“In a way. She’s here to help Savannah, help with Melly, act as a maid to Sav, cook or clean as she can.”
“She seems a nice young woman,” I said.
“She is, although she’s afraid she’ll be turned out once Melinda is older. I think finding Mrs. Egan was a shock for her,” Jeremy said.
“I will need help soon.” I paused as I thought of the distance between Uncle Aidan’s house and our home. It had always seemed a pleasant walk to me when it wasn’t the middle of a blizzard, but, for Araminta, it might prove too long. “Does she ride a bicycle? They’re the rage here, and she would have much more freedom of movement.”
“If she doesn’t, we can teach her,” Gabriel said.
Jeremy smiled. “You’re as generous as I remember, Clarissa. Thank you.” Gabriel grunted his agreement, and I flushed.
“Jeremy, there is a small problem that needs to be addressed,” I said. “I don’t know if Amelia will speak with you or not.” I bit my lip, and Gabriel raised his eyebrows at me.
“What is it?” Jeremy asked, leaning forward in his chair.
“There aren’t enough bedrooms for all of you here, not with Araminta and Melly,” I said on a rush.
Gabriel sputtered out a laugh before attempting to calm it at my glare. “Jer?”
“I … that is, Savannah and I are going to marry,” Jeremy said.
“Yes, but, until you do, you shouldn’t be causing more gossip than will already surround Savannah,” I said. “I imagine Savannah dreamed of escaping Boston and the scandal surrounding her actions, but people gossip no matter where you go.”
“I know, Clarissa, and you are correct,” Jeremy said with a deep sigh. “How soon do you think we could marry?”
“Not soon enough, by the looks of you,” Gabriel teased. “And, as you aren’t married, you shouldn’t be staying here. We could fix a cot up in our apartment.”
“I agree,” I added. “It’s what will be best. And you can work with Gabriel again, in his workshop here.”
“Gabe, would you mind?” Jeremy asked.
“No, I could use the help. It will give us a chance to catch up after all these years.”
“How long does it take to arrange a wedding here?” Jeremy asked.
“Not long,” I said with a broad smile as I squeezed Gabriel’s hand. “We’ll have to see if we can convince Amelia to cook a feast to welcome you and to celebrate your wedding. It shouldn’t be too difficult, for she loves to cook, and there’s no better reason to celebrate.”
We laughed, rising for supper in the dining room.
CHAPTER 29
I SAT AT AMELIA’S KITCHEN a few weeks after their arrival, listening to Savannah’s stories as she prepared the dinner and Amelia tended her children. I arched my back, trying to find a comfortable position, but nothing worked.
“How are you and Jeremy adapting to married life?” I asked as I rubbed my lower back.
“Life has only improved with marriage to Jeremy,” Savannah said with a bright smile. “I no longer have to hide our relationship from inquisitive eyes, and we are free to spend as much time together as we like.”
“I’m sorry the sisters made a fuss when they found out about Jonas.” I grimaced as I remembered their pronouncements about being misled by too many from the East Coast.
“I’ve survived worse. Besides, I think the townsfolk are intrigued, and they like you and Gabriel. For the most part, we’ve been well received.” Savannah finished kneading the dough and set it in a bowl to rise.
“You didn’t mind the simple ceremony and feast here?” I arched an eyebrow as I watched her ease in the kitchen. “It was a far cry from your first wedding.”
“And far more enjoyable,” Savannah said with a laugh as her eyes became distant. “You can’t imagine the joy I felt walking down the aisle to meet Jeremy, his eyes glowing with love rather than disdain. Or the delight in hearing the organist play one of Lucas’s songs as we marched down the aisle as husband and wife. Or later when we were back in the house, listening to the children squabble, or Mr. Pickens wheezing out his sage advice, or Ronan’s and Colin’s whispered plans for the chivaree. It was magical, and all I’d hoped for in a wedding day.” She looked at me with wondrous eyes, blinking tears. “Thank you, Rissa, for standing beside me again.”
“With no unfortunate fall off the altar,” I said with a smile, causing Savannah to laugh. “Melinda seems very happy to be here with you. When I heard her call you Mama, I knew this was where she belonged.”
