Alice stumbled backward, still pointing the firearm as her attacker advanced with a strange, unreadable expression.

Theo hesitated. The man was in a uniform, albeit one he didn’t recognize, and it confused him. Still, he immediately hurled himself at the aggressor as he’d done on the football field countless times.

The man fell, and Theo wrestled his arms behind his back and held them as the man yelled obscenities. Just then, the two policemen came running from the house.

It seemed as if the second man was going to get away, but one policeman chased him as he tried to scramble over the back wall, and the second officer handcuffed the captive as he continued to shout and curse.

Sirens sounded in the distance, and Theo guessed that the local police were finally on their way.

He couldn’t read Alice’s expression as he helped her up off the ground and slid the gun from her fingers. Everything had happened so fast, and she was probably in shock.

“Alice. Are you all right?”

She gave him a thin smile.

He didn’t blame her; he hadn’t been there when she’d needed him, none of them had except for Ursula, but at least they’d made it just in time. He dared not think what would have happened otherwise.

Forty-four

She’s safe, and she’s as good as gold,” the woman said, as Alice inched toward the baby carriage. “I’ve looked after her, honestly.”

It didn’t matter to Alice that this was probably the wet nurse—the woman who had nursed her baby—because after all the days and weeks, here was Eadie, only an arm’s-length away. Wasn’t she?

Alice swallowed the thickness in her throat and bowed her head to look inside the hood: a soft cotton lining, buttercup-colored blankets, and a baby swaddled in white muslin.

Theo approached slowly, then George.

She looked up at them, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Is it her?” Theo asked.

Alice swallowed hard. “I think so.” She leaned down, her curved arms gently scooping the baby out. The girl’s face was still familiar in sleep, and Alice checked the birthmark on her shoulder before she clutched her as tightly as she dared and began to cry.

Alice closed her eyes, remembering to breathe. When she opened them again, it was as if time had folded in on itself, the past months disappearing until there was only today. Time hadn’t robbed her of her daughter; she’d faced her enemy and survived, and she’d placed her trust in other people.

Eadie stirred in her arms, and Alice held her out so they could see each other. Her daughter made a small sound as her mouth stretched into a wide yawn, and she opened her eyes.

Theo’s eyes glistened, and George smiled broadly.

“I’m sorry,” Alice whispered to her daughter. “I’m so sorry.”