In His Eyes(70)

It slipped on the marble and tilted precariously. Fumbling to set down the amber oil, Ella tried to quickly grasp the elixir again, but it began to roll. “No!”

Ella lunged, startling Lee who began to wail. Her fingers darted toward the bottle, sliding over the smooth glass as it rolled toward the edge of the marble top. It hit the floor with a sickening crack. “No, no, no!”

She dropped to her knees, her fingers clawing through the shadows to find Lee’s only hope at survival. They plunged into something sticky and her heart sank. Yards of fabric pooled around her and she laid Lee in her lap so that she could use both hands to cradle the leaking bottle.

The rag. Where had she put….?

Light flooded the room, and the clomp of boots sounded over the floor. “Ella?”

The murky darkness scattered from the lamp’s path, and the light caught on the cracked surface of the brown bottle in her hands. The crack ran along the full length of the glass, and the thick liquid seeped onto her hands. “Please, a rag….something!”

Westley moved away, taking the light with him. Lee started to cry, a pitiful sound that dissolved into yet another horrendous hacking fit.

Please, God! Why do you never answer my pleas?

“Here, give it to me.”

Ella’s fingers tightened on the bottle, and Westley had to pry it from her grasp. He lifted Lee’s life away from her along with the bottle! She began to weep. No doctor, no treatments, and no more hope.

Lee wailed, and Ella plunged her elixir soaked finger into his mouth, rubbing it against the insides of his cheeks. He would get this much, at least!

When she got what she could into his mouth, she pulled him against her chest, her tears cascading down her face and landing on his head as she rocked herself back and forth.

Anguish bubbled in her, a fountain that had filled with each tribulation until finally the loss of hope sent it spilling over. Why? Why must she gain someone to love only to lose him in such a cruel way?

“Ella….” Westley bent beside her and cupped her elbow. “Come now, get up.”

She shook her head and hugged the coughing infant tighter.

“Ella.” The major’s voice became more urgent, poking at her like a needle. “Ella! You’re holding him too tight!”

Fear burst through her and she gasped, loosening her grip on Lee.

“Hand me the child and get up.”

That voice again. The stern one that held no room for argument. Like a good soldier, Ella relinquished her child and climbed to her feet. Did he seek to take the baby from her? She wouldn’t have really done him harm…she didn’t mean….

The sobs broke free and then his arm was around her shoulders, pulling her close. “Be calm, Ella. You must be calm.”

She gulped air and willed the sobs to stop, straining against them like a cracked dam against an entire ocean. Finally, with great effort, the hitching sobs subsided, only to be replaced by ragged breathing and silent streams of tears.

A knock came at the door to the nursery. “Miss Ella?”

Basil.

“You needs help, Miss Ella?”

She opened her mouth to respond, surprise when the major spoke instead. “I have her, Basil. You may return to your rest.”

If the girl was surprised by Westley’s presence in Ella’s room, she gave no indication and the house fell silent. Too silent.

Ella peered at the baby tucked in the major’s other arm. As though sensing her gaze in the darkness, Westley gave her a squeeze. “There, see? He sleeps.”

“But…the medicine…”

“He’s had some, and I’ve wrapped the bottle to try to stem the leak. As soon as you are safely settled in bed, I will find another bottle to put it in.”

“Oh…I….Thank you, Westley.”

He pulled her against his side, and to her astonishment, placed a kiss on the top of her head before turning her to the bed and gently coaxing her to sit. He leaned down to peer into her face. “Can you hold him for a moment? I am going to get the crib.”

She reached out her arms. “The crib?”

He handed Lee over, who did, indeed, sleep. Had the elixir so soon taken effect?

“Yes. I am going to put it against your bed so that he may sleep close to you, and you will have no fear of him falling from the bed.”

She’d never thought of doing that, but it certainly made sense. She didn’t reply, and he moved off. In the shadowed light offered from the lamp sitting on her dressing table, Ella watched him walk toward the nursery with an uneven gait. Would he always walk with that limp? She suspected that if he did, it would somehow wound his pride.

But did he not know that he would be no less formidable even if he spent his days in an invalid’s chair? The man exuded a strength that surpassed that of his sturdy frame and thick build. It went far deeper, and therefore could not be taken from him by a mere injury.

Westley tapped on the door to the nursery and waited until Basil opened the door. “Um…yes, suh?”

“Step aside, Basil. I am moving the baby’s crib.”

Basil moved back out of sight and the major strode through the door without the aid of his cane. Basil said something low that Ella couldn’t make out, but Westley’s words were clear.

“I can get it on my own. I don’t need a child to help me with lifting.”