Previously: "I spoke with Francis." Demelza told him quietly as an explanation. "I'm not ready to forgive you, but I'm done with the hostility." Ross felt a rush of affection for Francis who had clearly tried to calm Demelza's anger when they had spoken earlier that day... Ross felt a renewed sense of gratitude that in this lifetime he had renewed his friendship with his cousin.
Second Chances
Chapter 12
The pregnancy was worrying Ross, it was not progressing as it had in the past, making him anxious for the life of both Demelza and the child she was carrying. She was incapable of holding any food down, and spent most of her time dealing with morning sickness. Although why it was called morning sickness when it happened at all times in the day, Ross did not know. Admittedly it was worst in mornings, and Ross had begun many days holding Demelza's hair and rubbing her back.
Demelza had stopped doubting her condition once her sudden weight gain became visible, and while she had initially rejected Ross's help due to her continued grudge over the Elizabeth issue, her exhaustion had eventually forced her to allow him to assist her. She seemed weak as a newborn kitten most days, and Ross would often carry her back to bed to get some much needed rest. He couldn't help but wonder if Demelza might still be a little young to carry a child to full term, and the thought kept him up at night, aware that if anything happened to either of them it would be his fault.
After the usual morning routine, Ross tucked the sheets around the Demelza and went to the kitchen to find Jinny.
"Sir." She addressed him politely, stopping her sweeping in order to listen to his request.
"Could you make sure Demelza gets something to eat when she wakes up?" Ross asked.
"Of course."
"Thank you, Jinny." Much to Demelza's protests that she could still work despite her condition, Ross had hired Jinny as soon as it had become clear that Demelza was struggling to cope. He would have asked Demelza to hire Jinny in order for Demelza to experience some of the responsibility of her new position, but Demelza was unable to leave the house for very long before nausea struck, so he had done the task himself.
Leaving the house, Ross noted Prudie and Jud walking around with sour faces. They had been in this mood ever since the wedding, Prudie more so. Ross could not quite work out why they were so disgruntled, and Demelza was unwilling to tell him the cause although she clearly knew, as when she had the energy she did seem to taunt them a little about her new position. Ross did not think she was withholding the information from him out of spite, as although they were still not completely reconciled, Ross suspected that Demelza was close to forgiving him.
On his way to the mine, Ross stopped by the fields where Jim was working. After the trial, and after Ross had the chance to calm down, Jim had started working again at Nampara during his free time, free of charge, to make up for the trouble he had caused Ross.
"Ross." Jim greeted.
"Surely you need rest, Jim, you cannot work all the time." Ross suggested, causing Jim to shake his head in disagreement.
"No sir, tis no trouble. Besides I can't thank you enough for helping with the trial and giving our Jinny a job."
"I am grateful for your help, it looks like the fields might soon start yielding again." The land looked far less barren than when Ross had first arrived at Nampara, which would mean they would soon have a little extra money that would not go amiss when they baby came. Ross refused to think too much on the idea that maybe they would not have a child.
"Aye sir." Jim hesitated. He looked conflicted, clearly he was trying to decide whether he should broach a particular topic with Ross, and Ross waited patiently for Jim to summon up the courage to speak. "Are you planning on making an official announcement about the wedding?" Ross had not been expecting that, he thought Jim might have been wanting some extra hours at Leisure.
"I had not planned on it, it has been quite a while since the event occurred, so I thought everyone would have found out by now." He had made no attempt to hide that the event had occurred, but it started niggling at Ross that everyone who knew about the wedding was loyal to him, and would not have gossiped about the affair, which meant there was little chance that the news had made it outside his circle of friends and family.
"No sir, there are only rumours and they're getting more vicious by the day." Jim confirmed Ross's suspicions.
Ross mused on the idea, and the more he thought about it the more it made sense. He had been getting strange looks whenever he ventured into town or to the mine, and they had worsened over the past months, but he had thought it was in disapproval of his marriage to a woman with whom he had clearly had premarital relations. Demelza's pregnancy was now clearly visible, and it was evident to anyone who saw her that the conception had occurred before the wedding. But as Demelza had been unable to leave the estate for quite some time, Ross now considered that it was unlikely her condition had been seen.
