Wellington Cross (Wellington Cross Series) (48 page)

Doc covered Elizabeth up with part of the blanket and told us to
go into another room and leave her in peace.  He said that he would come
back later in the morning after getting a few hours’ sleep and prepare her for
burial.  Before leaving, he told Ethan out in the hall to think about
where he wanted her buried, and to acquire a casket for her.  I could tell
all of this overwhelmed Ethan again, as he ran his hands through his hair and
followed Doc outside on the porch, listening to more instructions.

After Doc left, I came out into the hall and closed the parlor
door, leaving Elizabeth’s body in peace.  Ethan came back into the hall
and closed the carriage-front door.  “You should go on home and get some
rest, Ethan,” I told him.  “Tell your mother and father what’s going on
here.  Catherine and I can take care of the baby.  Perhaps you might
find some stored milk in the milk house for the baby before you come back in
the morning,” I suggested.

He nodded his head.  He looked tired and dazed.  “I want
to say ‘goodbye’ to Elizabeth first.” 

He went back into the parlor alone while I stood in the hall with
Catherine, who held the baby.  Through the partially open door, I heard
him thank Elizabeth for the baby, telling her that he would take good care of
their little girl and her horse.  I got choked up.  Ginny had gone up
to bed, and William had gone over to the bachelor’s quarters.  Jonas
kissed Catherine softly before retiring upstairs himself.

“I’ll take the first shift,” I told Catherine, reaching for the
baby.  “You get some sleep.”

“No, you are with child, Madeline.  You should go on upstairs
and sleep.  I could take the baby to my bed and rest and watch her.” 
I tried to protest, but she insisted.  “Ginny can help me.  You need
your rest.  You can take care of her after a few hours’ sleep.”

I relented.  “All right.  I’m going to walk Ethan out
first.”

Catherine took the baby upstairs, and I went back to the parlor to
check on Ethan.  He was just coming out into the hall as I was about to go
in.  I stepped back to let him out into the hall.  He looked haggard.

“I’m so sorry, Ethan, really I am.”

He closed the door and took me in his arms.  I closed my
tired eyes and breathed a big sigh.  I was glad to be able to give him
comfort, glad that he was letting me.

“I feel sad, mostly because she won’t get to raise this baby…and
this baby won’t ever know her real mama,” Ethan said softly into my hair. 
“She was really happy about having a baby.”

“You can tell your baby all about her mama,” I said.  “Just
like I’ve been telling Lillie every day, stories about you and me, so she would
know that even though we weren’t together, we loved each other and her very
much.”

He slowly pulled away from me slightly and looked at me. 
“You’ve been talking to Lillie about us?  Every day?”

“Yes.”  I could tell he was touched by that.  He looked
at my lips like he wanted to kiss me, but then he turned to look at the parlor
door where his dead wife lay. 

“It’s okay to grieve for her, Ethan.  I understand.” 

He nodded, looking back at me.  He took my hands and kissed
them, a pained expression on his face.  “Thank you for all you’ve done…for
me, the baby, and Elizabeth.  I know it must be hard for you.  You’ve
helped me a lot, more than you know.”

“I’m happy and pleased to help you, Ethan.”

He had a ring in his hand, which he showed me.  It was silver
with a raised ruby.  “This was Elizabeth’s.  My father gave it to me
when we were wed.  It was another ring that belonged to his mother and
that he thought she should have it.  I’ll save it for the baby now, I
suppose.” 

He turned to leave.  “I’ll return in a few hours,” he
said.  He opened the creaky door in the silent house, and walked slowly
out to his carriage, where the horses were still tied up.  I watched him
leave, locked up, and then went upstairs.

Once in my bedchamber, I quickly changed clothes and fell into
bed, lamenting Elizabeth’s demise, and wondering what was going to happen in
the future for Ethan, the baby, and me.  Sleep came quickly.

I awoke to the sun shining.  Catherine had let me sleep
in.  I quickly dressed and went down the hall to her bedchamber, finding
Ginny holding the baby in her arms, her eyelids drooping.  She was sitting
up on the bed beside Catherine, who was sleeping.  I didn’t want to wake
Catherine, so I silently took the baby from Ginny, and then she slid down on
the bed and went to sleep herself. 

