Savage Destiny (The Hearts of Liberty Series, Book 1) (29 page)

"Your wife's hemorrhage couldn't have been anticipated or averted, Captain. Had I been at her bedside, I would have been as helpless as you were to save her. It's a miracle you had the presence of mind to save your son. You ought to be more than just grateful for his birth, celebrate it. Had you not been so quick to act, you would have lost them both. What a terrible tragedy that would have been."

Too numbed by grief to benefit from the physician's comfort, Ian could only stare at him blankly. "You should have been here," he agonized. "I never should have entrusted Melissa's care to a cook. That was my mistake, and it cost Melissa her life."

Dr. Moses Earle was a man of inexhaustible patience. He explained again, and then once more. By the third telling, Ian finally seemed to understand that his wife had been doomed from the instant the hemorrhage had begun, and no physician—no matter how talented—could have saved her. He then gestured toward Ian's bloodstained garb.

"I want you to get out of those clothes. After you've had the opportunity to bathe and dress, come back and sit with Melissa awhile. Talk with her. Tell her how much you'll love your son. I truly believe that she'll hear you, and talking will be a comfort to her, as well as you."

"She was only eighteen."

"You're not much older, are you, son?"

"I'm twenty-six."

"I'll not insult you by suggesting you'll fall in love again someday, but I know Melissa would want her child to have a loving mother. Talk that over with her, too. Now go on and clean up. I'll see that Melissa's body is prepared for burial, while you do. When you come back, everything will be ready."

Alanna breathed a small sigh of relief as Ian shuffled out of the room without pausing to look at the newborn infant, who lay tenderly cradled in her arms. She was seated in a rocking chair near the window, and the early morning light illuminated the child clearly. After freeing the babe from his dead mother's womb, Ian had thrust him into Alanna's hands and taken no further notice of him. At first, with the baby covered in his mother's blood, she had not recognized him, but now that he had been bathed and dressed in the tiny garments his late mother had made, his heritage was unmistakable.

He was a handsome child with a startling shock of ebony hair, deep brown eyes, and skin of a gorgeous golden hue. When Hunter had complained that Melissa had married the wrong man, Alanna had not realized he had such a strong justification for his view. She knew exactly when he and her cousin had been together: the night in early April when Melissa had awakened her with agonized sobs she had blamed on concern for her brothers. It was obvious now Melissa hadn't been crying for Byron and Elliott, but for herself.

That had merely been the first of Melissa's lies. Now Alanna could not help but wonder if she had ever spoken the truth in the last eight months. It was now obvious why Melissa had insisted upon being the one to introduce Ian to her son, but what had she meant to tell him? Surely she would not have tried to convince Ian the babe was his, but would she have told him more lies, or provided the damning truth at long last?

Alanna glanced up to find Polly had returned. She and Dr. Earle were hovering over Melissa's body, working to prepare her for her final journey to the grave. They had all expected the day to bring the joy of new life, not the pain of death, and no one had even glanced at the babe nestled in her arms. He was small, but perfectly formed, and his eyes shown with a bright, eager light. He was sucking on his fist, and Alanna began to worry how they would feed him.

"Dr. Earle," she called softly.

Startled, the physician turned. "My goodness, I'd quite forgotten that you were seated there. What is it, Alanna?"

"We need some way to feed Melissa's son."

"Yes, of course, a wet nurse must be found without delay. When I go back into Williamsburg, I'll see who I can find."

"Charity Wade cares for infants," Polly offered.

"Yes, she'll do," Moses Earle agreed. "It might be a good idea for me to take the baby to her, until arrangements can be made to care for him here."

Alanna tightened her hold on the babe. "No, I want to meet her first and see her home, before I entrust Christian to her care."

Dr. Earle approached Alanna's chair. "Is Christian the name Melissa had chosen?"

"Yes, he's named for the brother I lost in infancy."

"How prophetic," the physician mused, "for now he's lost his mother." He leaned over, peeled away the blanket to get a better look at the child, and then, shocked by his dark coloring, straightened up abruptly. "I know an Indian's babe when I see one. What's going on here?" he asked.

Shocked by the doctor's question, Polly came close to get a good look at Christian. "Mother of God," she gasped, and quickly crossed herself. "What are we going to tell the Captain?"

"It won't matter what we tell him, because he's never going to claim this child."

"I believe Melissa meant to tell Ian the truth," Alanna explained. "But I don't know how to put it, when he's already heartbroken over losing her."

"Do you know the father?" Moses Earle asked.

That was not a question Alanna wanted to answer, but the doctor was a trusted family friend, and she could not bring herself to lie. "Yes."

"I'm right, aren't I, he's an Indian brave?"

"Yes, but I think I ought to discuss the matter with Ian and let him decide if he wishes to make that known."

"Yes, of course," the physician agreed. "There's also Melissa's parents to consider. They won't be pleased to learn their darling daughter was unfaithful to her husband."

"She wasn't unfaithful to Ian, Dr. Earle. She was with Christian's father before she married."

"He's a bastard then!" Polly moaned.

"Please, Mrs. McBride," Moses scolded, "his dear mother's body is not even cold."

"Forgive me," Polly begged, but she again crossed herself.

Taking note of the cook's horror, Dr. Earle rocked back on his heels. "I don't know Ian Scott well, but I would not want to compound the pain of any grieving widower by presenting him with a child who obviously wasn't his. I think we should leave here right now, Alanna, and take Christian to Mrs. Wade's. It may be an entirely unnecessary precaution, you understand, but I think we ought to do all we can to safeguard his life, when it cost his mother her own."

"Ian wouldn't harm an infant," Alanna argued.

"Not intentionally perhaps, but newborns are fragile. If Ian were to become enraged, and shook the child, or knocked him from your arms, the tragedy would occur before you could stop it. Let's not take that risk. Get dressed, gather up some clothes for the boy, and let's go."

