Giovanna: The Cowboy's Calabrese Mail Order Bride (Sweet Land of Liberty Brides Book 1) (5 page)

The wagon took several hours to reach Dr. Ledville’s house. The road was washed out in places, and Jimmy had to get down and guide the horse around large ruts so the wagon wouldn’t tip over.
Please, let the road be clear now!
Giovanna thought after each delay. The sun beat down on her uncovered head, causing her to feel faint after her long night without sleep.
I’ll be with you soon, my Rosa!

Dr. Ledville waited as long as he could for Giovanna, then wrote out instructions to leave behind. He checked on Rosa one more time before leaving.
Poor child, if this fever doesn’t break tonight, there will be nothing I can do.
Dr. Ledville left the note and the supplies out on the table next to Rosa’s bed, closed the door, and set out on his rounds.

Jimmy pulled up to the front of Dr. Ledville’s house. He helped Giovanna down from the wagon. “I’ll be back later to check in on you, Mrs. Gundersen,” he said. “Have to make these deliveries first; I’m already late with the bad road and all.”

“Thank you, Jimmy. I’ll be fine now,” Giovanna said, and rushed into the quiet house.

The doctor’s house featured an entrance hall with a large staircase, two rooms on either side and a long hallway leading to the kitchen. Giovanna looked in each of the rooms.

“Dr. Ledville? Are you home?” Hearing no answer, Giovanna quickly climbed the stairs. She could see the doctor’s bedroom door open at the end of the hall, and several other closed doors. She opened them one by one, searching for Rosa. Finally, she opened a door and found her.

Rosa lay under a light coverlet with her dark hair damp and matted against the pillow. The gray light coming through the shaded window cast a ghostly pall over her small features. Giovanna gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Slowly, she came to the bedside and looked at Rosa, waiting to see her breathe.

Rosa was breathing, slowly, shallowly. Giovanna cried out in relief and hugged her. “My baby, you are still with me! Mama is here now, everything will be all right.”

Rosa did not open her eyes even as her mother stroked her cheeks with the back of her hand and gently pulled the hair away from her warm neck. Giovanna took the cloth from the basin next to the bed, squeezed it out, and placed it on Rosa’s forehead. She saw a couple of bottles, a mortar and pestle, and piece of paper on the table. She made out the letters “Dr. Ledville” at the bottom, but the rest was incomprehensible to her. Oh, where had he gone and what should she do for Rosa?

I’ll be calm and wait here for Jimmy,
Giovanna thought.
Let me do the next thing I can do
. She took the basin of lukewarm water and went down to the kitchen to get fresh water from the cold sink.

Laars patted his front pocket as he negotiated the pitted road to Springvale. After he arrived at the Pavente’s to find Giovanna gone, he had gone to the bank and withdrawn the money needed for the hospital.
If they see I can pay, they will surely take her
.

The sun hung low in the sky as he pulled up to Dr. Ledville’s house. He climbed the porch steps in the gloom to knock at the door without benefit of light from any window.

Giovanna sat on the chair next to Rosa, her head down on her arms on the bed.
Bam-bam-bam
.
Bam-bam-bam
. The sound of knocking gradually broke through to her consciousness
. Jimmy! He must be back!

Rushing down the stairs Giovanna threw open the door and reach forward with one hand to pull Jimmy quickly in after her. Laars stood with his hand in mid-air from knocking and he quickly grasped her by the wrist.

“Laars! It’s you! I was expecting—oh never mind!” Her red-rimmed eyes looked up at him as her free hand rose to the sky in desperation. “Please, come quickly!”

Wanting to pull her to him, Laars instead released her arm and followed her inside. “What can I do?” Laars said.

Quickly they went to Rosa’s room and retrieved the supplies and note Dr. Ledville had left. Laars took one look at Rosa and shook his head sadly.
Surely, we are too late
.

Giovanna insisted he come to the kitchen and read her the instructions while she prepared the treatment. Dr. Ledville had written to make Rosa a strong tea of the willow bark inside the blue jar. “Give her full strength the first hour, and half strength every hour after that,” Dr. Ledville wrote. “If you can get enough in her and if she can keep it down, it may break the fever. If not, she will be in God’s hands.”

