Once Flynn had listened to the baby’s heart and lungs, he left Nora to diaper and dress her as best she could.
“Are we going to try to find the baby’s mother?” Maeve asked in a near whisper.
He gestured for her to follow him into the smaller room. “One of us can go to the captain while the other stays here.”
“I’ll go,” she offered.
He nodded his approval.
Maeve told Nora what she was doing and left to find the captain in the chart house. “May I have a moment to speak with you?” she asked.
Once she’d explained the situation, he removed his cap and scratched his head. “Never had this happen b’fore. Plenty o’ babies been born aboard, but none have been deserted.”
“I was thinking you could go over the ship’s manifest,” Maeve suggested. “See how many women of childbearing age are aboard and then question them.”
“Sounds like a logical plan. Come with me.”
She joined him in his cabin, where Mrs. Conley was cheerfully humming and scrubbing potatoes. Their cabin had a tiny kitchen area with hanging pots and pans that swayed with the ship’s movement.
The captain set the heavy manifest on the scarred table with a thump and opened to the last pages.
After hearing Maeve’s story, Martha Conley joined their efforts. She got a paper, pen and ink to make a list, then pushed them toward Maeve. “Your writin’s probably better’n mine, dearie.”
They came up with thirty-nine possibilities for someone who might have given birth.
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