I took Ethan’s baby downstairs to get the breast milk in case she
was hungry.  As I was carrying her, she started crying.  I wrapped
the blanket around her tighter and whispered to her, hoping to comfort her so
she wouldn’t wake everyone else in the house.

The blanket felt wet, and I realized we hadn’t found any cloths
for her little bottom.  I got my mother’s shawl to use as a clean blanket
and went to the storage area beside the fireplace in the great hall and got a
linen cloth.  I then took her to the master study, laid her down on one of
the leather chairs, and tried to pin the cloth on her; she protested
loudly.  Her lungs were certainly working now.  I closed the door to
help muffle the noise.  Once her cloth was pinned, I wrapped her up in the
shawl and took the bottle to see if she would feed.  She did; she took it
hungrily, finishing the second Mason jar of her mother’s milk.  We would
need that cow’s milk or a wet nurse soon.  I patted her on the back and
hummed softly to her.  She fell back asleep soon after.

Not long after, Doc Parsons knocked on the door, and I let him in
to examine the baby.  He said she was doing well.  He went to the
parlor and prepared Elizabeth for burial.  I didn’t want to watch. 
I’d seen enough death in my lifetime.  As I was walking down the hall,
there was another knock at the door, and I let Ethan, his mother, and my Lillie
in.  Ethan was holding Lillie, and he smiled at me and the baby. 
Lillie exclaimed and was surprised to see the baby.  She reached out of
Ethan’s arms for me. 

“Aw, let me see the baby,” Clarissa said, reaching for the tiny
baby in my arms.  The happy grandmother was all smiles.  I handed her
the baby and then took Lillie in my arms.  She looked back at her
grandmother with the new baby. 

“Baby,” I said.  “Isn’t she a sweet little baby?”

Lillie tried to say “baby”, which sounded more like “bebe”.

I closed the door to the parlor where Doc was working on
Elizabeth, and we all went into the dining room and sat down.   I
wished I had thought to make some coffee; I’d have to do that soon, and get something
for us all to eat.  I didn’t know how long Ethan and his mother would be
here.  They may take the baby on home with them soon, or they may stay all
day, depending on what the Doc said about how soon the baby could travel the
short distance to Wellington.

Ethan was carrying a carafe of milk, which was taken from the milk
house. 

“I see you found some milk,” I said, making conversation with
Ethan.

“Yes, just this much.”  He sat it down on the dining room
table.

Clarissa handed the baby to Ethan, and I let Lillie down on the
floor.  She walked over to her daddy and the baby, curiously. 
Clarissa asked me to go out into the great hall for a moment.

“How are you, my dear?  Did you get enough rest last night?”

“Yes, Catherine and Ginny watched the baby while I slept.”

“That’s good.  I wouldn’t want you to put your own baby in
jeopardy.”  I guided us into the master study so we could sit down in
chairs and talk. 

“Madeline, I know that your baby is Ethan’s; he told me.”

I was a little surprised at her bluntness, but I nodded. 
“Elizabeth told me that she overheard him telling you.  That’s the reason
she came over here to talk to me…about the baby and Ethan.  She was upset,
but Catherine helped us to both calm down, and we sort of made peace before she
went outside…before she was shot.  Oh Clarissa, it’s all my fault. 
If I hadn’t lied…”  I put my head in my hands. 

“Now don’t go blaming yourself for that.  Whoever shot her –
that’s who you can blame.  You couldn’t know that a bullet was waiting for
her outside those doors.  Why, it could have been you or Catherine that
got shot!  Maybe it was just her time to go.”

She was right, but I still felt awful.  Because of my lies,
that little baby lost her mother.

“If anything, it could be my fault, for not talking to Ethan about
your baby in a more discreet place.  Then Elizabeth wouldn’t have overhead
and come over here.”

“No, I’m more to blame than you, honestly.  You and Ethan
shouldn’t have had to keep secrets.”

