Sara didn't know if it was customary to bring anything once a child had been born. She had very few friends who had given birth who she had visited. She suspected it might be polite to buy something, but she didn't know what. And so she had wandered around the department store, looking at the numerous toys and baby clothes as she went. She finally settled on a stuffed bear, her fingers running over it. It had a neat little bow around its neck and was rather plush. She paid for the item and had it boxed neatly before leaving the store.
She hailed a cab and gave the driver Laszlo's address. Pulling up outside of the house, she paid for her journey and climbed the steps up to Laszlo's house. Ringing the doorbell, she heard the chime from inside before the noise of footsteps approached the door. Pulling it open, Sara waited to see Laszlo before she offered him her congratulations.
"I'm happy for you, Laszlo," Sara said and she saw that he looked exhausted. He was dressed in a white shirt, waistcoat and trousers. He had no tie around his neck, his top buttons undone and his hair looked slightly unkempt. She suspected he hadn't gotten much sleep.
"Thank you, Sara," Laszlo said, the smile still on his face. He hadn't stopped smiling ever since the early hours of that morning. "Please, do come in."
"Thank you," Sara said and Laszlo stepped back, allowing her into the house. He closed the door behind her and Sara held the bag in her fingertips containing her gift. "I do not want to intrude. I only came to offer my congratulations and leave you this."
"You are not intruding," Laszlo promised her. "I have just walked Charlotte to school. Elizabeth is upstairs in bed resting. I'm sure she will want to see you."
"I don't want to get in the way."
"Nonsense," Laszlo said. "She will be more upset if she finds out that you were here and didn't see her. Come on."
Sara didn't argue anymore. She followed Laszlo up the stairs and down the hallway. He pushed the door open and Sara heard him speak in a soft tone.
"Elizabeth, darling, Sara has come to see you."
"Oh, lovely," Elizabeth's voice responded.
Laszlo entered the room first, standing to the side of the door to allow Sara to pass. Looking into the room, she let her eyes fall on Elizabeth who was sat up against the cushions in the bed. A crib was next to her, but there was a small bundle in her arms. She was holding onto it gently and Sara could see the baby was still, wrapped up in a white cover. Elizabeth's hair was tucked behind her ears, wisps of it astray on top of her head. Her cheeks were tinted red and her eyes had bags under them, indicating that she hadn't gotten much sleep either.
"Sara, it's lovely to see you," Elizabeth said.
"I told Laszlo that I would not stay long. I imagine you are tired."
"Just a bit," Elizabeth said, a smile on her face that she forced through the tiredness. "But I have to admit that I am struggling to want to sleep now that this one is here."
"May I?" Sara questioned, motioning her chin towards the bed.
"Of course," Elizabeth said with a nod of her head. "Come and meet her. Besides, you will be her godmother."
Sara's eyes widened at that and Elizabeth wondered if she had ever seen her look shocked before. Elizabeth's smile remained on her face as she glanced to Laszlo and his own lips curled upwards as Sara stood by the side of the bed, peering down at the young Kreizler baby in Elizabeth's arms.
"You want me to be her godmother?"
"Indeed, we do," Laszlo said and went to sit on his side of the bed, a leg folded underneath his body and his good arm straightened out to the side of him, supporting his weight. "We can think of no one better, Sara."
"Well, I would be honoured," Sara sad, her voice earnest. "If that is what you want then it would give me no greater pleasure."
"We're glad to hear it," Elizabeth responded and she bounced their daughter in her arms, seeing her eyes open and look around. She wondered just what it was their daughter saw and what she was feeling.
"She is so small," Sara commented and looked at the girl. She had wide eyes and a large forehead. She had wisps of dark brown hair on her head and her eyes also looked brown. In a sense, Sara suspected that she looked like a little Laszlo.
"Doctor Jacobs believes that she is about five to six weeks premature," Laszlo commented to Sara. "But, she has a healthy set of lungs on her judging by the way she cried when she was born and Doctor Jacobs says that everything looks fine. She is just small for the time being."