"Thank you for letting me know Jim." Ross would have to deal with the situation as soon as he could, he suspected that asking Francis to spread the news would be for the best, and with that thought in mind he headed to Grambler, hoping that Francis would be there.
At Trenwith, the rumours that had caused Ross much consternation were under serious discussion, and Elizabeth found herself doing her best to calm Charles and prevent another heart stroke.
"I am sure the rumours are of no consequence." She reassured him. "I spoke to Ross about it myself, and he told me that he was taking measures to deal with the situation."
"An elopement with a kitchen maid." Charles said in disgust. "I dread to think that there might be any truth to the matter. We should send for Ross to publicly denounce such lies." Elizabeth agreed, thinking to herself that it was clear Ross's efforts to control the situation had failed. Francis had strolled in at that point, hearing the last few moments of the conversation.
"Ross will not deny the rumours." Francis told them casually, having just returned from meeting Ross.
"Why in the devil wouldn't he?" Charles snapped.
"Because some of the rumours, while exaggerated, are based on the truth." Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock before she regained her composure.
"That is not possible." Elizabeth told him calmly, unwilling to accept that Ross would show such regard to a kitchen maid.
"It is." Francis said bluntly. "I was there at the wedding, I can testify that Ross did quite willingly marry Demelza." His revelation was greeted by various sounds of shock and horror from all in attendance, which included Mrs Chynoweth whose disgust was the most pronounced.
"How could that boy do something so stupid?" Charles was the first to recover.
"Hardly stupid." Francis disagreed. "Demelza is a nice girl, and Ross clearly adores her. Marriage was the logical conclusion." While Charles and Elizabeth decried the recent development, Mrs Chynoweth excused herself in order to return home and begin the task of ensuring all her neighbours heard the news from her first. Of course that meant that before the week was up, every single person in the town would know of Ross and Demelza's wedding.
"How could you let him go through with the marriage?" Elizabeth demanded.
"What use would that have been? You know how stubborn Ross is, and I had no particular objections to the match."
"Then you have condemned him, society will never accept him now." She looked overly concerned about Ross's reputation, which caused a flare of irritation in Francis. She was his wife, not Ross's, even if she seemed to forget that fact on occasion.
"I am sure Ross is aware of that, and cares little for society's thoughts on the matter." Clearly stunned that her husband was not supporting her, Elizabeth left the room shooting him a final look as she exited. Charles and Francis were left alone by Elizabeth's departure, the former still shaking his head in disapproval.
"Are you going to persist in supporting your cousin, despite his ill-advised decisions?" There was a note of warning in Charles voice that Francis noticed and ignored. Ross had supported him, and regardless of Charles's thoughts on the subject, Francis was not about to let his cousin down.
"Of course." Charles let out a bark of laughter that surprised Francis, who had been expecting a harsh reprimand.
"I see you have finally grown a backbone." Charles admitted somewhat grudgingly. "Finally you might have become a son I could be proud of." From Charles that was as great a compliment as Francis was ever likely to get, and Francis felt a sudden surge of happiness that he was finally worthy of his father's recognition.
Back at Nampara, Demelza had finally risen and was breaking fast at the dining room table as Jinny bustled around her.
"Was carrying Benjamin this awful?" Demelza asked Jinny.
"Twas difficult, yes, but you seem to be affected worse." Jinny informed her, causing Demelza to sigh in frustration. "I wouldn't worry too much about it," Jinny did her best to reassure her, "you'll have your babe by Christmas and it will all be worth it."
"I dearly hope so." Demelza replied, her tone still infected with worry.
A knocking at the door drew both of their attention, before Demelza could get up to answer it, Jinny's hand firmly pushed her back into the seat and went to answer the caller. Demelza acquiesced and remained seated, aware that Ross had ordered everyone in the household to make sure that Demelza did not overexert herself in case the baby was harmed. She knew he was just as worried as her, even more so as he seemed to sport a look of dumbfounded confusion at times, as though he was expecting her pregnancy to progress entirely differently.