“I also wanted to say that, I know you and Ethan love each other
and will want to be together, now that Elizabeth is no longer…an
obstacle.  That baby will need a proper mother, Madeline.  Are you
willing to take that on, along with your own new baby in a few months? 
I’m happy to take care of these two girls myself, but I know you and Ethan will
want to become a proper family, all of you, if you’re willing to take care of
Elizabeth’s baby.  Mind you, I asked Elizabeth the same question before
she wed Ethan…about Lillie.”

It was a legitimate question, and I was glad she’d asked Elizabeth
the same thing before allowing her to care for Lillie.  I shifted in my
chair uncomfortably.  Ethan and I did love each other, but we had not
discussed any of this yet.  “I would be willing, yes, if Ethan will still
have me.  There is still the matter of William…”

“Yes, you made a little bit of a mess, dear, but it’s all right…
nothing that can’t be fixed.  I understand why you did it.  You were
protecting Ethan.”  I nodded.  “I do think that Ethan needs time to
grieve before any decisions are made,” she continued.  “And let everyone
get over the shock of Elizabeth’s death before making wedding plans.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said.  “I agree; he does need time to
grieve.  He’s feeling a little guilty right now, just as you and I are.”

“Do you think you will tell everyone the truth, Madeline? 
That this baby is Ethan’s?  Don’t you think the baby deserves to be called
a Wellington?”

I felt tears sting my eyes.  “Yes, I do, but it’s really up
to Ethan.  I never wanted to hurt his reputation.  That’s why I lied
in the first place.  That and the fact I knew that my baby needed a father
before it was born, and at the time, Ethan was not available, if you know what
I mean.  Do you really think I should tell the truth, that I had lied
before?”

“That’s up to you and Ethan, as you say, but in my opinion, it’s
best to tell the truth when it comes to something like this, the family name
and the baby’s inheritance.”

“That’s just it; the family name is going to be tarnished if I
tell everyone that Ethan fathered another child out of wedlock.”

She smiled at me, “But dear, everyone knows you were married to
him first.  They’ll understand.  It wouldn’t embarrass me in the
least.  I get another grandchild out of all this.”  She smiled.

“Thank you,” I said, squeezing her hand with mine.

Before we could continue the conversation, a knock sounded on the
carriage-front door once again.  It was Reverend O’Loughlin and his
wife.  I let them in, and Clarissa joined us in the hall.  Mrs.
O’Loughlin handed me a basket of Sally Lunn bread and two more bottles of cow’s
milk, which I thanked her for, and led them all to the dining room.  Mrs.
O’Loughlin asked me how I was doing.  I hadn’t been to the church since I
announced my betrothal to William and that I was carrying his child.  I
felt too embarrassed to go to church and didn’t want to hear the
whispers.  No matter whether I said the baby was William’s or Ethan’s, I
was still an unwed mother, and it just wasn’t proper.

I told Mrs. O’Loughlin that I was doing fine. 

“We’ve missed you at church, dear.”

“Yes, well, I’ve had a lot…going on.”  I rubbed my belly
instinctively.  “I didn’t think it proper.”

“Oh, my dear, it’s never improper to go to church.  You’re
certainly welcome.”  She squeezed my hand.  “Are you still playing
the piano?” 

“Yes, ma’am.  The Wellingtons were kind enough to bring
theirs over here for me to play,” I said, smiling over at Ethan.

“How wonderful!”

Ethan handed the baby over to his mother and took Reverend
O’Loughlin across to the parlor where Doc was with Elizabeth’s body. 
Lillie climbed up on my lap and sucked on her fingers.

“News travels fast,” Clarissa said to Mrs. O’Loughlin.

“Yes, well, Doc Parsons dropped by the house this morning and told
us all about Elizabeth being shot and that he had to take the baby, and that
she would need some cow’s milk or a wet nurse.  What happened, Madeline?”
she asked me.

I told both ladies what had transpired here the day and night
before.  They were both astonished and saddened, and yet happy that the
baby was doing well.  I excused myself to go fix some coffee over in the
kitchen house, leaving Lillie with the ladies.  I made a carafe of coffee
and took it back to the dining room, along with some fruit, nuts, Virginia ham
to add to Mrs. O’Loughlin’s bread, and invited all to help themselves. 
Clarissa helped Lillie get something to eat, while I held the baby, and Jonas
and William came in and ate.  Catherine joined us soon after, looking well
rested.