"She has your eyes, Laszlo," Sara said.
"That's what I told him too," Elizabeth commented before she squirmed against the pillow she was resting back on. Laszlo noted the movement and he arched a brow. "I'm fine," she told him before he could question what was wrong. "I'm just aching, that's all."
"You will be for some time," Laszlo said.
"Ever the great at offering reassurances, Laszlo," she said back to him and he had to admit that he was pleased to hear her teasing him. He chuckled darkly at her comment before she looked to Sara, not wanting the focus to be on how sore she felt. "Sara, would you like to hold her?"
"I…well…I confess that I'm unsure on how to."
"It's easy," Elizabeth assured her. "Just take a seat on the bed and hold your arms out."
Sara did as instructed, Elizabeth moving their daughter towards Sara. The young detective adjusted the dark black skirt she wore in her black blouse before Elizabeth helped her hold onto the baby. She moved Sara's arms so that she was supporting her head and giving her enough support.
"And…there you go," Elizabeth said, moving her hands away from the baby.
"She seems to like you," Laszlo commented, noticing how she had stopped squirming and had gone still. Sara didn't move. She kept the girl in her arms, almost scared she might hurt her with any sudden movement. Her spine stiffened and she remained sat up straight.
"She's lovely," Sara said. "Have you settled on a name for her yet?"
"We have," Elizabeth said with a nod, leaning back against her pillows, Laszlo's hand going to her arm and squeezing it firmly. "We are going to call her Lucy…Lucy Mary Kreizler."
"Lucy Mary?"
"Yes," Laszlo nodded his head. "We both liked the name Lucy and there was no question about her middle name."
The three of them lapsed into silence, each of them thinking back to Mary. Elizabeth brushed a tear from the corner of her eye, knowing that Mary would have made a great godmother to Lucy. She would have been kind and caring. She would have been so loving and open. She longed for her to be there with them, all of them celebrating together.
"Well, it is a beautiful name," Sara said. "And I bought you a little something."
"You had no need," Elizabeth said as Sara motioned to the bag she had left on the floor by the bed.
"Of course I did," Sara responded. "I imagine it is a godmother's responsibility to shower her goddaughter with love and gifts, is it not?"
"I don't know about that," Elizabeth said, leaning down and picking the bag up. She placed it on the mattress and reached into it. "But this is extremely sweet of you."
Elizabeth pulled out the box and opened it up. She picked out the stuffed bear and held it in her hands, smiling and angling it towards Laszlo so that he could see it. His own lips remained arched and he nodded his head in gratitude.
"That's very kind of you, Sara."
"It's really nice," Elizabeth agreed and she placed the bear into the crib next to her. "She doesn't have anything like that. She only just has a crib and the nursery is nowhere near ready."
"We have things ordered, but we did not expect her to be here so soon," Laszlo admitted and Sara continued rocking in her arms gently. "We are quite behind on schedule."
"But we'll manage," Elizabeth said. "We always do."
"You both do," Sara concurred just as the doorbell rang again.
Laszlo heaved himself to his feet, his lips resting on the top of Elizabeth's head before he moved down the steps and left Sara and Elizabeth to talk to each other. Elizabeth was pleased to have people visit. She was glad that they had friends who cared so much about them, but she had to admit that she was becoming exhausted. She was on the verge of longing to sleep, but that would have to wait for a while longer.
"Congratulations to both of you," John's voice entered the bedroom. "A healthy, baby girl…and my goddaughter…"
Laszlo stood behind John, hands in the pocket of his trousers.
"I asked John to be godfather a week or so ago," Laszlo said, looking to Sara and hoping that things would not be tense between both John and Sara. He knew that they had a history and there were unresolved feelings between the two of them. But that did not mean that it had to come between them being godparents for Lucy. "And Sara has just agreed to be godmother," Laszlo continued, turning to John.
"Excellent," John said, nodding his head. His voice almost seemed tight, but he forced himself to smile.
"Yes, excellent," Sara agreed.
There was a tense few moments of silence before Sara spoke once more, looking to John: "Would you like to hold her? She seems to be quite calm."
