Her Secret Baby

by Christine Sterling

  The only bright spot in Elizabeth’s life was Mary. She was coming along well in her maid studies, as Mary liked to call them. Even the Mistress noticed a defined difference in Mary’s performance. And now, with only a few weeks left, it seemed Mary had earned at least a few more years at the residence. Elizabeth felt a relief.

  There was a knock on the door, which Mary jumped to answer. Elizabeth was starting to remove some dishes for dinner when Mary came running back into the kitchen. “Elizabeth,” she said through harsh breathing, “you must come to the door.”

  Elizabeth, feeling the alarm in Mary’s voice, placed the dish on the counter and followed her out into the foyer. At the door was Gale, flustered and out of breath. “Miss! I came here as fast as I could. It’s your aunt, she is in labor.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes went wide, and she ran out the door, with Gale running after her. Elizabeth’s mind was racing. It seemed too early; it should be at least a few more weeks. Her heart raced as she ran down the street to her aunt’s house. Quicker than she had ever ran, she was at the house, running up the steps. She threw open the door, hearing the cries from the top of the stairs. She rushed forward, to the back room. When she entered, she could see her aunt howling in pain. A few of the maids were around, along with the doctor and another older lady beside him. When the doctor saw her, he walked forward hesitantly. “It’s been hours, she’s having trouble. It doesn’t look good.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes went wide as she rushed past him, going to her aunt and holding her hand. “Aunt Anne,” she said, pressing her hand to her aunt’s forehead. “I’m here for you.”

  Her aunt, looking disoriented, cried out. “Elizabeth! It hurts so much.”

  “And soon it will be over. You need to do your best. We need to see your son,”

  There was more grunting and crying. She could see the agony on her aunt’s face. Holding her hand, she prayed everything would turn out fine, that the doctor was just overreacting. But when she looked into his face, as he was at the end of the bed, she knew something was terribly wrong. She tried not to look, but Elizabeth couldn’t help it. There was so much blood. Why would there be that much blood?

  Finally, without warning, Anne had given a long grunt and a baby’s cry could be heard. The doctor gave the baby to one of the maids, as it was wailing about. The maid took the baby for Anne to see. “Mistress, look, it’s your baby girl.”

  Elizabeth could see the fear glaze over in Anne’s eyes. She looked up at Elizabeth and then back to the baby. “No, it can’t be.”

  Elizabeth tried to soothe her aunt. “It’s alright. You have a healthy baby girl. She’s so beautiful and perfect.”

  “No!” her aunt shouted. “You don’t understand. He will not like this! He will not understand. She’s in danger.” She turned to Elizabeth, grasping at her hands. “You can’t let him take her. You have to promise me you will take care of her.”

  Elizabeth couldn’t understand why Anne was asking her this. Wasn’t Anne going to be around? But in that very moment, as Elizabeth was about to question her aunt’s motives, she could see the color draining from her face. “Promise me, Elizabeth,” she said, as her breathing started to slow and she closed her eyes.

  “What is happening to her?” she screamed, looking at the doctor as he ran up to Anne. He motioned his head, and soon one of the maids took Elizabeth out of the room. Elizabeth screamed her aunt’s name as the last thing she saw was her lifeless body on the bed as she was dragged away.

  Chapter 5

  Madeline cooed in her arms as Elizabeth wiped the milk from her lips. She held the baby closer to her chest as she stared out the window of the train. Madeline, her cousin, was a few weeks old and was the cutest baby Elizabeth had ever laid eyes on. Her heart swelled three sizes when she stared into those baby blue eyes. Madeline was such a happy baby, always smiling. Elizabeth hoped that she would smile forever, knowing the child’s awful circumstances.

