Chapter Fifteen
WAN DAYLIGHT PEEKEDfrom behind the curtains Eleanor had recently made and hung. With Felicity occupied making her baby’s clothing, and her new dresses complete, she’d turned her attention to the linens needed around the house. The curtains had come first.
She pulled them back to let the light in. The January sun was weak, but it still brought joy to her heart. Merrick had taken to ducking out for work without breakfast since before Christmas, and it was rare she was up early enough to see him before he left the house.
Eleanor bit her lip as she looked out the window at the blacksmith’s shop. If she were being honest with herself, she’d note that he’d made himself even more scarce over the past few weeks. He was pleasant enough, but ever since that day by the creek—the day just before Clara’s baby girl had been born—he’d seemed distant. He didn’t try to take her hand, and each night when he laid down in the bed, she was certain he barely clung to the edge. It was a wonder he didn’t wake on the floor.
She dressed, paid a freezing visit outside to the privy, and went about her day. She was determined to try a recipe she’d received from Rebecca when she and Merrick had visited on Christmas Day. Rebecca and the children had settled into their new home, and although Eleanor had scarcely had a moment alone with her sister, it was clear Rebecca was still hesitantabout her new husband. Mr. Whiteside was congenial enough, but he seemed wary around the children. It was almost as if he were afraid of them.
Eleanor thought about paying her sister another visit. Perhaps she could talk to Merrick about driving her out there one Sunday afternoon. It wasn’t too far away, but much too far to walk. She cut sweet potatoes and mixed a sweet filling, hoping she could do half as good a job with the dish as Rebecca had.
Maybe it would be enough to break through the wall it felt like Merrick had constructed between them.
She’d waited so patiently for him to try to kiss her again, but the hope had been in vain. If she could go back and react differently, she would. A few times, she thought she might try to explain herself to him. Except, she didn’t knowwhyexactly she’d reacted the way she did. David’s face had come to mind, but she didn’t know why. He was gone. She’d accepted that a long time ago and had moved forward. She was married to Merrick now. It made sense that he’d wanted to kiss her, and she’d been so happy that it finally seemed like it would happen.
Until she’d stopped for a reason she didn’t even know.
But if he gave her another chance, it would be so very different. She yearned for that opportunity.
Eleanor had just set aside the mixture when something fluttered in her belly. It couldn’t be . . . could it? She laid a hand against her stomach and ruled out illness. She felt perfectly fine, although she was hungry all the time now.
Just as she thought she’d imagined the feeling, it came again. This time, she gasped and began to laugh. It was the baby!
It felt just as Clara and her sister had described, like a rolling wave or a trapped butterfly. She had to share this moment with someone. Giddy with joy, she ran out the front door. Her shoes crunched through the snow as she made her way toward the front of Merrick’s shop.
He was alone inside when she slid through the open door, hammering away at a hunk of metal that he would transform into something useful.
“Merrick!” she shouted over the sound of the hammer.
He stopped immediately. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing!” She grinned and crossed the room. “The most incredible thing has just happened! I felt the baby move.” As she spoke, the feeling came again, making her laugh. “It’s the strangest feeling! Here. See if you can feel it.” She grabbed his hand and placed it right where she’d felt the movement.
Merrick’s face was red from the heat as he stood perfectly still. They were quiet a few moments as the fire in the forge crackled and burned. Then the flutter came again.
“There! Did you feel it?” She looked at him expectantly.
He shook his head as he pulled his hand away. “I didn’t feel anything.”
“Oh.” She stood there, the heat pressing against her, and wishing that he had. Maybe it would have changed things between them, put everything back to where it was before. “Perhaps the baby needs to grow some more before you can feel it move.” She forced hope into the words.
He frowned at her. “Did you run outside without a coat?”
Eleanor glanced down at herself. “I suppose I did. I was so excited to tell you that I forgot.”
A hint of a smile vanished as fast as it came to his face. It was as if he weren’t excited at all about what had just happened.