"If that is alright?" John asked.
"Of course," Laszlo said and John handed the alienist a bag that he had been holding onto. John stepped forwards and held his arms out, Sara handing him Lucy slowly and delicately, ensuring that his arms were in the same position as hers had been when Elizabeth had directed her.
John remained stood up, swaying gently from side to side and looking down at the baby in his arms. Sara's gaze remained focused on him, seeing just how tender he was with the child. His eyes had softened and he had a hopeless smile on his face. He wanted this. He wanted a family so badly and Sara just didn't know if she could give him that. She didn't know if she had it in her to be the happy family like Laszlo and Elizabeth had at that moment in time.
"I bought you a little something," John said to them and he jutted his chin out towards the bag Laszlo was holding.
Laszlo reached into it, smiling knowingly as he picked something out of it. Elizabeth watched with intrigue as her husband slowly began to hold up a small, stuffed bear. Elizabeth laughed gently as Sara's own lips arched widely on her face.
"What's so funny?" John wondered.
"Nothing at all," Elizabeth said to him, reaching for the bear she had just placed in the crib. She took hold of it and held it up so that John could see it. "Let's just say that both you and Sara have similar taste."
Sara looked to John and shrugged while Laszlo looked to his wife, both of them holding a stuffed bear and sharing a knowing look.
…
Laszlo had left Elizabeth to sleep later that day after he had gone to collect Charlotte from school and Marcus had been to visit her. He had left the two of them to talk before collecting Charlotte from school. She had walked back by his side, telling him about her day and asking him about the baby. As he turned the corner towards the street where they lived, Charlotte finally spoke. Her voice was quiet and there was almost a hesitancy in it.
"Does…Lucy…will you not want me now?"
Laszlo's brow arched at hearing her ask that question. He stopped walking, almost taking off guard. He had thought that Elizabeth had done everything to try and keep Charlotte from thinking such thoughts, but apparently there was still some hesitancy from the little girl. She stopped walking then too, crossing one leg in front of the other, her blue uniform dress crumpling in her hands as she tugged on it. Her hair blew behind her in the breeze and the straw hat on top of her head fell forwards.
"Why would you think that, Charlotte?" Laszlo questioned from her.
She shrugged awkwardly. "It's just that she is your daughter. I'm not."
"But you are part of our family," Laszlo promised her, crouching down so that he was the same height as she was. He moved his hand out to rest on top of her shoulder. "You might not be our daughter biologically, but you are a part of our family and we care for you just as much as we care for Lucy. We always will."
"How do you know that? What if I get in the way?" Charlotte worried.
Laszlo shook his head. "Why would you think that?"
She shifted from one foot to another, her teeth chewing down on her bottom lip as she shook her head slowly. She picked her gaze up and glanced back to Laszlo, meeting his eye. "Bobby Daniels said that you wouldn't want me."
"And who is Bobby Daniels?"
"A boy in my class."
"Well," Laszlo said, knowing just how children could be in some cases. "Bobby Daniels might have said it just to annoy you or get a reaction from you, but it is not true. I can tell you honestly, Charlotte, that you will always have a place with us."
"Do you promise?"
"I promise," Laszlo said, squeezing her shoulder. "And I know it is Elizabeth who you bonded with and are closer to, but I…well…I care very much for you too. I only hope that you feel the same."
Charlotte nodded her head. "I love both of you," she said and Laszlo wondered if she understood the implication of that word. Did she understand the weight that it held? He doubted it, but he didn't bother to push her on it. Instead, he simply let the content feeling he had at hearing her take over him. His lips quirked and he nodded at her, a fond smile staying on his face.
"As we love you," he responded to her because he was convinced that they both did.
He knew that Elizabeth had told her that often enough, but he didn't recall him ever telling her. But he supposed that he did. He had been taken with her and enjoyed spending time with her. In his line of work, he tried not to get too attached. He knew the consequences of such actions sometimes, but this was a unique circumstance. It was unique because Elizabeth had been the one who had been enamoured with the little girl and had taken her in. But then Laszlo had found himself feeling the same way.
