The Midwife's Tale (30 page)

“Tree,” I said, “when you say that the soldiers captured a lady, do you mean a gentlewoman, like me?”

“No. Like her,” he said, indicating Martha. “She weren’t dressed so nice as you.”

“Do you know her name?” I asked.

“She wouldn’t tell anyone. That’s why they locked her up.”

“How strange,” I murmured. “What did she look like?”

Tree looked at me blankly. “She looked like a lady. Could I have some more cheese? It is…” He paused, searching for a word to describe his meal. I nodded and Hannah began to refill his plate. While he ate, Martha, Will, and I withdrew to the parlor.

“Who could it be?” Martha asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “But it might not be related to Cooper’s murder. It could be one of my clients, or a friend’s maidservant.” Martha looked disappointed.

“I suppose you’ll want company on a visit to the Castle?” asked Will.

“That would be lovely, thank you,” I said with a smile. “Have some food before we go. We’ll walk back with Tree.”

Chapter 21

Tree chattered incessantly during the walk to the Castle, asking the most impertinent questions about life in my house. Did I really have servants to empty the chamber pots? What good did wearing such rich clothes do me? Did my children mind having to go to church? What happened to my children? Why, with so much food in the house, were we not fat? Was Will my husband? My son? My suitor? Why did
he
wear such uncomfortable clothes? Will and I did our best to answer and educate him, but it soon became clear that for Tree, the joy lay more in devising the queries than waiting for an explanation. After a few minutes, I realized that in this he reminded me of no one so much as Birdy. To my surprise, this discovery drew me not deeper into melancholy; rather, it lifted my heart, especially as I watched him gambol through the streets, finding wonder and adventure in a world that I had come to take for granted. As we approached the Castle gate, I started to produce my letter with the Lord Mayor’s seal, but when the guards saw Tree, they opened the gate for us as if we followed the Lord Mayor himself rather than a skinny child.

“The guards know you well,” I said.

“I run errands for them for a penny each. They usually send me for a whore or a pot of ale.” He did not notice the look of horror that crossed my face at the nonchalance with which he described his tasks. What life was this for a boy?

We crossed the compound to the same tower that held Esther. Tree banged on the door and shouted, “Samuel! I brought Lady Hodgson!” Samuel Short’s face appeared momentarily in the small window before it snapped shut. The bolt slid back, and Samuel beckoned us in before securing the door behind us.

“Welcome, my lady,” the dwarf said with an ironic bow but a genuine smile. “If you make many more visits, I’ll talk to the captain about renting you a room on the premises.”

“It
would
save me a good bit of walking,” I admitted. “And the Lord knows that Tree would benefit from a mother’s influence. But where would I hang my pictures?” I examined the tower closely. “No, I don’t think this is quite what I’m looking for. Do you have a tower room on the north side of the Castle? I would prefer having the winter sun.” Samuel burst out laughing, and I found myself joining in. “To business, Samuel, who is the woman who has called for me?”

The dwarf turned serious. “She won’t say, even though she hasn’t been fed since she arrived. She’s a stubborn creature, I’ll give her that.”

“You are denying her food?” I asked, shocked.

“The captain’s orders,” Samuel replied. “He’s afraid she might be a spy trying to take information to the rebels. She’ll eat when she talks.”

“Well, let me see her. I’ll see what I can do.”

Samuel and I started down the stairs, but when Will began to follow, Samuel stopped him. “I beg your pardon, sir. The prisoner only wants to see Lady Hodgson. She refused to see anyone else.”

Will started to object, but I intervened. “It’s probably women’s business.” He nodded and returned to the entry room.

Samuel stopped at the door opposite Esther’s and unlocked it. I tried to catch a glimpse of Esther through the barred window but saw only a figure lying on the bed. Samuel opened the door, and to my surprise I found Anne Goodwin sitting on a straw pallet inside.

“Lady Hodgson!” she cried as she leapt to her feet.

“I’ll be upstairs,” Samuel said, and shut the door behind me.

“Anne,” I said. “What in heaven are you doing here? You tried to escape the city? What has happened?”

“Please help me,” she said, and tears began to stream down her cheeks. “They killed my baby, and I’m sure they will kill me as well.”

