Bittersweet Endeavors (43 page)

“Is that another
letter
from Mister Frederickson,” Lucia asked a
s she entered the sitting room.

Myra glanced at the letter that sat
on
the table at her side.  She placed her needlepoint atop her lap and reached for Zachary’s letter.  “He states he’ll be home
with
in one month’s time.”  Myra sighed.  “I can only hope Seth arrives from England before that time.”

“And the babe as well,” Lucia added.

Myra laughed.  “The child
shal
t
not
wait
a fortnight before he arrives, let alone a month.”  She placed her hand on her stomach.  “He is much too feisty to remain
in
confinement.”

“You are so confident it is a boy
, Myra
.  What if you’re wrong
?
” she teased.

“It shall surprise me greatly,” she smiled.

“Has
Mister
Benitez
yet said anything to you
about the child
?”

Myra shrugged.  “He acts as though I’
ve
been
only getting fat, and I often wonder if he
does so in order to be polite or is just plain
daft.”

“Ah, milady,”
Benitez
said
as he entered the room.
With his hand on his chest he cocked his head to the side and smiled.  “
Tis not a man’s place to approach
a woman
about
such delicate matters.”

Myra blushed.  “I didn’t know you were there.”

“
So
I gather
ed
,
Senora
.”  He sat on the sofa across from Myra and next to Lucia.  He stared at Myra for a few moments before he poured a cup of tea from the tray
that sat
between them.  “Yet since you have br
oached
the subject,” he added,
and left
the
subject
open
for Myra
’s explanation.

Myra looked at Lucia for help, as she was
unsure how to respond
to Mister
Benitez
’s request
.  Lucia
grabbed her handkerchief
, lowered her head,
and
began nervously
rub
bing
at the edge of the sofa.  “I believe I may have spilled some of my tea,” she said absently.

When there was still no response to his question,
Benitez
grinned.  “And what of you, Myra, do you have an invisible stain that you w
ish to tend
in order to avoid my question?”

Myra shifted uncomfortably. 
“With all due respect, Mister
Benitez
, I don’t see how
my condition is any of your
business
.
”

“In normal circumstances I’d agree
completely with you
,
Senora
.  Yet as I am privy to the fact that you haven’t yet bedded your husband, and I’m quite sure h
e isn’t aware of your condition.  Thus,
I
must consider where that shall
leave me upon his return.”

“I fail to see the correlation,” Myra said confused.

Lucia stopped her incessant
cleansing
of the
brown walnut and leather
sofa and her eyes
grew
wide.  Unlike Myra, she understood what he meant.  “Oh my
!
Mister Frederickson
shall mayhap
believe the child is
Rico
’s!”
Lucia absently grabbed his hand a
nd
he
r
mouth went agape.

Benitez
nodded his head to Lucia and smiled.  “
Precisely,
”
he said.  Again, h
e look
ed
at Myra.  “A
s you can see, tis a problem that is
unfortunately
my business, as I am most definitely assured that I played no part in your present condition.”

“I didn’t even consider that possibility,” Myra said, apologetically
,
and she raised
her hand to
her mouth and covered her
surprise
.  “You’ve shown
us much kindness during your time
here, Mister
Benitez
, and I assure you, Mister Frederickson will not be left with any misunderstanding
as to the paternity of this child
.  I’ll clearly relay to him that you are not responsible.”

“And what if he
offer
s no time for explanatio
ns and decides to call me out?”

“Then by all means,
Mister Benitez,
shoot him.”

Benitez
laughed.

Lucia and Myra then joined him
in his laughter
.  That was, until Myra folded over, grabbed her belly, and screeched out in pain.

“Myra,” Lucia called out, and ran to h
er side.  “Is the child coming?

“Something’s wrong,” Myra cried out. 
They
looked downward and a massive spill of blood seeped
through Myra’s
lavender day
dress.

Benitez
rose and took her by the arm and helped her to stand, but Myra was unable and collapsed into his arms. 
He scooped Myra up into his arms and
called to Lucia, “Fetch the physician!”

Lucia ran out the door and Benitez
carried Myra upstairs to her room. 
With no care for
her
modesty,
Benitez
helped her remove her soiled clothing, cleaned her up, and
replaced her garment with
a clean shift.  Myra was well aware
that
her situation was dire and gave no care to th
e impropriety of the situation.

