CHAPTER
31

WHEN JULIA AND THE FOOTMAN ARRIVED at the Barkers’ home, Michael opened the door before the servant could pull out the key. He looked tired. His coat was wrinkled, and he had removed his cravat. He drew her inside and for several moments simply looked at her. “I can hardly believe you came.”

“I’ll do what I can. Will she be willing to let me help?”

“Maybe not at first,” Michael admitted. “But you are as strong-willed as she is. I know you’ll find a way.”

There was so much she wanted to ask him! But she could see his worry for his sister overshadowing his joy at seeing her again. Everything else would have to wait.

As they went up the stairs, Michael gave her a brief account of what had transpired over the past few hours. “David and I just want to be sure everything is all right and that nothing has been missed.”

Julia was honored, and perhaps a little awed, that he had such faith in her abilities.

David met them outside the door to Corinna’s room. “Thank you for coming.” His hand was clammy as he shook hers. The poor man was in a cold sweat. “I’d take you inside, but the sight of me seems to set her off even worse.”

“All women hate their husbands at this stage. Take heart; it will pass.”

She saw a brief glimmer of hope in his eyes. “Do you really think so?”

“Julia has a lot of experience in these things,” Michael reminded him.

“And many more things besides,” David said, nodding. “After all, you saved his life.” He tilted his head toward Michael.

“I don’t think saving a life will be necessary today,” Julia said, “but I will see how I can help.” She couldn’t know this for sure, of course, until she’d seen the patient, but David looked so overwhelmed with worry that she felt compelled to comfort him in some way. She reached for the door handle. “I’ll just go in and see how she is. Introduce myself to the midwife.”

“David and I want to know the absolute truth,” Michael said. “I know you will be honest with us.”

“You can trust me for that,” she promised.

Julia had arrived during a quiet period between contractions. Corinna lay in a doze, propped up with some pillows, her hands loosely wrapped around her belly. The woman seated next to the bed was dozing herself, taking advantage of the chance for a rest. It was wise on her part, for both mother and midwife needed to save their strength for when it was truly needed. Julia went to the washstand, pleased to see there was soap and fresh water available, and quietly washed her hands.

When she was done, she looked around the room. The midwife had everything in order: a pan for receiving the afterbirth, string and scissors for the umbilical cord, a jar of belladonna ointment, and some sweet oil. Everything was ready to attend to Corinna’s physical needs. Based on what Michael had told her, Julia guessed that what Corinna might need most from her was help of a less tangible kind, such as comfort and understanding. Knowing what she did of Corinna, it could not be given in a patronizing way, but with simple honesty as well as kindness.

Corinna’s eyes fluttered open, and she cried out as the contractions began again. Mrs. Taylor awoke, too, and began to rise from her chair. Both seemed to lay eyes on Julia at the same time.

Corinna cried out, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to help,” Julia assured her.

“What insolence, to come here after what you’ve done! You’re the reason Michael isn’t marrying Laura!”

“I haven’t seen Michael since the trial,” Julia returned coolly. “Here, let’s put the pillow under your back, like so. I think it will make you more comfortable.”

“Stay away from me—”

Her protestations were cut off by her sharp intake of breath as another contraction overtook her.

“Now, then, Mrs. Barker, remember what I told you to do,” Mrs. Taylor commanded, coming over to the bed. The instructions she gave sounded more like scolding than coaching. Julia could see that Michael had been correct when he’d described the midwife’s brusque manner.

They worked together, helping Corinna through this round of contractions, and at one point, Julia briefly introduced herself to the midwife as a family friend. When Mrs. Taylor learned that Julia was a nurse experienced with childbirth, she was happy to give her the pertinent information concerning Corinna’s condition.

Mrs. Taylor was of the opinion that the labor was proceeding well. Even though Corinna was vocal about her discomfort, painful contractions were not out of the ordinary. Julia thought Mrs. Taylor was probably correct, but still, she wanted to do an examination herself. This was not only for her own assurance, but so she could give Michael and David the accurate assessment they’d asked for. But she had to get Corinna’s permission first.

Corinna had thus far tolerated Julia’s presence, primarily because while she was in the midst of the contractions, she was in no position to do anything else. But gaining her trust was going to be another matter.

“Mrs. Taylor, would you be able to go out and speak to Mr. Barker?” Julia asked when things had quieted down again. “He asked specifically if you might step out periodically and give him a report.”

