Mum's the Word (40 page)

“Abigail!” I clung to Ben's hand, glorying in that newborn cry … the glimpse of an exquisitely wrinkled face and
spiky black hair. “Mother picked the name. I hope you don't mind.”

“Whatever you want, my love.”

Starry-eyed we gazed upon Dr. Smith, who held our five-pound, two-ounce miracle in his noble hands. He was in the process of congratulating us, when I pressed a hand to my damp brow and rudely interrupted him.

“Doctor, I know I am a novice at all this, but I have the strangest feeling …”

“Nerves, Mrs. Haskell!” But suddenly it was the man of medicine who was all of a twitch. He bundled the baby into Ben's arms and … five seconds later her brother was born. No wonder I had gained so much weight. I'd been eating for three! But Dr. Melrose couldn't say I had been twice the work, because he had never suggested I was expecting twins! Not bad for a beginner, I thought smugly even as tears stung my eyes. Mother had known, I was sure.

“Did she pick a name for him too?” Ben asked gently.

“Grantham,” I whispered.

Hours later I woke to find Dr. Smith gone, the cradle rocking gently in the firelight and Ben reading beside me. The door was open a crack and I glimpsed the prideful faces of Dorcas and Jonas and the Tramwell sisters before they tiptoed away. No need to ask what Chantal had predicted. My happiness was so magical, so fragile that I was afraid to take deep breaths in case it shattered into a thousand multicoloured pieces and vanished into the night. Blast him, Ben chose that moment to press a butterfly kiss on my brow and I began to tremble.

“I'm not up to the job,” I cried. “I feel like an apprentice and I've got this deep down certainty that I'll remain this way until my babies are eighty. I'll never get mothering down pat, I'll never get it quite right!”

“No one ever does,” my husband said with all the newfound wisdom of fatherhood.

Waves of relief flowed over me. Twisting my hair into a no-nonsense braid, I sat up—ready and eager to begin. “Ben, take my hand while I swear to be the best imperfect mother I
can be. And one thing you have to promise me: no more How To manuals.”

Squeezing my fingers, he hedged. “We won't need this one again.” Handsome as fathers come, in his velvet smoking jacket, he strode over to the fireplace and tossed
Pregnancy for Beginners
into the flames. As for me … as soon as I had fed the children and got them to bed I would write to Theola Faith and ask if we could visit her one day soon. Abby and Tam must meet the fascinating woman who had known their grandmother and discover that very special community, Mud Creek.

Lesson one, my darlings, never judge a town by its name. Or a book by its cover.

OTHER BANTAM BOOKS BY DOROTHY CANNELL

God Save the Queen!
The Widows Club
Mum's the Word
Femmes Fatal
How to Murder Your Mother-in-Law
How to Murder the Man of Your Dreams

Dorothy Cannell is the author of seven mysteries, including
The Thin Woman, The Widows Club
, which was nominated for an Agatha Award as Best Novel of the Year,
Mum's the Word, Femmes Fatal, How to Murder Your Mother-in-Law, God Save the Queen!
, and
How to Murder the Man of Your Dreams
. She is also the author of
Down the Garden Path
. She was born in Nottingham, England, and currently resides in Peoria, Illinois.