Page 74 of His Illegitimate Duchess

“Some of them have health issues which are obvious on their skin. Take great care not to show any revulsion. Avoid touching them if you must, but do so with kindness.”

Lizzie nodded.

“Some of the girls are… reluctant to be close to men, even scared. Take that into account, please, and don’t step too close to them or corner them.”

It was Talbot’s turn to nod. As Mrs Cooper continued talking, he prayed for silence to return to the carriage.

Duke Colin Talbot, who was usually the master and commander of every room he entered, had managed to make himself almost invisible that afternoon. He kept his back to the wall, kept his gaze trained on his shoes, and obediently took orders from Mrs. Cooper.

It had quickly become apparent to both Talbots that this hospital was Mrs. Cooper’s domain.

Her whole demeanour was… new . She gave orders in short, clipped sentences, with a much coarser accent than she usually had.

The women seemed to like her and defer to her, whereas she seemed completely at ease with them, going as far as to hug several of them upon meeting.

When Mrs. Cooper announced it was time for their laundry work training and went to the front of the room to instruct them, Lizzie and Colin exchanged a surprised glance.

Laundry was such difficult, backbreaking work that it was done only every few weeks, and even then, anyone who could afford to pay washerwomen to do it, did so.

Why was a gentleman’s wife so familiar with it?

“Two of the girls are also apprenticing with her to become midwives,” Doctor Cooper told them proudly, and the Duke was impressed.

“Girls indeed, all of them are so young,” Lizzie said.

“Well, yes, the hospital leadership feels that those with the least experience with prostitution have the highest chances to be successfully reformed; thus, they must be under 30 years of age,” Doctor Cooper explained.

“What happens to those who are older but wish to leave such a life behind? Are there any options for them?” Colin wondered.

“You shall see them at the poorhouse next week,” the Doctor said sadly.

“What other training do they receive?” Lizzie wondered.

“Needlework is the only other one, I believe. I helped out once,” he said, and when he noticed Colin’s incredulous stare, he added, “I have a lot of practice suturing wounds. Excuse me, I believe someone is trying to get my attention.”

Lizzie smiled at the Doctor as he went over to the door, where a nurse had been waving at him, then, when he was out of sight, she let the smile drop.

“What is it?” Colin asked, and she seemed startled.

“This is nothing like what Mrs Brandon and I did in Norwich. I just…” She looked around and stepped closer to him. “I find myself reluctant to touch these women or be too close to them, and I hate myself for secretly thinking they are sick or dirty somehow.”

She looked torn. Colin wanted to put his palm on her cheek. Or kiss her eyelids.

“I’m afraid there is a certain… set of beliefs one has been repeatedly taught about groups of people. Sometimes it’s difficult to overcome a belief you’ve had for years, and we’ve been here one afternoon,” he said quietly.

“I just feel awful because I hate when people have such beliefs, as you so eloquently put it, about me. And here I am, doing the same thing!” she whispered angrily.

Colin didn’t know what to tell her.

The last thing they had to do for the day was to attend a meeting with the latest charge of the hospital, a woman who, on paper, was Colin’s age, but looked decades older.

Her name was Hannah, and her story was similar to all the other girls’ – she came to the city to work and send money home to her family, and had been forcibly ruined by her married employer.

When his wife had discovered what had been happening, she threw the young girl out on the street, after beating her for seducing her husband.

Shamed and unable to go back to her village, Hannah had been forced to find employment in a brothel.

Mrs. Cooper seemed very agitated as she listened to the girl.

When Hannah finished listing the events that had led her to this point, Mrs. Cooper spoke, “Any relationship between the master of the house and a woman in service, even if the woman wants it, is still unjust to the woman, because the man holds her livelihood in his hand. And this man forced you, you did not seduce him,” she said vehemently, but Hannah looked like she didn’t care one way or the other.

Doctor Cooper put his hand on his wife’s shoulder, and she composed herself. Colin glanced at his own wife, who was busy wiping the tears from her face.

“Why now? Why did you decide to leave the brothel now?” Doctor Cooper asked.

“My parents are dead, and both my sisters are married; they don’t need the money any more,” Hannah replied in that same dispassionate voice she told them her life story in.

