Mail Order Midwife (Brides of Beckham Book 18)

by Kirsten Osbourne

  John hurried from the room, and Patsy focused all her attention on her patient. “I need to examine you to see if everything is going correctly. Do you mind?” It really didn’t matter if the woman did mind. She’d check her regardless, but she preferred not to touch any woman without her permission.

  *****

  When Wesley drove his buggy into town at the end of a long day, he sighed contentedly. He was about to go into the house to have dinner with his wife and his sweet new daughter. He could get used to a life where he was surrounded by feminine beauty.

  After unhitching his buggy and seeing the horse stalled in the livery, he made the short walk toward his office. He was still far away when he noticed a small street urchin playing beside his home, covered in mud from head to toe. Hating the idea of a wild child being so close to his daughter, he sighed, planning to chase the boy off as soon as he was close enough to do so.

  The closer he got to home, the more the child looked like a girl, and not a boy though. What kind of girl played in the mud that way? Girls should sit inside with their dolls and their embroidery.

  When he was close enough, he called out. “You there! You need to go home and tell your mother to wash you!”

  The child looked at him. “I can’t. My mama told me not to leave this spot until she was done!”

  “Done what?”

  “Birthing the baby.” She looked away from him and went on with her creation of balls of mud.

  He blinked a couple of times. “Emily?”

  The girl nodded. “Yes, Dr. Hardy. You didn’t know it was me?”

  Wesley shook his head, suddenly not nearly as worried about the child as he was about his wife helping someone birth a baby. What did she think she was doing? It wasn’t her job to help his patients!

  He walked into the office, hearing a baby cry. He peeked into his examining room, spotting Patsy smiling down at a woman, holding a newborn. “Do you want me to go get your husband? Are you feeling strong enough?”

  Betty sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the table. “I’m tired, but I think I should be. I’m so glad you were here to help me, Mrs. Hardy.”

  Wesley bit back the angry retort. “I’d like to check on my patient and the baby while you go find her husband.”

  Patsy looked at him, smiling. She was so pleased she’d been able to help him. She removed the apron she’d worn, which was now covered in blood, and headed for the door. “I’ll be back in just a minute.”

  Wesley examined the woman, finding no fault with anything that his wife had done, except the fact that she’d done it! The cord was cut perfectly, and the woman had a poultice on her to stop the bleeding faster. “You seem fine.”

  He helped her sit up, looking down at the baby in her arms. “Let me examine him.”

  “It’s a girl,” Betty responded, tears in her eyes. “I had a little girl.”

  He grinned. “What will you name her?” He loved when his patients were so excited about new life. It made him feel like he was doing something right. Of course this time his wife had delivered the baby!

  He took the little girl from her, carefully removing her diaper and checking her over. She looked perfect. “All right, you can put the diaper back on her.” He never could figure out how to refasten the things.

  The woman carefully got down from the bed and pinned the diaper closed. “I’m thankful your wife was here.”

  Wesley smiled and nodded, all the while seething with anger. She had no business delivering babies for his patients. “I’m glad everything went well.”

  Patsy was back with John then, and the man rushed to his wife and baby. “Mrs. Hardy wouldn’t tell me if it was a boy or a girl!”

  Betty grinned at him. “It’s a girl!”

  “We only had a boy’s name picked out,” he said with a frown. Then his eyes lit up. “What’s your name, Mrs. Hardy?”

  “Patsy.” She’d had more babies named after her than she could count. So many grateful fathers wanted to name their daughters after her, and there were even several Patricks running around that she knew of.

  The couple exchanged a look, and the wife nodded. “She’ll be Patsy then.”

  “I’m honored,” Patsy said softly, as if it was the first time a couple had bestowed that privilege upon her.

  As Wesley and John got Betty and baby Patsy into the wagon, she hurriedly cleaned up the mess made in the examining room. There were a few blood splatters, and she needed to change the sheet on the bed.

  When Wesley came back into the room, she waited for him to tell her how pleased he was with her. That he was thrilled someone had been there for his patient when he couldn’t be. She finished stripping the bed and remade it.

  When she looked up at Wesley, the anger in his eyes was almost enough to make her run. “Why did you deliver that baby? You had no right to touch my patient!”

  She stared at him in disbelief. “What was I supposed to do? Tell her to cross her legs until you were done working for the day? I didn’t know how to find you!”

  He stared at her for a moment, making fists as he tried to calm his anger. Finally, he stomped off toward the house. She could finish cleaning up the clinic on her own.

  When Patsy walked back into the house, she removed the roast from the oven and carefully poured the drippings into a small pot so she could make gravy to go with their meal. She had fresh bread ready to go with their supper, and she’d scrubbed the house all morning.

  She’d put in a long day’s work before she’d ever bothered to deliver a baby, to help him! How dare he complain when she’d helped him with his job?

  She heard the back door open and looked up, seeing that Emily was about to come into the house. She shook her head at the state her daughter was in, but really, she wasn’t surprised. She’d been watching her whenever she could look out the window. “Leave your shoes outside, and take your dress off. Just leave your petticoat on.”

