She looked at Sheriff Langton for confirmation, but he slid his gaze away. That was confirmation enough that he suspected the same thing.
There was a long, awkward silence as they all watched Fulton in the distance. She shifted, and Mollie finally saw a large bundle in her arms, swaddled in blankets.
Her heart ached. My Nell! Please God, save her. I don’t care what happens to me. Save my baby from the arms of that woman!
“How do we proceed from here?” Deming asked.
“We don’t know if she has a weapon. If somehow I could at least see her hands, and make sure she’s unarmed, we could consider rushing her at once—”
“No!” Mollie hissed, horrified. “No one lunges for her! Not unless it’s a last resort. She doesn’t need a weapon to hurt Nell. It wouldn’t take much to harm such a small child. We do this my way.”
“I’m in charge, Mrs. Jamison—”
“And I appreciate your help, but she’s my child. Have you given birth, Sheriff? Have you experienced the loss of a child in any way? Have you felt the gnawing agony that comes with being separated from your child? No? I didn't think so.” She turned from him without awaiting a response, and addressed the group, but kept her voice low. “I may not be mad, but I know what it’s like to feel mad with grief. I know what desperation can do to even the sanest of mothers. I’m the only one here who can muster empathy for this woman, who can begin to suspect what is going through her mind. So we do things my way.”
“She might feel threatened by you,” the sheriff muttered.
“She may. But she already feels threatened by you. And by Mr. Deming as well. I may be our only chance.”
“Fine,” he agreed with reluctance. Then he turned and addressed his men in a louder whisper. “You heard the lady. We do it her way—until I say different. But we can’t let her get past us. I don’t want her to jump on her horse and gallop off at full speed with an infant, when she can’t ride a horse for beans, as it is.”
They all nodded.
Mollie stepped forward. “Eugenia?”
She saw the woman’s head jerked up. “Go away!”
“Eugenia, I just want to talk. I’m not a police officer—you can see that. I’m a mother, just like you.”
“I know who you are. I saw you the day the police dragged you away in the paddy wagon.” She laughed. “Thought you were going to get my baby, didn’t you? But you didn’t, and you won’t get her today, either. I know that’s why you’re really here. You tricked Mr. Deming into thinking it’s your baby, and he was going to hand her over. Can you believe that? Just hand her over, like a sack of unwanted potatoes? Well, you can banish that notion. She’s mine, and you can’t take her away this time.”
Some deep part of Mollie wanted to dash for the trees and rip her child from the arms of the horrid woman. She could almost feel the woman’s hair twined in her fingers as—in her imagination—she dragged her away from Nell. She wanted to claw the devil’s eyes out!
Then Miss Fulton shifted again, and Nell whined, an arm appearing from the bundle of blankets, reaching out. It brought Mollie back to reality, and made her swallow the rage that threatened to surge up. I have to think rationally. If I’m to get Nell back, I have to connect with this woman, no matter what my true feelings for her are. She has to give Nell up willingly.
Mollie took a step forward. “I’m sorry if I upset you or the Deming family that day, Eugenia. I truly wasn’t there to steal Nell. I only wanted to visit her.”
“Her name is Ramona, and you’re a liar! You don’t think I can take care of her. You want to take her away, like everyone else!”
Ramona? Mollie glanced at the sheriff, and saw him wince at the name. The woman was definitely delusional. Ramona must have been her own child’s name. In that moment, Mollie knew she’d found the way to connect with Eugenia Fulton. She may have been mad, and possibly could have contributed to her child’s death, but nonetheless, she was a mother who was missing her child. Her baby was gone, and was never coming back. Mollie knew that pain—although she’d never given up hope—and knew that on that level alone, she could understand. And if she could, then Eugenia could, as well.
At least, I hope she can.
“Eugenia,” she said, taking another step forward, “no mother should ever have to suffer having her baby taken away. It’s a gut-wrenching pain that no one else can understand, and that you never recover from.”