Uncertain what would become of the babe in her arms, Alanna rose slowly. "Polly, wrap Christian's clothes in one of the small blankets, and take them out to the doctor's carriage for me, please."

While the cook hastened to do her bidding, Alanna carried Christian downstairs to her room. She laid him in the middle of her bed, and hurriedly pulled on one of the faded dresses hanging at the back of her wardrobe. She had no dark attire suitable for mourning, but the somber colors of the old dress mirrored her mood far better than any of her new garments did. Melissa had not shared the room in months, but the sight of her bed called forth memories Alanna could not tarry to savor. When she went downstairs, she found Dr. Earle waiting for her in the hall.

"I cautioned Polly not to say anything about Christian, ever. To trust a servant not to gossip is foolish I know, but I do believe I convinced her to hold her tongue temporarily at least. I gave Rachel enough laudanum to keep her sleeping most of the day. John's sitting with her. Ian is still getting dressed, but let's be on our way before he attempts to stop us."

The urgency of the physician's tone frightened Alanna, but she hoped Christian was more in need of nourishment than protection from his family. Byron and Elliott were seated in the parlor, and she paused at the doorway while Dr. Earle spoke with them. Depressed beyond tears, neither appeared to possess the energy to argue with what he had to say.

"Alanna is coming with me to take the baby to a wet nurse in town. It will be better for everyone, if you don't have the bother of an infant in the house for the next few days."

Moses and Alanna had already reached the yard when Elliott caught up with them. "I don't want Alanna to be stranded in town. I'll saddle a couple of horses and follow you, so she'll have a way to come home."

"Thank you. I've been so concerned about the baby, I'd not thought about getting home."

Embarrassed by her gratitude, Elliott just nodded and loped off toward the barn.

"Elliott's a very considerate young man. What do you intend to tell him?" Dr. Earle asked the moment they had gotten underway.

"The truth," Alanna replied, "or at least what I know of it."

"One look at the babe will tell Elliott all he needs to know."

"Perhaps not."

"Don't romanticize what happened, child. What Melissa did was wrong."

The rocking motion of the carriage had lulled little Christian to sleep, and Alanna relaxed her hold on him slightly. "Yes, and she paid dearly for it. I've not had time to cry for her, but I don't want you to consider me unfeeling."

The doctor glanced over at Alanna and noted the sweetness of her expression as she studied the sleeping child. "You ought not to get too attached to the boy. Ian won't want him, and I doubt that his grandparents will either. Might be best for all concerned, if he goes to a family that will welcome a child. He's half-white, and with the proper upbringing, his Indian blood might not even be suspected."

Alanna was aghast at the doctor's words. "How could you even imagine that my aunt and uncle won't want their daughter's child? They took me in when I was orphaned, and treated me as one of their own."

"You were kin, Alanna."

"Well, so is Christian! Just look at him. He resembles Melissa as closely as he does his father."

Moses regarded the infant with scant interest. "All I see is an Indian's bastard, and that's all anyone else is going to see. If you object to finding him a home with white folks, what about giving him to his father to raise? Indians are far more generous in their views, and won't ridicule him for having white blood. The reverse isn't true."

The thought of handing Melissa's son—or any infant—to Indians to raise was more than Alanna could bear. "That wouldn't please Melissa," she argued.

"Melissa is dead."

"Yes, I know, but it wouldn't be what she would have wanted, had we asked her."

"I saw her only a couple of times in the last few months, and because it was so unlike her, I couldn't help commenting on her nervousness. Now I understand that she had good reason for it. What could she have planned to tell her husband?"

"She didn't take me into her confidence, but I know she had faith in Ian's love. Had the request come from Melissa, I think he would have accepted her child."

"You're dreaming again, Miss Alanna. Captain Scott couldn't be that great a fool."

"Is a man a fool to adore his wife and raise her son as his own?"

"In this case, he certainly would be."

Alanna couldn't agree. "You've a harsh view of the world, Doctor."

"I'll admit it. Comes from watching pretty eighteen-year-olds bleed to death. Such tragedies will harden any man's heart, or drive him mad."

The doctor fell into a sullen silence and didn't speak again until they had reached the outskirts of Williamsburg. Elliott had caught up with them, but he was riding along behind the carriage rather than alongside it, and could not overhear him. "Have you ever wondered why your uncle doesn't own slaves?"

"I've been told that he freed all the plantation's slaves, when my grandfather died."

"That's true, but you don't know why?"

"I believe he objects to slavery on moral grounds."

"Oh, yes, he certainly does, but not for the reason you might believe. Your Uncle John and your father weren't the only children your grandfather sired, but the others were all born in the slaves' quarters. I won't say mixing with slaves isn't a common practice among plantation owners, because it is, but it broke your grandmother's heart, and hastened her death by at least a dozen years."

Alanna felt a sudden chill of apprehension. "Are you saying that my uncle would be unlikely to accept a grandchild with mixed blood?"

Moses nodded. "Not just unlikely, dead set against it is probably closer to the truth."

Stunned by that revelation, Alanna looked down at Christian. Truly she did see the sweetness of Melissa's features, even if he did have Hunter's black hair and golden skin. She patted his bottom lightly.
Don't you worry,
she assured him silently.
Your Cousin Alanna won't abandon you.

* * *

Alanna had expected Charity Wade to be a matronly woman with silver hair and an ample bosom, but she was a thirty-year-old with thick auburn hair and the reed slim figure a lifetime of hard work imparts. Widowed when she was pregnant with her third child, she supported her family by caring for other women's infants. She answered Dr. Earle's questions with intelligent replies; a perceptive person, she noted Alanna's questioning glance.