Silver Lining (38 page)

"I hope the doctor gets here soon."

"I do, too." She wanted Philadelphia to live. She had promised Max.

An endless hour elapsed before the downstairs door finally banged open and Max, Wally, and Dr. Pope ran up the staircase. The doctor strode in the room, but Max and Wally halted at the door and their eyes widened before they turned away.

"Oh Jesus."

"God!"

"Damn it, get out of here," Louise said, pushing them into the corridor. "Go downstairs," she ordered before she shut the door on them. "We'll tell you the minute we know anything."

Dr. Pope set down his bag, threw off his coat, and rolled up his shirtsleeves. "I'm told she's full term. She fell down the staircase and that's when the bleeding began. Is there anything else I need to know?" After Livvy described what had happened throughout the last seven hours, he nodded briskly.

"I want to die," Philadelphia whispered. She blinked dazed eyes at the ceiling.

"We're going to try to prevent that," Dr. Pope said, bending to open his bag. "You ladies might want to step outside for a minute or two. I think our little mother would appreciate some privacy during the examination."

"Oh. Of course." Taking Louise's arm, Livvy headed for the door. She sagged against the corridor wall.

"I am so thankful that he's here. Whatever you said to make this happen, I bless you for it."

After a few minutes, Louise frowned. "What's taking so long? Did he forget we're waiting out here?"

"I didn't forget," Dr. Pope said, stepping into the corridor and pulling the door shut behind him.

"How is she? Will she be all right?" Livvy inquired anxiously.

"I'd say so. She'll need complete bed rest and a lot of care, but she's young and healthy. I expect her to recover."

"And the baby?" Louise asked.

"We'll know in a few minutes, but my informed guess is the baby will not survive. You said this was a full-term baby, but it isn't. She's only seven months along. Being eight, maybe nine weeks premature, plus the fall …"He shook his head.

"That's impossible," Livvy stated flatly. "This isn't a premature baby. It can't be."

"Mrs. McCord, I've been delivering babies for thirty-five years. I know how far along a woman is, and I know the difference between a delivery and a miscarriage. This is a miscarriage." He spoke with the full authority of his title and experience. "Whichever one of you is going to assist, we'll begin now." He pushed open the door and walked back into the bedroom.

"Seven months," Livvy whispered. "No wonder she didn't want a doctor." Her eyes rounded, then narrowed. "You and I didn't understand what we were seeing. We dismissed a miscarriage because it wasn't possible." Hot color rose in Livvy's cheeks, and her shoulders stiffened. "She damned near got away with this. It wouldn't surprise me if falling down the stairs was no accident."

"Livvy, what are you saying?"

"Think about what a seven-month baby means." Striding forward, she entered the bedroom and closed the door with an angry click.

Before Louise could think about anything, she needed to tell the others that Doc Pope was confident Philadelphia would survive. She found everyone sitting around the kitchen table waiting in worried silence. They gazed at her with anxious, expectant eyes.

"There's nothing much to report yet. Livvy and the doctor are with her."

"What are they doing?" Howard demanded.

"I don't know. My impression is that Doc Pope will deliver the baby." She didn't tell them the baby was two months premature. "The doctor expects Philadelphia will fully recover."

"Thank heaven," Gilly whispered.

But Max was the person she spoke to, the only person she saw. He dropped his head in his hands and didn't move. She guessed he was praying, thanking God. And then she remembered Philadelphia saying that she would take Max away. If she ran off with Max, it would break Wally's heart. All Louise had to do was glance at Wally's white, drawn face to see that he loved his wife. But Philadelphia had said she would take Max.

Smothering a sigh, she placed her hands against the small of her back and stretched. "I'll return when there's more news."

There was a wooden bench in the corridor outside Philadelphia 's bedroom, and she sat there to wait, leaning her head back against the wall.

Seven months ago Max had been in Piney Greek. She knew he hadn't left camp during the summer because she'd been aware of Max by then and had kept an eye on him. There was no possibility that Max could be the father of Philadelphia 's child.

