Chapter 75 Difficulties

General Tavington ended up making as much haste as possible in closing down Magnolia Camp after he'd sent his ailing wife home. He traveled equally as quick to Camden and wrapped his meetings up there. The man was glad to be home again and hoped he wouldn't be called away in the next five weeks—until after the baby was born.

It had been a week since William had returned from his army business and Melanie had been in the house resting most of that time, still sick frequently. Today she walked out onto the front veranda wanting a change of scenery. She pulled the quilt tightly about her to guard against the February chill in the Carolina air.

Mrs. Tavington's mind cursed the effects of the weather on her pregnancy. The heat of last fall had been unbearable. And now, she couldn't seem to get warm, even in the mild cold of the Carolina winter.

Melanie eased her body, the abdomen which seemed to have increased even more in less than a week, down into a chair. The girl had to get out of the house as she had become stir crazy. She sighed as she looked over at her husband talking with Mr. Barnes on the lawn. She rolled her eyes in irritation. Good Lord! How many times a day does he have to meet with the servants? They know what their duties are. He could leave them alone to do their jobs, she thought.

During the last week there had been a huge shift in Melanie's hormones. Though she had been sick most of her pregnancy, her moodiness had been well under control. But this last week her moods seemed to spiral out of control, crying one instance and lashing out in anger for no reason at another moment. Everything seemed to irritate her.

William indeed had noticed this and spoke to the midwife about it when the woman was out to check Melanie two days ago. She assured him that it was normal. It helped that William also understood that his wife was sick and exhausted and just wanted to get the childbirth over with.

As a result of Mrs. Tavington's mood swings, Will tried to take on all the dealings with the servants and slaves himself lest his wife shout at them. They understood what was going on with the usually kind plantation mistress and overlooked it.

The general tuned back and noticed his wife on the porch in the cold. He finished up his conversation with the trusted farm hand. "Thank you, Mr. Barnes. I'll have a look at it." With that, he turned and walked toward the house.

"Melanie, it's awfully cold out here," he called. "You should go back inside."

"No, William! I'm so cooped up in there," she said sharply. "Good Lord, you have forbidden me from strolling about the plantation! The least you can do is let me sit out here and get some fresh air!"

The officer was quiet, letting his wife finish her hormonal based tirade. He watched as she took a breath and continued on, raising his eyebrows as he watched her.

"You're being ridiculous about this, William," she shouted. "I'm perfectly fine out here."

Tavington walked up the steps then over to his wife. "Yes darling, I know," he said calmly and patronizingly. "I just worry about you. Please, just a few moments, then go back in."

With that, he turned to leave. When he reached the steps, he heard his wife call after him.

"William!"

He looked back to see Melanie struggling to push her heavily pregnant body up from the chair. The general raced back to help her, taking her elbow and easing her up. His wife then threw her arms about him and began to cry.

"I'm so sorry that I snapped at you!" Her face was buried in his chest.

Will sighed, having been told to expect this. "I understand," he said softly. He lifted her chin to look up at him. "Shhhhh…..this is nothing to shed tears over."

Melanie sniffled, then wiped the tears from her cheeks. She felt William kiss her hair.

"I'll check on you in a few minutes," Will said. With that, he left his wife alone on the porch to get her fresh air.

Mrs. Tavington watched her husband as he strode across the green to the carriage house. William told Mr. Barnes that he would look at the new wheel that had been put on the buckboard.

After a couple of minutes inspecting the wagon, a satisfied General Tavington walked from the coach house back toward the mansion. His leisurely steps broke into a jog when he caught sight of his wife leaning over the veranda railing.

He raced up the front steps to her aid. "Melanie, what's wrong?" he asked with concern.

"I'm going to be sick."

With that, Will supported Mrs. Tavington, helping her down the stairs over to the side of the house. He watched helplessly as Melanie retched and vomited into the grass, thinking that the change in temperature from the warm house to the cold porch probably brought on this bout of nausea.

When she was done, he lovingly wiped her mouth with his handkerchief. She leaned on him again as he led her back toward the steps.

"Come, into the house with you," he said.

Mrs. Tavington did not fight, willingly letting him guide her back inside. Once inside the house, she looked at her husband. To him, she looked deathly white and exhausted, but she had just thrown up.