“What a worrywart that man is,” Mrs. Taylor replied. But she complied.

“Can you see now that I want only to help?” Julia asked Corinna when they were alone.

“Why would you want to do that?” Corinna was tired, so the protest came out with less force than earlier.

“Because Michael asked me to.”

“Michael.” Her voice was tinged with anger. But then she exhaled a long breath, as if in disappointment, closing her eyes briefly.

“He cares for you very much. He had only your best interest in mind when he asked me here. He did it because he knows we are both strong-willed women.” She said this last with a bit of a wry smile.

“Mrs. Taylor is too,” Corinna pointed out.

“But I don’t think she really understands you, does she? She gives orders, tells you not to worry, and feels that is enough. She doesn’t really know how to address the fears you have, deep down, that something terrible may happen.”

“Don’t presume you know what I think,” Corinna snapped. But her eyes betrayed her.

Julia gently brushed some loose hair back from Corinna’s face. “We really should braid your hair. You’ll be glad to have it out of the way later.”

“No! I don’t like braids.”

“This is no time for vanity.” Julia went to the dressing table and snatched up the brush. Before Corinna could launch another objection, Julia began gently brushing her hair, settling for making the braid on one side, since Corinna was leaning heavily against the pillows. She knew the brushing would have a calming effect. Corinna tried to look as though she were barely tolerating it, but her shoulders relaxed and her eyes half-closed.

Julia began to gather the hair nimbly into a braid. “It’s unsettling, I know, when faced with things that are out of our control. It can feel, perhaps, like being in deep waters, unsure of the current.”

“Or walking over a precipice,” Corinna murmured.

“Precisely.” Julia was glad to see this hint that Corinna might be ready to open up to her. She cut off a bit of the nearby string and secured the braid. “One of my faults is that I am brutally honest. Not only can I help you, but I will answer all your questions, too. Will you allow me to do that?” She lightly squeezed Corinna’s hand, giving her best reassuring smile, silently urging her to agree, until at last she saw acceptance in Corinna’s eyes.

“Yes,” said Corinna. “I will.”

“She’s been in there a long time,” David commented. “On the other hand, we haven’t heard Corinna yelling at her to leave, so that’s a good sign, don’t you think?”

“Undoubtedly.” Michael had a feeling that the longer Julia stayed in the room, the better the news must be. If something were amiss, she would have told them.

It had been a risk bringing her here, but he knew he’d been right to do it. From the moment she’d arrived, Michael felt certain that nothing truly bad could happen. She’d come so quickly and been amazingly cheerful—not at all as though she thought he’d callously thrown her over and then gone on to successfully persecute the school that was so vital to all her dreams. And then to come help his sister, whose actions had been in no way friendly toward her! What a woman this was. Someone who truly held no grudges.

He heard Corinna emit another loud cry, but this one seemed to stem from alarm rather than pain.

Several minutes passed, during which they could hear a lot of bustling and talking going on in the next room. David stood by the door, straining to hear, attempting to decipher every sound. It was clear he was as mystified as Michael.

The door flew open, and Julia came out, looking purposeful but not necessarily worried. “It won’t be long now!” she announced. “I rang for Janet. She’ll need to alert Dr. Hartman that Mrs. Barker’s bag of waters has broken.”

“Broken!” David repeated in horror.

“That’s a good thing,” Julia assured him. “It has to happen before the baby can come.”

She was about to disappear back inside the room, but Michael caught her arm. “Can you tell us anything else?”

“I think the baby’s face may not be positioned in the most favorable direction, but at least it is willing to come out head first, so I don’t think we’ll have too much trouble.” She smiled up at him.

“Thank you.” This was just what he’d hoped to hear, and coming from Julia, he believed it.

He wasn’t willing to release her arm just yet. It was too tempting to keep her near. How many long weeks had it been since he’d seen that smile, those freckles? The eyes that always had a spark of intelligent liveliness in them? He felt the warmth of her arm through her cotton sleeve and wondered how that could be, when he knew from experience that her touch was always cool. He’d never thought of her as a woman of contradictions, but perhaps this was one.

She studied him with equal fascination, her lips slightly parted. Michael recalled the way she’d been looking at him just before that incredible moment in the park when she’d pulled him to her for a kiss.

“There’s Janet!” cried David.

Michael swallowed and stepped back as the maid hurried toward them. Julia turned to give her instructions and send her to Dr. Hartman.