Lowering her head, she rubbed the bridge of her nose with thumb and forefinger. Livvy was right. Now they knew why Philadelphia had taken such an adamant position against seeing a doctor. She might deceive Livvy and Louise, and almost had, but a doctor would know at once that she was not as far along as she claimed.

The scope of Philadelphia 's deceit was staggering to think about. She would have married Max and let Max raise another man's child while believing it was his. And Wally. Wally had married Philadelphia to give a McCord child the McCord name. If Philadelphia had told the truth, Wally's life would have been very different now.

Fin ally, to protect her deception, Philadelphia must have deliberately fallen down the staircase, hoping to induce labor when labor should have begun if the baby had been Max's. She must have known that she might seriously injure herself and her baby, but she had done it anyway.

Louise shuddered and pressed a hand to her stomach as the door opened and Livvy emerged, holding a bundle in her arms. She jumped to her feet. "The baby lived!"

"Only for a few minutes. It's a boy," Livvy said in a flat voice.

"Where are you going?"

"This is not a McCord. I want the men she deceived to see this baby and know what she did."

"Livvy, wait." Louise caught her motherin-law's arm. "There's no reason to tell anyone about this baby.

You'll only bring pain to those who love her. They don't have to know." She didn't want Max to learn that Philadelphia had betrayed him with another man. It would hurt too much. "Please, don't do this. We can keep her secret for the sake of those we love."

Anger flashed and burned in Livvy's gaze. "She betrayed Max. And she intended to pass another man's by-blow off on my son to raise as his own. Wally didn't have to marry her; he could have had his own life, could have chosen his own bride. Then she allowed her father to punish Max when Max had nothing to do with this pregnancy. And she dared—she dared—to call you indecent! She did these things to my family, and by God in heaven, I will not protect her. Get out of my way."

Livvy carried the baby down the stairs and into the kitchen. Circles of scarlet flamed against her pale cheeks as she told Max, Wally, Howard Houser, and Gilly what she had come to say.

"That is a filthy lie!" Houser stood abruptly, shaking with anger. "How dare you suggest that my daughter had sexual congress with another man only two months before her wedding?"

Livvy's chin came up. "Doc Pope will confirm this child was premature." Livvy turned back the blanket that had hidden the baby's face. "If you still doubt, then look at this child. See for yourself that this is not my son's baby."

Louise drew a sharp breath. From where she stood, she could see a shock of black hair and the baby's face and chest. His skin was the color of coffee with cream.

Howard Houser stared, then he threw out an arm to catch himself. Leaning, he steadied himself against the kitchen wall. "Luis Delacroix," he whispered, blinking at the bundle in Livvy's arms. "That son of a bitch!"

Max met his mother's gaze; then he stood abruptly and walked out the back door, letting it slam behind him.

«^»

S
he floated through laudanum dreams for fourteen hours before she awoke with a dry mouth and severe anxiety. Pretending to sleep for another thirty minutes, she considered her circumstances and reluctantly concluded that she was backed into a corner. Though it wasn't fair, she was going to be blamed.

" Philadelphia ?" Gilly's soft voice called from the side of the bed. "Are you awake? Here, let me help you sit up."

"Oh!" Pain radiated through her body. Every stiff, sore muscle protested the slightest movement. She must have bruises all over, and her wrist and ankle hurt. Her bottom ached with a dull pain that would remind her for several days of yesterday's ordeal. "May I have my mirror, please? It's on the vanity."

Gilly fetched the mirror, but Philadelphia wasn't sure she had the courage to look. First she sipped a glass of water. Then she smoothed back her hair and explored her swollen left eye with her fingertips.

Finally she raised the mirror and gazed into the glass. A long shudder passed down her spine. Her eyelid was the worst, black and purple and more puffy than her fingertips had told her. A raw gash cut across her forehead from eyebrow to hairline, and a large bruise covered most of her jaw. She hadn't knocked out any teeth, thank heaven, nor had she broken her nose, a possibility that had worried her for several days. She had been very fortunate, but then, she usually was.

Slowly, her pulse calmed. Her injuries were minor and would heal. In the meantime, the cuts, bruises, and her black eye would garner sympathy.

Gilly sat down beside her. "When you feel up to it …" She cleared her throat and studied her hands.