  Elizabeth didn’t like to dwell on that night; it was the worst night of her life. When the doctor came down the stairs to tell her of her aunt’s passing, Elizabeth thought the world was collapsing around her. She felt like the breath had been sucked out of her lungs like she was drowning. And truly, she was. The doctor asked where Anne’s husband was, and she couldn’t say. Truthfully, she didn’t know Harold’s whereabouts at the time. And even if she did, words were dying in her throat as she tried to form coherent sentences.

  With Harold gone at the time, the maids didn’t know what to do with the baby. So, they gave the baby to Elizabeth. She held that baby close to her, trying to seek comfort from her, the only real connection she had left to Anne. It seemed like hours had passed before Harold finally showed up at the house, in his drunken state. It didn't help he was not happy his child was a girl and not a boy. He yelled at Elizabeth, telling her to take the child away; he didn’t want to see her face again. A girl does me no good, he yelled before disappearing into the back of the house. Elizabeth wanted to cry. He didn't even seem to care that his wife was dead, when it was consuming Elizabeth.

  She knew she just had to leave. Taking the child, she fled back to the Mistress’ house. It was a rough night at first; she tried to feed the baby as best she could with what she had. The Mistress finally checked on Elizabeth when she couldn’t ignore the crying. Although the Mistress was shocked by the new addition, she saw Elizabeth’s frantic face and heard her story, and felt sorrow for her. She sprang into action, finding an old bottle of one of her daughter’s and teaching Elizabeth to feed the baby milk and sugar. The next day, she sent Mary into town to ask a milk nurse to come to the house right away.

  The milk nurse taught Elizabeth the basics of what she needed to know and helped her get more adjusted to impending motherhood. It made Elizabeth scared at the thought now. Here she was, on her way to meet her new husband, with a baby in her arms. She had always wanted to become a mother, but she never knew this would be her first foray into the position. She looked down and saw that Madeline had fallen asleep. She set the baby down in the carrier next to her, a parting gift from her Mistress.

  She remembered her last day of employment at the house. She had her bags packed and ready to leave at the front door where she said her goodbyes. The children, who were beside themselves, crying and begging for her to stay, held Mary’s hand, who couldn’t stop crying herself. Mistress Grayson even looked saddened at the loss, but she held herself up with the grace and poise Elizabeth knew as only she would do. That was when the mistress gave her the baby carrier and wished Elizabeth safe travels.

  Elizabeth boarded the carriage waiting for her and looked back at the house. Although she was sad, she could feel the excitement of her new adventure starting. “What adventures are we going to have together?” she said to the sleeping baby, as she smiled to herself. She looked at the passing land. In a few days’ time, she would be married and the next chapter in her life would start. She knew her aunt would be so proud of her.

  Elizabeth walked off the train, holding Madeline in her arms, searching for her future husband. Butterflies were flying around her stomach as she scanned the platform. She looked around the station, staring at the big sign saying Black Hills, Illinois before her. It was exactly as she had imagined it in her head, from all the stories she heard from Francis Smith when he came back from his long trips out west. She smiled to herself. She was so excited she could hardly think straight.

  A man appeared beside her. “Miss, I have your luggage,” the young man said. “Do you see who you are meeting?” The young boy, probably no older than Mary, was one of the workers on the train. He would come by on most nights, asking if Elizabeth required anything. She thought the boy was cute and suspected he might have a slight crush on her. When he offered to help her disembark, she accepted his offer.

  Elizabeth looked around again. “No, I don’t think I see him…oh! I think that is him!” she said, as she found a man standing at the edge of the station. He seemed to fit the description that s
he was given in the letter: a short man wearing a black hat with a red feather. It’s hard to mistake a small detail as the hat in that small station. She motioned for the young lad to follow her, as he carried her baby carrier and the small luggage she packed. Carl had warned her to pack lightly, saying there probably wouldn’t be much room on the train. She was happy she had obliged. She had arranged for her other things to be sent at a later day. There wasn’t much; mostly just trinkets and books she had and small mementos from her aunt.