  Emily did as she was told, because they’d been through the routine many times before. “Now go into the bathroom and clean yourself up. I want your hair to be completely free of mud before supper.”

  She could see Emily wanted to complain, but she knew better. “Yes, Mama.”

  When she had finished with the gravy, she set the table and put the food into the middle so they could all serve themselves.

  Emily came back into the room, wearing a clean dress, her hair wet, but brushed. “Much better.” Patsy sighed. “Run and find Dr. Hardy for me. It’s time for supper.”

  “He’s in the parlor.”

  “Go tell him it’s time for supper then.” Patsy wasn’t sure she was willing to even look at the man, let alone speak to him.

  “Yes, Mama.”

  A minute later, Emily returned with her new step-father in tow. Once they were all seated, he said a prayer for them, before they ate.

  Wesley was still angry, but he took one bite of her pot roast, and he gave a sigh. “Where did you learn to cook this way?”

  “My mother taught me.”

  “This is delicious.”

  “Thank you.” She didn’t want to respond at all, and was suddenly glad they weren’t sharing a bed yet. She didn’t want there to be a scene when she sent him to spend the night on the sofa.

  “My mother died in childbirth, because a midwife wasn’t careful and didn’t wash her hands,” he said softly, trying to help her understand his position.

  “That woman should be shot, and I hope all of her patients went to real midwives after that.” Patsy sighed. “I’ve never lost a patient. I’ve lost babies, but not mothers. I’m very thorough in my hand-washing and all other sterility standards.”

  “I could see that when I examined Betty. You did a good job.” His words were grudging, but he had always believed in giving praise where it was due.

  “I’m a very good midwife. I’ve been practicing for ten years now.”

  “I’d rather you didn’t deliver babies for my patients.”

  “
What do you want me to do then? What should I have done today? I wasn’t trying to take your patient from you! I was trying to help her!”

  “I know that. I just—I feel so strongly about midwives not being the right person to deliver a baby.”

  She took a bite of her potatoes, trying to keep the anger from her eyes. “I actually feel the same way about doctors. I don’t think they have a personal relationship with their patients the way a midwife does. I would be willing to bet a lot of money that I’ve delivered more babies than you have.”

  He frowned. “I doubt that. I’ve delivered twenty-seven babies.”

  She chuckled. “I’ve delivered more than that this year alone! I promise not to try to get your patients to come to me instead, but if there’s another woman in labor, and you can’t be found, I’m going to deliver that baby!”

  “We’ll try to avoid that circumstance then. I can see where you’d feel the need to deliver the baby if I couldn’t be found. If I’m there, though, you’ll stay out of the way?”

  “Unless you need me.” What else could she say? She’d come there to be his wife, not a midwife. She couldn’t ignore her training, though. If she was needed, she would help in whatever capacity she could.

  Chapter Four

  After Patsy and Emily finished the dishes, and Patsy had put her daughter to bed, Wesley asked his wife to come to the parlor to talk to him.

  She took a deep breath, having a strong feeling whatever he wanted to talk about would not be to her liking. The man was already making her crazy. She felt a strong attraction to him, but he was too bull-headed for her tastes.

  She went into the parlor and found him sitting on the sofa, reading what appeared to be a medical text. He patted the seat beside him, inviting her to sit with him. She wasn’t sure she wanted to at that point, but she obeyed.

  Once she was seated, he took her hand in his. “I’m sorry I was so angry with you earlier. That was really unfair to you when you took your afternoon to do my job for me.”

  She nodded, letting out a breath. “I forgive you.”

  “I should have told you how I felt about midwives before, but I didn’t think something like that would come up so quickly.”

  “I honestly wouldn’t do it any other way tomorrow. I’m sorry if that upsets you, but I can’t ignore my training and not help.”

  He frowned. “Of course you can’t. I can see that you did the right thing, no matter how much it bothers me.” He shook his head. “That’s not why I asked you to come in here, though.”

  “Oh?”

  “Did my eyes deceive me or was Emily covered in mud when I got home from my house calls?”

  She sighed. “She was most definitely covered in mud. I have worked a lot since her birth. My sister had four sons, one who was just a month older than Emily. She would keep Emily for me while I worked, even nursing her when necessary, so Emily has grown up around four male cousins. She has taken on many of their bad habits.”

  “And now that you’re here, you’ll take her in hand?”

  Patsy shrugged. “I’ll try. I’m not sure how easy that will be, though.”

  “Does she know how to embroider? I love the idea of a little girl who can embroider.”

  “No, she knows how to throw a baseball, and is really good at striking all the boys out, though.”

  He shook his head. “Really? Will you teach her to embroider?”

  “I’ll try. We’ll start tomorrow if that will make you happy.” She had no idea why he felt that Emily should be able to embroider, but if it was important to him, she’d teach her.

  He took her hand in his. “I know we haven’t gotten off to a great start, but I think you and Emily are what I needed in my life.”

  She smiled at that, turning more fully toward him, her eyes going to his lips. When the pastor had told him to kiss her the previous day, he’d pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek. She couldn’t help but wonder how his lips would feel against hers. She felt a slight tingling in her belly at the idea.