"Come along," Laszlo said, moving to stand up straight. "We should return home and see how Elizabeth and Lucy are."
Charlotte nodded in agreement and he felt her reach up and take hold of his hand. Her small fingers were engulfed by his, her arm dangling in the air slightly as she stayed by his side. He looked down onto her and continued moving back towards the house.
Once inside, he helped Charlotte remove her coat, hanging it up for her as she deposited her bag on the floor. Laszlo left his cane by the door and hung his own coat up, placing his hat onto the sideboard and catching his reflection in the mirror. He felt as though he might be able to fall asleep standing up, but he knew it made more sense now to wait for night to see if he could get a good night's sleep. Then again, he doubted that now that they had a baby. He had read up on babies and their development, keeping the books stacked high in his study at the Institute. He read them whenever he got a moment spare, wanting to be prepared and knowing how to take care of a baby.
"Charlotte, why don't you go and see Elizabeth and Lucy? I'll be upstairs in a moment."
She nodded and took off up the steps. Laszlo went into the kitchen, finding it empty. Stevie must have been out after Laszlo had told him that he would not require him to drive the carriage that day. He checked in the kitchen for food, knowing that he would be the one cooking that evening and he wondered what he could make or what Elizabeth might want. He settled on something simple before moving back to the staircase and heading up it towards the bedroom.
Charlotte was leaving the room, her finger pressed to her mouth, urging for Laszlo to be quiet. "She's sleeping," she said to him.
"Ah," Laszlo said.
Marcus must have left. He continued to whisper to Charlotte, his voice gentle: "In that case, why don't you go downstairs and I will be there in a minute. You can take a look at that book you were reading, if you want to?"
Charlotte nodded and walked down the stairs, Laszlo almost chuckling as he noticed her try not to make a noise. He walked into the bedroom and saw that Elizabeth was fast asleep. She was laid on the pillows, the quilt pulled up to her chin. One arm was stuffed under Laszlo's pillow and the other draped by her side. Her lips were parted and her breathing was soft and gentle and slow. Laszlo glanced to Lucy in the crib, moving over to her and bending at the waist. She must have woken up.
She began gurgling and Laszlo managed to use both arms to reach down and pick her up. He cradled her predominately with his good arm, his bad arm underneath and only taking some of her weight.
"Hush now, darling," Laszlo mumbled down to her and began to move from the bedroom. He continued rocking her back and forth, walking down the steps. He took one step at a time, ensuring that he was careful and delicate with the baby in his arms. She continued stirring, her small arms lifting up and reaching for him. He chuckled as he came to the parlour and saw Charlotte sat in the armchair, her book in her hands.
"She was asleep when I went upstairs," Charlotte said, closing her book and laying it down on the table next to her.
"I think she has only just woken up," Laszlo said and he sat down, Lucy's fingers running along his chin and tugging into his beard. He let her explore, almost as though she was trying to grow familiar with his features. "But Elizabeth is fast asleep and I think we should let her sleep for as long as possible…which means I need your help tonight to look after Lucy."
"I can do that."
"Excellent," Laszlo said.
He spent the next hour or so simply sat with Lucy and Charlotte, talking to the little girl who asked him questions about babies and how to look after them. He cooked them dinner and left a plate for Elizabeth in case she woke up, but he doubted she would. They ate while Lucy slept in the crib that he had assembled downstairs and he glanced to the pram that had come earlier in the day in the hallway as he cleared dishes away.
Lucy had gone back to sleep after Charlotte had gone to bed, pecking Laszlo on the cheek before she went as he embraced her warmly. He went to sit back down, picking up his notes on Martha Napp and reading over them, doing his best not to feel too downtrodden. He knew what was coming for the young woman and somehow his sympathy for her had increased tenfold. He wondered exactly what it was she was thinking as she sat in her cell and waited for her execution. But he suspected the worst part was that she didn't know what had happened to her baby.
