Savage Destiny (The Hearts of Liberty Series, Book 1) (30 page)

"I can tell what you're thinking," she confided with a saucy smile, "but a woman doesn't have to have tremendous breasts to nurse, does she, Doctor?"

"No, Mrs. Wade, she doesn't. Now, the lad's not even a day old and without a mother. If you take him in, it might be only temporary, but then again, it might be for some time."

Charity caressed Christian's cheek. "He's as handsome an orphan as I ever did see. It's high time I weaned Jamey, so I can take good care of him. What do you say, Miss Barclay? I understand it's up to you. I'm real fond of this little house, but if you want me to live at your place, I could do it. Provided that you've room for my children, too, of course."

Charity smiled often, and although small, her home was a model of neatness and order. Her children were clean and handsomely dressed, although their garments were far from new. Alanna could find no reason to refuse to hire Charity, and it was obvious she needed the employment as a wet nurse, yet she hated to leave Christian in another woman's care.

She kept him snuggled in her arms as she described his situation. "Quite naturally, Christian's father and grandparents haven't had time to accept his mother's death. Until they do, and can make decisions concerning his welfare, I'd like to leave him with you. I'll want to come visit him often, perhaps every day. I won't be able to leave him here with you, if that's not acceptable."

"My goodness, Miss Barclay, we'll be happy to have you come visit. I love company as much as I love babies. Besides, babies thrive when they have lots of people fussing over them. You come to see him anytime you want. We'll be here."

Relieved by Charity's enthusiasm, Alanna relied on the doctor to set a fair wage and agreed to bring the first week's payment the following day. She kissed Christian's cheek, placed him in Charity's arms, and left the little house while she still could. Elliott was waiting out front, but Dr. Earle caught Alanna's arm to delay her departure.

"Think about what I said, Miss Alanna. Send the money with Elliott tomorrow. It won't do for you to become too fond of the babe, when likely as not he'll have to be given away."

Sickened by what she prayed was unnecessary advice, Alanna pulled away without replying. "Would you like to meet Mrs. Wade and see the baby before we go?" she asked her cousin.

Elliott shook his head. "I know it's not his fault Melissa's dead, but I can't help blaming him. You were right to get him out of the house. Everyone will feel the way I do."

"How can you talk that way about your own nephew? Do you think Melissa would be proud to hear it?"

Ashamed of himself, Elliott looked away, but he didn't apologize. "I can't help the way I feel."

Alanna hiked up her skirt so she could ride astride, and quickly mounted the dapple gray mare Elliott had brought for her. "I've always thought I could depend on you," she said.

"You can!"

"No, not when you're so quick to forget how much Melissa meant to us."

Elliott urged his bay gelding into place beside Alanna's mare, before he replied in a voice that was choked with tears. "I loved my sister. Everyone did. I don't mean to sound cold, but I need time to grieve for Melissa, before I start worrying about her son."

Alanna gave him all of ten minutes. By then they were far enough, out of town to avoid being interrupted, and she confided in him before she lost her courage. "Hunter wasn't just smitten with Melissa," she began, "and while she stubbornly denied having strong feelings for him, she must have."

"Why are you bringing him up now?"

"When you finally feel up to looking at little Christian, you'll know why. It's not a coincidence that he bears such a striking resemblance to Hunter."

Appalled by her comment, Elliott pulled his bay to an abrupt halt. "My God, Alanna, what are you saying?"

Alanna drew her mare around to face him. His stricken expression made it difficult for her to continue, but she needed his help too badly to soften, or delay, the truth. "Hunter fathered Melissa's child. They were together the night before you all left to join George Washington."

"That can't be!"

"Do you want to ride back to Mrs. Wade's and see for yourself? Dr. Earle recognized Christian as being half-Indian the instant he saw him. What are we going to do, Elliott? I don't want to tell Ian Christian isn't his son, but the first time he sees him, he'll know. He's smart enough to recall Hunter was here in April, and he'll also remember that Melissa refused to see him when he came back with you in August. She snuck out of the house to meet him that night though. I saw them."

