The Beggar Maid by Dilly Court

somewhere warm and sunny.’
    â€˜You are so lucky being a man.’ Charity stood on tiptoe and brushed his cheek with a kiss. ‘Goodnight, Daniel, and thanks again.’
    He tipped his hat. ‘Always glad to help a lady. Goodnight, Charity. See you again very soon.’ He left the yard and she closed the gate, locking it before making her way towards the back door. The whole house seemed to be asleep and for once there was not a sound emanating from the building or its neighbours, but as she entered the scullery she could hear dismal howls and banging, which grew louder as she entered the kitchen.

Chapter Six
    â€˜ WHERE THE HELL have you been, you little trollop?’ Jethro lay on the flagstone floor close to his bed. His right leg was twisted at an ugly angle and his face, caught in a shaft of moonlight, was deathly pale. ‘Where were you when I needed you?’
    Charity rushed to his side and knelt down. ‘What happened?’
    â€˜Are you blind as well as stupid and immoral? You’ve been with a man. I can smell him on you.’
    â€˜That’s not true,’ Charity said angrily. ‘How dare you say such a thing?’
    â€˜You stink of tobacco smoke and Macassar oil. You’re a worthless slut and I should have known better than to take you on.’
    â€˜We should get you back to bed.’ Charity made an effort to sound calm when really she felt close to panic. It was obvious that he had injured himself badly, but she was at a loss as to how to handle him.
    â€˜Are you mad? I’ve broken my hip. I need a doctor. Give me laudanum and go for help.’
    Charity reached onto his bed and picked up a pillow, placing it carefully beneath his head. ‘All right. I’ll do as you ask, but please try not to move. You’re only making matters worse.’
    He bared his broken teeth in a scowl. ‘Don’t tell me what to do.’
    She rose to her feet. ‘I’ll fetch your medicine, but you need to go to hospital.’
    â€˜No hospital for me.’ His voice rose to a high-pitched scream. ‘I won’t go to one of those places. Never again.’
    Having sedated him with a hefty dose of laudanum, and not knowing who else to call upon, Charity sought help from Bert Chapman who was the only man in the building strong enough to lift Jethro. She had to rouse him from his bed and he was sleepy, but comparatively sober. At first he was reluctant to lift a finger to aid a man he obviously loathed, but with a mixture of flattery, persuasion and a bribe of five shillings, Charity managed to persuade him and he lumbered downstairs after her. By this time Jethro was in a drugged state and barely conscious.
    â€˜He says his hip is broken,’ Charity whispered. ‘I think he must have fallen out of bed.’
    â€˜It’s a pity it wasn’t his neck what broke,’ Bert said unsympathetically. He bent down and hoisted Jethro into his arms as if he were a sack of feathers instead of a solidly built adult. ‘It’s not far to the Royal Free Hospital. I’ll carry the brute, but I’m not moving a step until you give me what you promised.’
    Charity felt under Jethro’s mattress for his bunch of keys and unlocked the cash box he kept hidden beneath his bed. She took out two silver crowns and placed them in Bert’s hand. ‘There you are.’
    â€˜Put them in me pocket, dearie.’
    She did as he asked. ‘Now will you take him to the hospital?’
    â€˜Give us a kiss first.’
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜I said give us a kiss, or I’ll dump the old bugger on the floor and break his other hip.’
    â€˜That wasn’t in the bargain.’
    â€˜It is now.’ He leaned forward and Jethro’s arms dangled limply like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
    Charity held her breath, closed her eyes and gave him a peck on the cheek. He threw his head back and roared with laughter.