I put my arms around her as she collapsed into my chest, sobbing. “What do you mean?” I asked. “Who killed your baby? Who is going to kill you?” I knew the answer, of course, and at the same time my heart wept with Anne, a part of me thrilled that I had found a witness against the Hookes.

“I don’t know,” she said. “One of the Hookes. James said he loved me, but my baby’s gone. One of the Hookes killed him. My mother told me.” Anne’s words came out in a rush and caught me off guard. I had suspected the child in Coneystreet had been Anne’s and that the Hookes were involved in his death. But James hardly seemed to be cruel enough to murder a child. And he had told Anne that he loved her?

“Calm yourself, Anne. Tell me what happened from the beginning.” I eased her down onto the edge of her bed.

“You know I was servant to Mrs. Hooke,” she said, trying to regain control of herself. “She is a hard mistress, and I tried to do my work without attracting overmuch notice. After a few months, James began to court me.”

“Court you,” I repeated. It seemed unlikely that a wealthy young man would court a maid in earnest. It was far more likely that he intended to seduce her and then move on to another maidservant. Then again, James had never been known for his judgment.

“He told me I was beautiful and gave me presents,” she said. “He wanted to have knowledge of my body, but I denied him. He said he loved me and promised to marry me, so I let him.” I found yet another reason to pity Anne, for this part of her story was far too common. Countless maidens bore bastards after a man broke his promise of marriage, and for this they lived lives on the poor rolls. “When I discovered I was with child, I told him.”

“And he turned you away?”

“No, my lady!” she said, apparently horrified that I held James Hooke in such low esteem. “He swore he loved me, and that he would marry me. He took me to his mother and told her of our plans.” I admit this surprised me. At the same time I wondered at James’s silliness—promising to marry his maidservant?—I admired his loyalty. He was a dull boy, to be sure, but not so cruel as his mother.

“I imagine she objected.”

“Mrs. Hooke’s fury was something to behold, my lady.” Anne’s eyes grew wide at the memory. “I have never been called such horrible names. I had never even
heard
such language. She screamed and screamed. James had the worst of it. She broke his nose with a Bible.” As much as I regretted Anne’s fate, I had to suppress a smile at the scene she described.

“What happened then?” I asked.

“I continued my work,” she said. “She could not dismiss me, for she knew I would say her son was the father of my child. She promised that she would give me five pounds after the baby was born, but only if I swore never to lay the child on James. She told me to pick another servant from the neighborhood, and father the child on him.” Such arrangements were not uncommon, of course. Only the Lord knew how many bastard-bearers fathered their children on innocent men in exchange for a few pounds.

“When did you have the baby?”

“Mrs. Hooke and one of the other servants delivered me the night you saw me in the Pavement. I wanted to call for my mother and for a midwife, but she would not allow it. She said she was as good a midwife as any in the city, but in truth, my lady, she was hard and cruel.” I nodded. I had seen the bitter fruit of her labors. “Once I was delivered, James was very loving towards me. He said he would convince his mother to let us marry. He even brought a present for the baby.” Her chest heaved as she sobbed into my shoulder for a time. I stroked her hair and tried to contain my own tears. Once she had regained her breath, she continued. “On Thursday, James brought me supper and bid me sleep. When I awoke, James and the baby were gone. I haven’t seen him since. They locked the door to my chamber and the other servants only opened it to bring me food and empty my chamber pot. I begged them to bring me my baby, but they refused. Then Mrs. Hooke came to me and told me that he was dead. Oh, my lady, it was horrible!”

Anne dissolved into tears again and I held her as she cried. For a time I mourned with Anne, but soon my wrath at Rebecca Hooke overcame my grief at Anne’s loss. Now I had no doubt that Rebecca had killed the child, perhaps even with her own hands. But I also saw how difficult it would be to obtain justice for Anne’s son, and this realization infuriated me all the more.

After a hitching sob, Anne looked up at me. “My lady, are you unwell?”

I realized that my face betrayed my anger and tried to compose myself. My first priority had to be helping Anne, not bringing down Rebecca. “I am sorry, Anne. Yes, I’m fine. Tell me how you came to the Castle.”

