Part VIII
The Darkness and the Light
1.
March 1913
Blue Rivers.
~ Ariadne woke to the sounds of the scullery maid cleaning out the fire place and lighting a small pile of kindling and wood. February had released some of it's icy hold on the house and grounds, and the room wasn't as cold these days. The family had practically been entombed at Blue Rivers for the entire winter. Mr. Cobb even staying for a month after Christmas.
It had been a pleasant winter. She had worked on her stories with Eames while he wrote his article about poverty in the lower classes.
Work on the telephone hub was stalled due to the weather, but things would progress more quickly now that the snow would melt.
She pretended to be asleep as the maid built the fire and silently left them. Arthur remained snoring contently with his large hand draped over her belly. A growing habit of his these days.
He had been so pleased to feel the child inside finally kick for him. His face becoming that of a young man who was discovering something truly interesting and that he might love.
She debated if it was worth it to leave her cozy bed and visit the toilet or try and go back to sleep again when she felt a sharp twinge in her back.
'Not again.' She sighed as she rolled her big body out of bed.
This had been happening for a month now. A midwife had come in because Arthur was terrified she had gone into premature labor.
The grandmotherly woman had told them both that it was only false labor. To wait to call her when the contractions got longer, stronger and occurred more quickly.
Ariadne had stared at the old woman in helpless shock. The false labor had hurt, did she mean to say it would get worse?
Nothing scared Ariadne more then giving birth these days. Her belly was so inescapably large, that she wasn't sure how the baby would be able to come out.
"Not to worry, if we have to cut you, it won't me much." The midwife had assured her.
Ariadne winced as another pain hit her on the way to the bathroom. She decided to take a bath. It had helped with some of the pain before and would stop the false labor again.
She was shedding her night dress when a new kind of pain tore through her. She had to almost double over from it. Her breathing stopping as it was so intense, she had forgotten to even breath.
She took great, thankful, gulps of air and the pain eased off.
It was when she took her undergarments off, that she noticed the blood.
~ "Arthur!" Ariadne voice was panicked as shook him out of sleep. He had been sleeping so well. Their bed was so comfortable and he had been deeply in dreams.
"Arthur, it's time. I need the midwife." She was telling him.
"What?" Her husband looked up at her bleary eyed. "Are you sure this time?" He asked.
"Go send the carriage for her." Ariadne said looking scared.
"It might just be that false labor thing again." Arthur told her. He wanted to go back to sleep.
Her eyes were big as she shook her head.
"No, it's not. Arthur, please send the driver to go and get her." She begged.
He grumbled as he stepped into his pants and shoes.
Her face suddenly wincing and she clutched her side. Obviously in pain.
"Are you alright?" he asked stupidly.
"Just go and get the midwife!" She barked at him.
~ Arthur had the driver fetch the local midwife from the village. She was an aged woman who delivered all of the babies, including Phillipa. She supposedly had a good record of delivering healthy babies and healthy mothers.
"Naturally, it depends of the health of the mother. Why the former Lady Bradford died during child birth. But you're young and healthy, not a reason at all why you should live through this." The crone like old woman told Ariadne as she examined her.
~ In the library, Arthur and Eames were delegated to wait and nothing more. A task they soon found frustrating.
"It's been over five hours." Eames grumbled.
"That's nothing." Lady Phillipa snapped at him. "Your mother took two days before you arrived."
Eames and Arthur exchanged worried looks.
"I think with Phillipa, it took about 12 hours of labor before we called the surgeon in." Lady Phillipa added.
"Why did you have to call the surgeon?" Arthur asked. He had been nervously pacing around the library and wanted to go up to check on his wife.
"Why, to stop the bleeding of course." Lady Percy told him.
"Maybe we should call the doctor in now. I can send the carriage. A lot of doctors deliver babies in New York." Arthur argued. A dark, creeping fear was slithering towards him as he thought of Ariadne bleeding to death.
"Nonsense." Lady Percy snapped. "Your wife is young and healthy. A woman's body is made to give birth."
"I need to go and check on her." Arthur mumbled as he made to leave the library.
"This is not the time or place for a man's interference." Lady Percy told him standing up. "I'll check on her. I've supervised the birth of every baby born in Blue Rivers, I suppose even your child shouldn't be the exception."
~ Maura was rubbing Ariadne's back as she panted out another contraction.
