In my opinion, it would be wise to conceal Your Graces’ true identities in these institutions, in order to spare the people we shall be working with further embarrassment or discomfort.
During the first several visits, you and your wife can observe what Mrs. Cooper and I are doing, and later indicate which activities you would be comfortable participating in. If some part of the work is offensive to you or, for instance, you decide you do not wish to touch those who are ill, let us know, and we will assign you duties that do not entail such contact.
If you have any ideas or suggestions on some new activities or improvements, likewise, inform us and we shall find a solution together. Open communication is key for making this a successful and pleasant endeavour.
Colin stopped reading and looked at his wife, who was nodding. “What do you think?” He asked her.
“I think we’ve arrived,” she said as the carriage stopped.
As Colin helped her out of the carriage, Lizzie hissed under her breath. He immediately grabbed her by the elbows, concerned.
“What is it? Are you unwell?”
She shook her head.
“It’s my courses,” she whispered. “I’m fine.”
Colin felt the blood drain from his face as he remembered the crimson sheets. He looked away, certain she’d see the anguish in his eyes.
“Is this the Magdalen Hospital or the one for the poor married women?” Lizzie asked as she looked around for their friends.
“I believe this is the one for the married women. Ah, there they are,” he replied, and they started walking towards the Coopers.
Talbot felt like he was inside a nightmare as they were being led through dark, poorly ventilated hallways filled with grunts and screams of varying levels of intensity and desperation.
“This hospital has been operating for the last sixty years,” Doctor Cooper explained cheerfully, undisturbed by the noises. “The biggest danger these mothers are facing is puerperal fever in the first seven days after birth. It is almost always incurable, so we watch them carefully for any signs of it.”
“How can we help?” Lizzie asked.
“Well, we help clean and air the rooms, and we raise funds to pay washerwomen to provide the women with clean sheets more often than the hospital can afford,” Mrs. Cooper said, and for the second time in an hour, Colin was assaulted by the memory of bloody sheets.
I should have burned those as well,he told himself.
“We also help distribute the broth and food from the kitchens, and help the women correctly give suck to the children. I also examine them, since I’m a midwife,” Mrs Cooper concluded.
“What about the men?” Elizabeth asked.
“In this particular hospital, your husband can help best with his coin purse,” Mrs Cooper said in a tone filled with authority and determination, which Talbot had never heard her speak in before. “Whereas my husband usually helps with surgical issues that arise.”
Once they reached the end of the corridor and were faced with two possible directions to go in, Mrs. Cooper spoke to Lizzie again, “You and I shall go see the women first, since they are in various states of undress and need to be warned if men will be joining us.”
“You and I can wait in my office,” Doctor Cooper indicated a door to Talbot.
The Doctor immediately sat down at his desk and, after an apology, started going through the papers that had been left there for him. Talbot, not wanting to disturb him, decided to entertain himself by going over to the bookshelf and examining some of its contents.
The Anatomy of the Human Gravid Uterus Exhibited in Figures,he read the title and opened the book. Nothing could have prepared him for the images he encountered there.
I never want Elizabeth to be pregnant,he thought.
He reached for another book,A Treatise on the Management of Pregnant and Lying-In Women.Some pages discussed cutting women open to remove the child, so he quickly closed that one as well.
Good God, how do women survive this? Why is man’s entrance into this world such a frightening, unpredictable business?He wondered.All these doctors and accoucheurs, and they couldn’t even save the Princess of Wales and her son.
The next book was calledInfancyand seemed to be written in verse, so Talbot assumed it did not contain frightening drawings or horrifying ideas. He sat down and read parts of it while Doctor Cooper worked. The book mostly spoke of giving suck to children, which turned out to be a fascinating subject.
“Isn’t giving suck to children a natural thing?” He asked Dr. Cooper after a while. “Why is there an entire book about it?”
Doctor Cooper glanced at the title. “That’s actually part of a series of six books, I believe. And unfortunately, there are a lot of misconceptions about nursing infants and mothers’ milk, so the books are very necessary, I’m afraid,” he said as he stood up and walked up to Talbot. “We can go join our women now.”
