XIII.
The grandfather clock in the dim parlor struck three o'clock in the morning as rain pattered against the windows, William snored in the armchair, and Victor slowly went insane.
I can't take too much more of this, he thought. He was sitting on the sofa, elbows on his knees and wringing his hands, staring off into space with his lips pressed tightly together. It had been hours. What was going on? Nobody had come down to tell him anything, and he hadn't heard a sound from upstairs. What if something awful had happened? What if Victoria was having trouble? Victor buried his head in his hands.
After a moment he lifted his head. An idea had struck him. I really shouldn't, he thought, glancing at the parlor door. Sitting up straighter, he dried his clammy palms on the knees of his trousers. Then again, he thought, nobody's said I shouldn't. And Victoria's my wife. I've a right to know.
He glanced at William, who was sound asleep in the armchair. What he was planning was quite improper, but Victor was at the point where he was past caring. So he nodded to himself and got up, striding toward the parlor door.
When he got to the foot of the stairs he paused, listening. Everything seemed pretty quiet--but then, noise didn't travel all that easily in this house. Victor took a deep breath and made his way up the staircase as quickly and quietly as he could. As he neared the second floor, he thought he could hear some sort of noise coming from Victoria's room. It was faint, though, and he couldn't tell whether it was good or bad.
Soon enough he was right outside Victoria's bedroom door. Victor raised a fist, considering knocking to announce himself, but quickly decided that probably wasn't a good idea. So he just leaned in, putting his ear to the door.
Mrs. Reed's voice was audible, as was the doctor's. Victor couldn't make out the words, however. What worried him was that he didn't hear Victoria's voice at all. For quite a few minutes he simply stood there at the door, feeling like a sneak in his own house.
Then he heard a groan. The sound made him straighten up, keening his ears. The groan was quickly followed by another, and another. The noise culminated in a muffled shriek, then a something almost like a sob.
It was Victoria.
Victor's heart started to race. What was going on in there? He pressed his fist to his mouth, listening to Victoria scream twice more. She even screams quietly, Victor found himself thinking. He shouldn't be up here. He couldn't stand listening to Victoria in so much pain (those muffled screams had sounded agonized), and being unable to do anything to help.
Suddenly the door swung open. Startled, Victor sprang backward. In the doorway stood Mrs. Reed, who looked extraordinarily hurried.
"Mr. Van Dort?" she asked. "What are you doing? All respect, you really shouldn't be here."
"I wanted to...I had to find out..." Victor couldn't seem to finish the sentence. Almost despite himself he glanced over the housekeeper's shoulder into Victoria's room. All he could see was the fireplace and the vanity table, and the very edge of the bed. But he could hear everything just fine. The groans and sobs seemed almost magnified with the door open, and every one cut straight into Victor's heart.
"What's going on in there?" he asked, desperate to help, to do something. "Aren't you helping her? Is she all right? Why don't you do something for her?"
Mrs. Reed's response to his volley of hysterical questions was to take him firmly by the elbows and turn him around before she shut the door. As the door snapped shut, Victor craned his neck a bit, trying to get a glimpse of Victoria. He didn't succeed. Maybe he was lucky he didn't.
"She's doing just fine," Mrs. Reed began. But Victor's eyes widened.
"She doesn't sound 'fine'," he replied, his voice a bit hoarse.
"Really now, trust me, Mrs. Van Dort is in good hands," Mrs. Reed said soothingly as she steered him toward the top of the stairs. "She'll be just fine. And now I really must ask you to get out from under foot." With that, the housekeeper turned to the small chest near the stairs where the spare linens were kept. Reaching in, she drew out several towels. Victor watched her, trying to get his mouth to work.
"You'll...let me know? When something happens?" he finally managed to ask in that same croaky voice. Mrs. Reed nodded, then glanced pointedly down the stairs. Victor looked at her for another moment, then back at Victoria's door. Again the sounds were faint, barely reaching his ears. After a few more seconds, he scratched the back of his neck and looked at the floor before returning the nod. Apparently satisfied, and looking to be in quite a rush, Mrs. Reed practically flew back down the hall to Victoria's room. When she was out of sight, Victor turned and slowly made his way back downstairs.
William had woken up in his absence, and was stretching in the armchair when Victor walked back into the parlor.
"Any news?" William asked through a yawn. Victor shook his head as he sank back onto the sofa.
"Taking a good while, isn't it?" William asked conversationally. Victor just continued to stare at the floor. He didn't think his father's question needed an answer. Undaunted, William continued, "Ah, well. You know, I think that--"
What William thought was to forever remain a mystery. At that moment, one short, almost yelping scream cut through the still of the house. Both William and Victor jumped. There was a silence, and then, just faintly, Victor thought he could hear crying. He'd heard that sort of crying before. It sounded just like...