The guest was led in by Jinny, and Demelza immediately straightened up, ignoring the twinge of pain in her back, when she saw that it was Elizabeth who had entered. Jinny curtsied as she went to busy herself elsewhere in the house, much to Demelza's disappointment as she would have liked to have an ally by her side when meeting Ross's former love. If Elizabeth was shocked that Demelza was now being treated as mistress of Nampara, she did well to hide it, what she was less able to hide was her shock when her gaze moved from Demelza's face to the bump that protruded noticeably from her abdomen.
"If you are looking for Ross, he's at the mine and isn't likely to return til late." Demelza informed her, when Elizabeth failed to address her. The interruption regained Elizabeth's attention and the other woman regained her composure as her gaze moved away from the sign of Demelza's pregnancy. Elizabeth had the grace to look a little embarrassed at her rude silence.
"I see." Elizabeth replied. "I should leave, I do not wish to intrude and I am sure I can discuss my business with Ross at some other time." Elizabeth looked determined to leave as quickly as possible, and Demelza had no interest in stopping her. "I will see myself out, I would not want to trouble you, particularly in your condition." The last few words sounded forced, as though Elizabeth was still in disbelief. Demelza thanked Elizabeth for her thoughtfulness, and the older woman left, Jinny appearing again to escort her outside.
As Demelza had predicted, Ross returned late from the mine, carrying a small bag and laughing about something with Francis who had joined him. Seeing their arrival out of the window, Demelza instructed Jinny to set an extra seat for dinner, knowing that if Francis was arriving at Nampara at this time he was likely to dine with them.
Entering the house, Ross greeted Demelza with a quick kiss to the top of her head and handed over her gift. Brow furrowing in confusion, Demelza reached into the small bag and her eyes lit up when she pulled out an apple. Biting into it immediately, Demelza hugged Ross in gratitude to her husband's surprise.
"If only all women were so easily pleased." Francis joked, which earned him a half-hearted elbow to the side from Demelza.
"Francis has been telling me about how well the news of the wedding was received at Trenwith. It seems that they were unaware of the event." Ross informed Demelza.
"It was taken better than I had anticipated." Francis added, his smirk indicating that his definition of 'better' was not necessarily the same as everyone else's.
"I suppose you didn't think to mention the baby?" Demelza suggested.
"I thought that added news could wait, how did you know I had not spoken of the matter?" Francis asked with a slight frown.
"The news will soon be going to the rest of your relations, your wife turned up here."
"Elizabeth came here? Whatever for?" Ross interjected, Demelza shrugged.
"She didn't say, she wanted to speak to you."
Before they could speak any further on the matter, Jinny brought in dinner and the three went silent so that they could eat. Francis did not stay much longer after the meal, explaining that he was eager to see how his father would react to the latest bombshell. Once Francis had left, Demelza and Ross were left alone to enjoy each other's company.
"How was your day?" Ross asked her.
"Apart from the visit, mostly uneventful." She said. "Elizabeth didn't look best pleased." Demelza finished with a sly smile.
"Has the baby given you much trouble today?"
"Not as much, the only time I've felt sick today was this morning." Ross felt a hit of relief, as he had not been expecting a positive response to his question.
"I am glad you are feeling a little better. Maybe the worst of it is coming to an end." If it was, Ross could start to rest easily again.
"Hopefully." Demelza agreed.
"If you are still feeling as well tomorrow, you could come down and make an official visit to the mine." Ross suggested, noticing how uncomfortable Demelza immediately looked at the idea.
"I don't know Ross, if people are only just finding out they might think badly of me. They might think I'm putting on airs." Despite Demelza's recent burst in confidence ever since she had been brave enough to stand up to him, Ross could see that her self-esteem was still not very high.
"No one will think that." Ross reassured her. "If you are worried they will think badly of you, believe me they will not, if anything they will think badly of me for corrupting you." Demelza smiled weakly at his attempt at levity, still looking apprehensive.