All four of them were silent and subdued during the carriage ride back, most likely thinking of the hundreds of men that Hannah had let inside her body only to be able to send money home and the various other sacrifices people make for those they love.

“Welcome back,” Lizzie’s mother greeted them when they entered the house.

Elizabeth ran up to her and hugged her. Catherine looked at Talbot over her daughter’s shoulder, her confusion obvious. He just gave her a small smile and quietly went upstairs to sort through his own feelings.

*

“Are you ready?” Colin asked his wife quietly when the carriage stopped in front of the Coopers’ house so they could all go to the Foundling Hospital together. Elizabeth nodded, but it didn’t convince either of them.

The past week, they had been avoiding each other, each of them dealing with what they had seen and learned in their own corner. And this Wednesday, they considered themselves a little more prepared for what awaited them.

“Hello, Your Graces,” Doctor Cooper greeted them jovially when he followed his wife into the carriage. “How are you two on this fine day?”

Lizzie lifted her eyebrows at her husband as if pleading with him to respond.

“Excited to embark on another leg of this journey,” Colin said dramatically for her amusement. “What can you tell us about today’s work?”

“Well,” Doctor Cooper said as he leaned back in his seat, which Colin suspected he’d done only to press his arm against his wife’s.

“As you already know, today we’re going to the London Foundling Hospital and the poorhouse for the parish of Covent Garden, on Cleveland Street.

Each of these comes with its own challenges.

The Foundling Hospital is home to unwanted, most often illegitimate children,” he said absent-mindedly, and Colin immediately looked at Lizzie.

Her face betrayed nothing.

“The children are starved for love and human contact, so most of the work is emotional. I, of course, examine and help the ill ones, but what you shall be doing is playing with them, talking to them, and helping in any way you can, be it mending their clothes or finding ways to participate in their education.”

Mrs Cooper nodded. “They have very little staff and far too many children, so matters like education are neglected in the daily struggle to keep them all clean, fed, clothed, and healthy.”

Elizabeth hummed thoughtfully.

“As for the poorhouse,” Doctor Cooper took a deep breath, and Talbot immediately knew he wasn’t going to like what he was about to say.

“It is not a place for those who have a weak stomach. There are too many paupers and too few beds. There are two physicians and perhaps three nurses caring for hundreds of infirm, disabled, dying, elderly, sick people. The inhabitants who are physically able to also help out. The quality of food and the cleanliness are… questionable,” he concluded diplomatically.

Talbot swallowed and glanced at his wife. There was a challenge in her eyes, and he decided to accept it.

“Thank you for the warning,” he said and clenched his jaw almost painfully.

He was a duke. He was capable of handling anything.

When they arrived at the Foundling Hospital, they were introduced to the hospital mistress, Miss Florence, who anxiously informed the Coopers that several children had fallen ill with the smallpox. The doctor and his wife exchanged a worried glance.

“Have you isolated them from the others?” The Doctor asked in a stern tone, and Miss Florence nodded. “Have either of you been ill with the pox?” The Doctor now asked the Talbots, who both shook their head.

“All right, Mrs Cooper and I will go visit the little patients, and Miss Florence here will show you around and, perhaps, lead them to the newborn room for their first visit?” He asked the woman, who nodded, still looking extremely anxious.

The hospital mistress gave Colin and Elizabeth a tour of the premises, all the while telling them about the hospital’s history, explaining how the children were admitted, the maximum age of admission, as well as informing them that the infants were sent to wet nurses in the country whenever possible.

“I wonder if we could set up something at Norwich,” Talbot thought out loud, and Elizabeth’s whole face showed her delight at the idea.

The mistress seemed equally excited. “That would be a tremendous help, Your Grace. The resources we have are simply powerless against the high number of abandoned children. At this point, almost all of the children here are first children of unwed mothers, and we accept them in the hopes that relieving those mothers of the burden and the stigma of raising an illegitimate child, will help them find their way to a more virtuous life, but there are just so many of them,” she said dejectedly. “Let me show you something.”

She led them into a small room that was filled with rows of shelves containing all sorts of objects, such as coins, pieces of cloth, jewellery and the like. Each item had a piece of paper attached to it.

“What are these?” Elizabeth asked as she inspected some of the items.