“I fear so.” Abbie put on her coat and looked around. “Does anyone have a hat or an umbrella?”
“I have a hat,” said Maude as she ran off.
“You cannot go out in this. You will catch your death,” said Mrs. Beaton.
“I will be fine but Julia has more than her own health and well-being to worry about, and she needs to start doing that.”
When Maude brought the hat, Abbie put it on and strode out to go find Julia. She trudged through the rain, cursing as her feet got soaking wet, and prayed she was right. The moment she walked toward Robert’s grave she saw her. The foolish woman was draped over his grave soaking herself in the muddy water that covered it. Abbie told herself to have patience but suspected it was going to be a hard thing to grasp.
“Julia!” she cried as she ran up to the woman. “What are you doing?”
“I came to see Robert. To tell him the baby is coming.”
“I can see that but it is raining and you are now covered in mud.”
“I just needed to be with Robert for a moment.”
“Then do it on a sunny, warm day. Julia,” she said in a softer tone as she pulled the woman to her feet, “you carry his child. If you were not lying . . .”
“I just wanted them to go away so I could come here.”
“If you keep doing foolish things like this, you will not only hurt yourself, you will harm the baby.”
“I will?” Julia asked in a dazed voice.
“Yes, most assuredly. Now come with me and we will get you inside, dried off, and warm again.”
Abbie fought to control her temper as she walked the woman back to the house. To her relief, all the other women took over Julia’s care and not one mentioned the absence of the labor Julia had claimed to be suffering. Taking off her coat and Maude’s hat and hanging them in the kitchen to dry, Abbie went and sat down in the front room and closed her eyes.
“Are you ill?” asked Mrs. Beaton from across the room.
“No, I am tired. I understand her sorrow but she was out there in this weather lying in the mud on Robert’s grave. I just need some time to make sure I have my temper under control as angry words will do no good right now.”
Mrs. Beaton sat down in the chair opposite her and said, “I do not think the girl would even notice. She does not appear to be in her right mind at the moment.”
“No, I do wonder at times if Robert’s death and the pregnancy have been enough to break her, in her mind. No sensible, rational person who is with child would go out in this with nothing extra on and hurl themselves on top of a muddy grave, especially one who thought she was in labor.”
“I think not.”
Abbie took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. “I am calmer now so I will go and tend to her.”
“You need sleep, Abigail.”
“I know. This cannot go on for much longer. If nothing else she will soon have a child to care for and perhaps that will pull her out of this nonsense. And my temper is still lurking or I would not call it nonsense. It is a deep grief. I will wrestle it down though and try to get her to see clearly.”
“I hope you are successful.”
So did Abigail if only so she could sleep through the night. Julia also needed to sleep. She was looking very worn down and Abbie worried about the child she carried.
When she stepped into her room Julia was already tucked up in bed and almost asleep. Maude sat with her so Abbie took the time to wipe herself dry, dress for bed, and crawl under the covers. It was rude but she just wanted someone else to watch over Julia for a little while.
“Sleep, Abbie,” Maude said. “I’ll keep a watch on her for a while.”
“Thank you, Maude,” Abbie muttered even as she fell asleep.
* * *
When Abbie next opened her eyes, she was startled to find the sun shining through her window. She sat up and looked over at Julia’s bed only to find it empty. Hopping out of bed, she cleaned up, dressed, and then hurried down the stairs. In the big front room she found all the women and Julia talking merrily and just stared. It was as if the rain had washed Julia’s madness away, but Abbie did not fully trust that. She was just having a moment of calm.
