Free Once Beloved by Amara Royce Page B

quickly, “Oh, they are impressive, and they do much more than knitting.”
    â€œVanessa, dear, really, do not bore Mr. Lanfield with women’s trivialities.”
    â€œMrs. Martin, ’appen you could tell me more about these evil angel-makers?”
    Well. Surely, she could talk about them without revealing the machinations of the Needlework ladies. “There are a growing number of unscrupulous independent nurseries that will take infants and children into their care for payment.”
    â€œAn orphanage?”
    â€œNothing so organized. Many appear to operate out of private homes, under deplorable conditions. We’ve heard stories from factory women, usually about someone they knew leaving their children in the care of a baby nurse. The floors were apparently lined with crates for the babies and children. Not proper beds, mind you. And surrounded by filth. One woman came to us after her babe died in someone’s care, and we have since learned of other, similar cases. However, the operation seems to have moved.”
    â€œSurely accidents happen. Bairns do take ill and die.”
    â€œSurely,” she responded dryly. “But there is a vast ocean of difference between accidents and neglect. What’s particularly loathsome in these cases is that the whole purpose of these angel-makers is the money. No care is given to the children, and yet their parents must work or risk being thrown into the workhouse.
    â€œYou seem personally affronted.”
    â€œThe deaths of these innocent children are deplorable. Unconscionable. I could so easily have been in their shoes. Those mothers with so little, having to trust their precious children to the care of a stranger week after week—it’s heartbreaking.”
    â€œYou would never have abandoned your children so, Auntie,” Vanessa said vehemently.
    â€œYour faith in me is admirable, my sweet, but just think—had your uncle proved to be insincere, he could have abandoned me in the squalor of London or along the highway. Even married as we were, had his company proved a failure, we would have had little choice but for me to work as well.” She looked at Mr. Lanfield unflinchingly. He cocked his head as if a question hovered in his mind, yet he didn’t speak. It was unlikely he could think any worse of her so there was little harm in revealing the full circumstances of her elopement. “If my husband had been a very different type of man, not a gentleman but a seducer, I could easily have been one of these women, at the mercy of an angel-maker. There’s no need to look so scandalized, Mr. Lanfield. I am certain people suspected, especially after my abrupt departure.”
    â€œWhether they did or no, to speak so bluntly in front of your niece is scandalous. You’ve no concern for her morals?”
    Vanessa’s chin went up. Never a good sign. “Better for me to know the truth and be prepared for the perfidy men may commit than to fall prey to one out of sheer ignorance!”
    Putting her hand on her niece’s shoulder, Helena offered a calmer response. “Rest assured, sir, that I have made clear the moral ramifications of my choices, as well as the pitfalls and consequences many young ladies face when they trust the pretty words of a lover.”
    She thought it exceedingly wise that Mr. Lanfield declined to comment.
    â€œIt’s become a serious problem and not just in London. As with so many injustices, it targets the needy, the destitute, those in such dire straits they have few other options, if any. From what we’ve found, the parents generally believe they’re placing their babies in safe keeping. We need more regulation and more frequent inspections. We need more severe punishments.” She stopped abruptly, realizing her voice had grown shrill and strident. It was so difficult to remain composed when facing such inhumanity.
    â€œYou care deeply about these people.”