Eliza Doolittle: The Life and Times of a Good Girl

Chapter Nineteen: Jane is Confused

Jane kissed her friend's pale, clammy face with a delighted giggle. "How delightful, Eliza!" When she pulled away to observe Eliza's expression, it shocked Jane to note that Eliza did not seem as pleased as she should be. Her eyes were fixed to the wall in a dull, expressionless stare, her mouth unsmiling. It positively baffled Jane that one wouldn't be dancing for joy after such wonderful news. "Eliza?"

"Yes?"

"It is delightful, isn't it?"

"Oh, yes."

Jane looked up at the doctor. "My husband will take care of the bill, he is downstairs in his study. Thank you, Dr. Burke." She turned back to Eliza. "Dearest, you look so upset about it all."

She saw Eliza bite down on her lip before replying, "It is just the strain of the day. If I could have just a few moments alone to process it all, I would be most appreciative."

Jane nodded, and closed the door behind her. She walked a few steps before she heard a wrenching sob come from the guest room. Part of Jane wanted to run back in and comfort Eliza from whatever was troubling her, but she decided it would be best to respect the younger girl's wish to be alone.

All in all, Jane was feeling confused about the whole business. Eliza coming back from her honeymoon without Henry, Eliza being with child but not weeping for joy at the prospect… What on earth was going on?

Babies had always been Jane's greatest joy in life. Up until she had married Edward, she had been told constantly that due to her frail stature, children would most likely be out of the question. Jane, sweet-natured, and lover of all things small and helpless, had been devastated by the fact. Once she and Edward were of courting age, Jane delicately filled him in on her family's misgivings. He had shrugged it off with a winning grin, and kissed her soundly. Edward would have her anyway, and they would see about the children thing. He had been right, of course. Every time Jane held an infant after a long, uncomfortable and potentially life-threatening pregnancy, she felt her heart soar with hard-won triumph.

Edward met Jane on her way down the stairs with a worried expression on his face. "Dr. Burke wouldn't tell me a thing, of course. He told me you stayed in the room with her; What is the matter with Eliza?"

"I cannot tell you, it is for her to say," Jane replied.

Edward took her hand, beseechingly. "Come now, Jane, this is serious."

Jane scowled at him. "Mind your own damned business!" With that, she brushed past him and headed for the nursery. "That's for earlier," she muttered under her breath.

Eliza did not emerge from the guest room until much later, when the rest of the family was settling down for dinner. Jane had invited Colonel Pickering and her mother-in-law over, in hopes that their appearance would lift Eliza's spirits.

"Eliza, wherever is Henry?" Eleanor Higgins inquired, after several minutes of painfully awkward silence.

"Henry decided that he was feeling restless, so he took Anson Webster's offer to tour the European universities as a guest lecturer for the year."

The sounds of utensils clattering against the china from nerveless fingers filled the air. "He didn't!" Cried Eleanor.

"He did."

"What a foolish thing to do, I say! Why didn't he invite you to come along?"

Jane watched uneasily as Eliza blanched. The conversation was clearly veering off into dangerous territory.

"He did not feel it appropriate, and I agreed." Eliza sighed. "I would not like to be away from home so long."

Eleanor seemed pacified by the explanation, but it was not long before another question was laid before Eliza.

"What did Dr. Burke say, if I may be so bold? You are joining us for dinner, so I daresay it is nothing life-threatening, is it?" Edward asked, his eyes glittering with intense curiosity. At the mention of Eliza visiting a doctor, all eyes flew to the girl, seeking answers.

This is the moment. Oh, how wonderful! Jane sincerely hoped that the company's reception of Eliza's news would lift the young woman's spirits.

"I am with child," Eliza replied in a voice no stronger than dry leaves rustling in the wind.

Jane took note of the myriad of reactions at the table. Eleanor was the most ecstatic, flushed pink with the prospect of being a grandmother once more, and embracing Eliza tightly; Edward, who had been acting odd ever since Eliza arrived, looked dazed, as though he could be bowled over by a gentle breeze; Pickering, usually a man Jane regarded as quite jolly, covered his mouth with a hand, as though he were about to be ill, but quickly recovered with a forced grin and a shout of congratulations. Eliza was allowing Eleanor to pet and fuss over her, albeit with the same dead-eyed expression she had been wearing since getting off the train.

"You must send word to Henry at once, Eliza!" Eleanor exclaimed.

Eliza took a deep shuddering breath, and smiled weakly. "No, I see no cause for that."

Jane and the rest of the party, excluding Edward, studied her quizzically, as though she had said the most absurd thing they had ever heard. Jane, for one, could not remember hearing anything so ridiculous in her life, and she had grown up listening to Edward and Henry bicker over some very silly matters.

"Eliza, you are carrying his child," Jane reasoned.

To Jane's astonishment, Eliza shrugged. "I don't believe Henry would fall over himself to come home because of that. When have you ever seen him acting especially fond of children?"

Jane frowned, realizing she could not really think on a particular instance. Her children were fond enough of him, but he had always treated them with the same regard one might someone else's lap dog, or cat. An affectionate pat on the head, with a treat now and then.

"Nonsense. We are not talking about other people's children, Eliza. Henry will naturally want to come home and monitor your health, and see to it that the baby is delivered safely. You must tell him. It is his right as a father to know." Eleanor's soothing, affectionate tone had been replaced by a steely, no-nonsense one. It was a tone that had effectively run a household for well over fifty years.

"Couldn't a mid-wife effectively do the same thing?" Eliza asked, refusing to be bullied into bending to her mother-in-law's will.

"You will write him, or call him, or I will."

It was no surprise to Jane that Eliza shattered under the threat. The party watched helplessly as Eliza dissolved into tears. "I don't know where he is!" The hysterical woman cried.

"What?" Pickering choked.

"The only place he told me he would be at was the Sorbonne. That was weeks ago. I have no itinerary from him, no address to reach him at; He does not want to be contacted!"

A chair screeched against the floor, as Edward stood up from the table and fled the room as though it were on fire. Eleanor and Pickering were too concerned with Eliza's welfare to notice the departure, but Jane did. Strangely, it was Edward's reaction, and not Eliza's heart-wrenching sobs that made Jane feel as though she was sinking into the floor.

"I am going to take Eliza home," Pickering announced as he assisted Eliza out of her chair. "If you would be so kind as to send the servants with her luggage tomorrow." He nodded to Jane.

"Of course, Colonel Pickering, of course."

Eleanor and Jane sat alone at the huge dining table, sharing a look that spoke volumes of the situation at hand