The Ghost (41 page)

She stood outside the house and cried when he left, and she had a terrible feeling about what would happen. It was like a horrible premonition flying over her. It had to do with Blue Jacket and Little Turtle, and she was completely convinced that something terrible was going to happen. And it did. But not to him. The Shawnees and the Miamis overran Major General St. Clair's encampment three weeks later and left six hundred and thirty men dead and nearly three hundred wounded. It was the worst disaster the Army had suffered. And St. Clair was disgraced when everyone blamed him. It had been poor strategy and miserably handled. And for more than a month Sarah had no idea if Fran+oois had survived it. She was frantic. And it was after Thanksgiving when she finally heard that he was alive and on his way home from Ohio. A party of men had arrived back at the Deerfield garrison before he did, but they assured her he wasn't wounded, and told her he would be home before Christmas.

She was wearing the papoose on her back the day he arrived and she looked like an Indian squaw, as she came out of the smokehouse. She heard hoofbeats, and before she could even turn around, he had dismounted and grabbed her in his arms. He looked tired and thinner, but he was safe, and he had terrible stories to tell her. He didn't know what could be done to control the unrest. And to complicate matters, the British had built a new post below Detroit on the Maumee River, in violation of the Treaty of Paris. But he was so happy to see his bride that he no longer cared what Blue Jacket did in retaliation. He was home now, and she was thrilled to have him.

And on Christmas, she told him the news, but he had already suspected it. They were having another baby. It would be born in July, and he wanted to start building their new house long before that. He had spent hours at the camp fires drawing up plans and making little drawings, and he began hiring men in Shelburne almost as soon as he got home from Ohio. They would start the moment the snow melted, and hoped to be in before winter.

Little Alexandre was nearly four months old by then, and Sarah had never before looked so happy. Fran+oois loved playing with him and wore the papoose himself sometimes, particularly when he took him riding with him. He was spending a lot of time in Shelbume, commissioning people to make things for their new home, and writing to cabinetmakers for furniture in Connecticut, Delaware, and Boston. He took the project very seriously, and by spring, he finally had Sarah excited about it.

They had just begun to break ground, when a man came to Shelburne, looking for her. He appeared at the farm unexpectedly as they rode home with the baby from the site of the new house. He was waiting outside the house and he didn't look pleasant. And he reminded Sarah vaguely of the lawyer who had come to see her from Boston, which was precisely what this man was. He was Walker Johnston's partner. But Johnston was still talking about the Indian attack that had occurred when he last came to see her. He said he had barely gotten out with his scalp, but never explained why he had fled, leaving her to fight the Indians herself, or how she had survived it. But this man was even more unpleasant. His name was Sebastian Mosley. And she wondered if his coming to see her had anything to do with the smallpox epidemic in Boston. It was a good place not to be now. But his visit had nothing to do with that, and he had no papers for her to sign this time. He had simply come to tell her that her husband had died. And she looked up at Fran+oois as he said it. She had no other husband. As far as she was concerned Edward no longer existed. But Sebastian Mosley had come to tell her that the Earl of Balfour had been killed in an unfortunate hunting accident, and although he had intended to recognize one of his ' er ' ah ' illegitimate children, the attorney said uncomfortably, and the papers had been drawn up to do so, apparently his lordship had neglected to sign them, and his untimely death had been quite unexpected. It was apparently a complicated legal situation now, because she had waived all right to his inheritance, but by dying intestate, he brought that document into question, and there was no one else to leave either his land or his fortune to, since he had no legitimate children. The lawyer did not tell her that he had fourteen bastards. But what he wanted to know from her was whether she wished to contest the document she had signed a year and a half before. But for Sarah, it was extremely simple. She didn't have much, but she had everything she wanted.

I suggest you give it all to his sister-in-law and his four nieces. They're his most direct heirs now. But she wanted nothing to do with it, not a penny, not a plume, not even a souvenir of Edward. And she said exactly that to the attorney.

