Page 73 of Heartbreak for the Irish Midwife

‘I didn’t want to, I swear!’ Tears were streaming down her face. ‘I only wanted some kisses, but he – he took me further down the alleyway and he – I said no but he—’ She dissolved into sobs and Maisie put her arms around her.

‘It’s all right, Maggie-Ann. It will be all right, I promise.’ How to fulfil that promise, she had no idea. She only knew that what this poor girl had gone through was horrific, and that she needed compassion and care.

Alex still hadn’t returned, for which Maisie was grateful, for she needed every second of this time with Maggie-Ann. ‘Have you ever had another boyfriend, Maggie-Ann?’ she asked once the girl was ready to talk again.

Maggie-Ann shook her head. ‘I’ve kissed a few boys after dances, you know?’ Maisie did know. Yet she still couldn’t account for the dates being wrong.

‘And it was definitely the New Year when this happened?’

‘Yes. Why?’

‘It helps us to work out how far along you are.’

‘Oh, what’s going to happen to me?’ She punched her abdomen, and Maisie gasped. ‘I wish it would go away. I never wanted any of this! Every time I see my stupid stomach, it reminds me of what he did, and I wish I could die!’

‘Ah, Maggie-Ann, I’m so sorry!’ She hugged the girl again.

‘Can you get rid of it for me? I know it can be done. Please!’

Maisie kept her face neutral. ‘We need to talk to Dr Lowe and your mammy about it all. You know that, don’t you?’

‘I suppose.’ She thought for a moment. ‘Could you tell them? My ma will go mad, so she will.’

Maisie spoke firmly. ‘Maggie-Ann, listen to me. This is not your fault. None of it is your fault. Do you hear me?’

The girl nodded, something like hope in her eyes, and Maisie rose. ‘Right. I’ll ask them to come back in.’

‘Tell them first,’ Maggie-Ann pleaded. ‘I’m begging you, Maisie. My poor ma – I can’t tell her. I can’t!’

‘All right, I will. Will you be all right here for a few minutes?’

She nodded, so Maisie went quickly to the next room, where Alex was listening sympathetically to a distraught Mrs Boyd.

They both looked up when she entered, and Alex bade her sit. ‘How is she?’

‘She’s upset, but she told me what happened.’ She turned to Mrs Boyd. ‘I’m sorry, Mrs Boyd. I hate to have to tell you this, but your daughter is pregnant as the result of being forced.’ Her stomach felt slightly sick, and her heart went out to Mrs Boyd. No mother should have to hear such news.

‘Ah no, not that!’ Mrs Boyd put a hand to her mouth. After a moment, she added, ‘I did wonder, for our Maggie-Ann was never one to be running about with boys. She only started going to dances this past year or so.’ She sent Maisie a sharp glance. ‘Who was it? Who done this to her?’

‘A sailor. He said his name was Marcus.’

‘A sailor. A bloody sailor.’ Her mouth twisted. ‘He’ll be long gone, and my Maggie-Ann is left with the consequences of his evil.’ She turned to Alex. ‘Can you get rid of it? I’m not having my Maggie-Ann’s life ruined by some sailor that took what he wanted and run, and I know how bad she is with her nerves over this.’ Her hands were shaking, Maisie saw, and her face pale. Shock. Both women were going through shock, and it was her job to make sure it didn’t turn into serious medical shock.

‘I’ll get some tea.’

‘Good idea.’ Alex’s eyes held gratitude. ‘We’ll go back in to Maggie-Ann.’

Leaving them to it, Maisie went to the office and made two cups, standing with both hands on the bench as she waited for the electric kettle to boil. This is desprit. Once the tea was ready she made for the original clinic room, bracing herself emotionally. As planned, Alex and Mrs Boyd had returned there, and the two women were currently hugging and crying. That would be the start of Maggie-Ann’s healing, Maisie knew – although the pregnancy complicated matters. Giving birth to her attacker’s child would be a nightmare for poor Maggie-Ann.

Setting the tray down, Maisie didn’t interrupt the distressed women; instead she spoke quietly to Alex. ‘The incident was apparently at the New Year, so she’d be about twenty-five weeks now, but . . . she glanced meaningfully at the girl’s large abdomen. Occasionally they saw overweight women, but Maggie-Ann’s arms, shoulders, and face suggested she was not overweight.

If the dates were correct, as they had to be, then why was Maggie-Ann’s stomach so distended? Twins? Maisie’s heart sank. That’s all this poor girl would need.

She could see Alex shared her concerns. ‘We need Russell,’ he said, and Maisie nodded. This level of complexity was way beyond a midwife and a junior doctor.

‘I’m going to see if Mr Russell, the senior doctor, is free,’ Alex said gently. ‘All right?’

The women agreed, and Alex slipped out then, returning a little later with Mr Russell. By that stage some calmness had returned to the clinic room. The women had supped their tea, the crying had eased, and they had spoken together about ending the pregnancy.