"I'm going to lie down on the sofa in the small parlor," she said, heading that direction.

Will watched her as she walked slowly across the large gallery that direction. He turned and went into his office to work.

Melanie entered the parlor and neared the couch when a sharp pain tore through her abdomen. Her eyes flew open and her hands went to her belly, holding on to it.

"Oh!" she gasped as yet another hard pain went across her middle, this time bringing tears to her eyes. In another few seconds, a third pain hit her, this one so hard that it took her breath away and knocked her knees out from under her.

Mrs. Tavington, now on the floor, sat trembling for a moment, not sure what was happening. She was flushed with sweat in an instant. She took deep breaths as she made her way to her knees as she sat on the floor, hoping it was just an isolated, fluke pain that would pass.

After another moment, there were no more pains. She felt like she could use the back of the couch to help pull her body up from the floor. But as she looked down her robe had parted, and she noticed a large red stain on her white chemise where it fell between her legs.

"Oh no," she cried, shaking again. She quickly pulled her skirt up to find blood on the insides of both thighs. Then she put both hands under her skirt, putting her fingers up to her womanhood, feeling it slick with warm fluid. Pulling her hands out from beneath her gown, she panicked when she saw her finger tips covered with blood.

"Oh no! Oh God no!" She struggled to her feet and made her way to William's office, crying as she did.

"William! Oh William!" She was holding he hands up in front of her as she sobbed. "Something's wrong with me."

The general saw the blood on her hands and bolted from around his desk. "Melanie! What is it?" He reached his wife's side. The girl was shaky and crying.

"Something's wrong with the baby," she sobbed.

William put his arms around his wife and walked her toward the stairway, his first and only thought to get her to their bedroom. She leaned on him, still crying.

"Mrs. Sloane!" he yelled, still helping his wife.

The housekeeper raced into the living room and was met by the sight of Mrs. Tavington with blood on her hands and the stain of it on her chemise.

"I'll send for the doctor and the midwife," she affirmed as she left the room.

"And send for Mrs. Wilkins, as well," Tavington yelled.

Mrs. Tavington, who was hanging on to William, suddenly passed out, nearly pulling Will down with her. Laying his wife's body on the floor, he called to her. "Melanie? Melanie?"

General Tavington heaved his wife's limp body up into his arms and headed up the stairway. Once in their bedroom, he laid her gently on their bed. Mrs. Sloane soon joined him, informing him that word had been sent to the village doctor and midwife, and Ezra was sent to fetch Mrs. Wilkins. The housekeeper pulled an oilcloth from the bureau drawer and eased it under Mrs. Tavington's abdomen and legs to minimize whatever mess was to come.

She left and went downstairs, ready to answer the door at the first sign of the doctor or midwife. William sat on the bed next to his unconscious wife, holding her hand, waiting for help to arrive.

~/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/~

"Alright," Dr. Manning said. "Let's see if we can get her to come to."

It had been nearly five hours since Mrs. Tavington had taken ill and fainted. A small crowd of concerned people had gathered. The first to arrive, shortly after Melanie had become sick was Mrs. Wilkins, fetched on horseback by the slave Ezra. He'd returned with her a scant thirty minutes later. James Wilkins with baby Jim arrived an hour later by their own carriage.

The doctor, who was nearby at a farm, arrived two hours later, and the midwife, Mrs. Bronner, was the last to arrive three hours later as she was finishing up with a woman in the village.

Melanie was seen to by the doctor and midwife and stabilized. Her bleeding had stopped on its own, but the woman still had not awakened. Her color was a sickly, washed out white.

The small crowd, without baby Jimmy Wilkins who was being seen to by Diedre, had gathered about the Tavington's bedroom. They talked in muffled voices and tried to assure a shaken William, who had known that his wife's pregnancy was precarious.

The doctor took a bottle of Hartshorn from his bag. Uncapping it, he passed it gently under Mrs. Tavington's nostrils, hoping that this attempt would bring her about.

Melanie's face crinkled, and her head nodded from side to side as she smelled the pungent powder. The girl groaned softly, apparent that she was coming to. The group gathered about the bed smiled, relieved that she was conscious again.

The young wife looked about quietly, recognizing that she was in her bedroom. She recalled having pain in her belly and bleeding, as if it was just within the last minute, not having known that she'd passed out. She was unaware of the time, her condition, and what had happened.