“I knew that they had murdered my baby, and feared they would kill me as well, so I decided to escape. The window of my chamber opened onto the roof next door. Last night I climbed out and jumped to the street. I went home—I had to see my mother. But I knew the Hookes would try to find me, so I fled.”

“And that’s when you decided to escape the city?”

“I was going to London. They would never have found me there,” she said wistfully. “But the guards captured me, and sent me here.”

I puzzled for a time over what I should do next. I could probably arrange for Anne’s release from the Castle, but to what end? I didn’t know if Rebecca Hooke really planned to kill her, nor did I want to find out. Until the siege lifted, the safest place she could be was in her cell.

“Anne,” I said, “I know these are not the most comfortable quarters, but you are safe here, and for the time being you should stay. I will speak to the jailor and he will treat you well. For a start, he will provide you with a blanket and food immediately. I will see what I can do to secure your safe passage to London, but it will take time.”

“Thank you, my lady.” She wiped her cheeks with her sleeve.

I knocked on the door, and Samuel opened it and let me out. “You may tell your captain that she is not a spy,” I said.

“He’s unlikely to take your word for it,” he replied. “Who is she?”

“She is a maid who hoped to go to London. Nothing more.”

“So you will ask the captain to release her?”

“Er, no,” I said. “It would be better if she stayed here for the present.”

“If she’s just an innocent maid, why do you want her to stay here?” he asked. He was suspicious but clearly sensed an opportunity to make some money.

“I am not at liberty to say.” I handed him a small purse full of coins. “But I know her well, and give you my word that she is no spy.”

“Would you put that in writing? For the captain, I mean? If I tell him, he’ll laugh, but if it comes from a gentlewoman like yourself, it’s a different matter.”

“Give me some paper. I’ll write to him immediately. That money also should pay for a blanket. If she calls for me, do not hesitate to send Tree.”

When we reached the top of the stairs, we found Will and Tree playing at dice, with Will clearly coming off the worse. While they played, I wrote a letter to the captain, assuring him that Anne posed no threat to the city and guaranteeing her good conduct. After Tree had pocketed all of Will’s pennies (he wisely declined the boy’s offer to play for shillings), I gave him the letter and sent him to the captain. With that business taken care of, Will and I left the Castle and started home.

“Do you realize that the boy was cozening you?” I asked.

“Of course. But for the life of me I could not figure out how. I still don’t know. So who was the woman who summoned you?”

“Anne Goodwin, of all people.”

“The Hookes’ servant? She was trying to flee the city to escape the Hookes?”

I related Anne’s story of her delivery, imprisonment, and escape. “She’s safe for the moment,” I said. “But I don’t know what to do next.” We reached my house, and even as we settled in the parlor Martha joined us. I filled her in on what I’d learned from Anne, and together we considered our options.

“We could go to Alderman Hodgson,” Martha suggested. “He trusts you and might begin a formal investigation.”

“You know that’s not how the law works,” I said. “Edward would not order the arrest of
any
citizen based only on the word of a bastard-bearing maidservant who was caught trying to flee the city.”

“But if you talked to him … he trusts you.”

“I am still a woman and Anne is nothing but a girl. The Hookes would cast her as a disorderly servant and a wench of lewd character. Edward would not believe a word she said.”

“What then?” she asked angrily. “Will you let them escape unpunished?”

“What would you have me do?” I snapped back. “If Anne is the only witness, there is nothing we can do! The Lord Mayor and Aldermen are rushing to burn Esther Cooper for murdering her husband. They are not going to pull down another respectable household on the word of a maidservant. The Hookes would destroy her.”

“Then we find someone else,” she said angrily. “Someone must have seen something. One of the servants, perhaps. We can’t just give up.”

I thought for a moment, an idea slowly dawning on me. “The servants would never testify. But James might.”

“Why in God’s name would he do that?”

“Murdering a child brings with it a heavy burden, one that few people can bear alone. Even if he didn’t kill the child himself, he knows what happened and is responsible, at least in part. If we can confront James without his mother nearby, he may tell us the truth.”

“If he did, he would send himself or his mother to the gallows,” Will said. “Why would he do that?”