Elliott felt sick. "Just what exactly did you see?"

"I didn't spy on them as they were making love, if that's what you're thinking. They talked only a few minutes, and then she returned to the house. The next morning, he left."

Elliott didn't want to believe Alanna's claims, but fearing they were true, he turned his bay off the road, and slid off its back. He stumbled through the dry grass and fell as much as sat down. He rested his head in his hands and began to weep with huge racking sobs. Alanna left her horse to graze beside the bay and hurried to his side, but when she put her arms around his shoulders, he shoved her away.

"Leave me alone. I don't want to hear any more of your evil tales."

Shocked by his insult, Alanna sat back and rested her hands lightly on her thighs. "I'm not telling malicious stories, Elliott, and you know it. I think Hunter fell in love with Melissa, and maybe she loved him, or thought that she did, for a few days at least. He certainly wasn't anything like her other beaus, and maybe that was his appeal. She eloped with Ian just two weeks later, so I doubt that she could have been certain she was carrying Hunter's child.

"Think how frightened she must have been all these months. I suspected something was wrong. I asked her more than once what was bothering her, but she would never admit that she had reason to be upset. It shouldn't have ended like this, Elliott. Melissa shouldn't have died and left us with this awful secret."

Ashamed to have wept in front of her, Elliott dried his tears on his sleeve. "But she did die."

"Yes she did, and you and I are going to have to decide what to do. I don't want to tarnish Melissa's memory in her parents' eyes, or Ian's either, but we can't keep the truth about Christian's father a secret indefinitely."

"The babe was born early, wasn't he? Maybe he'll die."

"Elliott!"

"I'm sorry, I know that's an awful thing to say, but it's better than having everyone learn Melissa was a—" Unable to speak the distasteful word that came to mind, Elliott fell silent.

"A what? A foolish young woman who fell prey to her own romantic dreams? That's all Melissa was. She wasn't wicked. She just fell in love with the wrong man, became frightened, and denied it."

"I thought that she loved Ian. Ian certainly thought so."

"Yes, I'm sure that she did. The last words she spoke were about him."

"What did she say?"

"She wanted me to promise that she would be the one to show the baby to Ian."

"Then she must have known Hunter was the father."

"Yes, it seems likely."

"This is all my fault then. He was more my friend than Byron's. I'm the one who invited him home, and he repaid me by seducing my sister."

"Have you forgotten what delight Melissa took in flirting? I think Hunter might be the one who was seduced."

Elliott couldn't accept her view. "No, I know Hunter far better than you do, Alanna, but it's obvious I didn't know him nearly well enough when I brought him home. I admired his confidence, his courage. He was the only Indian who didn't desert us when the French attacked us at Great Meadows. Most of the men were afraid of him, and with good reason, but I considered him a friend. I wonder if he was laughing at me."

"I think Melissa broke his heart, and no, he was never laughing at you." Alanna rose to her feet and offered her hand. "Now come on, let's get back home. I'm sure we're needed there."

Once standing, Elliott kept hold of Alanna's hand. "Do you suppose we could find a blond baby somewhere, and swap him for Hunter's bastard?"

"I couldn't give Melissa's baby away, not even to save her reputation."

Elliott pondered her comment a moment, and then nodded. "I'll try and think of him as Melissa's child. Maybe that will help. Let's do whatever we can to keep everyone away from Christian, until after the funeral. We can provide Melissa with a peaceful burial, if little else."

"Yes, that's a fine idea. Let's just concentrate on laying her to rest. There will be plenty of time later, when everyone is feeling stronger, to reveal the truth."

Elliott brushed his dear cousin's cheek with a light kiss and, grateful that she was such a sympathetic young woman, he poured out his love for his sister the whole way home.

