Autumn 1912
Rose's POV
The warm summer haze faded to the deep richly-coloured autumn slowly and steadily. One by one the deep emerald leaves faded to golden brown and fluttered to the ground, carpeting the ground below until they were swept up into mountains by the roadside. Autumn was a wonderful time of new experiences for me. The local traditions of crop harvests, bonfires and apple cider were alien to my old world of Philadelphia society. Having lived in Chippewa Falls for all these months, that world was drifting further and further away in my mind. The longer I lived in freedom, I began to wonder how I had managed to put up with the caged existence of high society for so long.
When the time for the harvest came, the village school closed for several weeks so the children could help with the work. It was wonderful to see how much they enjoyed their tasks of digging up potatoes and being sent up the apple trees to find the highest fruits. On his days off, Jack joined a few of the other men on Jim Clarkson's farm to help with his harvest and hay-making.
"Harvest is one of the biggest community times" he explained to me. "The more people that help, the more food we'll harvest and store before it goes bad"
I did attempt to help with the work at first, but was quickly stopped by both Jack and Jim.
"You think I could live with myself watching a pregnant young woman slaving away in my fields?" said Jim, sounding downright offended by the thought.
I rested a hand over my now modest but prominently-swollen bump. Perhaps he was right.
As the autumn wore on, it's cool winds grew colder and sharper, and it's bright colours faded to icy greys, I slowly began to feel more and more incapable. By the end of November, I was seven months pregnant, and was plagued with back pains constantly. I'd had to stop work at the school just after the harvest ended. I sorely missed the work. Despite my earlier insecurities, I enjoyed teaching. I enjoyed planning the lessons and the researching, which was just another excuse to indulge my love of reading history books.
These tasks had left an empty hole in my day. But as the weather grew steadily colder, and my aches and pains grew stronger, even I had to admit that it was time to take it easy. And staring out the window at the dark and damp winter mornings did make me thankful that I could stay inside away from the winter air. I only wished that Jack could have that same luxury. He still had to brave the cold every morning to get to work and back. One of the few things I felt I could do to help was to make sure I had a hot dinner ready for him when he arrived home, nose and ears tinged red from the cold, though he bitterly protested.
"I keep telling you, I can just make something when I get home" he tried to persuade me for what felt like the hundredth time. "I don't want you to be on your feet all day, you're supposed to be resting"
"Jack this is the one excuse I have to get to my feet all day!" I retorted as I served up the chicken and vegetable stew. "It's just about the only thing I can manage to do right now, so I'd rather enjoy it"
I gasped as I felt a sudden sharp movement from inside me.
"What is it?" Jack asked, his brow furrowed in concern.
"Nothing" I replied, resting a hand over my swollen stomach which seemed to grow bigger by the day. "Whoever's in here seems to want to make themselves known today. Here, feel"
I took his hand and guided it to rest over the bump, just as the baby launched another kick.
"God, you're right" Jack laughed with a grin. "He or she feels pretty strong"
"Which would you prefer, a boy or a girl?"
"I don't care. As long as it's healthy, I'm happy"
I couldn't help but laugh a little.
"Sorry, I just suddenly thought how different things would have been if... if I was still living with them. I'd have been expected to produce a boy. An heir. Girls were always a second choice. We were just ornaments to be married off"
"Well not here" said Jack firmly, putting his arm around me, his other hand still rested on my bump. "Nothing at all matters about whether it's a boy, a girl, tall, short, red hair, blonde hair, green hair for all I care. What matters is that it will be loved"
Sex, hair colour, eye colour, personality, name... These were all questions I had had too much free time to ask myself over the last weeks, but the time was creeping slowly closer to finally uncovering the answers...
Christmas 1912
Our first Christmas together was a cold one. Oh so cold. I had been told that Chippewa Falls had some of the coldest winters around, and I had not been disappointed. Nevertheless, the thick blanket of slow that carpeted the fields and hung from the bare tree branches did look lovely. Especially when seen from safely inside a nice warm house in front of a fire.
Preparing for Christmas had brought a welcome distraction from the biting cold, and the memories it brought. We had relished the long, warm summer for so long, but now forced to feel the cold once again, memories of the Atlantic returned all too vividly. The first time I reached down to take a handful of snow, the cold sunk into my fingertips, painfully cold, like a thousand hot knives, and I trembled not from the cold, but from the memories of the last time I had felt such cold.
