The Midwife's Dilemma (16 page)

“Not without divine intervention,” Comfort offered with a smile. “We were only days from being forced to find a place at the poorhouse when I met Mrs. Callahan. When she took a bad fall outside the room where we lived, I helped her to get back
home again in a section of the city I knew very little about. As it turned out, she and her husband worked for Oliver's grandfather. They had lived in a one-room cabin in the rear of his estate for many years, and they still do, bless their hearts.”

Comfort paused to smile. “As I came to learn later, there's only one woman who's ever had the courage to stand up to Graham Cade, and that's Evelyn Callahan. She convinced him that her eyesight was failing and that she was no longer able to properly mend clothing or household linens and such. She told him she would have to retire as his primary housekeeper unless he hired me to take on those duties and set aside part of the garret for me and my girls to live there.”

Martha chuckled and looked down at the girls to make sure they were still sleeping. “He could be a very difficult man when he chose to be,” she admitted, without confessing that he had intimidated her, too, and preferred to think she did not exist.

Comfort also looked down at her sleeping girls. “Obviously, that's how I met Oliver.”

“As part of the household staff.”

“Exactly,” Comfort replied, and her eyes took on a dreamy look. “I found him disturbingly handsome and quite the kindest and gentlest man I had ever known, but he was so far above my station and so busy with his work that it never occurred to me that he would . . . that he would ever be genuinely interested in someone like me. He was Graham Cade's grandson and heir, too, which made him one of the most eligible bachelors in the city. Fortunately, none of the young ladies who pursued him, or their status-seeking mothers who encouraged them, had any idea that two little girls whose mother mended Oliver's clothes would win his heart before any of them did. Or before I did,” she added.

Martha cocked a brow. “I can't imagine that Oliver's grandfather approved of the match, did he?”

“Mercy, no! Had he gotten so much as an inkling that Oliver had any feelings for me at all or that I came to return that affection, I would have been dismissed immediately. Not even Mrs. Callahan would have been able to save me.”

“God rest his soul, that sounds like the Graham Cade that I knew,” Martha admitted, “but when all is said and done, he provided Oliver with a good home, trained him to excel in his profession, and provided well for both of his grandchildren. For that, I'll forever be grateful.”

“And I'm grateful, as well,” Comfort said. “If he hadn't let me come to work in his household, I'd never have met Oliver.” She locked her gaze with Martha's. “I love him with all of my heart. It's dreadfully important to me that you'll be able to welcome me and my daughters into your family and your heart, too, but it means even more to Oliver. He wants so much for you to accept our marriage, and if there's anything I can do or—”

“Dear, dear girl,” Martha crooned and put her arm around the young woman. “It's obvious to me that Oliver has chosen well, and although it's been a bit of a shock, your marriage pleases me. I suspect Victoria is more than overjoyed to have you as a sister, too,” she reassured her and pointed to the embroidery on her collar that featured a trailing vine of flowers. “Did you stitch this design?”

“It's one of my favorites. I never could afford to buy expensive fabric for our clothes, but a bit of dye and a simple decoration tends to draw attention away from the fact that the fabric is ordinary muslin.”

“There's nothing simple about that decoration, and your skill with the needle far exceeds mine,” Martha argued. “My mother, Oliver's grandmother, was quite talented in that regard,
which is a story I should keep for another day,” she suggested when Lucy sat up and rubbed her eyes.

“Thank you,” Comfort whispered. She immediately rose to tend to Lucy but glanced back at Martha. “You've been cooped up in this room all afternoon. I'll stay here with the girls. Why don't you go have a visit with Oliver? Victoria left with him a good while ago to introduce him to Dr. McMillan. They should still be at his house.” She grinned. “Before they left, Victoria was trying to make all sorts of plans, including where the four of us might stay during our visit, and by now, I suspect he'd be grateful if you could rescue him.”

“I can try,” Martha replied before heading downstairs. In all the excitement today, she had not even thought about where Oliver and his new family would stay while they were here. But while she literally had the key to resolving that problem, she had no doubt that one of the plans her daughter was trying to make involved her entire family—which now included three generations—a certain anxious doctor, a minister, and a date on the calendar that was definitely
not
in December.

M
artha! I was just coming to see you!”

Just moments after Martha stepped out from the covered bridge and onto sunny East Main Street on her way to rescue Oliver, Anne Sweet's words sent a shiver of dismay down the length of her spine. She paused and plastered a smile on her face before turning around, and she prayed that Anne's mission was inspired by gossip, which would be typical, rather than an illness at her house or Thomas's, which would call Martha to duty.

Huffing and puffing her way down the cindered street, Anne hurried her way to Martha and put a hand to her heart as she caught her breath. “Mercy! The heat today is rather awful.”

Martha chuckled. “It's always hot in July.”

“I was at the general store earlier when I noticed a stranger with two little ones in tow,” Anne began. After describing how she had discovered that Oliver had married a widow some years his senior with two young girls, she finally paused to take a
breath. “That's quite a lot of responsibility for a young man like Oliver to assume, which must trouble you some.”