Giovanna shredded the bark into smaller pieces while Laars brought in wood for the stove. He lit the fire for her, filled the heavy kettle with water, and lifted it to the stove. Laars was happy to help, but puzzled why Giovanna had waited so long to carry out Dr. Ledville’s direction.

As the fire sparked hotter, Giovanna stood waiting for it to boil. “You know what they say about a watched pot, Giovanna,” Laars said gently. “Come sit down while the water heats. I have something to ask you.”

Giovanna’s eyes stayed glued to the kettle. “What is it?”

“Can you read Dr. Ledville’s note to me?”

“Oh, Laars!” Giovanna said, turning from the stove and putting her hands at rest on the table. He quietly pulled a chair out and took her by the elbow to help her sit.

“There is no shame in it,” Laars said.

“The letter I wrote to you—well, I cannot yet write in English. Or read. I didn’t write the letter.”

“But it was about you, how you look, what you can do—it’s exactly right,” Laars said. “Well—everything except the truth about Rosa.”

“Yes. My good friend, Mrs. Forsythe, brought me your ad. She wrote the letter for me as I spoke. I thought she was writing everything I said. I talked of myself, yes, but also about Rosa; that she was sick, and needed a doctor. I had so many worries.

“Jo, I didn’t know,” Laars said.

“I’m sure she was just trying to make me seem more—acceptable—to you.”

Laars considered her words. In a few days’ time, she had already made his house a home with her loving presence. Her heart that so loved her daughter—this was the heart he wanted to love him. If he could even share just a bit of the love she had, he could be a happy man.

“Is that why you cried all night your first night here? You were worried about Rosa?” Laars asked. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Yes, I mean, no—” Giovanna faltered. She had first compromised her honesty by allowing Mrs. Forsythe to lie about her age. Then Mrs. Forsythe had complicated everything by not writing about her worries for Rosa in her first letter. It was time to stop hiding even small things from Laars, as they had a way of making bigger problems. She had not been married long enough the first time to learn the truth of this, but she felt it with all her heart now.

“When I first arrived, I worried that you had not told me the truth. I let my fears overwhelm what my eyes could see. I was afraid I had made a mistake in coming here. And I found instead, that you didn’t know the whole truth about me. I’m sorry, Laars. I will understand if you decide that you cannot continue this marriage of false pretenses.”

“Jo—” Laars began, but no more words would come. His mind was filled with the sight of her beautiful face, its forehead smooth and eyebrows straight with no trace of guile or malice, her wide, perfect lips held parted but with no hint of a smile. And mostly, his heart was pierced by the determined look in her eyes. She was offering him to cut his losses, and in exchange giving all of herself to the plight of her child.

“I can’t,” he said.

Giovanna’s eyes twitched in a moment of disbelief, before hardening slightly. “I understand.” The kettle began to whistle and Giovanna rose to pour the hot water into a bowl to steep the willow bark.

“No, Jo. I can’t let you go,” Laars said. “I love you.”

Her eyelashes fluttered and her chin dropped, parting her beautiful lips into the hint of a smile.
Could this be true?

Before she could turn away, Laars leaned down and planted a warm, gentle kiss on her lips. She let her arms reach around him as he pulled her in close. Giovanna didn’t think, didn’t stop him, didn’t do anything; she just received the love Laars offered.

In her quiet surrender, Laars felt his heart nearly burst from its chest. “You’re my wife, Jo,” he whispered. “Let me do some of the worrying now. We’ll get through this together.” 

Giovanna carefully lifted Rosa’s head and blew on the surface of the cup to cool the tea. “Come dear, take another sip,” she said.

The warm tea dribbled a bit out of Rosa’s mouth before she was roused enough to part her lips and swallow. Laars stood at the end of the bed, gripping the iron frame with both hands as he watched for any sign of improvement.

“There, that’s the third cup,” Giovanna said.

“What do we do now?” Laars asked, hating the feeling of uselessness that engulfed him.

Footsteps sounded outside the door. “We wait,” Dr. Ledville said. He crossed the room, felt Rosa’s cheeks, and bent over and listened to her heart.

“Doctor, I must speak with you!” Laars said, beckoning him outside the room.

Laars closed the door behind them. “Dr. Ledville, you must arrange for Rosa’s placement at the hospital tomorrow. I can pay cash,” he said, patting the bulge in his front shirt pocket.