He placed the notes down and removed his glasses from his nose. Folding the frames together, he left them on top of the papers and stood up as he heard Lucy begin to cry, knowing that she might want to be fed. But he didn't want to wake his wife. Moving to the crib, he bent down and picked her up, holding her to him and walking around the parlour. He hummed a soft tune under his breath, recalling how vibrations could soothe babies when they were crying. Her cheek pressed to his chest as he continued walking around aimlessly.
He couldn't imagine losing his daughter. He couldn't imagine her being snatched from him. He didn't want to think about the pain that would cause. He had no desire to think otherwise and he sympathised with Martha even more as he cradled his daughter and hummed to her.
"Laszlo."
He turned around and saw Elizabeth stood there. She wore her nightgown, her robe covering it. Her hair was a mess around her head and her eyes still showed that she was tired.
"Elizabeth, you should be in bed," Laszlo said to her.
"I am fine," she promised him. "You should have woken me. I didn't know I had been sleeping for so long."
"You are entitled to rest after what you went through last night, my dear," Laszlo pointed out and she nodded. She would agree with him on that point, but the fact was that she didn't want to rest any longer. She didn't want to sleep because she wanted to spend time with Lucy. "But I do believe that someone might be hungry."
"Of course," Elizabeth nodded her head and she went to sit down on the couch. Laszlo perched next to her, letting her pull at the buttons of her nightgown. He handed Lucy to her and she winced as their daughter began feeding.
"Are you alright?" Laszlo asked from her as he saw her face scrunch up.
"It just hurts for a moment or two…and feels weird…and sore…" Elizabeth admitted to him. She sighed and looked him in the eye, suspecting that he was not going anywhere. She knew of husbands who would not dare stay while their wife tended to their child, but Laszlo was not like those men. "It's weird…I barely recognise my own body."
"It's natural for a woman's body to change during pregnancy, Elizabeth. Plus, it takes time for it to recover following the pregnancy."
"I know, but it's pretty great too, isn't it?" she asked from him, her own lips arching and Laszlo couldn't help but smile back to her. "To think that we did this," she said and looked back down to Lucy. Laszlo laughed once and nodded animatedly, looking down at Lucy as she continued feeding.
"Quite miraculous," Laszlo agreed with her.
Elizabeth arched a brow. "I would have thought that you would have been very practical about this…told me how it is simply biology and no miracle."
The smile remained on Laszlo's face, not once disappearing. "Even I have to confess that I am too besotted by her to be practical."
"You looked lost in thought when I came down," Elizabeth agreed with him and Lucy finished her drinking. Laszlo took their daughter back into his arms and allowed his wife to clean up after reaching for a tissue in her robe and buttoning her nightgown once more.
"I was thinking about Martha," Laszlo admitted, sitting back on the couch, Lucy in his lap. Elizabeth reclined next to him, her hand reaching for his and holding onto it, thumb running over the back of his knuckles.
"I admit, I was thinking about her earlier," Elizabeth said to Laszlo. "I cannot begin to imagine the sorrow she must feel, not only at what is going to happen, but that she will never know what happened to her baby. She…how can she die not knowing…it's horrible."
"It is," Laszlo agreed. "And, if anything, it has made me sympathize with her even more."
"I understand," Elizabeth said and he felt her tentatively rest her head onto his shoulder. "I think that once you have children you understand a lot more. I just…is there nothing that can be done for her?"
"The only thing I can think of trying is imploring Roosevelt to offer a stay of execution and grant her an appeal, but I don't know if he will be able to do that or if his powers are that great."
"It has to be worth a try, surely?"
"Indeed," Laszlo agreed and Lucy made a soft gurgling noise as Elizabeth laughed at it, moving her hand from Laszlo's to their daughter's forehead, running a finger along her soft tuft of curls on her head. Laszlo's own smile grew and he dropped his head so that his cheek sat on top of Elizabeth's head. His wife finished stroking Lucy's hair and she dropped her hand back to rest on his arm.
"I feel elation, but I also feel guilt and sorrow at the same time…I just wish that Martha was able to know what happened to her baby."