“I'm just thrilled that he's here and with such good news,” Martha insisted, refusing to take the bait Anne offered. Her heart soared when she saw Thomas come out of Dr. McMillan's and rush toward them.

“Anne? I believe you're needed back home,” he said, taking the last of several long strides to join them.

“And I thought I might have a few moments to myself,” Anne grumbled. The moment she hurried off, Thomas took Martha's arm and whisked her over to his buggy, which he had left parked at Dr. McMillan's house.

“As much as I would enjoy spending time with you, Thomas, I'm afraid I can't. I'm on my way to meet with Oliver and Victoria. He just arrived today, and they're waiting for me at Dr. McMillan's,” Martha said.

“They're not there, which means you have a few moments to spend with me. How's Samuel doing?”

“Fine, and don't change the subject. How do you know where they are?”

“Because Rosalind told me a few minutes ago when I returned to give Dr. McMillan some documents to look over. The doctor had just left with Victoria and Oliver. Although Rosalind was a little vague about where they all went, she said they had something they needed to do and expected to be gone for at least an hour or so. They'll meet up with you back at the confectionery, which means you have at least an hour to spend with me. Now, let me help you up to the seat. Please.”

Thoroughly disappointed that her children had not included her in their plans, she let him.

“It seems a little odd that you'd take your buggy to Dr. McMillan's.”

He joined her on the seat and clicked the reins. “Actually, I only stopped by Dr. McMillan's on my way to the confectionery. I was going to invite you to take a ride with me to check on my cabin at Candle Lake, but after I heard Oliver was back in Trinity for a visit, I knew you'd want to spend time with your family. Then when Rosalind told me they'd all gone off somewhere together, I decided to rescue you from my sister.”

She gave him a cockeyed smile. “I see the heat hasn't taken a toll on your confidence.”

“Not at all, especially since you're sitting here with me instead of standing around being pestered by my sister's babble,” he teased and drove them down past the workers creating the new canal toward the far end of Dillon's Stream, which remained untouched.

“I don't want to go too far, and I don't want to lose sight of town, just in case they get back earlier than they thought,” she cautioned.

“That's precisely why I'm stopping right about here,” he assured her and parked the buggy in such a way that they had a good view of both the town and the canal, but still a bit of privacy. “First, I suppose congratulations are in order,” he suggested and took her hand. “You're pleased with Oliver's news, I assume?”

“Very much so. They haven't said anything about their plans yet, but I suspect they won't be here for more than a week or so. I'd like to spend as much time with them as I can; I hope you'll understand.”

“I don't have any intention of intruding on your time with them, but there are matters we need to discuss, and I couldn't let this opportunity pass by.” He handed her a thick package wrapped in brown paper. “I'm sorry I couldn't give you better news from your friend when I wrote to you, but at least I was able to secure all of the remedies on your list.”

She laid the package on her lap and wrapped both her hands around it. “Thank you. Is there an accounting inside so I know how much I owe you?”

“There is, but rather than argue the point that I don't need your coin, I'd rather spend what time I do have with you doing something I can control.”

She cocked a brow. “Such as?”

“Such as explaining why I stayed far longer in Clarion than I'd hoped,” he offered.

Distracted by the feel of his shoulder pressed against her own, she pressed her lips together in a vain effort to stop them from tingling. “I don't expect you to explain everything you do, Thomas.”

“But there are some matters that I want to explain,” he insisted. “As you know, I went there to convince Micah's father to end this needless estrangement between them. Unfortunately, the man's no better than a fool led astray by his own pride. In the end, I'm afraid I couldn't even convince him to come to Trinity for a visit to talk to Micah and meet his only grandchild.”

“He sounds an awful lot like Graham Cade,” Martha admitted, then summed up Oliver's news about his grandfather's death, although she did not feel comfortable discussing the terms of the man's will. “I'm very pleased that you tried to help Micah. I suspect he's very grateful that you tried to resolve his trouble with his father, even though it didn't turn out well.”

Moved by Thomas's concern for his family, Martha was convinced that she was incredibly blessed to have this man's love. “You have a good, good heart.”

“I hope you're as understanding when I tell you about the tavern.”

She squinted her eyes and furrowed her brow. “What about it?”

“Dr. McMillan asked me the other night if I was interested
in joining him as an investor in the tavern, which is why I was in his office this morning when you came seeking advice about Samuel.”

Martha cocked her head. “What did you tell him?”

“I've agreed to invest in the tavern in principle, but I didn't want to sign the papers until I talked with you.”

“With me? Why?”

“Because I know how hard it was for you and your brother when he had to sell the property and move away because he couldn't afford to rebuild after the fire. I didn't want you to think I wanted an interest in the property as some sort of ploy to persuade you to marry me any sooner than you want to. With all the growth I expect to see in Trinity in the next few years, the tavern is a particularly good investment for anyone, once a few problems are addressed. Would it bother you overmuch if I did?”

“No, I don't think so,” she ventured and gave him a smile. “Telling me Bella had escaped again, on the other hand, would bother me to no end.”

He chuckled. “Bella's safe and sound in her stall, at least she was when I checked on her a few hours ago,” he said and took her hand. “Because of a few problems at the tavern, we're considering asking your brother to come back with his wife to Trinity to work for us and operate the tavern again, but for a portion of the profits, too.”