  She stepped up to the gentleman, who was turned around and tapped him on his shoulder. He twirled around and faced her. He wasn’t what Elizabeth had imagined. His eyes were a bit narrow, his nose was crooked, and his cheeks were sagging in. He wasn’t one to look at. She brushed away the thoughts. This was her future husband and she didn’t want to put too much emphasis on looks. This was still the man who sent her those lovely notes in their correspondence. “Carl?” she asked questioningly. “It’s me, Elizabeth.”

  At first, Carl had an appreciative look on his face, only it didn’t give Elizabeth any joy. In fact, it did quite the opposite; it made her sick to her stomach. He was looking at her like she was a prized pig. But when his gaze went down to see the baby in her arms, his face changed to that of contempt. “What is this?” he said, looking at the baby.

  Before Elizabeth could react, Carl noticed the young boy standing, carrying the luggage. “You’re excused,” he said, taking a few coins from his pocket and holding it out to the young boy. The boy looked at the man and then back at Elizabeth, as if asking with his eyes if this was ok. Elizabeth nodded her head, even though she could feel some misgivings.

  The young man set the luggage and carrier down, taking the coins from Carl. It wasn’t much of anything, Elizabeth thought to herself. She wanted to grab more of her own money to give to the boy for his help. But before she could rummage into her bag, the boy said his partings and went back to the train. Now, it was just Carl and Elizabeth.

  “What is this baby?” he asked again, his voice rising in anger.

  Elizabeth was caught by surprise. His voice seemed so callous; she had never imagined he would act this way. “She’s mine,” she stated. She didn’t want to have to explain her whole situation at the train station. She hoped he would at least take her home so she could explain in the comfort of a room, where she could set Madeline down for the night. She had gone over the exchange in her head on the train before. But in her mind, he was more understanding and gentle.

  This answer didn’t seem to calm Carl. “Yours? How could she be yours? I was promised a virgin bride!” Before Elizabeth could counter, to try to explain, he was yelling at her. “I’ve been lied to! This is fraud! You cheated me. What? For a free trip?”

  “No, if you let me explain…,” Elizabeth tried to say.

  “What is there to explain? I see it with my own eyes,” Carl continued, his round face turning red with anger. “You are not what I asked for. So, you will give me back the money I sent you.”

  Elizabeth stood there shocked. “But we had an agreement?” she questioned.

  Carl scoffed, “An agreement that is now null and void.”

  “You are being unreasonable, if you would let me explain…”

  What happened next took Elizabeth by such surprised she didn’t know it occurred until she felt the pain. Carl slapped her hard across the face. She stared at him, grasping her cheek with her gloved hand. “Woman, you will not talk out of turn and you will not talk to me like that.”

  Tears started to appear in her eyes. What had she gotten herself into?

  Before she could react, she heard a voice bellow from behind her. “What is going on here?”

  Elizabeth turned around and saw a man. He was tall and muscular, holding a few planks of wood. But what took her breath away was his piercing blue eyes as they bore into her.

  Tom wasn’t going to say anything. When he saw the girl at the station, holding the baby in her arms, he told himself not to get involved. It was suspicious, but it wasn’t his job to find out. Don’t get involved, he reminded himself. He also had work to do at the general store, fitting the final planks of the floor. And he would have done just that had Carl not hit the poor girl. And now that Carl had crossed the line into violence, he had no choice but to intervene. So, he called to the two, and now he was staring at the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her beauty was subtle; she didn’t wear it as a mask, like so many of the other girls around here. He felt something, looking at her, deep within. He had never felt that strong connection before.

  Carl looked over at Tom, sneering. “This is none of your concern. Go on your way,” he turned, back towards the woman as she held the baby close to her chest. “You need to give me some compensation.”

  The woman, with tears running from her eyes, bit her lip. “I don't have the money on me. It’s being wired from Georgia.”

  “Then I guess you are going to have to work off the money in other ways,” Carl said, as he eyed the woman in a leering way. “The baby can just go to the orphanage.”