"If I feel up to it, I'll go." She relented.
"That is all I can ask of you." Ross gently took her hand, before moving on to another matter that had been on his mind lately. "Am I forgiven yet?"
"Maybe." Demelza looked down a little ashamed. "I think I overreacted, when I first heard the news about you and Elizabeth. I just couldn't bear the fact that you might have been using me."
"You were right to be angry, I should have been the one to tell you." Ross said. "Do you think we can put the whole incident behind us?" Demelza nodded, and stood up.
"I'm going to bed, coming?" Her tentative invitation to resume intimacy, which they had not shared since Ross had pulled teal silk off of her, suggested to Ross that this would be the first night she would not sleep with her back to him, and was the best way she could show him that she had forgiven and forgotten his idiocy.
Demelza did end up being well enough to visit the mine, Ross kept a gentle grip on her throughout the visit, well aware that she still automatically went to curtsy after finishing a conversation. Ross could feel everyone's eyes on them, and did his best to try to keep Demelza oblivious to the attention.
Ross was grateful that they still had allies, Mr Henshaw in particular seemed charmed by Demelza's blunt honesty, although one or two of the investors who happened to be present appeared less impressed. He would have to keep an eye on them, and hopefully deter any idea of selling their shares to George, as at the moment he did not have enough money to buy their shares himself.
Not trusting Demelza's current state of wellbeing to stay that way, Ross kept the visit to the mine short. After everyone had the chance to get a good look at Demelza, to confirm the rumours and see that the protective arm Ross used to guide her way was a clear indicator that he saw her as more than just a fling that went too far, Ross commented that Demelza looked tired, and used that as an excuse to leave.
They walked the short distance to Nampara, Ross holding on to the reins of the horse, as Demelza insisted the walk would do her good.
"Now that was not so bad."
"It wasn't." Demelza agreed. "I'm more worried about meeting the rest of your family, I can fit in with miners, but not with gentle folk." Ross had suggested the previous night that he might visit his uncle in the near future, to see if his health was improving, and that such a visit would be the perfect opportunity for Demelza to meet his other relations.
"You will do fine." Ross reassured her. "Francis will no doubt be there when I introduce you, and you already know that he thinks well of you."
"I won't know how to behave though."
"I might have a solution to that, Francis brought over some books from Verity's collection that she left at Trenwith. She will not need them anymore, and Francis thought you might find them helpful. The books go into a lot of detail about how to behave in society. I am sure you would do well without them, but they might make you feel a little more confident."
"I think that would help a lot." Demelza admitted.
"I will give them to you when we get home then."
"Thank you Ross, it was very thoughtful of you to think of that."
They walked in silence for a while, enjoying the views of the Cornish coast. They paused by one of the cliffs to watch the waves crash against the walls below them, and Demelza rested a hand on her bump, which immediately concerned Ross.
"Is everything alright?" He asked. Distracted, Demelza frowned at him before noticing that he was eyeing her bump with worry.
"Everything's fine." She told him calmly, giving him her other hand to hold. Relieved that Demelza had confirmed that nothing was amiss, Ross apologised.
"I am sorry, you have been so ill recently and it has made me paranoid." Demelza squeezed his hand to show her understanding.
"I was just wondering what the baby is going to be, I think it's going to be a boy." Ross grinned, knowing he had an advantage over her on this matter.
"I think it will be a girl." Demelza looked a little surprised at his free admission.
"You wouldn't be disappointed if it was a girl?"
"Of course not." Ross told her. "As long as we have a healthy baby, I will be happy." Ross would go to any lengths he had to in order to ensure that remained the case.
"Me too." Demelza replied with a smile.
Author's Note
So episode 4 is mostly going to be nothing like the episode because most of the major conflicts of the episode have already been prevented by Ross. The timeline of the episodes have really thrown me off for this one in particular as apparently the episode takes place over roughly a year. So I hope Demelza giving birth just a little before Christmas is believable enough. I've also assumed a decent time gap between episode 3 and 4 because of how suddenly affectionate Ross is in episode 4.