I see, he said, looking dismayed. He had been hoping for a little business if she decided to contest it. According to his counterpart in England, the Earl had had an enormous fortune. But Sarah didn't want it. And the lawyer from Boston left as soon as she said so, and thanked him.

They watched him ride away and Sarah stood there, thinking about Edward for a few minutes, but she felt nothing. It had been too long, too hard, and too awful. And she was far too happy now to have any regrets over Edward. It was finally over.

But as far as Fran+oois was concerned, it was just beginning. He had thought of it the moment he'd heard the lawyer. And he turned to Sarah as soon as they were alone again and asked her.

Will you marry me, Sarah Ferguson? There was not even an instant's hesitation. Just a tinkle of laughter, as she nodded.

They were married on April first, in the little log church in Shelburne in a simple ceremony, and no one was present except the two boys who worked for them, and Alexandre, who was seven months old. Their baby was due in only three months.

And the next time they went to the Deerfield garrison, Fran+oois bowed formally to the colonel and presented Sarah to him. And he looked startled for a moment.

May I present the Countess de Pellerin to you, Colonel ' I believe you've never met her, he said, beaming.

Does this mean what I think it does? he asked kindly. He had always liked diem both, and felt bad for their situation, although his wife thought it quite shocking. She had stopped writing to Sarah as soon as she'd heard about the first baby. And others had had the same reaction. But now suddenly everyone wanted to know them, and they were invited by some of the nicest people in Deerfield. They stayed at the garrison for a while and Sarah visited Rebecca. She had four children by then, and was expecting her fifth one, which was also due that summer.

But Fran+oois was anxious to get home this time, he wanted to see how their new house was coming. And once they got back to Shelburne, he worked feverishly on it with the men he hired, and the Indians whom he taught to do the kind of work he had once seen in Paris. Everyone said it was going to be beautiful, and Sarah beamed when she went there. She loved watching them build it, and it was a passion with her too now. She was already planning her garden. They expected to have the outside of the house done by August, and be able to move into it in October, before the first snows came. And they could work on all the interior details all winter. Sarah was so excited she could hardly wait, and she worked there daily all through June, in spite of the encumbrance of the baby, but this time, even she was less worried. She was taking all the herbs she knew she was supposed to, and getting a lot of rest, and walking as the Indian women had told her to. Everything felt right, and she had little Alexandre to prove to her that miracles could happen.

But by July first, there was no sign of a new arrival, and Sarah was restless. She couldn't wait for the baby to come, so that she could see it and move around more freely. She felt as though she had been pregnant forever, and she said as much to Francois.

Don't be so impatient, he chided her, great works take time. And this time, he was more nervous than she was. It had been difficult the time before, as far as he was concerned, and he had been lucky to save the baby. He dreaded another terrifying experience like that one, although he was as excited as she was. But he just hoped it would go smoothly. He had even considered sending for the doctor in Shelburne, but Sarah insisted she wouldn't need him. And she seemed very lively in the first week of July, which convinced them both that the baby wasn't ready. Last time, she had slowed down visibly as her time came closer, and could sense herself that the baby was coming. But this time, as tired as she was of lugging a big belly around, she felt as though she could go on forever. She wasn't even tired. And he had to discourage her from riding over to the new house constantly, to attend to some detail.

I don't want you riding over there alone anymore, he scolded her one afternoon as he saw her returning. That's dangerous, you could have the baby by the side of the road, but she laughed at him. The last time she had plenty of warning, it had taken twelve hours, and the others far longer.

I wouldn't do that, she said primly, every inch the countess.

See that you don't! He wagged a finger at her, and she went to make dinner. But they were both thrilled with the little gem of a house they were building. And everyone in the neighborhood was talking about it. They thought it was very fancy for Shelburne, to say the least, but no one seemed to mind it. If anything they liked it. They thought it added importance to the area, and was a real feather in the cap of Shelburne.