Eugenia lifted her head. “No one understands.”
“I do. I understand.”
“You don’t understand. They didn’t lock you up, I’ll bet. They didn’t treat you like an animal.”
“No, they didn’t. About that, you’re right—I don’t understand. But someone did take my child. I came home one day, and found that my own mother had stolen my baby—right from her bed—and given her away to a stranger.” Mollie slowly edged toward the stand of trees.
“Why would someone do that? Don’t they know? Don’t they understand that a baby belongs with its mother?”
“A baby does belong with its mother. I think sometimes people believe they’re doing the right thing, even when they’re not. They think they’re helping the baby, or protecting her. But all they’re really doing is hurting the baby, because they’re not thinking clearly. They’re really only thinking about what they want.”
“That’s right! They didn’t care about Ramona. Ramona needed me. She wanted me. And they took her away anyway!”
“What happened with Ramona?” Mollie was close enough to see the top of Nell’s head. She was dressed warmly—thank God—but Mollie could see that her cheeks were red, and her skin pale beneath. It was too cold for such a young child to stay outside so long.
“She…she was sick. She wasn’t breathing right. They wanted to take her away, but I wouldn’t let them. I knew they’d keep her from me. I knew I’d never see her again. She didn’t need all their doctoring. She needed me. She needed to nurse at her mother’s breast. They didn’t want to listen.” Eugenia was petulant, like a child recounting how she hadn't gotten her way. “But I showed them. The doctor wasn’t careful—he was new, and he left his torture instruments out on the little table after Ramona was born. I used one to protect myself—to protect Ramona. They yelled and screamed and tried to get at us, but I held them off. I wouldn’t let them take her. I protected my baby.”
“That’s all we want, isn’t it?” Mollie asked. “We want to keep them safe. Keep them warm. Let no harm come to them. Right?” She entered the stand of evergreen saplings.
Eugenia craned her neck. “You stay right there! Don’t come any farther.”
“I’m right here, Eugenia. I just want to talk. I don’t want to shout all over the state of Montana, for all those men to hear.” Mollie jerked a thumb back toward the posse. “They don’t understand. They’re not bad people, they’re just doing their jobs—but they don’t understand, do they?”
Eugenia shook her head. Her wool bonnet had fallen back, and her hair fell in wisps around her face. “No one ever understands.”
“I understand. Remember? I told you, my mother stole my child from me. She wasn’t even sorry. She wouldn’t tell me where my baby was. I begged and I begged, but she wouldn’t listen…”
“They didn’t listen to me, either! I tried to tell them that I could take care of her. I’ve taken good care of her all this time! She’s healthy, and she’s happy, and nothing has happened to her, like what happened the first time.”
“What happened the first time, Eugenia?” Mollie took another step closer. Only six feet away. She could see the confusion in the woman’s eyes.
“She…she…I don’t know. Something happened…”
Mollie didn’t want to know. She was afraid she would lose her mind if she knew what the woman might be capable of. But she had to know.
Nell turned, then, looking up at Mollie. Her blue eyes were wide. Mollie knew without a doubt that Nell could sense something wasn’t right with Miss Fulton.
Mollie’s heart twisted in her chest, and she choked back tears. It was the closest she’d been to Nell in nearly a year, and all she could see was fear in her baby’s eyes. But she forced herself to sweep back the emotions that swamped her, and continue on.
“What happened, Eugenia? It’s important that you remember.”
“Why? I don’t want to remember.”
“Did something happen to Ramona?”
“She…she couldn’t breathe. I tried to get her to nurse—I could see she wanted to—but she was gasping for air. They wanted to take her away. But what could they do? They’d just let her die, and I’d never see her again. So I held her, and I rocked her, and I wouldn’t let them near her. They pretended that they cared about her, but none of them wanted to get cut. So they didn’t care about her—not really. If you care about a baby, you’re not afraid to get cut. You’re not afraid to risk everything for her.”