It was hard, adjusting to the cold. I had expected it to be. But the relief from the warmth of Christmas soothed me, from the first weekend of December, when Jack went into town without telling me why, and came back with a Christmas tree from the market and a box of ornaments. The brightly-decorated tree sat in the corner of the living room like a shining beacon of hope, always reminding us that the brighter and warmer days would return eventually, and that there was still happiness to be found in the depth of winter. And it only shone brighter with the new ornaments we decorated it with, after Honey excitedly pulled down the tree and broke the first lot.
Christmas Eve unfortunately fell on a Tuesday, which meant that Jack had to go to work, although it was only a half day, at least. Not wanting to spend the day alone, I ventured, slowly on the icy paths, down to the village to visit Sarah. I missed her company at the school as much as I missed the work, and I tried to visit on the few occasions that she was free from her now-extra workload.
That Christmas Eve, Dr. Anderson, who'd also given himself a half day, used my visit to his wife as an excuse to give me and my seemingly never-ending bump a check up. So much for off-duty.
"Well, everything seems to be progressing just fine" he said with a smile, putting away his stethoscope. "I can't see any reason to suggest there isn't a healthy baby in there, and there certainly is a big one in there, I think"
"You don't have to tell me that" I laughed. "God I just want it out at this point. To finally meet my baby and be free from back aches"
The doctor smiled.
"Not much longer to go now, Rose. You'll meet your baby soon"
"And when you do", came Sarah's voice as she pushed open the door of her husband's consulting room with her hip, a large wicker basket in her arms. "I think you may find a use for these"
She placed the basket on the table beside me, and I looked inside to find it full of homemade baby clothes. Light cotton garments and thick knitted winter woolens.
"Oh Sarah!" I gasped in surprise. "Did you make all these?"
"Of course I did" she said with a smile. "I know you've been practicing your needlework but I thought I'd give you a head start, what with the time of year"
Sarah had been downright shocked when a couple of months ago, she'd questioned me over baby clothes and I said I supposed I would buy them.
"You can't be spending that much money on clothes the baby will grow out of in weeks!" she exclaimed.
"Well I don't really know what else to do" I sighed hopelessly. "That's what was done where I come from, we bought everything we needed.
"Well that's not what we do here. You'll be bankrupt before the baby's first birthday if you buy everything ready-made. Now tell me, can you sew?"
"Not very well" I confessed with a murmur.
"Don't worry, Rose, teaching is what I do best, after all" my friend said determinedly.
And she started that same day, teaching me the basics of clothes-making that my own very-expensive governesses and tutors hadn't deemed worth teaching me. In fairness, I could now make simple garments myself, but I had hopelessly worried that I wouldn't learn fast enough for when the baby was born. The sight of that basket of baby clothes was such a touching gesture that I felt tears come to my eyes.
"Thank you so much, Sarah, they're absolutely lovely" I choked out with a smile.
"It was nothing" Sarah brushed it aside, but gave my shoulder a friendly squeeze. "Call it an early Christmas present"
There would be plenty more time for present giving with Sarah and Peter the next day. Jack and I were having dinner and spending the afternoon of Christmas Day with them. But the morning would be all ours...
The snow fell thick and fast outside our bedroom window on Christmas morning. The outside temperature was freezing cold, though in in the toasty warmth of each other's embrace under the thick bedcovers, we were shielded from any thought of cold. There I lay, my body curled into Jack's as much as my swollen middle would allow, his arms holding me in a protective hug, one around my shoulders, one across my stomach. We laid together this way so often, but today it felt special. Today was Christmas.
"You know, as wonderful as this is, don't you think it's time we got up and started the day?" Jack murmured into my hair.
"Not really" I sighed, leaning in closer to him. "This feels too perfect to want to ever get up"
"True enough. But then, if we never got up, you'd never know what your present is..."
"Oh really?" I lifted my head to smile up at him playfully. "So it's something even worth getting out of bed for?"
"Well, I can't be sure, but if I were a betting man, and I wouldn't have had the joy of meeting you if I weren't, I'd put my money on it being something you'd really rather love"
"Well now, that sounds like it's worth an investigation" I sat up in bed, a childish excitement suddenly overtaking me. It had been so long since I'd been excited at Christmas. The stiff social parties and endless stream of overpriced, meaningless gifts had dulled my holiday spirit over the years. Now, in my new, happy life, my inner child came alive again.
We quickly dressed and made our way downstairs, where Honey had long-since emerged from her new self-proclaimed bed on the rub in from of the fire. She leaped around at my feet excitedly as always, tail lashing. Jack grabbed her before she could jump up at me properly and hauled her over to the direction of the front door. Once opened for her, she took a running leap out into the snow, jumping about the frozen ground with the grace of a golden gazelle. I could never understand how she could have so much energy first thing in the morning.