* * *

Ian had insisted upon having Melissa dressed in her wedding gown for burial, but Byron and Elliott had had to ply the young widower with brandy until he passed out before her body could be placed in a coffin. Even in death she was a rare beauty, and none of her family could bear to watch as the lid was nailed in place, and she was lost to them forever. That a young woman who had been so full of love and laughter had died so suddenly, robbing them of the opportunity to tell her goodbye, had left them all heartbroken and heavily burdened with despair.

The ride to the Bruton Parish Church for the funeral was one of the saddest journeys of Elliott's life, but he kept a close watch on Alanna. The rest of his family was too distraught to recall that she had already buried five of her loved ones, but he did not want Melissa's death to send her back into the fearful silence of her first years with them. Hoping that she would be reassured by his presence, he sat beside her in the carriage and held her hand.

Despite her cousin's worries, Alanna's thoughts were not focused on the past, but on the present, and how best to shield an innocent babe from what was surely to be the worst of scandals. Ian had not even inquired about his son; viewing his pain, Alanna hoped he did not ask to see Christian for several weeks. Perhaps by then he would be strong enough to accept the truth, and she would have found a way to relate it without breaking what was left of his heart.

She squeezed Elliott's hand as they reached the church, and his responding smile warmed her clear through. The day was overcast and cold, with a threat of rain. Melissa deserved better, but none of her friends had deserted her. The church was full, just as it had been for her wedding, only today the hymns were all sad laments rather than joyful tunes, and many people were too overcome by sorrow to sing.

With his father-in-law on one side and Byron on the other, Ian made it through the service without weeping as pitifully as he had at home, but his sagging shoulders and vacant stare made his suffering plain. Surrounded by mourners, his thoughts were filled with memories of his dear wife. He had expected to be with her for a lifetime, never suspecting the years she had been allotted would be so tragically few. He strove to appear courageous to honor her memory, but inside, all he craved was an early death, too.

Rachel fainted at the graveside, and John carried her back to their carriage, leaving Elliott and Alanna to help Byron look after Ian. Even after it began to rain and the other mourners hurried away, Ian refused to leave the cemetery. It wasn't until Byron took his arm in a firm grasp and physically forced him to go, that he was led away.

Once Byron had Ian seated in their carriage, he made what he thought was an excellent suggestion. "I think we ought to visit the wet nurse and see Christian. The poor little tyke hasn't had any visitors except Alanna, and that's not right. We have to make arrangements for his christening, too."

Rachel had recovered from her faint, but just barely, and the mention of her grandson brought back the all too vivid memories of Melissa's death, and she couldn't suppress a shudder. "No, please, Byron, this just isn't the time. Our friends will expect us to be home to receive condolence calls, and we can't disappoint them. The boy will have to wait."

"I'm not suggesting a lengthy visit, but we ought to at least look in on Christian whenever we're in Williamsburg," Byron argued.

"That's enough," John cautioned. "Your mother is right. We're all cold and wet, and this isn't the time to be anywhere but home."

"It ought to be Ian's decision, not yours," Byron chided. "Ian, what do you want to do?"

Ian just shook his head.

"You see," Rachel insisted. "He wants to go home, too. Now let's go. I don't want to lose any more children to pneumonia."

Obviously distressed, Byron sat back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest. When the carriage lurched into motion, he glanced out at the falling rain rather than attempt any further conversation with his companions. Alanna squeezed Elliott's hand, and he nodded. It was time they shared Melissa's secret with Byron, but guests were already arriving by the time they reached home, and there was no opportunity to do so.

Sarah and Robin Frederick were the first to ask to see Melissa's son. "He was born early," Alanna reminded them, "and he| really too small to have visitors as yet."

"Nonsense," Byron contradicted. "Sarah and Robin were Melissa's closest friends, and I'll be happy to take them to see Christian. We can go tomorrow, if the weather clears. Do you want to come with us, Elliott?"