"Do you hear a baby crying?" Victor asked stupidly. William looked up at the ceiling.
"No," he replied after a moment of listening.
He's mad, Victor thought. I distinctly heard...But as he listened more closely, he realized that the house was still again. Perhaps it had been his imagination. Nevertheless, he jumped up from the sofa and ran out into the entry, leaving William still staring at the parlor ceiling.
Standing again at the foot of the stairs, Victor waited. He stared up into the dimness, listening. He wasn't sure how long he stood there, breathlessly waiting. The clock struck four. After the last chime of the clock, a door upstairs opened. Oh my goodness, Victor thought, watching a shadow pass along the hallway above him.
Victor was halfway up the stairs when the doctor was halfway down. They stood together on the landing, Victor practically bouncing from foot to foot, waiting for news.
"Well?" Victor finally said, glancing up the stairs pointedly. To his horror, Dr. Van Ekel refused to meet his eyes, staring down at the floor instead as he shook his head.
"What is it?" Victor asked, feeling desperate. The look on the doctor's face was not an encouraging one. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw William come out of the parlor to stand at the foot of the stairs, looking up at the pair on the landing.
Just when Victor was on the brink of shaking a response out of him, Dr. Van Ekel shook his head one more time and heaved a sigh. Then he looked Victor in the eye sadly.
"I am so sorry, Mr. Van Dort."
The world seemed to grind to a halt. Victor blinked slowly, and had to remind himself to breathe. It's not what it sounds like, it can't be, it's not, he thought desperately. He had to reach over and grab the railing for support--his knees had declared a mutiny. His chest felt as though there was a gaping hole in it. All he could do was prop himself up on the railing with a shaking hand, staring open-mouthed and wide-eyed at the doctor. It can't be, he thought again. William, down at the foot of the stairs, looked both pitying and concerned when Victor took a moment to glance down at him.
"Victoria," Victor managed shakily. "She's not...Is she..." There was no good way to finish that sentence. No, please...I can't lose her, I just can't, he thought wildly. He swallowed hard, trying to keep a grip on himself.
"Oh, no, Mrs. Van Dort is just fine. Came through swimmingly, I daresay," Dr. Van Ekel replied. He took a handkerchief out of his sleeve and ran it across his forehead. "Knew she would--she might look a tad waifish, but she's nice and sturdy. If you don't mind my saying so."
Victor tilted his head to one side, unsure that he'd heard correctly. It took a few seconds for the doctor's words to register. When they did, a wave of relief turned his knees shaky again. Victoria's all right, he thought, putting a hand over his still rapidly beating heart. But the relief was short-lasted. What was the doctor sorry about, if Victoria was fine? Suddenly it dawned on him. Oh, no...No...
"Then the baby..." Victor trailed off when he saw the doctor's sad, pitying look. That cold feeling around his heart was coming back. Victoria will be crushed, he thought. "The baby..." he tried again. Dr. Van Ekel gave a slow nod, and another sad sigh.
"Is a girl," the doctor said, looking at the floor, shaking his head.
"I beg your pardon?" Victor couldn't believe what he was hearing. He distinctly heard a relieved "phew!" from William.
"A girl," the doctor repeated. "I'm very sorry."
"A girl?" Victor was speechless for a moment. I've got a girl! I've got a daughter! And Victoria's come through fine!
"And she's all right? The baby?" Victor managed to ask. The doctor paused for a moment.
"Oh, yes," he replied. "A perfect, healthy little thing. But you heard what I said, didn't you? She's a girl." Dr. Van Ekel seemed disturbed by the fact that Victor wasn't distraught over not having a son.
"Yes, I heard you," Victor said, waving the doctor off. He turned to look down the stairs at William, grinning madly. "Father, I've got a daughter!"
"So I heard," William said. He gave Victor the thumbs-up. Victor, for his part, wanted to burst out laughing. But somehow he managed to keep himself under control, satisfied with a wide smile.
But the doctor refused to let up. "You'll have to try again if you want to have someone to carry on the family name," he said. "Bad luck."
Turning, Victor narrowed his eyes at Dr. Van Ekel. Then he straightened, pulling his shoulders back. He was not the type of person who regularly looked down his nose at people, but he did so now.
"Just for scaring me," Victor said, going so far as to point a finger, "I'm not paying your fee." With that, Victor turned on his heel and practically raced up the remaining stairs, leaving a dumbfounded Dr. Van Ekel behind him.