Savannah blinked away tears and nodded. “Jeremy loves her too. Thank you, Rissa.”
“It was a family decision, and all I want is for her to never doubt she’s loved.” I paused for a moment as I heard Amelia’s soft voice speaking with Nicholas. “I imagine she’ll find it difficult when Amelia and the children leave.”
“She will. She already thinks of Nicholas as an older brother and Anne, her sister. They’re more her age. She considers you and Colin her aunt and uncle.”
I smiled, thinking of the age difference between Melinda, Colin and me. Savannah sat across from me, a bowl of potatoes in front of her to peel. “You’ve become proficient in the kitchen, Sav,” I commented.
“I prepared many of the meals at Richard and Florence’s after the baby was born and before that terrible evening with Jonas. I wanted the practice, and I enjoy the entire process of cooking.” Savannah smiled as I grimaced.
I squirmed in my chair again, unable to find a position that brought relief to the building tension and pressure I felt.
Savannah watched me with thinly veiled concern, but I smiled, hoping to allay her fears. “The baby’s getting too big. It’s hard to imagine I have a few weeks to go.” I gave a gentle pat to my stomach.
“I doubt you really have that long, Rissa,” Amelia said, entering the kitchen. “It seems about time for that baby to meet all of us.”
“Well, the doctor says it should be mid- to late June.” I heaved myself to my feet and began a slow walk around the kitchen and then the dining room. I stopped with a pain to my side and placed my hand on the wall until it passed. “Oh!” I gasped.
“How long have you been having pains?” Savannah asked, setting down her paring knife.
“A few hours,” I whispered.
“And how often are they coming?” Savannah asked.
“About every ten minutes or so,” I said. “But it’s too soon.”
“That’s for the baby to decide, not us,” Amelia said as she led me toward a bedroom. I saw Amelia and Savannah share a long look.
“Seems you waited a long time to share your concern,” Savannah said.
“It’s too soon,” I gasped as I became out of breath easily with the exertion of climbing stairs. I paused at the top, when, with a whoosh, I felt a gush of water come down my leg.
“Well, too soon or not, you’ll be holding a baby in your arms in a matter of hours,” Amelia said. “Let’s get you settled, and then we’ll send for Gabriel and the midwife.”
I laid on the bed where Sebastian had stayed during his recovery and which was now Colin’s room. It was the larger of the two guest bedrooms, and Amelia and Savannah scurried around either side of the bed as they prepared it for a delivery. Now that I was resting, the pains were milder, and I felt like sleeping.
“Sav, I think you could wait before going for the midwife,” I said as I was on the verge of dozing.
Savannah shared an amused grin with Amelia, patted my shoulder and ran out of the room. I heard her steps as she descended the stairs. I dozed for a few minutes, gentle pains roiling through my belly every once in a while, but nothing to cause undue distress. Through it all, Amelia puttered around the room, preparing for the birth.
I sighed when I heard Gabriel’s deep voice calling my name as he entered the house.
“Do you want him in here, Rissa? Most men wait for news until after the baby’s born.”
“He should wait in the study,” I whispered as the next
contraction was stronger. “No, Gabriel, wait downstairs,” I gasped as I saw him in the doorway as though through a haze.
He entered and pulled a chair over to the side of the bed, leaning forward to kiss my forehead. “Don’t ask me to leave. Let me stay with you.” He clasped my hand, interlacing our fingers.
“This is unseemly, sir,” the doctor sputtered as he entered, a gasping Savannah on his heels.
“No more unseemly than you attending to my wife,” Gabriel said with a glower.
“Where’s the midwife?” I asked.
“Attending another birth,” Savannah said.
“Never fear. I’ve attended many births,” the doctor said as he turned toward the ewer of water on the washstand and scrubbed his hands before approaching me. He felt my belly, and the gentle pressure of his hands against my belly was an agony. I saw him frown, and I flinched as his touch became firmer.
“Tell me,” I demanded when I saw him frown again.
“The baby’s not turned right,” he said. “I should feel the head here.” He placed his hand to the lower part of my belly. “Instead, I feel it here.” He placed it on the side of my belly.
“Can you do anything?” Gabriel asked, his voice shaking with his attempt to remain calm.