David clasped and unclasped his hands, his gaze moving between Julia and the door to Corinna’s room. He looked as though the weight of hopeful anticipation mixed with fear might crush him.

Julia gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Cheer up, Mr. Barker. You’ll be a father soon.” She might even have given him a friendly wink before she left them to go back to Corinna.

In contrast to David’s fidgeting, Michael stood quite still, feeling bereft at her absence. But his heart was sustained by what he’d seen just before she’d turned to talk to the maid. It had taken great effort to pull herself back to the task at hand, just as it had him. Neither of them had wanted that moment to end. Michael had seen love in her eyes, and one way or another, once they were past the birth of Corinna’s baby, he was going to do something about it.

Dr. Hartman arrived just minutes before the baby was born. He and the midwife knew their business well, and in the end, Julia’s best contribution was to stay close to Corinna, helping her through the process and explaining what the doctor and Mrs. Taylor were doing.

Julia had attended many births and always marveled at the beauty of seeing a new life, but she’d never been as personally thrilled as she was the moment Corinna’s child made its way into the world.

“What a strapping, beautiful little boy you’ve got, Mrs. Barker!” the midwife exclaimed.

“A . . . boy,” Corinna gasped, still short of breath. She sank back onto the pillows. “Oh, what a messy business this was.” But she said this in a dreamy, offhand way, as though she were surprised to find herself here. And she was smiling.

Julia knew this was the moment. She went to the bedroom door and flung it open. David and Michael both stood there, obviously aware the big moment had arrived.

“Come quickly!” she said to David, eagerly motioning him into the room.

“Why? What’s wrong?” he exclaimed, startled by the fervor with which Julia had given the command.

“Nothing. Go speak to her. Right now!”

David was understandably hesitant, for the room was still in disarray, and his wife had been cursing him for hours. But Julia knew there was a period after the birth when the new mother was overtaken with a feeling of absolute euphoria. This was the best time for the husband to be with her.

Julia pushed him forward. “Go on.”

He approached the bed practically on tiptoe, looking ready to flee if necessary. Then he got a good look at his wife’s face. Corinna was in the midst of that peaceful languor after the work of the birth is over. She hardly seemed to notice the doctor and the midwife, who were securing the umbilical cord and cleaning the baby. She gazed up at her husband and, as Julia had expected, the bliss she felt flowed naturally toward him. “It’s a boy,” she told him.

David beamed at her with pure adoration. “Oh, my love. Oh, my darling. How beautiful you are.” He gently brushed a strand of matted hair back from her forehead, which was still covered in sweat, seeing only the beauty of the woman he cherished. He leaned down to place a kiss on her cheek, which she readily accepted. “I love you so much.”

“Yes.” It was not exactly a return of his declaration, but Corinna’s gaze was warm and tender, and it was more than enough for David.

“It is time to go now,” Julia whispered. “There is more to do, but I wanted you to be here for this moment.”

David left the room in dazed elation, and Julia’s heart sang. She prayed that the tenuous bond these two had forged would grow stronger with time. Her concern for their welfare was prompted not just by medical precepts or Christian ideals. Corinna and David meant the world to Michael, and that was enough for her.

“When I saw the look on David’s face after he came out of that room, I was sure you had worked a miracle.”

Julia chuckled. “It was only a matter of knowing the beauty of God’s design and taking advantage of it.”

The beauty of God’s design. Michael loved those words. Julia had opened his eyes in so many ways to see how God had worked in their lives.

It was after midnight. Michael and Julia were making their way downstairs. They were finally alone. Corinna and baby were sleeping comfortably, and Mrs. Taylor had settled herself into a cozy chair to watch over them. David was also with them—the new doting father seated next to the crib, staring down at his sleeping son, drinking in the sight of him.

The servants had been dismissed for the night. Nevertheless, when Michael and Julia reached the parlor, he closed the door behind them to ensure their privacy.

Julia voiced no objection. In fact, she didn’t even seem to notice. “Are those sandwiches?” she exclaimed, immediately spotting the food laid out on the tea table.

“I asked the servants to leave us something. I thought you’d be hungry.”

“Indeed I am!”

It did Michael’s heart good to think he had anticipated her needs. It seemed small recompense after all she’d done for him and his family.

Before long, Julia was eating and exclaiming that she’d never tasted better. Michael did not partake; he was content just to watch her, to enjoy the way she took delight in the food. Sitting in this room, he could not help but recall the hours they’d spent here, working on her Latin lessons. Even—or perhaps most especially—the times she’d poked and prodded at him, inspecting his injuries. All the times she’d been so near him, not realizing the effect she had on him.