Sarah made dinner for him that night, and Fran+oois went to pore over some more plans in their sitting room, while she cleaned the kitchen, and after she'd washed their dishes, it was still daylight, and she tried to convince him to go walking with her.

We haven't been to the waterfall all week, she said, obviously in good spirits as she kissed him.

I'm tired, he said honestly and then smiled at her, I'm having a baby.

No, you're not, she parried with him, I am. And I want to take a walk. You heard what the Iroquois women said, it will give the baby strong legs. She was laughing at him and he groaned.

And me weak ones. I'm an old man. He had just turned forty-one, but he didn't look it. And she was twenty-seven. But he followed her outside to humor her, and they had only walked for five minutes when she slowed noticeably, and stopped walking. He thought she had a rock in her shoe perhaps, and stood beside her as she clutched his arm, and then he realized what had happened. She was having the baby. But he was grateful they hadn't gone far from the house, and could turn back easily, but as he was about to suggest it to his wife, she fell to the ground beside him. She had never felt such pain in her life, and she could hardly catch her breath as he knelt beside her. Sarah, what happened? He wondered if it was a bad sign, as she lay on the grass by the roadside. Are you all right? He was terrified, and he wasn't even close enough to the house to call for the boys to get the doctor. He felt trapped there.

Frangois ' I can't move ' she said with a look of terror as the pains ripped through her. But this was not the beginning, it was the middle and the ending, it was the worst pain she could remember, and then she suddenly knew the familiar feeling as he held her. Francis ' it's the baby ' it's coming ' She looked panicked as she clutched him.

No, it's not, my love. Would that it were that easy, he found himself thinking, but she knew better. She was suddenly gasping in agony and he could see that she was almost screaming. Remember last time, how long it took, he said, trying to convince her. He wanted to pick her up and carry her back to the house, but she wouldn't let him move her.

Don't! She screamed out in pain, and then writhed in agony beside him, as he knelt helplessly beside her.

Sarah, he said, feeling helpless, you can't just lie there. You cannot have the baby so quickly. When did this start? he asked, suddenly suspicious.

I don't know. She started to cry. I had a backache all day today when I went to the house, and my stomach hurt for a while, but I thought it was from carrying Alexandre. He was a healthy size now at ten months and still loved to be carried.

Oh my God, Francois said with a look of panic. It's probably been all day. How could you not know that? She looked like a child suddenly and he felt sorry for her, but he wanted to get her back to the house now, no matter how much she said it hurt if he moved her. He would not leave her here, lying in the grass to have their baby. He tried to scoop her up again, and she screamed and fought against him, and then suddenly her entire face was clenched and she was pushing. He had never seen anything like it. She was delivering her baby and there was nothing he could do to stop her or help her, and then suddenly he realized how badly she needed him and he held her shoulders and tried to assist her. She was totally intent on her work, and making little sounds as she fought the pain, and then suddenly she began to scream as though a terrible force were tearing through her, but he remembered that sound, and he let her down gently on the grass, and lifted her skirts, and ripped off her pantaloons, and as he did, she screamed again, and he could see the baby coming into his hands, with its bright little face screaming at him in outrage. And within an instant, he was holding the baby. It was a little girl, and she was perfect and breathing, and screaming blue murder at her father.

Sarah, he said, looking at his wife, lying on the grass in the twilight with a peaceful smile on her face, you are going to kill me. Don't ever do that to me again! I'm too old for this! But neither of them were. He leaned over and kissed her and she told him how much she loved him.

That was much easier than last time, she said simply, and he sat down next to her and laughed as he put the baby on her chest. He had used his hunting knife again, and tied the cord neatly.

How could you not know she was coming? He was still overwhelmed by the experience, and it amazed him to see how peaceful she was after so much pain. She and the baby looked completely content, and he could still feel his knees shake.

I was busy, I guess. I had so much to do at the new house, she said, smiling at him, as she opened her blouse and the baby found her breast easily and nursed there.