Finding Bliss (27 page)

“You see, Father, this is why I’m marrying so soon,” her
face was triumphant. Ollie simply stared at her. The closer he looked at her he
realized something he hadn’t seen before.

“You look very happy,” he said in an off-hand way, as though
it wasn’t expected nor was it a usual condition for her. Bliss beamed at him. Eric
quickly began buttoning his shirt and tucking the ends. He looked around for
his cravat, but didn’t see it anywhere, so he gave it up to have time to
explain.

“My lord, forgive me. I know you probably think I’m not
worthy of her. I’m nothing but a surgeon, a plain man. But I love Bliss! I want
to marry her as soon as possible. I can’t live without her. Besides that she
told me this was my destiny, and I believe her!” Eric turned and winked at
Bliss. She smiled as though he’d given her the most extravagant gift money
could buy. Ollie cleared his throat to break their attention from one another.

“Bliss, are you absolutely, one hundred percent certain that
this is what you want? Is this how you want your life to be?” he asked her
without discouraging or encouraging. Bliss looked back at Eric and gave him a
wink of her own before answering her father.

“I’ve known it was since I was ten years old. I just
couldn’t do anything until recently. But as it’s unfolded it is exactly what I
expected and better! And he’ll be a fantastic husband! Just wait and see how he
is with the baby!” Eric looked confused as Ollie became angry.

“Baby? You ... did he ... I’ll murder ...” Ollie stammered.

“OH, no! Not me father! I won’t conceive until a few months
after the wedding! I’m guessing it will be around July when we visit the
cottage in Brighton! No, I mean Uncle Ozzie’s baby,” Bliss said pointing at
Ozzie.

Ozzie rolled his eyes at the mention. Then he chuckled and
shook his head. Eric got a pained expression on his own face.

“I believe you can see things the rest of us can’t my
darling. But I’m still inclined to believe in medical science in this case,” he
said quietly going to her and offering her his coat. Bliss accepted the coat
and shook her head with a sigh.

“Someday, my love, you’ll learn you should never doubt me.”

At that moment, they heard a
horrible scream from Penelope’s salon. Eric, Ollie and Ozzie ran from the
sitting room and directly toward the salon with thundering steps. Bliss hurried
behind them, but not in the same state of agitation.

When the door opened they saw Penelope standing at the foot
of the bed, her hands gripping the post. At her feet a puddle of blood-tinged
water had begun to spread out on the beige rug.

“Penny!” Ozzie said with a frantic shout. But Bliss’s next
comment took them all by surprise.

“Aunt Pen, you really should lie down. Eric will need to get
to work before too much time passes, otherwise it will be much more painful for
you.”

Ozzie looked at Eric who was looking intently at the puddle
at Penelope’s feet. Ollie gave a chuckle. Eric looked at Bliss with a smirk.

“Well I’ll be damned! Medical science loses to Bliss,” he
said softly.

“Believe it,” Bliss whispered to him.

Eric turned and grabbed Ozzie by the shoulder to shake him
gently.

“My lord, you’d best carry your wife to whichever bed she
uses to give birth. Have a maid fetch an oiled cloth, a bunch of towels and
some warm water. I need a bottle of spirits and some stiff twine. Have all of
that brought to the room and hurry,” Eric told them.

“Childbirth was always slow for Penny,” Ozzie said hollowly.

“Well this is different. This baby is likely a bit smaller
than the other two were. It’s going to go faster. And you’d better be
prepared,” Bliss told him.

She walked over to help Penelope to the head of the bed. Penelope
gave her a curious look before another pain hit her hard.

“Why are you wearing Dr. Benchley’s coat and little else?”
Penelope asked through gritted teeth.

“Oh, that’s right. You haven’t heard yet. Eric and I are
going to be married on April thirtieth! Incidentally, Papa, you’ll need to
write to the steward and have him alert the garden staff not to sell the ivy and
Irish Bells or there won’t be any for the ceremony!”

Eric’s head whipped around in surprise when he realized his
wedding was less than a week away. Bliss looked pointedly at Penelope to
redirect his attention. Realizing the salon was likely her birthing bedroom, he
hurried up to the head to strip the bed linens and quilts away.

Ollie took over the ordering of the necessary equipment and
sent another maid to fetch Luxie.

The scene became unusually frantic when Penelope began to
curse low and double over.