After Myra screamed out again,
Benitez
grabbed her hand.  “The
baby
shall not wait for the physician, Myra.”  He looked her into the eyes, and Myra was thankful for his strength.  He was calm, patient, and offered more courage than she thought possible
for
any man
who was forced into
the delicate matters of birthing
.  “We’re going to ha
ve to go at this task ourselves,
”
he said.

“Have you ever done this?
  Birthed a baby?
”
  H
er voice
indicated her fear, and came so weakly that she thought she may
lose consciousness.

“Ah,
Senora
, we shall manage just fine.
  Tis your luck that my m
other
was a midwife
and spoke often of her techniques
.
”  
He propped her legs into birthing position, and sopped up the blood flow that continuously poured.   “We must do this now,
Myra,
” he said softly.  “E
lse
you
and the child
may not survive otherwise.”

Myra nodded her head.

Once he ordered her to push, she complied, and after
she attempted a few hard
er
pushes, she screamed
in
agony
and
a child’s cry resounded within the room.  Myra
felt as though all the life had drained from her, but she managed a smile at
the child
who
he held within his hands
, which she immediately noted h
eld
a strong
resemblance to Seth with thick blond tufts of
hair and blue eyes.

Benitez
p
laced him on her bosom.  “Tis a son,” he
announced
.

“I shall
give him
my father
’s name
, Jonathon Isom,” Myra said, proudly. 
She looked
down at all the
blankets that the
b
lood had
soiled, as well as
the blood that stained
Benitez
’s
shirt and arms
.  She felt the blood
still flow
from her,
too, and
she began to
feel
faint
.  “I’m going to die, aren’t I,
Rico
?”  No sooner
had the words left her lips,
Myra
fell into un
consciousness.

*                    *                    *

The smoke consumed
her
.

Myra roused awake
by
the
smoke
and
flames
that
assailed her senses.  “Lucia,” Myra called
,
and
she
wildly
pushed away the many
layers of
blankets
that were atop
her
.
Yet when she tried to stand
,
a bout of dizziness nearly befell.  Although addled by sickness
, she remembered.  “Jonathon!”

Benitez
kicked the door open with his boot
ed foot
and
barged into
the room. 
The baby was safely tucked away
in the crook of his arm
inside
his waistcoat, and
the child
wildly cried out h
is objection.

“Tis
the Cavaliers,”
he added. 
“Zachary’s men
arrived from the docks
and
T
he
K
ing’s men have
come to make
their
arrests.  The fools
have
set the house aflame in order to draw them out!”

“
Lucia?  Where is Lucia
?
” Myra cried
out.  S
he
stumbled as she
reached for her cloak
, but managed to put it on over
her chemise.

“She’s safe.  She was able to get out from below.”
He looked at her
thoughtfully
.  “We
are
not
as
fortunate.  The staircase has
crumbled
and
we
shall need to find another direction
.”

“The hidden passage!”
she proclaimed, and
pointed near the hearth.  “Tis in there
, and it
leads to several areas of the house.”  She
staggered
to the door, and struggled to stay upright on her feet.  “One passage
leads to th
e rear of the house and through the servants’ quarters where there is an exit
.  I
f not yet breached by fire
, we mayhap escape that route
.”

“Can you make
the distance in your condition
,” he asked, as he held her by the arm for support.
  “You’ve been unconscious a sennight
and still weak
.”

“Do I have a choice?” she smiled wryly, a
nd
she entered the small doorway
and into the dark corridor
.

To their relief, the passageway was free from
fire and
smoke
,
and nothing impeded their path to the servants’ quarters, which hadn’t yet been exposed by fire.  When they reached the outside,
Benitez
handed Myra the baby, who coughed and sputtered by the smoke that
wafted
throughout the air.

“
Tis cold and w
e must find shelter for you
and Jonathon
,” he said.

“Who goes there,” a man called, and charged toward them
from the other end of the
garden
.

Rodrigues lowered his head, as if not to be seen. 
“This shall not bode well for me,” he
whispered.
“
Tis
I who
they have come for
,
as well
as the others
.”