“That’s fine, Mr. Gundersen, mighty fine. Only it won’t help.” Dr. Ledville said. “The hospital is plum full up, what with consumption and chickenpox all around these parts. I couldn’t get her in if you gave me a thousand dollars!”

“Who’s going to give you a thousand dollars?” asked Giovanna, standing in the open doorway and looking at Dr. Ledville. Her eyes followed his to Laars’s face. She noticed his hand at his chest and he smiled sheepishly at her.

“Laars! I thought we couldn’t afford to—I was going to pay for it—Mrs. Pavente can give me work…” Giovanna started.

“Looks like you have a fine man to take care of you, Giovanna,” Dr. Ledville said. Truth be told, I don’t think the hospital is the best place for her now even if it had room. I’ve seen a lot of cases of consumption, but this isn’t like that. No, the little girl has scarlet fever in my opinion. The cure will come when her fever breaks. Until then, her body is fighting the poison of the illness.”

“Not consumption?” Giovanna said hopefully. Her deepest fear, that Rosa would succumb as Frank had, began to recede. “But this fever, what if it doesn’t come down?”

“She’s fought it a long time and her body is weak. If her temperature stays this high for too much longer….” His voice trailed off, unable to speak the words to Giovanna’s distraught face. “It’s been a long day. Come and wake me if anything changes. I’ll check in with you at first light.”

Giovanna stood stricken in the doorway with the water basin in her hand. “I was just going to get more cold water,” she said.

“Here, let me do that,” Laars said. His large hand covered hers and she transferred the weight of the basin to him.

Giovanna looked into his beautiful blue eyes and felt them smiling right into her soul. He blinked slowly and his lips parted into a shy grin. In all her conversations with him, Giovanna Gundersen didn’t know if she ever really took full account of her husband. His straight, broad nose was framed by wide cheeks and lines that crinkled when he smiled. His broad shoulders moved easily inside his thin cotton shirt.
He would take care of her.
He had said it, and he meant it.

Giovanna and Laars sat up all night in chairs across the bed from Rosa. Between ministrations of tea and replacing cold cloths, they shared the effort to finally relieve her of the fever. They talked quietly and even smiled a time or two. Giovanna at one point fell asleep with her head leaned back in the chair.

Laars took the chance to admire her without her seeing. He longed to hold her but knew now it would depend on whether Rosa came through. He had proven his love, but it was still too late.
If Rosa dies, Giovanna may never forgive me for the delay
, he thought. He despaired at the prospect of losing them both.

The first ray of sunlight turned the inky blackness to a dark purple, and soon the sky would lighten to a violet, then dark blue before the sun blazed over another light blue sky. Rosa stirred under the covers and Laars stood next to her to see whether he should wake Giovanna.

He watched her face twitch and her small tongue came out to wet her lips. He put his hand to her forehead and her lashes fluttered open.

“P-papa?” She said. The hoarse whisper barely broke the silence.
Papa
.

“Yes, Rosa, I’m your Papa now,” Laars whispered.

“Where’s Mama? I’m hungry,” Rosa said.

“She’s right here, asleep by your side.”

“I was having the strangest dream,” Rosa said, her dark eyes looking earnestly straight into Laars’s blue ones. He had never seen such an old soul peering at him from such a young child’s face.

“I was dreaming about Pearl,” Rosa said. “She was mewing and meowing for me, and I couldn’t find her!”

“I’m sure Pearl’s all right,” Laars said. “You must have been dreaming about the new litter of kittens I found in the barn yesterday. I’ve been waiting for you to get better to come home and take care of them. I thought you might like two I picked out for you, a gray one and a white calico.”

“Two kittens? Oh, Papa, can I see them now?”

Laars laughed and woke Giovanna with a start, as his deep chuckle broke the gloom of the recent days’ tension and fear.

“Laars, what—? Rosa? Are you awake?” Giovanna said as she rose to her feet.

She placed her hands on the child’s face and looked into her fully awake dark eyes and pale face. Laars held his breath until he saw the smile of joy spreading across Giovanna’s face.

“Laars, the fever has broken! My Rosa is coming back to me!”

“Our Rosa, my sweet Jo,” Laars said. He placed his hand on Giovanna’s back and reached over her to smooth a piece of Rosa’s hair. “If you’ll share her with me.”

Giovanna felt her heart would burst at the words. “Gladly, my dear Laars,” she said. “With all my heart.”

~~THE END~~