he told us also of your other piece of good news, though he made us promise to keep your secret for now. Congratulations to you both, my dearest niece. Words cannot express how happy we are, your uncle and I, for you. Your dear father must be overjoyed.
A child at Christmas! What a wonderful blessing!
EW.