"I know," Elizabeth promised him. "But you have done everything that you can, Laszlo. You have done everything that you possibly can," she squeezed his arm and he dropped his lips to kiss the top of her head tenderly.
"I don't think know what I would do without you," he said.
She hummed contently against him and nestled further against his shoulder, burrowing against his neck and her eyes closed. "Likewise, Laszlo," she mumbled. "Likewise."
The two of them lapsed into silence then, both simply happy with sitting on the couch in the dark night and spending time with their newborn baby.
…
Pushing the pram through the park, Elizabeth looked down at Lucy as she laid there. She had been forced to stay on bed rest for a full week and she had never been so bored. The doctor had been around along with a midwife to check on her and the baby. As soon as she was able to leave the house, she had insisted on going for a walk. The sun was shining and the temperature was fairly pleasant for once. Laszlo had gone to the Institute that morning, despite it being a weekend. Charlotte was walking with Elizabeth, staying by her side, a hand holding onto the side of the pram.
"Do babies always sleep?" Charlotte wondered.
Elizabeth tipped her hat back slightly, the rim of it casting a shadow around her face. Her hair fell down her back and she was dressed in a navy dress, her bodice not as tight as usual after she had complained about still being sore. The sleeves cut off at her wrists and her hands were bare, her wedding ring glistening in the daylight.
"They do need more sleep than we do," Elizabeth said to Charlotte.
"I just wondered," Charlotte said. "Lucy seems to sleep a lot during the day."
"Because she's still young," Elizabeth said. "It's only as you grow up when you don't need as much sleep as usual."
Charlotte shrugged her shoulders. "I quite like sleeping."
"I've noticed," Elizabeth teased her. The little girl had just turned eleven and already getting her out of bed in the morning to attend school was proving quite difficult. Elizabeth still saw her as a child, but there was no denying that Charlotte would soon change. She would soon become a teenager and a young woman. Elizabeth remembered changing herself, becoming interested in things that had repulsed her as a girl, namely boys. She had no doubt that she was a handful for her parents at times. Would Charlotte be the same? Looking at the girl, she wanted to doubt it.
"Can I go and play with Martha and Jenny?" Charlotte suddenly asked and Elizabeth looked over to the grass in the middle of the park where two other girls were sat, a skipping rope between them. They must have been taking a break.
"Of course," Elizabeth said, wondering if it was just a coincidence the other two girls were in the park. "Just don't wander off, alright? I'll be sat with Lucy over here."
Charlotte rushed off and Elizabeth took a seat on a bench, moving the pram so that it was next to her. She kept a hand on the handle, pushing it back and forth slowly. She noticed Jenny's mother with Martha's mother on the other side of the grass, sitting on a bench and looking over to her, occasionally whispering. She didn't engage with them. Instead, she chose to keep quiet.
"Elizabeth, is that you?"
Looking to the side, Elizabeth's smile widened as she saw Libby stood there. She was dressed in a plain green dress, her red hair hanging in a loose bun at the nape of her neck. She was smiling tentatively, her eyes wide as Elizabeth nodded.
"Libby, it's good to see you," she said to her.
"You too," Libby responded. "I confess, I've been walking through the park for the past week hoping I might see you, but I can see why you've been so preoccupied."
"I guess so," Elizabeth agreed on that point. "This is Lucy Mary Kreizler. She came a few weeks early, but like you said, babies don't wait."
"They rarely keep to time," Libby said, peering into the pram. She cooed over Lucy, moving a finger into the pram and letting the little girl wrap her fingers around one of hers. "She is adorable and I suspect quite a handful."
Elizabeth chuckled. "I knew that it wouldn't be easy, but I had no idea it would be quite so hard sometimes."
"Are you having trouble sleeping?" Libby questioned, her gaze flicking over to Elizabeth for a brief moment before returning to Lucy. Her lips quirked upwards as the baby's eyes settled on her, widening in awe.
