The Family Way (Molly Murphy, #12)

“Molly, you look terrible. You’ve bags under your eyes and you’re quite pasty-faced. All this rushing around has not been good for you.”


“No, Molly,” Sid said firmly. “Gus and I have been talking and we think this whole business with Maureen has overly upset you. We’ve decided that the best thing would be to take you back to your mother-in-law’s today and let her look after you. If you’re trapped with her in the country, you won’t have any more mad urges to solve problems.”

I shook my head violently.

“I know you’re not entirely thrilled with your mother-in-law,” Sid continued hastily, “but for the sake of the baby we’ve got to find a way to make you rest.”

“I can’t,” I cut into her words. “You don’t understand, I have to see this through now. I had a dream last night. It was Maureen who came to me. I know she wants me to find out the truth.”

Gus smiled. “You Irish and your dreams. Molly, dear, I’ve been to lectures on the subject. Professor Freud has been studying dream psychology in Vienna and he says that all dreams come from our own emotional state. You are worried about Maureen, you are upset about Katy, ergo you dream about them. They are lurking in your subconscious at night. It’s perfectly normal and it doesn’t mean that you’re getting a communication from the beyond.”

“I believe it does,” I said. “You can say what you like but I’ve had dreams before that really were communications ‘from the beyond,’ as you put it. And everyone in Ireland can tell you stories of dreams like that.”

“Professor Freud would disagree,” Gus said. “But I thought we came to the conclusion last night that there was nothing more we could do to look for Maureen. And you’d certainly never be able to prove that somebody pushed Katy down those stairs.”

“There is one thing I can do and I will do,” I said. “And that is to go back to the Mainwarings’ house and talk to the servants.”

“And why would you want to do that?” Sid asked suspiciously. “I thought we ascertained that Maureen never returned to them, even though they expected her to.”

“So Mrs. Mainwaring said,” I said, surprised at the words that came out of my mouth. “I only have her word for it.”

“What reason would she have for denying it?”

I shrugged. “Maybe she changed her mind about having a fallen woman in a house where there was her own young child, but she didn’t want to appear ungracious and lose respect in the eyes of the sisters. Besides,” I added, “there is something that doesn’t quite add up about that place.”

Gus wagged a finger at me. “Are you sure you’re not being Irish and fey again? Just because this Mainwaring woman wasn’t open and welcoming to you, doesn’t mean she has anything to hide. She probably saw from your dress that you were not a person of consequence and therefore not worth the effort.” She reached across and touched my hand. “I’m sorry, I didn’t wish to offend.”

“No offense taken,” I said. “I’m sure you’re quite right about that. She was a person to whom such things matter. Rather shallow and maybe vindictive, I thought. That’s why welcoming a disgraced servant back didn’t quite add up.”

“I see what you mean,” Sid nodded.

“So that’s why I need to go back there and talk to the servants. Servants always know what is going on. They’ll be able to tell me things about Maureen.”

“What sort of things?” Sid asked.

“Why she said she had no choice about going back there when she clearly didn’t want to. Why she was angry with Mrs. Mainwaring for coming to the convent. Why I have such a strange feeling that something is not right there.”

“You are a very stubborn woman, do you know that?” Sid said. “I pity Daniel, having to deal with you. I’m sure he sent you to his mother so that you couldn’t rush all over town, and now here you are doing exactly what he wanted to avoid.”

“I can’t help it,” I said. “And I’m not an invalid. I’m having a baby. And I feel fine. Women all over the world get on with their lives while they are pregnant. Anyway, I’ve made up my mind. I’m going back to the Mainwarings today.”

Gus looked at Sid and sighed. “Impossible,” she said. “I can see we’ll just have to kidnap her and lock her up.”

“I don’t try to stop you when you go on your suffragist marches, do I?” I reminded.

“We are not with child, Molly. If one of us were then I’m sure the other would make sure she did not do anything too strenuous.”