“That’s right. That’s right, Eugenia. If a woman loves her baby, she’ll do anything for it. Even if it makes her unhappy, she’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that her baby lives a long, happy life.”
“I’d do anything for Ramona.”
“I know you would. Just like you did that day. But what happened, when she had trouble breathing, Eugenia? What happened to Ramona then?”
Eugenia’s breathing hitched, and she hugged Nell closer. “I…she…it got worse. And then it just stopped.” She cast her eyes over the landscape as a tear trickled down her cheek. “Everything stopped.”
“You mean she stopped breathing?”
Eugenia nodded, her eyes unfocused, staring off into space.
“She died?”
“No!” Eugenia snapped, shifting her gaze to pin Mollie with a deadly glare. “She never died. They took her away.”
“Eugenia,” Mollie said gently, taking another step, “if a baby stops breathing, she dies. Ramona died, didn’t she?”
“No!” She stood up angrily, hoisting Nell in her arms.
Then from behind them, the sounds of horses reached their ears. Both women turned to see the other half of the posse making their way up the trail, coming around to the top of the hill.
“You tricked me! You brought more of them, to take Ramona!”
“No,” Mollie held out her hands, pleading, “no, Eugenia, they’re just doing their job. I won’t let them—”
“You’re a liar! You’re all liars! I won’t let you have her. I won’t!”
Before Mollie could react, Eugenia whirled and ran. Mollie leapt forward, lunging for her, but her fingertips merely brushed the hem of Eugenia’s cape before it disappeared from her grasp. Watching with horror, she realized that ten feet beyond the rocky outcropping, the land dropped off sharply.
Eugenia was running right toward it.
Chapter 33
“No!” Mollie shrieked, running after her. “The cliff! Watch out!”
The woman stopped a few feet from the edge. She knew it was there.
She’d known all along.
“Don’t come any closer! If you do, I’ll jump. I swear.”
Behind her, Mollie could hear the crunching of footsteps. She whirled, holding out a hand. “Stop!” she cried. “She’s on the edge of a cliff. Don’t try to rush at her. Let me talk to her. Please.”
“We tried that,” Sheriff Langston called. “And we’re worse off than we started.”
“She was upset, and got spooked by the horses.”
The second half of the posse had arrived, dismounting.
“She won’t listen to reason, Mrs. Jamison. I don’t think she can.”
“She can.” Mollie turned and looked Eugenia in the eyes. “I have faith in her.”
Eugenia laughed bitterly. “You just want to sneak up and take her. She’s mine.”
“I know you love her, Eugenia. I’ve never doubted that. You look at her and you see your daughter, don’t you?”
“Of course I do!” She looked down at Nell, stroking her cheek. “What a silly question.”
“But look at her, Eugenia. Really look at her. Remember what she looked like in the hospital. Her hair. Her eyes. Remember how she looked when she stopped breathing. When she died—”
“She didn’t die, I told you!” She clutched Nell harder, and Nell squirmed, whimpering.
“She stopped breathing,” Mollie repeated. “Did she ever start breathing again?”
“No…but they took her away…”
“How long did you hold her before they took her away? How long was it, after Ramona stopped breathing, before they finally made you give her up?”
“They…they called for more orderlies, from another floor, and…the other orderlies arrived…then they all came in. I couldn’t fight them all off.”
“Your baby stopped breathing. Minutes went by…enough minutes for them to fetch more orderlies from another floor. All that time, Ramona wasn’t breathing…”
“Stop it! You’re confusing me.”
“All that time, Eugenia. Babies can’t live long without air. If she didn’t start breathing again right away, how could she have lived all that time, before they took her away?”
“I…I don’t know…but she did. They took her away. But I found her. I got away, and I looked for her, for a long time. I saw the advertisement for a wet nurse for the Deming family and I…I saw her…and I knew it was her. They adopted their baby a week after Ramona was taken from me. I knew it had to be Ramona.”