  “No!” she shouted, clutching the baby closer. It was amazing that the child didn’t wake. “No, she can’t.”

  Tom walked closer, feeling the magnetism between him and the girl. “Why do you owe him money?”

  Carl turned again towards Tom. “I told you Barrett, it’s none of your concern!” He went to punch Tom in the face, but Tom was quicker. He dropped the planks of wood, throwing a right hook, sending Carl to the ground. Carl looked up from the ground, rubbing his eye, his nose bleeding.

  Tom stood over the man. “It is my concern when you start bullying a beautiful girl.” She turned to the woman. “What is your relationship with this man?”

  The woman didn’t speak for a few moments, as if she was assessing the situation. Finally, she squeaked “I was supposed to come out here to be Carl’s new wife.”

  Tom turned to Carl, as he started to shout “She lied to me! I knew nothing of a child.”

  Grimacing, Tom looked at the woman. “Is the child yours?”

  The woman didn’t say anything again, looking around at the two gentlemen. Something seemed to pass through her face, something Tom couldn’t quite understand. She just closed her eyes and whispered. “Yes.”

  “See, a liar. I demand restitution.”

  “Be quiet!” Tom shouted, as he walked over and bent so his face was level with Carl’s. Carl seemed to retreat as Tom barked, “How much?”

  “What?” Carl asked in a confused voice.

  “How much did you spend on this train ticket?”

  Carl narrowed his yes. “Fifty dollars.”

  Tom’s eyebrows shot up. Fifty dollars?!? That was a lot of money. It was basically what he was getting paid for both the roof and the floor. He looked back at the poor girl, standing there helplessly. He thought of Seth, and what he would do. Of what Samantha would have expected. He sighed, knowing the decision was made. “I’ll get you the money. I’ll drop by later today with it.”

  Carl got up from the floor and went up to Tom. “I don’t want your money.”

  “Well, that’s what’s going to have to do. Now go, before I give you another black eye,” he said in his most authoritative voice.

  Carl sneered at Tom. “You’ll regret this,” he said, before turning to the woman, “This isn’t over with.”

  He stomped off, leaving Tom and the young woman to stare at each other. He felt himself become soft under her gaze. “What is your name?”

  “It’s Elizabeth Jamison,” she sniffed out.

  “Hello, Elizabeth. My name is Tom Barrett.” He looked at the little bundle in her arms. “And what is her name?”

  Elizabeth, stunned, looked at the child in her arms. “Her name is Madeline,” she said hesitantly.

  Tom tipped his hat. “That’s a beautiful name, for a beautiful girl.” He looked around, seeing they had caused quite a commotion. There were a few people standing around, staring at them. He leaned closer to E
lizabeth. “Seems we have an audience. Why don’t we take this to a place a little bit more private?”

  Elizabeth wiped the tears away from her face, appearing to regain some sort of composure. “I’m very thankful for what you did, but honestly, I don’t know you. I don’t think it would be wise…”

  “And in all honesty, you didn’t really know Carl, did you? So, what more trouble could you get into?” Tom said back, his voice edged in sarcasm he didn’t know he had in him. He had never talked to a lady before in such a way, and even he was caught off guard by such an action.

  Apparently, Elizabeth had also not been talked to in such a way. “I beg your pardon?”

  Tom leaned down and took the luggage and baby carrier, forgetting the planks he had dropped on the floor. “Your judge of character is suspect at the moment. But frankly, you don’t really have a choice, now do you?” With the items in his hand, he motioned forward. “You can either follow me or stand out here alone. I can assure you, I am the nicest man you are ever going to meet out here.”

  Elizabeth eyed him suspiciously, the sadness gone from her face. Then she looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms. Without saying a word, she walked toward him. Without another word Tom walked forward, trying to create as much distance between him and the train station. A few minutes later, when he was out of earshot of most people, he set the items down. “Where did you come from Elizabeth?”