The doctor raised intense eyes to me. “Do you have any desire to push yet?”
“No, not really. The contractions are still quite mild.” I gasped, proving the lie of my statement as the next contraction roiled through me.
“Don’t push,” he commanded as he placed his hands over my belly again. “We’re running out of time, and, if I’m to do this, I must do this now.” He looked to Gabriel for permission, and I became irate.
I snarled, “I’m the one in this bed having the baby. Ask me for permission.” I met his startled eyes with ones filled with fiery determination.
He half smiled, and I saw respect replace the surprise. “Well then, ma’am?” he asked. I nodded, gripping Gabriel’s hand. He placed his hands on my belly, tracing again the baby’s placement within.
He raised apologetic, yet determined eyes to meet mine. “This will be painful.” He waited until I nodded and then moved his hands on my belly. I arched in agony, unable to hold back a wail in protest. Gabriel gripped my shoulders, holding me down so the doctor could work with greater ease.
“Stop, please stop,” I screamed, but the agony went on and on. It was as though I were enveloped in an unending vise of pain tinged with fire. As though my insides were rearranging themselves, and I was never to be put to rights again.
I don’t know if I fainted or simply ran out of air to scream, but, after a while, I whimpered as the doctor touched my belly again. “Please, not again,” I begged.
“The baby is partially turned now,” he said with calm, almost cold, practicality. “We must try once more. For your sake as well as the baby’s.”
“Please, Rissa,” Gabriel whispered, his voice breaking with worry, the only sound in my pain-induced fog that would induce me to undergo this torture again.
I nodded, reaching deep inside myself in an attempt to battle the pain. I couldn’t prevent myself from arching as the intense pressure was applied to my belly once more, although I refrained from screaming. Either I had resigned myself to the pain or it didn’t last nearly as long, because it seemed that Gabriel’s hands went from restraining to reassuring much more quickly.
I flinched as the doctor felt again, and I sobbed as he murmured, “Yes, that worked quite well.”
I met his focused gaze as another pain, stronger, roiled through me.
“Now, when you have the desire to push, by all means, push!” the doctor commanded. He rose and stepped away from the bed.
I nodded and dozed for a while, gripping Gabriel’s hand and attempting to murmur my thanks as my brow was wiped free of sweat. Finally the pains became intense and closer together, and I had an overwhelming urge to push.
“I have to push,” I gasped.
“Good,” the doctor said, rising from his chair and washing his hands again.
I clasped Gabriel’s hand, ignoring his grunt of pain as I focused on each contraction.
“Keep pushing. You’re doing well,” the doctor encouraged. “On the next one, take a deep breath and use all your might to push!”
I glared at him as I lay in the throes of agony until the next pain began. I took a deep breath and pushed as hard as I could.
“One more good push and we’ll know if you have a boy or a girl,” the doctor urged.
I pushed with the last remnant of my energy remaining, and Gabriel raised my hand to kiss it. I collapsed onto the bed, gasping for air as I listened to the commotion at the foot of the bed. A momentary lassitude struck, and I turned my head to Gabriel with a frown.
He smiled through his tears as he leaned to kiss me on my forehead. “A girl,” he said with awe. “We have a baby girl.” He gripped my hand, holding it to his lips as he released a silent sob.
I reached up to stroke his hair, soothing him. “I’m fine, my darling.”
At my whispered words, he bent forward, burying his face in my neck. “I hate that you were in such pain,” he rasped. “And yet I’m so proud of you. And so in love with our daughter.”
I smiled a moment before focusing on the doctor and my child. “Why isn’t she crying?” I asked worriedly but then relaxed as she gave a lusty wail.
I heard the splashing of water, and afterward Amelia brought my baby to me, swaddled in a towel. “Your daughter,” she whispered with tears in her eyes. “Congratulations. I’m going to tell the others.”
She slipped out the door as I held my daughter, tracing her head, her cheeks, her fingers. “I can’t believe she has fingernails,” I marveled.
Another pain gripped me, and I groaned. “Doctor, what’s happening?” I gasped. I looked at Gabriel with panic-stricken eyes, and he reached for my hand. I shook my head, instead handing him our daughter. He cooed and stroked her cheek as he held her for the first time, momentarily distracted.