“Lady Osterburg, let’s get you ready. Bliss, help her remove
her gown first. Anyone squeamish, embarrassed or anyone Lady Osterburg wishes not
to have present should get out now!” Eric told the room.

Ollie took the cue and said good luck to Ozzie as he walked
out, still chuckling. Luxie was just coming in as her husband left. She saw her
friend looking pained.

“What’s going on? Ollie sent word that supplies were needed,
and the maids are frantic. What’s the matter with Penelope?” Luxie asked
suddenly, moving to help Bliss get Penelope onto the bed. Maids continued to
scurry into the room and leave basins and toweling, a clean nightgown and
leather straps.

“I thought you had indigestion? How does indigestion become
a baby?” Ozzie asked suddenly looking pale and sweating.

“I thought I was in my changing years! You heard both
doctors say that it was just that time! I’ve not been myself, but I thought it
was just normal for a woman my age!” Penelope gasped, her back arching and a
nearly nonexistent bump seemed to roll up in her abdomen as she did.

“Did you not gain weight? Weren’t there signs? Cravings? Nausea?”
Luxie asked, still disbelieving.

“I thought I was just suffering the effects of my age. Even
the doctors’ opinions pointed out that the two are similar!” Penelope gasped
again. Bliss was helping Eric raise Penelope’s legs to slide the oil cloth the
maid brought in. Eric then glanced up intently at his patient.

“Lady Osterburg, I’m going to need to examine you now. Will
you give your consent?”

“Dear, if you’re about to be family, it’s Penelope. And yes,
by all means, make it stop hurting!” she wailed. Another pain seemed to take
her breath the next moment.

“How is Dr. Benchley going to be family? What’s that about,”
Luxie looked puzzled.

“Mama, I’m marrying Dr. Eric Benchley. Next week. I saved my
pale blue organza and twill for the day. It’s going to be lovely. And we’re
going to take a trip to Ireland for our honey month. We’ll enjoy visiting our
Patterson cousins! And I’m going to live here in Bristol until I convince Eric
to move back to Cardiff and stay in the house he grew up in,” Bliss chattered
happily as Penelope grunted and strained.

Eric, looking at the situation from a different perspective,
seemed to frown.

“What’s the matter, Dr. Benchley?” Ozzie asked in alarm.

“It’s not serious. The baby is crowning. But he’s gotten a
hand up into the birth canal, and he’s facing the wrong way. He’s coming facing
up instead of down. That’s only bad for Lady Osterburg. She’ll have to push
harder, I’m afraid.”

“She ... and this shouldn’t be any worse than Maxwell. To
hear Mama talk, Aunt Pen pushed and strained for hours with him. He weighed
over a half stone! But this little angel isn’t going to be so bad as that, if
I’ve seen correctly,” Bliss told the room at large.

“It’s a girl? I’m having a girl? Oh, Daniel, a baby girl! Oh,”
Penelope’s joy was enthusiastic.

Eric got into position just as Penelope began to strain and
bear down. With little more than a count of ten, the baby’s shoulders were out.
Eric told her to wait a moment while he used a towel to wipe the baby’s nose
and mouth. Then he told her to give it her all. Penelope curled upward and
pushed with all her strength.

“It’s a girl, as if we had a doubt,” Eric announced. Penelope
squealed in tearful delight. Ozzie looked over at the squirming infant in
Eric’s hands and collapsed backward.

“Daniel? Daniel? Oh, well, don’t anyone step on him! I’ve
got a daughter! Look at her Luxie! A baby girl at last!” Penelope crowed.

“What are you going to name her?” Luxie asked still in awe.

“I’ve got a suggestion. How about, ‘I-told-you-so,’ since
she will be living proof for the rest of your life and mine that I was right!”
Bliss said smugly.

Eric chuckled as he tended to the life cord and handed the
baby to Penelope’s ladies’ maid for further cleaning. Marla looked at the baby
and grinned.

“She’s beautiful, my lady! A perfect little thing! I bet she
weighs less than a quarter of a stone! Would you like me to send for a nanny? I’ll
bet you never thought you’d see this day,” Marla gushed.

“I’ll see if Nanny Barbara would like the job. She’s been
staying on these last ten years since Maxwell left for school just doing odd
jobs because I couldn’t bear to fire her or lose her to another household. I
hope she’s up to the task!” Penelope said in a whisper.

