Petals on the River (49 page)

Gage feigned naivete.
 
"What did I do?"

"I think you know well enough," she countered.
 
"I was terribly

discomfited by what happened last night, but you made me laugh, and for

a moment I forgot that dreadful incident."

He cocked his head at a contemplative angle.
 
"What did you find so

dreadful about it?"

Taken aback by his question, Shemaine had difficulty explaining all the

emotions she had felt after realizing he had caught her ogling him. When

she finally answered him, she could not keep her gaze from wavering

beneath his steadfast stare, though she spoke with candor. "The fact

that you might have thought me forward, Mr.
 
Thornton."

Gage shrugged away the notion.
 
"You're merely an innocent, curious

about men.
 
Tis natural for an untried maid to be inquisitive."

"You seem to know a lot about women, Mr.
 
Thornton," she gently goaded.

His lips curved with amusement as his brown eyes challenged her.

"Certainly more than you know about men, Miss O'Hearn."

Shemaine stared at him in shock, unable to dispute his statement.

"Aye," she sighed at length, lowering her gaze to her plate. "There is

much I have to learn about men."

Gage smiled at her bowed head, for he could think of no finer delight

than to be the one to instruct her.

Ramsey Tate knocked on the back door while they were still at the

morning meal, and leaned in to inquire, "May I enter?"

"Aye, Ramsey, come on in," Gage bade, sliding down the bench to allow

his friend to sit beside him.
 
When Ramsey entered the kitchen, Gage

couldn't help but notice the dark circles beneath the man's eyes, but he

kept his inquiry simple.
 
"Have you eaten?"

"Not anythin' what looked this good, I can assure ye," Ramsey said with

a rueful chuckle, but he held up a hand to halt Shemaine when she made

to rise and fetch a plate.
 
"Nay, miss, I'd better not.
 
What I ate is

sittin' like a hard lump on me belly.
 
I cooked it meself an' been

regrettin' it e'er since."

"You're here much earlier than usual," Gage stated.
 
"Is anything the

matter?"

"Me missus is in a bad way," Ramsey replied glumly.
 
"I'm worried bout

her an' I'd like ta stay with her today in case she needs me."

Gage was immediately concerned.
 
"Take as many days off as you need.
 
Is

there anything we can do?"

"Well, I'm not much on cookin'.
 
If'n ye can manage ta send o'er enough

vittles for Calley an' me youngest boy, Robbie, I'd appreciate it.
 
I

can make do meself with what I'm able ta put together, but I the'er

learnt meself ta cook, an' it don't seem right somehow ta make Calley

suffer more'n she's doin' already.
 
Me older boys've gone upriver ta

work for their uncle til midsummer, so at present there's just us three

at home."

Gage was cautious about offering Shemaine's services when he wasn't sure

if what Calley had was contagious.
 
If food had to be delivered, then he

would do it himself, keeping his distance for the sake of Andrew and the

girl.
 
"What do you suppose is the matter?"

Ramsey released a halting sigh.
 
"I told ye some time ago at Calley was

gonna whelp nother kid in late spring, but we're now fearin' she might

be close ta losin' the li'l fella.
 
Accordin' ta her count, it's too

early for the babe ta be comin'."

Gage's manner became resolute.
 
"Calley should have a doctor's care.
 
If

you don't mind, I'll bring Shemaine and Andrew over when I come and then

fetch Dr.
 
Ferris from town.
 
Do you have any objections?"

Ramsey blinked away a start of tears.
 
"I'd be grateful, Gage."

"Go now, and see to Calley," Gage enjoined.
 
"We'll be along as soon as

we can."

"Thank ye kindly."' Some time later, Gage drew the wagon to a halt in

front of the Tate cottage and escorted Andrew and Shemaine inside.

Almost immediately Andrew and the three-year-old Robbie settled down on

the kitchen floor to play with a set of wooden animals that Ramsey had

made for his youngest son.
 
Ramsey led Gage and Shemaine to the back of

the house, where his stricken wife was ensconced in their bed.
 
He went

to her bedside and beckoned for their visitors to approach as he took

his wife's hand and introduced the newcomer.

"Calley, this be Mr.
 
Thornton's new bondswoman, Miss Shemaine. -She's

here ta cook a meal for ye an' li'l Robbie."

Gage stepped near.
 
"Shemaine will watch after you and the boys for a

while until I return with a doctor.
 
You'll be in good hands, Calley."