"Sometimes," Elizabeth admitted, leaning forwards and looking at her daughter. "I try to sleep whenever she sleeps, but that can be at strange hours of the day. Laszlo said that isn't entirely uncommon though. I…most of my issues are with feeding her. She doesn't seem to want to be fed sometimes and it can be quite painful."
"Feeding is the most difficult part for most new mothers," Libby said as a matter of fact, moving to perch on the bench next to Elizabeth. "It can take time and patience, but she will soon become used to it. As for the soreness, well, you should try warm flannels. They can help ease the pain and help with expressing too."
"I will keep that in mind, thank you," Elizabeth said earnestly. "And how have you been, Libby?"
"Keeping busy," she offered her. "Work at the Lying-In Hospital is constant and Doctor Markoe has been in a foul mood recently. I think it is to do with your husband."
"More than likely," Elizabeth admitted to her. "The two of them haven't entirely seen eye-to-eye on things and then the trial of Martha Napp…well…Laszlo had some choice words about Doctor Markoe and I suspect he was not best pleased to hear them."
"That is putting it mildly," Libby mumbled under her breath.
Elizabeth pondered if she was going to say anything further on the matter, but she kept silent instead. Elizabeth didn't push her either; a part of her thinking that she might push Libby away if she did do that. She didn't want to do that either. She needed to be clever and tactful.
"I heard that Martha lost her case anyway," Libby said, her tone almost flippant. "None of us knew what happened to Martha and her baby."
"Do you think that she did it? Do you think that she is guilty?"
Libby shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," she admitted to Elizabeth. "I don't know who else could have harmed or taken the baby from her. I…well…it's not my place to involve myself in those things."
"I understand," Elizabeth promised her, hearing the edge to her voice. "I just thought that there might be the possibility that someone in the Hospital would know something. If they did and if Martha is innocent as she says she is then it seems unfair for her to…well…be executed."
"If someone does know something then they are senior to me and I cannot run around accusing people of things like that. I need this job. I need to be able to pay rent and live," Libby said, shaking her head back and forth. She let out a deep breath and Elizabeth moved a hand to her arm, holding onto it softly.
"I understand," she repeated again to her and Libby's gaze met hers. Elizabeth forced herself to smile, despite wanting to urge Libby to tell her if she had suspicions. But that would spook her. Then again, they didn't have much time before Martha was executed. "And I know that it can seem scary to go up against powerful people, believe me, I've had my experiences doing that…but…if it is to do the right thing then sometimes it is worth it, especially when an innocent woman's life is at risk."
Libby almost looked ashamed then. She turned her gaze away and Elizabeth moved her hand back to the pram, holding tightly onto it. She focused her gaze back on Lucy and gave Libby time to think on her words. It only took a moment before the nurse sighed, her breath shaking and a nod escaping her.
"I'll see what I can find out," Libby said. "But I make no promises."
"I wouldn't expect you to," Elizabeth said. "But thank you."
"Elizabeth!"
Charlotte's voice snapped Elizabeth's attention over to her. She was waving towards her, urging her to come over to where she was sat with her friends. Elizabeth held a finger up, indicating that she would be just a moment. She turned back to Libby after placating Charlotte and reached out to give her arm one final, encouraging squeeze.
"Thank you," she said again. "I should go and see what Charlotte needs."
"Of course," Libby said to her.
"You know where to find me if you need anything…anything at all," Elizabeth said, recalling how she had given Libby the number for their phone at home. "And be careful…just take care of yourself."
"I'll do my best," Libby forced herself to smile.
She watched Elizabeth stand up, the woman almost losing her hat as she scrambled towards Charlotte. The fake, nice smile left Libby's face as she sat back on the bench and watched the new mother move towards her adopted child. She folded one leg over the other and folded her arms over her chest. Elizabeth knelt down by Charlotte's side, not once letting go of the pram that Lucy Mary lay in. Libby's lips rose once again, but this time the corners of her lips turned up menacingly, her eyes glimmering with glee. This could all be too easy if she wanted it to be.
...
A/N: Thanks so much to everyone reading. So glad that you're still enjoying the story! Would love to know what you think and anything you want to see happen!