Ruby folded the letter and frowned as she placed it in her top drawer. A request from Miss Sampson was tantamount to an order, so no matter what she’d planned for her afternoon she must attend her at her office.
Relations between them had been a bit strained for a while after that business with the Miller girl, because Ruby should never have been taken in by those people who’d applied to be foster parents – but what had happened subsequently hadn’t been her fault. The Children’s Department should have checked the Baileys’ details more thoroughly. All she’d done was recommend them as possible foster parents.
Ruth Sampson had had her fingers rapped publicly when the papers got hold of the scandal. The department had tried to keep it private, but somehow one of those scandal rags had nosed out the story and made a meal of it, though the child hadn’t been named. So Ruth had been reprimanded and Ruby had borne the brunt of her displeasure, but she’d weathered it and hung on, and now it seemed that she was being offered a reward.
Ruby had been made to eat humble pie after the truth came out about those awful people who had abused June Miller and for a while she’d felt regret, but then her natural sense of certainty had come back and she’d begun to resent the way Sister Beatrice seemed to have an almost free hand next door. St Saviour’s was inspected about once a year or so, but it seemed Sister Beatrice always managed to get away with a glowing report. Ruby, on the other hand, had been questioned about her methods of discipline more than once and now had to suffer twice yearly intrusion into her regime.
She’d felt she was being criticised and, after the last interview was over, asked whether they were dissatisfied with her.
‘We have been told that you threatened one of the girls you sent on to a remand home with violent punishment if she misbehaved there …’ Mr Irvine, the Department’s chief inspector, told her.
‘You shouldn’t believe a thing these girls say,’ Ruby retorted furiously. ‘Some of them become violent and have to be restrained. I worked in a remand home for some months before I applied for this job and I saw how necessary it is to use force at times …’
‘We are aware that in extreme cases it is sometimes necessary to restrain a violent case, but always the minimum amount of force is to be used. Did you not tell a girl that if she caused more trouble she would be subdued by drugs and locked in a padded cell?’
‘No, of course I did not!’ Ruby retorted and then felt the hot colour rush up her neck and into her face as she remembered she had said something of the sort to Betty Goodge. ‘Well, I told her it might happen if she was violent … she attacked me and I had to subdue her …’
‘Did you know that she tried to commit suicide the day after she was committed to the remand home?’ Mr Irvine asked coldly.
Ruby felt sick and shaken. Her voice dropped to a whisper as she said, ‘No, I was not aware of that … but I’m sure I had nothing to do with it …’
‘You think your threat was not related to her act of desperation?’ the inspector asked sarcastically. ‘Did you not know the girl’s history, Miss Saunders? As a child she was sexually abused and beaten systematically, and when she fought back she was locked in a cellar until she ceased screaming. We knew she was a thief and a little wild, but we sent her here rather than a remand home to give her a chance for a better life – your threats affected her mind powerfully and she went into a decline after her attempt at suicide and is now in the care of a psychiatrist in a secure hospital.’
‘I didn’t realise she’d been locked in a cellar …’ Ruby felt hot and uncomfortable. ‘I do not see that I can be held accountable for what happened to her at the remand home.’
‘Neither did Miss Sampson,’ the inspector told her. ‘However, it has been decided that we shall visit more often in future and see how things are going here. For the moment I find that everything is in order – but I must tell you that the Department frowns on the use of threats …’
Ruby had fretted with frustration after that last visit. It wasn’t her fault if a wild girl had tried to take her own life because she’d been sent to a place where the discipline was harsh. Besides, the attempt had failed and had probably been staged to gain attention. Betty was now in a hospital and most likely running rings round the staff there …
She glowered at the wall that divided her office from the orphanage next door. It had been Ruby’s ambition to take over there when Sister Beatrice retired – and surely that couldn’t be much longer.
She wondered what Miss Sampson had to say to her and hoped she wasn’t in her bad books again …
‘Well, that is the intention,’ Ruth Sampson said, giving Ruby a triumphant look. ‘It isn’t confirmed yet, because we still have to come to terms with the Board of St Saviour’s – but I’m fairly certain that it will go ahead by the end of the year. We shall take over the whole building and you will be in charge of both sides … if you wish to accept the position …’
‘Yes, of course …’ Ruby stared at her, unsure of what she was hearing. ‘You’re saying they’re closing their doors and we’ll be in complete control of the orphans as well as our girls …’
‘Yes, that is the idea. St Saviour’s cannot continue to support two homes, as I’m sure they realised, but they kept it on because Sister Beatrice fought the closure and local people supported her – but now they’ve realised it is untenable …’
‘What will happen to her – to Sister Beatrice?’ Ruby asked, feeling an odd pang of sympathy for the woman she’d resented at the start but now rather admired from afar.
‘Her methods are outdated and since I am in overall charge I should not accept her continuing presence. You will run the kind of home we require with the proper standards. We shall continue to take in children from the streets for a short time, but other centres are being planned and eventually we shall be what we are now but much larger … It makes more sense for sick children to be dealt with in specialised centres these days before being moved out to the country. The nurses next door are an unnecessary luxury.’
‘Yes, I suppose so …’ Ruby was a little disappointed. She’d quite liked the idea of taking in the children in need. ‘So it will happen by Christmas?’
‘Possibly the following January … but it isn’t settled yet. There could be complications so you must keep this to yourself. Were it to become known … I wouldn’t put it past that woman to stir up the local population again …’
‘Of course, you may rely on my discretion …’
‘Naturally.’ Miss Sampson smiled. ‘I was sure I could … This will be a promotion for you, Ruby.’
Ruby agreed and left the office, feeling thoughtful as she walked back to her home. Once, she’d thought she felt more for Miss Sampson than she ought, but the gloating in her eyes as she’d spoken of Sister Beatrice’s dismissal had left a nasty taste in Ruby’s mouth. Ruby didn’t like the old bat much, but she did respect her and felt oddly guilty that she was being sent packing just like that. It seemed unfair after all her years of service …
As she entered the building where her small flat was situated, Ruby saw a young woman burdened down with parcels and bags and realised she must be moving into the vacant apartment above. Seeing the girl drop some of her parcels, she darted forward as the lift opened.
‘Here, I’ll give you a hand with those,’ she said and scooped them up. ‘I’m Ruby and I live in the flat below you.’
‘Hi, I’m Carla.’ The girl’s bright eyes made Ruby feel an odd tingle at her nape and she dropped her own. The flame of her hair as it curled about her face was striking and there was something about the girl that instantly appealed, her smile reaching out to Ruby’s lonely heart. ‘Come on up, I’ll be glad of help with all this lot – and then perhaps we can get to know one another