BUNDLE OF JOY? - PART 1 - BY: BECKY ANNE
Chapter 3
Archie looked at Katrina and asked, "Well, do we get to meet Emma?" Katrina's mind began racing again, would he notice the resemblance? The age? Would he see his own eyes in Emma? Katrina had seen the baby pictures around Glenbogle household and knew that Emma looked exactly like Archie as a baby, would Archie notice this? "Katrina?" "Yes, of course, let me go get her and bring her out here, it's almost time for her feeding" Katrina left the room once more, Lizzie followed her… "Katrina what aren't you telling me? Lizzie asked, looking very concerned, "just happened? I didn't believe that story this afternoon and I certainly don't believe it tonight, You are much more careful than that, you remember what you told me when I told you about Martha, Katrina who is the father, come on….you can tell me….
Katrina looked at Emma sleeping in her crib. The child sighed, opened her eyes and looked at her. "Oh my! Lizzie gasped, " she is a little big for four months, I have a daughter, I should know. No baby is this big at four months, even if she weighed more than average at birth…Lizzie was rambling on and on, "Katrina who is her father, and don't give me that story about meeting someone in London….This baby looks at least six months, you never could have met a man and had a baby by him in that time. I know you too well to believe that story."
Katrina went ghost white. She knew she was on the spot now. She began her story. "When I left Glenbogle and came out here…" Katrina thought for a moment, she could not lie to her best friend. "No Lizzie I'll tell you the truth, she's your niece" Lizzie looked at her. " She's Archie's daughter. Please don't tell him…I have to be the one to do it, but in my own time. He is just married, I can't do this to him. Lizzie had so many questions.
Katrina explained. " I didn't even know I was pregnant before I left. I never intended to leave Glenbogle, but when I got the job offer, Archie wanted me to take it. We talked it over and knew that a long distance relationship would work for neither of us. I found out I was pregnant about 2 months after I took the job in London. I was going to tell Archie, but….I just didn't know how to tell him, and then I heard of the Glenbogle Ball from Golly. Golly told me of Archie's proposal to Lexie. I did go back to Glenbogle when the teaching position opened up, I thought I'd tell Archie about Emma then, but Archie made it clear he was in love with Lexie, and that it was not going to change. I know that keeping Emma a secret was wrong, but I later heard of your father's death and Lexie and Archie's marriage. It was too late. "So you had Emma by yourself here in London? You know he would have immediately come if you told him. He has a right to know."
Katrina thought for a moment. "That was the problem, he didn't love me, not enough anyway. I didn't want him to think he had to stay with me or marry me, you know Archie, he would do his duty…Emma doesn't need a father in her life who is just doing his duty to her"
"So you want Emma to find out about Archie the way you found out about your father, one day she will find out that everything you ever told her about her father was a lie?"
They heard Archie call them from the lounge. Katrina picked up Emma and put her into Lizzie arms. "Please don't say a word." Lizzie looked at Katrina flummoxed, "Katrina, he's not stupid, Emma is his splitting image." Lizzie carried Emma out to the lounge, and Katrina followed her.
Archie stared for a moment at Emma, looked at her eyes, her hair, her face…she reminded him of someone, he saw in his head pictures his mother had lined up in her room back at Glenbogle, then it dawned on him. "Katrina?"
To be continued...