Her heart leaped with joy. “James might be moving back?”

He squeezed her hand, as if trying to contain her excitement. “It may happen soon or it may not happen at all, so I'd ask you to keep all that I've told you in strictest confidence. By all rights, I probably shouldn't have even told you.”

“I will, of course,” she promised, although she had every intention of praying that James and Lydia would be living back in Trinity soon.

When Thomas pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, Martha found she didn't want to pull away. But after a lingering moment, Thomas whispered, “As much as I'd like to continue this, I'll probably have to get you back home soon. But there's still one thing I need to tell you before I do.”

With regret shining in his eyes, he told her that he would be leaving for New York the following week to sell off his remaining investments there and would be gone for perhaps as long as a month. “Will you spend some time with me if by some chance Oliver and his family return East before I have to leave?”

“I'll try, but I doubt very much that will happen. To be perfectly honest, with all that's happened in the past two days, I'm hardly able to think beyond the next few hours,” she replied, then told him that Aunt Hilda had left earlier that morning and made him promise to keep that news to himself for now.

“She'll be sorely missed, but I suspect you'll miss her more than most, won't you,” he noted before his expression turned very serious. He cleared his throat, as if preparing to discuss something very important to both of them.

And indeed he was.

“Just in case this is the last opportunity we have to be alone together before I leave for New York, I have something I need to say that you might not like to hear,” he said and cleared his throat again. “Courting you hasn't always been easy, and frankly, it's getting harder.”

She nearly choked. “I beg your pardon?”

“I said that it hasn't been particularly easy for me to court you.”

“Really?” she snapped, annoyed that she had heard him correctly the first time. “Courting young Samantha last year must have been so much easier for you. Up until the moment she refused to join the others to help put out the fire at the tavern
and dashed your plans to announce your betrothal that very night, she never challenged you at all,” Martha charged, without adding that the beautiful young woman was half his age and more interested in the life of ease that he offered her than in Thomas himself.

“No, she didn't,” he admitted. “She didn't have a single thought about anything beyond the latest fashion or care a whit about anyone other than herself, either, which meant that marrying her would have proven to be a grave mistake at best. Fortunately, she saved me from myself by ending our betrothal before it really began, leaving me free to marry a far wiser, far better woman than I deserve.”

He edged a bit closer to her and joined his hand to hers. “You challenge me, Martha. You always did. You have a clear and honest view of the world and your place in it as a godly woman, and you're more worried about other people most of the time than you are for yourself, but you always have been. You're unlike any woman I've ever known, and I love you with all that I am or hope to be.”

Overwhelmed, she blinked back tears. Every word he had just whispered, every beautiful, loving word, would be branded on her heart forever.

Before she could find her voice, he tightened his hold on her hand. “Forgive me if I've upset you by asking you repeatedly to marry me and go to New York with me, but it's only because I'm afraid if you don't, by the time I get back you'll change your mind about marrying me at all, like you did once before.”

The pain in his eyes and in his features was so deep, she knew it had to have come from deep within his heart. Her rejection so many years ago still haunted him.

The pain of their broken courtship so long ago came back to haunt her, too, and she realized that beneath the aura of
self-confidence and charm that usually surrounded the man who was sitting beside her, he was just as uncertain of himself as any other man might be. But he was also being open and honest with her, which made him all the more dear to her and determined to be honest with him, too.

“I made a mistake all those years ago, but not when I ended our courtship. We never should have courted in the first place, but I was young and you were so handsome and a man so far beyond my dreams that I couldn't imagine turning you away. Once I realized that we had very different views on how we would live our futures together, I knew we had to live that future apart. I'm sorry, I know I wasn't fair to you back then,” she said, praying she would find the right words to convince him that all of that pain belonged in the past.

“But this time,” she continued, “it's different for both of us. You've given me the time I needed to carefully consider marriage. And while all my concerns may have felt unfair, I didn't accept your proposal until we'd resolved them. Can you put the past aside and trust me now that I'll keep my word and marry you as soon as I find my replacement?”

She waited for him to respond, one thudding heartbeat after another. She clung to the fact that he was still holding her hand.

Finally, he looked directly in her eyes. “I've had time to think about my proposal and your concerns, too. And you're right in one regard. You still aren't being fair to me by expecting me to wait, possibly for years, while you find a midwife to replace you before I can claim you as my wife and helpmate. I promised you the other day that if you'd marry me now, while you were still following your calling, that I'd be patient and understanding when you were summoned away. I renew that promise now. I'll even give you more time to consider it.” He paused and grew very serious.

“I want you to marry me when I return from New York, whether or not you've found a woman to replace you. Forgive me, but I'm afraid I can only give you until then to make up your mind and no longer. Marry me then, or . . . or I'll ask you to set me free. This is my final proposal to you, and I'd like you to either accept it or send me away right now.”

Surprised by the passion that simmered in his gray eyes, she was shocked by his demand, which was nothing short of an ultimatum. She swallowed hard and looked away. In all fairness, she could not expect him to wait for her indefinitely. Would any man?
Should
any man?