"Now, I believe you'll be needing this" said Jack, handing me my coat from the stand by the door.
"What on Earth for?" I asked. I was puzzled, but allowed him to help me into it nonetheless.
"Your present, of course" he replied, shrugging on his own coat.
"But-" I glanced over at the Christmas tree, with it's very few but lovingly-wrapped parcels.
"Not all presents can fit under trees I'm afraid. Come on"
Confused, I let him lead me outside, down the front steps into the snow below, where Honey still tore around in ecstatic circles. He led me around the side of the house, to the stable, my wonder and puzzlement only ever growing.
We entered the stable, and I felt the warm, hay-scented air tingle my frozen face. I looked around, and there were the piles of hay and straw as usual, Thunder in his stall, peacefully working on his breakfast. And there next to him, was the second stall, which before had been empty. But to my amazement, it was now occupied by a beautiful horse. A skewbald; it's white body beautifully patched with deep red-brown patches, with a flowing white mane and tail.
"Oh my God..." I breathed in amazement, blinking hard as though the creature before me would disappear any moment. "Is it... mine?"
"Sure is" Jack replied, smiling at me, seeming slightly nervous. "What do you think? Do you like her?"
"Her..." I breathed again, stepping towards the stall. The mare's head turned to face me, curiosity twinkling in her sky-blue eyes. I reached out a hand slowly to her, and she flinched a little, but allowed me to slowly lay my palm on her soft, warm nose. "Jack, she's beautiful... She's amazing"
"Well that's a relief, I wasn't sure how I was going to get her back to Iowa if you didn't" Jack chuckled, and I turned to him curiously.
"Iowa?" I asked.
"Yeah. She used to belong to a friend of Jim Clarkson's. He owns a farm somewhere over there. I mentioned that I was hoping to get you a horse of your own, since you can ride so well now, and Jim mentioned he had a friend who was selling several. He had a letter with a few details about them sent over, colours and experience and stuff, so I chose her based on that and Jim arranged for the guy to bring her over a few days ago. She's been hiding over on his farm since yesterday"
"Yesterday?"
"Yeah. I guess now would be a good time to confess that I didn't actually have to go to work at all yesterday... I told you it was half day so I'd have an excuse to be away from you, and Sarah came up with the idea of hiding you away at her place while I brought the horse over"
So Sarah had been in on this as well! I felt happiness swell inside me the more I thought about the trouble Jack had gone to to bring me this amazing present. I stroked my hand along the side of her neck, the softness of her beautiful patchwork coat tingling my fingertips.
"She's so beautiful..."I breathed again, still not quite believing that she was truly mine. "I can't think of what else to say, she's just perfect"
"Any thoughts on a name for her?"
I wondered. She needed a name befitting her beauty, her uniqueness, her majesty...
"Rialta" I said after a minute's considering. The name rolled over my tongue, the sound of its letters matching perfectly with the sight of the horse before me.
"Interesting" said Jack. "Can't say I've heard that name before"
"It has a pretty historic name" I explained, combing my fingers through Rialta's mane. "It was an alias used by a woman involved in a plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I, and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. The plot failed, but reading the story, I thought how brave that woman must have been, and the name had been in my mind ever since. I think it's beautiful"
"It certainly is" Jack agreed. "I'm only sorry you had to meet her when you have to wait a while to ride her"
With the size of my ever-growing stomach and my numerous aches and pains, I hadn't been able to ride for almost a month already. It did ache knowing that I would have to wait a little longer before I could ride Rialta for the first time, but at least it would give us time to get to know each other better first.
"Thank you so much, Jack" I leaned into him for a hug, leaning up to place a kiss on his cheek. "She's the best present I've ever had"
"If she makes you happy, that makes me happy" Jack replied, capturing my lips in a sweet, loving kiss.
Our kiss deepened, fuelled by our passionate love for one another. The stable around us disappeared, the whistle of the winter wind through the door fell on deaf ears, the gentle breaths of the horses went unnoticed. The longer the kiss lasted, the more of him I wanted. I moaned in longing. It had been so long.
"Not much longer" Jack whispered in my ear as he placed a soft kiss onto my neck.
Not much longer. Not much longer before our baby would be born, and we would be a proper family at last. This would be our only Christmas alone together. This time next year we would be sharing it with our child. But that was another time to come, a future to look forward to. For now, we were as happy as we could be.
In the interests of historical accuracy, I did think about adding in a section regarding the US inquiry into the sinking of the Titanic. Unfortunately the inquiry findings were published on 28th May 1912, much sooner than I'd expected and the story had already gone past that point by then."Well that ship has sailed" I said to myself and proceeded to laugh for about three hours.