Molly Worthington

Molly Worthington is a young mother whose care of a premature newborn becomes a decisive source of support for the Huntley household. When Lavinia Huntley’s son arrives early and is too fragile to feed easily, Molly persists through a difficult first attempt and undertakes to nurse him through the night. Her work is practical and sustained: she brings her own baby, adapts when ordinary feeding proves impossible, and promises to feed Stephen every hour.

Identity and Background

Molly is described as sweet-natured, with laughing brown eyes and springy dark hair. She is already the mother of Marigold, her three-week-old daughter and firstborn, whom she clearly cherishes. Her husband works on the railway in nearby Atherstone and earns little; the money Molly receives for wet-nursing will therefore help the family.

The arrangement is made with consideration for Molly’s existing family responsibilities. She is to visit her husband each evening between feeds, and he is welcome to visit her at Treetops Manor when he has time. Marigold is brought along, and a spare crib is set up for her in the nursery. Molly’s employment thus does not require her to leave her own infant behind.

Arrival and Nursing Stephen

Molly arrives three hours after Zillah has sought help, bringing Marigold and a bag of clothes. Lavinia has not yet appointed a nanny because of the premature birth, but Molly says she can manage both babies herself and prefers that arrangement. Zillah, exhausted after remaining awake through the crisis, is relieved to have a capable caregiver in the nursery.

Stephen is markedly smaller and less robust than Marigold. He has not even whimpered for food, and Molly recognizes at once that nursing him directly will not work: his mouth is tiny, while her nipple is swollen and full of milk. Rather than give up, she asks Zillah to find a pap boat so that she can express milk and drip it into his mouth. The first feed takes an hour and yields only a few drops; meanwhile, Marigold begins to stir for her own feed. The scene makes the difficulty of caring for the premature child concrete without diminishing Molly’s resolve.

Care and Relationships

Molly’s care depends on close cooperation with Zillah, who has been watching over both Lavinia and the newborn. After Lavinia wakes from her own ordeal and asks to see her son, Zillah first promises to bring him once Lavinia has been washed and fed. When mother and child meet, Stephen is still tiny, but Zillah can report that Molly is feeding him every hour, including through the night, and that he already looks better. The doctor has also observed an improvement.

Molly’s promise to continue hourly feeds shows the seriousness with which she accepts the responsibility, even as she must also care for Marigold. Her work is not presented as a brief rescue followed by withdrawal: she remains committed to the newborn’s repeated needs, and Zillah trusts her with the nursery while she attends Lavinia.

Narrative Significance

Molly’s presence turns an urgent household crisis into a workable arrangement. The premature baby’s survival is uncertain, and his first feed is laborious; against that precarious beginning, Molly’s steady attention offers care that is both skilled and adaptable. Her willingness to bring Marigold, maintain contact with her husband, and attend to Stephen makes the nursing arrangement an accommodation between two families rather than a replacement of one mother’s obligations by another’s.

Her role also sits within the novel’s wider concern with who notices and responds to vulnerable infants. Earlier, Sunday encounters babies neglected by their caretaker and takes practical steps to change and feed them. Molly’s work at Treetops Manor presents another form of that attentive care: she recognizes what the newborn can manage, finds a different way to feed him, and continues at the demanding pace his condition requires.