“It’s the afterbirth. You’ll be fine,” the doctor soothed.
I groaned, causing Gabriel to hold our daughter in one arm and grip my hand with his other. The pains weren’t as severe, but I barely had the energy to react. I glanced toward the doctor, taking comfort in his calm countenance. Soon the doctor was proven right, and I collapsed against the bed.
“Hold our daughter, Clarissa,” Gabriel murmured, kissing her again on her forehead. He rubbed a hand over her downy soft head. “I think she’s hungry.” He smiled as she made small smacking sounds with her lips. He settled her in my arms, and I traced her ear, her cheek, her perfect fingers as she suckled her first meal.
I turned my weary head to Gabriel, reaching out the hand that wasn’t supporting our daughter to rub the tears from his cheeks. “I’m fine, darling. She’s fine.”
“Thank you, my brave Clarissa.” His eyes were filled with an equal measure of wonder, fear, joy and the torment recently lived. “I never want you to suffer like this again.”
“Let’s not argue about it now,” I murmured sleepily, tracing his eyebrow. “I love you, Gabriel.”
Gabriel’s eyes flashed with intense love as he watched me with our daughter. “And I you, my darling. What should we name her?” He rubbed a hand over her head, his touch soothing. When our baby stopped breast-feeding, and I handed our daughter to him, my heart filled with an unbearable amount of love at the sight of him holding her.
I lay back, tired but not ready for sleep yet. “I thought Geraldine Agnes McLeod.”
He raised startled, thunderstruck eyes to meet mine. “You wouldn’t mind? Naming her Geraldine for my mother?”
“No, my love. My only regret is that our parents aren’t here to meet her,” I whispered as I fought tears.
“Today is a time for joy, my Rissa, not sadness.” He leaned forward and kissed me, leaning back at the soft tap on the door.
Amelia and Savannah poked their heads in, smiling whe
n they saw Gabriel holding baby Geraldine. “Gabriel, it is time for you to go downstairs and receive the congratulations from the men. We’re going to tidy this room. Then you can return.”
Amelia took the baby while Savannah shooed Gabriel out. We shared one last look before the door was closed on him.
***
AN HOUR LATER I was cleaned up; the bed was changed, and all evidence of a recent birth had disappeared. I lay on clean sheets with Geraldine in my arms. Savannah curled on the bed next to me, stroking a hand down Geraldine’s back.
“Are you all right, Sav?” I whispered.
“Of course I am. I will always wish little Hope were here so that they could grow up together and become good friends like you and me.” She raised luminous blue eyes with a deep sorrow hidden in their depths. “I will always mourn her, but I will never begrudge you your joy.”
“Thank you,” I whispered as I leaned into her shoulder, “for I desperately want her to know her aunt Savannah.”
Savannah’s smile bloomed at being called an aunt. “Jeremy once said the best part about being an uncle is that you can love them and spoil them without all the resulting responsibility. I think I’ll enjoy that.”
I laughed, looking to the door as Gabriel, Jeremy, Colin, Amelia and Mr. Pickens trooped in. I pulled the sheets up to my neck even though I was wearing a matronly gown.
“We all wanted to meet baby Gerry and see you,” Gabriel said. He sat in the chair next to me, reaching forward to clasp my hand again. I moved to give him the baby, and he released my hand, holding the baby in the cradle of his large arms.
“There’s a good girl. There’s my beautiful baby,” he whispered as he kissed her forehead. He rose, walking toward the foot of the bed so that everyone could meet her. They cooed and tickled her feet, laughing as she kicked them.
“Well done, Rissa,” Colin said.
“If she’s anythin’ like my Missy, she’ll keep her plenty busy,” Mr. A.J. said as he tottered over to the other chair and collapsed into it.
“We’ll be here to help,” Amelia said with a broad smile.
“Here, Gabe,” Jeremy said as he reached to hold her. “I’m your uncle Jeremy. Your aunt Savannah and I are going to spoil you rotten,” he murmured as he kissed her head.
Undaunted Love (PART TWO): Banished Saga, Book 3.5 Page 29