“But the first day you took the job…do you remember what it felt like, when Mrs. Deming put the baby in your arms? Remember how heavy she felt? She was much heavier than your Ramona, wasn’t she?”
“I…no…you’re just trying to confuse me…”
“She felt heavier, Eugenia, because the baby that the Demings hired you to nurse wasn’t a newborn. She was more than three months old, wasn’t she? Isn’t that what the Demings told you? That she was three months old?”
“Yes—but—they were lying. Or maybe I was confused about how much time had passed.”
“It could only have been a few days that passed, Eugenia, otherwise you wouldn’t have had any milk left to nurse the baby with. I know this is hard to accept, but you have to listen. Remember when I told you my mother took my baby away? She brought my baby to an orphan asylum, run by nuns. I tracked her down to the Sisters of Mercy Infant Home, and they admitted they had taken in my Nell. But she had been adopted right away. I stole a peek at the records, and it was Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Deming who adopted her.”
“No…”
“I found out where they lived, but by the time I got there, they had left for Montana.”
“No.” She shook her head, wisps of hair flying. “I don’t believe you.”
“And I had no money to travel so far. So I agreed to marry a man in Helena, Montana who wanted a mail order wife, so I could get to Montana and find my Nell.”
“You’re lying!”
“I’m not.” Mollie shook her head. “When I got here, I looked for Mr. Deming, and finally found him. And I saw you and Daphne through the window, holding Nell.”
“Her name is not Nell! They called her Cordelia. But she wasn’t Cordelia, either. She was Ramona.”
“They changed her name to Cordelia. But before they adopted her, the baby’s name was Nell. She can’t be Ramona, and you know that, Eugenia. When you met her, only a few days after you lost your baby, she was already more than three months old. She was too big to be anywhere near newborn-size. I know this, because she was a big baby even when she was born, and she’d grown quite a bit in the three months before she was stolen from me.”
Eugenia shifted from one foot to the other, looking down at Nell. “She can’t be your baby. She’s Ramona. I know it! Don’t you see? It was meant to be. I was meant to find her again.”
“I know it’s easier to think that. It’s easier to have hope, to believe that you’ll see your baby again. The idea of being separated forever is
too terrifying. But Ramona is dead. You know that, in your heart.”
“Nooo!” Eugenia shrieked. Nell flinched, and began to wail. Eugenia took another step toward the edge. “You’re not taking her, and you’re not talking me into giving her to you. Just leave us alone.”
Behind her, Mollie heard shuffling and crunching. She turned to see Alexander Deming rushing through the trees, with Noah hot on his heels.
“No, Mr. Deming, don’t!” Mollie whirled back to Eugenia. “Watch out, don’t move!”
Eugenia didn’t listen. Instead, she took another step back, perilously close to the edge.
Mollie ran, throwing herself in Deming’s path. He ran into her, knocking her to the ground, but it slowed him down enough that Noah was able to leap forward, tackling him and pinning him down.
“Let go! She’s going to kill the child! She’s mad, I tell you. There’s no talking sense with her!” Deming struggled, and Noah slammed his shoulders to the ground.
“Get ahold of yourself, man! If she goes over the edge, it will be thanks to you!”
While Noah held the man down, Mollie got to her feet and took a few slow steps toward Eugenia, who was watching the spectacle with complete surprise.
“W-why did you stop him?” she asked.
“I promised that I wasn’t trying to take the baby from you. I meant it.”
“But you’re trying to convince me to give her up. You’re trying to convince me she’s yours. I won’t believe it.” Tears streamed down Eugenia’s face. Nell’s wails had quieted into sobs.
“It’s the truth. I would never for a moment try to take a child away from her mother. Not after what I’ve been through. I would never inflict that pain on someone else. But if you refuse to believe it, can you at least believe this—that I want what is best for the child that is in your arms?”
Mail Order Devastation (Montana Mail Order Brides, Book 4) Page 22