Page 25 of Betrayal from Beyond
“We’ve come to speak with one of your tenants,” Niall began again.
“Tenants?” The woman laughed. “Inmates is what they’re called here.” She pursed her lips. “And they are hard at work. I cannot be allowing you to interrupt their labors.”
“We’ll only take a moment.”
The woman looked mulish. Kara gave a silent laugh. She hadn’t met stubborn until she met her husband. This matron didn’t stand a chance.
Niall merely smiled. “I am sure Mr. Cuthbert would not begrudge us a short visit, but I can have him summoned, if you require convincing.”
From the report they’d had, Kara recognized the name of the “guardian” who acted as administrator to this particular workhouse.
The woman considered. Finally, she gave a sniff. “I’m sure Mr. Cuthbert has better things to do with his time, successful businessman as he is. Very well. Which inmate do you seek?”
“A recent addition to your institution. Miss Rose Martin.”
“Her?” The matron looked surprised. “No better than she ought to be, that one.” She set her hands on her hips. “Well, in any case, you cannot go in, sir. I cannot be allowin’ a man to come into the women’s ward.”
“Can you bring the girl out to us?” asked Kara.
“No. She’s work to do, hasn’t she?” The matron thought she’d got around them. “Of course, you can go and speak to her while she labors, ma’am, but not for long.” Clearly, she expected Kara to decline.
“Thank you.” Kara nodded. “If you’ll show the way?”
The matron blinked. “She’s in the kitchens today.”
“I will wait right here, Mrs.…?” Niall ended on an expectant note.
“Mrs. Ash.”
“I will wait here, Mrs. Ash. And I will put my trust in you to be sure that my duchess comes to no harm…or inconvenience.”
The woman looked momentarily shocked at hearing Kara’s title. Her gaze raked over Kara’s gown of green wool and lingered at the embroidered cuffs and hem before she raised her chin. “I run a tight ship, sir. No women are harmed on my watch. There’s no coddlin’, to be sure. But no harm, neither. To inmate or visitor.”
“I am glad to hear it.”
“This way, Your Grace.” Mrs. Ash opened the door and beckoned Kara through. They walked along a narrow passage before entering a cavernous room, illuminated only by the dimlight coming in the high windows. A long table ran down the center of the room. Chairs surrounded it and lined the walls. Women and girls crowded in, some sharing seats or sitting on the floor. Over a hundred of them, Kara would estimate. They all wore the same uniform, and each of them had a bucket full of old rope before them. They were picking apart the ropes, fraying them with a spiked tool. Dust hung in the air, along with the scent of tar and too many bodies packed together. A few of the women glanced at Kara defiantly. Some shrank into themselves as if avoiding notice. Most ignored her completely as they worked silently, their faces slack or vacant. Just a smattering of whispers faded as they entered.
The matron ushered Kara quickly through. They passed a window through which Kara spotted a courtyard full of men, some pounding staffs into short casks, others using chisels to hammer rocks, before they went into another short passage that turned a corner and led to a series of more brightly lit kitchen rooms.
Women in the same uniforms worked here, sawing chunks of hard bread and stirring large vats of gruel. A younger woman swept the floor beneath a worktable.
“Where’s the Martin girl?” the matron asked her.
The young woman jerked her head toward an alcove in the back of the kitchen. “They set her to grindin’ barley for the pigs.”
“You’ll want some privacy, I expect?” asked Mrs. Ash.
“That might be best. Thank you.” With a nod, Kara headed toward the bent figure in the shadowed nook.
“I’ll wait here, then,” the matron said gruffly, before she turned to join the women at the stove.
Drawing closer, Kara could see a thin, young woman bent over a small hand mill. More a girl, really. She could not have been more than sixteen or seventeen. Her focus was on her workas she worked the cast iron wheel with one hand and dipped scoops of grain into the hopper with the other.
“Miss Martin?” Kara said quietly.
The girl jerked upright and turned to face her. So young. So very thin. Her skin shone pale. Great, dark shadows lay under her eyes. She looked Kara over with confusion. “I’m nearly done with this bucket. I’ll fetch another in a moment.”
“I’m sure you are doing a fine job,” Kara said gently. “I’ve come to speak with you, Miss Martin. Might you pause a moment?”