Confusion reigned in her head. Recognizing all the faces gathered about her bed, and all with concern etched upon them, she immediately panicked. The girl began to cry, thinking the worst.

"William! Oh no William!," she cried, pulling her arms from beneath the covers and reaching for him.

"I'm here, darling," he answered.

His frightened young wife grabbed onto him, throwing her arms about his neck and crying. "Oh no William! The baby! Did I lose the baby?" she wept hysterically.

Will pulled her close to him and held her as he cried. He looked at the group with a look that conveyed that he wanted a few minutes alone with his wife. "Doctor Manning, if you would please stay," Will requested.

"Certainly," answered the physician.

Melanie continued to cry in hysterics as the crowd left. "Shh…..shh….Melanie," William soothed. "Everything is alright. You are well. The baby is well."

Mrs. Tavington calmed down, relieved to know that she was still carrying her child and that he was well. Still, she clung to Will, not wanting him to let her go.

He spoke softly to her. "You had pains. You were bleeding, then you passed out in my arms."

"I remember the pain, and the blood," her voice said, breaking as she recalled those frightening moments.

"Doctor?" William asked, motioning for the man to join them.

"Mrs. Tavington," he began, "I'm not sure what your pain was or why you bled. Sometimes late in pregnancy, as the baby shifts in the womb, it puts a strain on the placenta which can cause bleeding. I suspect that is what happened. You may have had some very early irregular contractions, which might have been the cause of the pain."

He touched his patient's wrist. "Your bleeding stopped on its own as did the pains. You have approximately four weeks left to carry this child and for it to be fully developed and healthy, it needs to go to term and stay inside you for every one of those weeks."

Doctor Manning took a breath then continued. "If you want to carry this baby to full term then you must stay in bed and rest until after the baby is born. And you must not have any undue worries. Any physical activity or strain could cause you to go prematurely, and this we don't want."

Melanie nodded her head, wanting to do anything for her child to be born healthy. She continued to calm down and listened intently to the physician.

"You have had some undue worry during this pregnancy, and it's caused you pain and illness each time, which continues to weaken your body," he informed. "You are going to need every ounce of strength you have to deliver the child when the time comes."

The physician went on. "I felt your abdomen, and the midwife did as well, and we feel confident that the baby has already turned head down ready to drop lower into your pelvis, and then labor and delivery will come."

With that, the doctor bid farewell leaving Melanie and William alone. She looked up at her husband's concerned face. "I'll do everything he told me, Will," she promised. "I'll stay in bed and rest."

A relieved William gazed down at her. "Good," he answered. "I just want you and the baby to be well…..and safe." With that, he gave her a soft, loving kiss.

"Darling, I want to see Bridget," she requested. "Please send her in."

"Alright, but just for a few minutes," answered Will. "You heard what the doctor said."

Melanie nodded and settled into her pillow, waiting for her friend. William went down the hall to the upstairs sitting room and sent Mrs. Wilkins in.

General Tavington sat quietly as he watched James Wilkins holding his three and a half month son, Jim. He watched as the baby smiled up at his father, who was smiling back. And how the infant was making noises and cooing, and trying to laugh. Will looked on as his neighbor held his son so proudly, and talked to him, and he noted how the child's tiny hand closed into a fist around Major Wilkins' large fingers.

Wilkins laid the baby on a blanket in the middle of the floor. The infant, on his back, began wildly kicking his legs and pumping his little arms. The babe smiled and cooed at this small accomplishment. William laughed, amused at the sight of the "little man" happy just kicking and flailing about.

Tavington seemed not to hear the conversation going on the room about him. His face, which had been filled with a smile of amusement as he watched Wilkins' young son on the floor just a moment ago, now clouded over with dismay. He was worried for Melanie, and the baby within her. He had heard dozens of times of mothers and babies dying during childbirth, which was the time in a woman's life when she was closest to death. William didn't want to lose her so soon after what he felt was just getting her back with so much happiness in their lives now.

William Tavington did love his wife. He longed to hear her repeat those words back to him. The officer knew that she did not love him when they married, which was for convenience, but he still had hope that she would grow to love him one day.

Author's note: Hartshorn was used as smelling salts.