"You just rest and try and relax, your Ladyship." The midwife said as Maura hummed some kind of folk tune. "You'll need your strength."
"It's been hours, why hasn't the baby come?" Ariadne cried. The pain was so sharp and intense that she was afraid. This was wrong. Something was very wrong. It wasn't supposed to take this long. Already night was creeping back into the sky.
"How is she?" Came a curt, efficient voice.
"Lady Percy." The midwife said with a curtsey.
Ariadne turned to see the formidable older woman standing in the doorway of her room.
"The child is reluctant to come out." The midwife told her politely.
"Have you tried walking her?" Lady Percy asked. As though Ariadne were a troublesome dog or horse.
"I was about to, your ladyship." The midwife said.
"Good, child, that should help the pain and bring the baby faster." Lady Percy said. An unusual gentleness was in her voice.
"Thank you." Ariadne whispered to the woman who she had been maintaining a tentative friendship with the past few months now.
The midwife and Maura helped her to stand up and she felt another contraction come hard and last for a long time.
"That was about seven minutes I think." The midwife said happily.
"I shall walk with her in the hall. You two finish making the necessary preparations." Lady Percy ordered in her crisp clear voice.
~ "So many children born in this house." Lady Percy said as the walked along an empty corridor. The movement was helping the pain a little. Ariadne could feel the contractions were coming closer now.
"How many, do you think?" Ariadne asked as she fought back a wave of nausea.
"Oh, dear, I think I would have to look in the family bible and even then..." The old woman said fondly.
She looked at the younger woman.
"Your husband is worried about you. A new father, what can he do? The next time around, he'll be better." Lady Percy assured her.
"I'm not really concerned about the next time around." Ariadne laughed.
"You will be. As soon as he or she is here, you'll be ready to do this again." Lady Percy said with a rare smile.
"The pain-"
"The pain will be forgotten. Trust me, you'll see that face and you'll forget all the pain." Lady Percy told her.
"You've had a child." Ariadne accused.
Lady Percy stopped her walking. She looked troubled.
"I did, yes." She affirmed.
"I thought... I mean." Ariadne tried to say it delicately. Lady Percy was an old maid. Never married.
"I wasn't married. I was fourteen when it happened." Lady Percy told her gravely.
"How? You were so young." Ariadne said. Her disbelief so strong she ignored her next wave of pain.
"It happened; I can't explain it. I was at a party, a ball. I wasn't careful when I separated from my friends. A thing a lady is never supposed to do. I was... one of the young men at the ball, he had been drinking and..." Lady Percy seemed to steel herself again. "Well, the thing happened. My cousin took me home so no one would find out. I never told my father. He was away on business. When it became clear I was to have a baby, Mr. Abbott, who was only ten back then, and my mother kept me confined until the birth came. So no one would ever know. By then my father returned and he found out. I had the child for less then ten days before he took her away from me. Said I was spoiled and no man would want me now. I didn't care about a husband. I just wanted my daughter."
"What did he do with her?" Ariadne gasped.
"He gave her to a couple in London. My mother agreed I was too young to have a baby. So, here I've been, ever since." Lady Percy told her.
"But haven't you ever wondered what became of her?" Ariadne asked.
"At first, I did. Mrs. Abbott and I even made a trip to London to take her back." Lady Percy told her. "I had this image of her in my mind of how she would be. My own sweet, little girl."
"Did you go to London? Did you see her?" Ariadne asked.
"Yes, she was living with a middle class family. They named her Rose. A better name could not be found. She was beautiful." Lady Percy told her sadly. "I saw her waiting on the front steps of a little house. Waiting for her papa to come home. I knew she was mine when I saw her. She looked sad and lonely. As if she knew she had a part of her missing. But then a man came to the house and she ran to him. She belonged to those people. They were good people."
"Lady Percy, I'm so sorry." Ariadne said softly. What must it have been like, to lose a child, not to death, but to have it stolen.
Lady Percy chuckled.
"It was a long time ago. Rose is an old woman herself now. Probably a grandmother." Lady Percy told her.
Ariadne wanted to ask questions, but a sharp, unforgiving pain ripped through her.
"Maura!" Lady Percy was shouting as hot blood was tickling down Ariadne's legs.
Maura ran to the two woman.
"Take her back to the birthing room. NOW!" Lady Percy Barked. "I'm going to have the driver fetch the surgeon!"