The baby began crying out in earnest. Penelope strained
upward to see her. Eric finished tending to Penelope’s condition, which he
declared she had come through in excellent shape, letting Bliss and a maid help
get Penelope cleaned and dressed in a fresh nightgown.

Marla laughed and asked someone to fetch a couple of clean
flannels, since there obviously wasn’t a layette for the little one. She used
scissors to fashion a nappy with one and the other substituted as a makeshift
swaddling blanket.

Ozzie, who was revived with a small whiff of smelling salts
as soon someone got a free hand, waited for them to finish cleaning and
remaking the bed before coming over to hug his wife. Penelope reached up just
as he released her to take the baby from Marla.

“I can’t believe it,” Ozzie whispered as he peered down at
his daughter for the first time. “She’s a miracle!”

The baby wriggled in the large flannel and opened her eyes
to peer myopically upward at the sound of his voice, and in that moment Lord
Daniel Osterburg was a goner.

“Bliss, how can we ever make it up to you for not trusting
you,” Penelope asked as she leaned down and kissed the baby’s nose.

“I know, darling, we should name the baby after her!” Ozzie
said suddenly. He looked at Bliss in complete loyalty.

“How about Erica Bliss Parminder, Lady Osterburg,” Bliss
suggested.

“It’s perfect! Little Lady Erica! My sweet surprise angel,”
Penelope cooed. Just then a knock sounded at the door.

“May I come in?” Ollie called from out in the hallway. An
efficient chambermaid had just finished scrubbing the rug and folding the oiled
cloth to carry it away.

“Ollie, yes! Come meet our little Erica Bliss!” Ozzie cried
out in a laugh. Ollie entered and walked over. Ozzie rose and took the baby to
show Ollie.

“Guess you’re not as old as you thought, eh? Looks like
Penelope has got her daughter at long last!” Ollie chuckled giving the baby a
rub on her tiny head.

Eric took Erica from the proud gentlemen to check her once
again for breathing sounds and to make sure her arm wasn’t hurt by its unusual
position during the birth. Putting her on the foot of the bed, he unwrapped
her, making her scrunch up her arms, legs and face in protest.

“Sorry, sweetling, I need to check you over,” Eric soothed.

He manipulated her little limb, turning and flexing the
joints to make sure they weren’t compromised or swelling. Then he glanced over
toward Bliss. She smiled and nodded with a peaceful smile.

Turning, he spoke confidently to the Osterburg’s with a
smile, “She’s as perfect a baby as I’ve ever seen, Lady Osterburg! You are a
lucky woman!”

Wrapping the flannel back around the naked infant, Eric told
Penelope he would come back after they’d had time to nap and check her weight
and length. He guessed she was around five pounds and looked to be a bit on the
shorter side. It was nothing unusual for a baby no one except Bliss even
believed was real until they saw her being born!

Eric congratulated the Osterburg’s and then excused himself.
He pulled Bliss to the side with him and asked what he should do next.

“If you say we’re getting married in less than a week, then
I believe you. But I’m not sure where we’ll live. I live in a boarding suite in
a gentleman’s establishment. I don’t know what I can accomplish in so short an
amount of time. But if you say it, I’ll trust you. We won’t have any problems,”
Eric vowed.

“Good. Now, I need to go and change into something
presentable so that I can go downstairs and tell everyone in the ball the good
news. Then we’ll have to find a nice place to be alone for a little while. I
have many things to tell you,” Bliss explained with crisp efficiency.

“Shall I meet you?” Eric asked.

“You will be staying here this evening since this pregnancy
was such a shock, just to be safe. You will check on Aunt Pen around one after
the last guest leaves for the night. Then you will go to your room to rest, and
I’ll be waiting for you there. I love you, Eric. And I can’t wait,” Bliss said
softly.

She went on tip-toe and kissed his mouth before she hurried
away to get into a fresh gown.

Bliss, Bristol, April 1811

The news of Aunt Pen’s surprise
pregnancy was delivered by Bliss and received a poor reception, just like any
other news she ever shared.

She started by telling Victor, who scoffed and told her to
stop fooling around. Then she told Maxwell, who still felt so poorly for nearly
catching her on fire that he thought she was playing a prank as retribution. She
gathered Merryann and Cori to share the news with them, and they both criticized
her for being cruel.