The woman nodded in answer and tried to smile as she shifted her gaze to

the girl.
 
"Pleasured ta make yer acquaintance, miss.
 
I only wish it be

under better circumstances."

Gage and Ramsey took their leave, and Shemaine began to fluff the

woman's pillows and tidy the bed.
 
Solicitously she asked, "Is there

anything I can do for you?"

"Maybe keep me company for a while," Calley suggested with a tentative

smile.
 
"Ramsey gets in such a stew when one o' us gets sick, I'm almost

relieved ta see him go ta work.
 
His fidgetin' wears on me."

"No doubt he loves his family very much, and it makes him anxious when

he sees one of you ailing," Shemaine gently surmised.

"Oh, I knows that ta be true, alright," Calley declared with an

abbreviated chuckle, but she stiffened suddenly as a spasm gripped her.

Clenching her teeth, she silently endured the discomfort until the pain

began to ebb.
 
Then she looked up at Shemaine through a start of tears.

"I was a-thinkin' this babe might be a girl.
 
We've five sons already,

an' I was sure, what with me carryin' this one so different, we'd be

havin' ourselves a precious li'l girl this time."

Shemaine gripped the woman's slender hand.
 
"Don't lose hope, Mrs.

Tate.

Perhaps the doctor will be able to help you."

Calley's lips trembled with anxiety.
 
"I the'er had any trouble afore,

an' I'm frightened for me poor li'l babe."

Bracing her hands on the mattress, Shemaine leaned forward to claim the

other's misty-eyed attention.
 
"Then I'd say you've been very fortunate

until now, Mrs.
 
Tate.
 
My own mother lost a baby after I was born and

could not get with child again.
 
So you see how tremendously blessed

you've already been."

With eyes closed and her lips moving fervently in prayer, Calley writhed

in silent agony upon the bed.
 
"The way I'm feelin', miss, I fear I'll

be losing it afore Dr.
 
Ferris can get here."

Leaving her, Shemaine rushed to the kitchen.
 
Gage had gone, and in his

absence Ramsey was roaming about like a lost soul, not knowing what to

do with himself.
 
"You'd better get some water boiling just in case,"

she urged, putting to flight his confusion.
 
"And ready some rags and

towels, but don't bring them to the bedroom until I call for them."

"Yes'm," Ramsey replied, and set himself to completing her directive.

Folding back her sleeves, Shemaine pushed through the bedroom door and

mumbled a silent prayer of her own as she returned to the woman's

bedside.
 
"You know more about this kind of thing than I do, Mrs. Tate.

I'm not squeamish.
 
The voyage from England took away any girlish

notions that I once might have had about being prudish, so if you're of

a mind to trust me, I'll stay with you and do what needs to be done if

such help is required before the doctor comes."

"I trust ye," Calley answered in a whisper.
 
She began to twist again

and claw at the sheets as she grieved over her impending misfortune,

getting so worked up emotionally that she could not lie still.

"Relax if you can," Shemaine soothed, remembering how her friend Annie

had helped one of their cellmates on the London Pride through

childbirth.
 
The baby had been badly malformed, perhaps because of the

lack of nourishment his mother had been subjected to.
 
He hadn't lived

beyond a day, but Annie had coaxed the woman and brought her through her

labor in good order.
 
This was not the same kind of circumstance,

Shemaine realized, but she grew resolved to help Calley in a similar

fashion if she could.
 
Except for her first experience of seeing a child

born, she wasn't knowledgeable enough to be of much benefit otherwise.

"Try to imagine the baby and how you might help her by remaining calm.

Don't strain yourself or bear down to make her feel unwanted.
 
Let her

feel nurtured in the safe, warm haven of your body.
 
Close your eyes and

see how beautiful your daughter is.
 
I think she will look like you,

with hair like wheat and eyes the color of the sky.
 
She'll be the

treasured pride of her brothers...."' With lashes tightly closed, Calley

nodded eagerly as an image of the girl began to form in her mind.
 
Her

breathing slowed, as if by magic, and the tears faded, to be replaced by

a smile.
 
"Aye, she'll have a winsome face."

Shemaine leaned forward to whisper close to her ear.
 
"Can you see

yourself holding your daughter close to your breast and gently rocking

her as you sing a lullaby?"

Calley heaved a blissful sigh.
 
"Aye, she likes the singing."

"You're smiling, Mrs.
 
Tate," Shemaine murmured.
 
When the woman's eyes