  Wesley looked down into Patsy’s face, noting that her eyes were on his lips. Was she wondering about kissing him? He had no experience with women at all, not even a little. He’d taken girls to dances, but he’d never even kissed one. He knew she’d been married before, and had a daughter, so he worried if he did kiss her, she’d know how inexperienced he was.

  She swayed toward him, and he cupped her face with his free hand, leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. Her hand went to the nape of his neck, her fingers gently caressing it. She wanted to tell him she didn’t need time, but she didn’t want to seem too forward either.

  He was startled by how soft her lips were beneath his, and his tongue came out to taste her, just a little. He groaned, dropping her hand and pulling her closer against him.

  When he pulled away, Patsy kept her eyes closed, her lips slightly parted. She had that spark with him, the same one she’d had with her first husband, and she was so grateful. That spark would make their lives together good and special.

  Finally, her eyes opened, and she found him staring down into her face. “What?” she asked, her voice full of wonder. She hadn’t believed she could find another man she responded to so well. She still couldn’t quite believe it.

  “You’re beautiful. When I put that note in the letter, saying I wanted a redhead, I never thought I’d find one.”

  She smiled. “I’ve known Elizabeth for years. When she got your letter, she immediately thought of me.”

  “Really? Were you already a client?”

  Patsy shook her head. “I went to her house the day after she got your letter, but she’d already put my name on her list beside yours.”

  He smiled at that. “Very good timing then, I suppose.”

  She nodded. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.” Her eyes didn’t meet his, and she stared over his shoulder as she brought up the difficult topic. “We don’t have to wait to consummate unless you just want to. I—wouldn’t mind.” She wanted to laugh at herself. One little kiss and her body was on fire. She wouldn’t mind?

  “I think it’s best if we get to know one another a little better first.” He wanted to read up on it more. He was a doctor, and of course he understood how it would work, but actually doing it was something different. No, he’d have to study up on it, just like it was a test. “Maybe in a week or two?”

  She nodded. “Just remember I’m willing.” She pulled his head down for one more quick kiss before getting to her feet. “I had a long day today, and I think tomorrow will be just as long. I’d best get to bed.”

  “Goodnight, my dear.” He’d never thought of using an endearment with someone, and calling her dear struck him by surprise. He liked it though. He was surprised by how much he liked being married to her.

  She smiled. “Goodnight.” As she changed into her nightgown and slipped between the sheets, she still had a slight smile on her face. She touched her lips as she rolled onto her side. She was going to like being married to the good doctor. She could see it already.

  *****

  After Wesley left for the office the next morning, Patsy put on one of her big aprons and started the task of cleaning in earnest. She wanted to wash down the walls and the floors and every window before he was done with his day. But she also wanted to make sure she made a good supper for him, complete with a cake for dessert. He obviously hadn’t been spoiled in some time, and she aimed to change that.

  The first interruption came just after she finished the breakfast dishes. She had Emily sitting at the table working on her math sums. She wouldn’t be allowed to play outside unless Patsy could supervise her more closely. It was obvious her new husband did not approve of her daughter’s tomboyish ways.

  She started at the knock on the door, hurrying to see who could be there. She didn’t know anyone yet.

  It was a young woman, probably in her late teens, whose belly was huge with child. “Come in and sit down! You don’t need to be on your fee
t any more than necessary in your condition. Let me make some tea, and we’ll have some bread with butter. I’m sorry, but I haven’t gotten around to baking cookies yet.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Hardy.”

  When Patsy returned to the soon-to-be-mother, she offered her a cup of the tea she made and sat down on the sofa beside her. “I’m happy you came by. I’m looking forward to meeting all my new neighbors.”

  “I’m not here just to be neighborly, I’m afraid.” The girl set her cup onto her saucer. “I’m hoping you’ll deliver my baby.”

  Patsy had been afraid of that. “Tell me why. You’ve been seeing Dr. Hardy?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “What’s your name first. Let’s start there.” Patsy wanted to laugh at herself. She was sitting in her parlor, giving the woman tea with bread and butter, and she didn’t even know her name yet.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m June Miller. I’m due to have this baby in another few weeks. I was told that you delivered Betty’s baby yesterday.”

  “Yes, I did. A beautiful little girl.” Patsy smiled to encourage June to continue.

  “To be real honest, my husband doesn’t like another man being the one to examine me. He thinks that it should be a woman.” June looked down at her hands. “And I agree with him. It doesn’t feel natural for a man to be helping me birth my baby. It should be a woman.”

  Patsy sighed. “My husband has asked that I let him handle the deliveries of the babies.”

  June’s eyes filled with tears. “When I heard there was a midwife in town, I was so relieved! Please say you’ll help me!”

  “I—let me talk to my husband about it.”

  “About what?” Wesley stood in the entryway from the kitchen, frowning down at them.

  Patsy took a deep breath, not wanting to have this discussion with him, and especially not in front of June. “Mrs. Miller came to see me to ask me to deliver her baby. She feels more comfortable having a woman do it than a man.”

  Wesley frowned. “Why is that? Have I done something wrong, Mrs. Miller?”