"Everyone wants to speak to you."

"I'd like to wash my teeth and brush my hair."

"While you're seeing to your toilette, I'll bring you coffee. Or would you prefer chocolate? You can have toast but no other solid food until the day after tomorrow. I made some chicken broth yesterday. Should I bring you—"

"Just the hot chocolate." Sudden hope flared. The way Gilly prattled on made Philadelphia wonder if perhaps Dr. Pope had not betrayed her after all. "The baby died," she said, testing the waters as Gilly stood.

"Yes. Here's your hairbrush and your tooth powder."

That didn't tell her much. "What did the doctor say? About the baby?"

At the door Gilly looked back, and there was no sympathy in her gaze. "You had a seven-month miscarriage yesterday. The baby you lost was not fathered by Max," she said coolly, shutting the door behind her.

The air went out of Philadelphia 's body, and her hands clamped into fists. The worst had happened.

Exactly as she had feared, the doctor had been her undoing.

What she hated most was the realization that she might as well have spared herself the fall down the staircase, since everyone had found out anyway. Lifting the mirror, she studied the cut on her forehead.

Possibly it would leave a scar.

On the positive side, she could toss away the shapeless sacks she'd been forced to wear. Best of all, the gossips who were speculating about her hasty marriage to Wally would see her in town as soon as she could get up and about, and they would see her as slender as ever. Whispers might circulate that she'd lost a baby, but no one really listened to cowboy gossip. The whispers would fall silent when she showed herself in the Ladies' Emporium.

She brushed her hair but didn't pin it up. Instead, she arranged a long golden curl over one shoulder. It made her look younger, more fragile.

Beginning to feel anxious again, she wondered who would appear first. When the rap came on the door, her nerves twitched and she thrust the mirror beneath the covers. "Come in."

Max opened the door, but he didn't step into the room. Morning light turned his face haggard, illuminating dark circles beneath his eyes and washing the color from his lips. Still, he had the power to stir her in ways no other man ever had.

"One word." His voice was low and hoarse. "Why?"

This wasn't a question she had anticipated since the answer was obvious. "Everything that happened is your fault, Max. I implored you not to leave me alone all summer. I begged you to stay, but you wouldn't listen. Even after I gave myself to you, you wouldn't do as I asked." Surely he understood the reason she had surrendered her innocence was to induce him to stay in Fort Houser . It had stunned her when he left anyway.

"I was hurt and lonely. Shocked that you would disregard my wishes and use me so badly. In July the son of an acquaintance of Father's stayed with us for two weeks." Accusation gleamed in her eyes."He paid attention to me."

She waited for Max to say something. But he didn't comment, didn't mention the cuts and bruises on her face. He stared as if she were a puzzling stranger who touched nothing inside him.

If she'd been standing, she would have stamped her foot. "I was angry, Max. You deserted me to go live with a grubby passel of prospectors. I missed all the engagement parties people would have hosted for us if you'd stayed here. Luis understood that. He said he would never have behaved so thoughtlessly or so selfishly toward his future wife!"

As she watched his eyes and his expression harden, she sensed that discussing Luis might be unwise.

She also sensed that her explanation was going badly, but she didn't know why.

She fluttered her fingers in a dismissive gesture, tilted her head, and gave him a sad, brave little smile.

"That's behind us now. I forgive you. All in all, everything worked out for the best. The baby just complicated everything. Now it's simpler. Now there's no rush, no time constraints. We can dissolve marriages we don't want and start over. It can be the way we both want it to be."

Max stared as if he didn't grasp anything she'd said. His behavior was beginning to annoy her.

"Max?"

Without a word, he turned on his heel. A moment later she heard his boots on the staircase.

Well, he needed time, that's all. Very likely he hadn't accepted responsibility for driving her into Luis's arms. But he would. Max was fair, and doing the right thing was important to him. By the time she regained her health, he would have considered everything she'd said and he'd be ready to apologize and they would pick up their lives together.

Before her next visitor, she had a moment to rest and enjoy the pleasure of flattening her palms on her stomach. In no time at all she would have her figure back.