Just like now, when she was wiping a crumb from the corner of her mouth . . .

“You’re smiling,” Julia said. But it was posed as a question.

Smiling? More likely grinning like a besotted fool. Michael brought his thoughts back around to the other reasons—besides the sheer pleasure of her company—that he’d wanted to see her again. “God is good, isn’t He?”

He enjoyed how startled—and pleased—she looked. She said nothing, waiting expectantly for him to continue.

“I believe now in the things you told me.” He paused, not finding further words to express himself, but she seemed to understand. “You might also like to know that Myrtle Hodges was acquitted of all charges.”

She gasped in delight. “How do you know that?”

“I represented her. I defended Gwen, too, at her trial. She was recommended to mercy, and her sentence was reduced to three months. Her aunt, on the other hand, got eighteen.”

“I’ll have to do something to help Gwen when she gets out. I don’t know exactly what, but . . .”

“We’ll think of something.”

“We?” She gave him a teasing look, the kind he loved.

“Well, you seem to have a calling to help these people. I began to see that I can perhaps be of use, too.”

Her face was alight with joy. He wanted to spend the rest of his life doing all he could to bring that expression to her face and keep it there. “I saved the best news for last, though. I have been doing some research on your father.”

“You have?”

“I was intrigued by your story, and I began to wonder if there was any way to find out what happened to him. With Jamie Anderson’s help, I was able to track down someone who used to know him. Do you remember a man named Charlie Stains?”

Her brow furrowed as she searched her memories, but then she drew back and looked at Michael. “Wait a minute. Did you say you asked Mr. Anderson for help?”

He grinned. “Let me tell you everything.”

She listened attentively, all the while looking at him with that lovely Julia expression. Attentive. Curious. Beautiful. There were so many words to describe her, and yet not enough.

Especially now, when she wore a dreamy expression, like a child who wanted to believe in fairy stories. “It seems incredible. Do you think it could possibly be true?”

“I think it’s worth trying to find out.”

“But to go all the way to South America.” She deflated a little at the thought. “It’s so far out of reach. The money and the time it would take . . .”

“Is this the same Julia Bernay who has told me so often about a bountiful God who supplies all needs?”

“Well, if I was truly convinced of it, I would have no trouble believing for the means. But this . . . is it folly?”

“Maybe sometimes we don’t know for sure. Maybe sometimes we just have to walk out and see. I would gladly pay for you to go.”

“No, I could not even think of asking—”

“I love you, Julia.” He took her hand. “I’d take you there myself if I could. Of course, I’d have to marry you first. But then I could never come back to England, because Corinna would want my head on a pike. Even David, kindhearted man that he is, because I promised him—”

“What are you saying?” Julia looked confused, and yet also amused by his babbling. “Was that . . . a proposal?”

His heart sank. Like an idiot, he’d gotten carried away. He should never have said those things aloud. “I wish it could be. But as I told you that day in the park, there are circumstances that prevent me from doing so. Things I hope to change.”

Once more, there was that hint of a smile playing around her lips. “What a good thing that his lordship has had a change of heart.”

Michael was so caught up in the swirl of desire and disappointment that he thought he couldn’t have heard properly. “I beg your pardon?”

“Lord Westbridge told me he was the one who forbade you to see me again. But you said it had something to do with your family.”

“It was both.” He hesitated, confused. “His lordship told you?”

“Yes, and he said he was sorry for it. He said you had your reasons, and you might explain it to me if I asked—”

“Wait!” It was Michael’s turn to interrupt. “I appear to be missing some very important information.”

“Ah, so you are. Here it is in a nutshell. I got Edith to go and talk to him, and they decided they did not want to fight each other anymore.”

If Michael had thought Julia was a miracle worker before, he was sure of it now. He looked at her in wonder, feeling like a hopeful traveler standing on the brink of a brave new world. “Why do I think there is more to it than that?”

“I’ll be happy to tell you all about it. It seems there is a lot to discuss.” She reached out and gave an inviting tug to his coat collar. “But perhaps it can wait a bit?”

“Mmm, yes.”

He allowed her to pull him in, reveling in the kisses of this irrepressible, dynamic, singular woman. Yes, there would be plenty of time to talk. For now, he wanted only to hold Julia in his arms and know she was truly his.