The Family Way (Molly Murphy, #12)

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” I said angrily. “You two are the end. You profess equality and tolerance and yet you’re actually judging on the basis of class. Emily is all right because she comes from a fine house, therefore she is reliable. Katy, whom you haven’t even met, is not, because clearly she doesn’t come from a fine house.”


“Keep your hair on, Molly,” Sid said with a smile. “We didn’t wish to imply that at all. The two situations are different. We plan to give Emily some introductions, but it will be up to her future employer to decide whether to hire her or not. We may even put her up in our house for a few days, because even you have to agree that she is not a potential ax murderer. But you are planning to bring this girl to live in your home with you and to help take care of your baby. Do you know if she’s got a nasty temper? What if she hits the child when you are not there? Is she too influenced by the opposite sex? Might she make a play for Daniel?”

“I see your point,” I said, “but I could say that about any potential servant I hired.”

“If you hired from a reputable agency, the girl would come with references.”

“Obviously I will ask the sisters for a reference, and she would be on probation until I’ve seen whether we get along well. But I have to tell you that I took to her right away. A pleasant, unsophisticated, open sort of girl.”

“I’m sure she’ll be just fine, Molly,” Gus said in soothing fashion. “We’re just warning you to proceed with caution, that’s all.”

“I know,” Sid said. “Why don’t we come with you to observe when you interview her? And we can see whether she is good with children or not by the way she gets along with Bridie.”

“I’m sure everyone in the world would get along with this sweet young lady.” Gus ruffled Bridie’s hair and Bridie gave her a beaming smile.

We were coming into the station yard. I helped Bridie down from the trap and waited until she ran on ahead before I said in a low voice, “I’m not sure it’s such a good idea to take Bridie to a place like that. There might be difficult questions to answer about what the young women are doing there?”

“Simple. They go there to have their babies. It’s like a hospital,” Sid said easily. “And you have to admit that three heads are better than one. Besides, I don’t know about you, Gus, but I’m dying to see inside that convent. It sounds deliciously Gothic.”

“I wonder if families can still pay to have their daughters locked away in cells,” Gus said. “To keep them from the wicked world.”

“Or to claim their inheritance,” Sid added. They were both chuckling merrily now.

“Who is going to be locked away?” Bridie asked, turning up at my side unexpectedly.

“Nobody, my sweet,” I said, giving a warning frown to the other two. “The ladies were just joking.”

‘Yes, we were just joking,” Gus said. “Just having fun.”

Just joking. I tried to agree with this, but I felt a chill go through me. Presumably Emily’s family had paid to have her shut away there. Sid and Gus weren’t so far off the truth. And I found myself wondering yet again whether Maureen had actually left the convent at all.

That’s ridiculous, I thought. No nuns would force a girl to join them against her will. Those are the sort of rumors that Protestants like to spread, but we Catholics know that most sisters only go into the convent because they have a calling, and are devoted servants of God—brides of Christ, they call themselves. And the sisters in this convent were doing a wonderful job, taking in girls who had nowhere else to go. Of course it would be right that those who could afford to pay did so. How else could the nuns afford to look after all of them?

Sid interrupted my thoughts. “So you are going to let us come with you, aren’t you, Molly?” she asked.

I managed a smile. “Of course,” I said.

We arrived back at the inn just as lunch was being cleared away. The innkeeper scolded us for our tardiness, but she then was kind enough to make us sandwiches, which we ate in the shade on the porch.

“Should we go to the convent this afternoon?” Gus asked. “Or would it be better to write to them, asking to set up an appointment to interview your Katy?”

The day had become hot and humid and I was feeling decidedly languid after our morning’s escapades. An afternoon nap seemed like a good idea, but I didn’t want to show my friends signs of my frailty. Besides, I was anxious to see Katy again and find out if she knew any other details that could throw light on Maureen’s disappearance.

“Oh, I think we can just turn up on the doorstep,” I said. “If I write to them they may not respond right away and Katy might well go into labor before I have a chance to see her.”

“Very well,” Sid said. “We should look into hiring some kind of vehicle, as I suggested, Gus. I certainly don’t feel like walking a mile or two in this heat, and uphill too. And Molly certainly shouldn’t.”