* * *
Abbie opened her eyes and wondered what had woken her. Sitting up abruptly she looked toward the open door of the bedroom, and realized the bell she had tied to the door must have chimed. A curse escaped her as she got up and started dressing. She glanced at the crib and her heart sank. The foolish woman had taken her child with her.
As quietly as she could, yet keep up a decent speed, Abbie left the house. She went straight to the graveyard behind the house. It did not surprise her to find Julia sitting by Robert’s grave, talking to him, but it did anger her that she had the child out in the cool damp of the evening. Walking over to the woman, Abbie took the baby from her and wrapped it more tightly in its blanket before holding it close.
“I was just showing him our son,” Julia said and reached for the child, only to have Abbie step out of her reach. “A father needs to know his babe.”
“Julia, there is nothing wrong with you coming to speak to him although it might have been better for you to dress warmly first. But to bring a newborn, a small newborn, out into the damp of night was foolish.”
Jumping up, Julia stared down at the child in Abbie’s arms. “Is he too small? Is there something wrong with him?”
“He is small. I think he may have been a little early. But I have found nothing wrong with him. Let’s go back into the warm house.” She did not even wait to see if Julia followed but began to make her way back to the house.
Julia stood by Robert’s grave for a minute, said farewell, and quickly followed. By the time they got inside and up to the bedroom, she started to complain. Abbie ignored her until she had the baby settled back in the crib then turned to Julia.
“Get in bed, Julia,” Abbie said.
“I don’t understand why you are being so unkind,” Julia said as she crawled into bed. “I just wanted Robert to see his son.”
“Neither you nor the child should be seeing anyone in the dark and cold.”
“It was not that cold.”
“Cold enough to give a small baby a chill and a mother who wasn’t dressed warmly as well. You and the baby must stay warm and get a lot of rest for now.”
“I feel fine.”
“Good. Let’s hope it stays that way.”
Abbie walked back to her bed and snuggled down into the covers. It had definitely been chilly out there and she could not believe Julia had not noticed. She was going to have to keep a very close watch on both of them now.
Chapter Eleven
“Abigail, you have company.”
Abigail slowly opened her eyes and looked at Mrs. Beaton. “Who?” she asked as she struggled to sit up.
“The lieutenant of course. He is waiting in the parlor.”
“All right. I will be down in a few minutes.”
“You are not sick now, are you? Although, come to think of it, Julia never was sick, was she?”
“Not at all. I’m not, either. I was just having a good, deep sleep. Need to freshen up a bit.”
“I will tell him it will be a few moments then.”
Abigail staggered over to the washstand and splashed the cool water on her face. It took a few doses of that to make her feel more awake. Drying her face, she then cleaned her teeth. What she really needed was a good night’s sleep.
After a quick brushing of her hair, she tied it back with a ribbon and smoothed down her skirts then began to make her way down the stairs. She walked into the parlor and saw Betsy sitting in the far corner of the room with her children. Mrs. Beaton was getting sneaky about chaperones, she decided, then smiled at Matthew.
“They were in here when Mrs. Beaton sent me in,” he said quietly as he bent to gently kiss her cheek.
“Chaperones. The woman is very good at sneaking one or more in. Very devious.”
He laughed softly. “Shall we go for a stroll then, Abbie?”
“That would be very pleasant, Lieutenant MacEnroy. I will just get my coat.”
