open up around babies than around adults. There was just something about the innocent, wriggling creatures that helped to open peoples’ hearts.
“So, I notice that you and Max hardly seem to be on speaking terms,” May began, sitting on a stone bench and releasing Sophie’s hand, so she could look around the bright garden.
“We talk!” Lucy defended, settling the baby in her arms as she sat, since his eyes looked to be growing heavy.
“You almost looked nauseous when he kissed your cheek yesterday evening.”
“Let’s just say, he’s not the man that I thought he was.”
“But you’ve known him since you were children.”
“He was sixteen, hardly a child.”
“Lucy, please, tell me what pains you so? I can’t bear to see you like this, so cold and unfeeling.”
“I'm not unfeeling,” Lucy said, bowing her head as her tears fell. “I rather feel too much for Max, which is the problem.”
“I don’t understand.”
“No, you don’t.” Lucy agreed.
May left her to get herself under control and didn’t press for more information. She knew her friend well enough to know that she would open up in her own time, or not at all.
Lucy kept her eyes focused on little James’ sleeping face and began her tale only when her tears had stopped.
“The day I lost the baby, I received a note from your father, requesting my presence urgently at a London address. I realise now that it must have been from Max’s mistress but I was too worried…” She remembered that May didn’t know the state of her father’s health either, “…by the urgency of the note, to think clearly.”
She took another break, breathing deeply to hold her tears at bay.
“When I got there, the door was ajar and before I could knock, I heard her and Max in conversation. They were arguing and he was telling her that he only married me for my money, position and faultless reputation. Then he told her how much he loved her and asked her to understand that he couldn’t marry a woman like her, even if they did have children together.”
May ’s mouth had dropped open in shock.
“I fled from their words without making my presence known but my vision was blurred. I tripped and lost my footing, falling down a flight of stairs. That’s why I lost the baby.”
“Oh, my darling.” May put her arms around her friend and pulled her close, causing Lucy to begin crying in earnest, though she tried not to disturb the baby. “I’m so sorry.”
May didn’t know what was going on but she was certain that Max wouldn’t behave like that. He loved Lucy, she would bet her childrens’ lives on that fact, and no matter how forced this marriage had been, she was also sure that there were no two people more suited for each other than Max and Lucy. Yes, they had their differences as well as their similarities, but those differences compensated for weaknesses in the other.
Lucy was responsible, while Max tended to flee from it.
Max knew how to have fun, while Lucy tended to prefer being shy and demure.
They both had a temper and weren’t afraid to ‘tell the other their fortune’ if necessary.
And they both loved each other so deeply that it frightened them.
When Lucy’s tears had dried, May tried some gentle probing.
“How do you know he was talking with his mistress?” She asked kindly. Right now she was hoping that he had been talking to his mother, or perhaps Maude or Madeline, their other sisters.
“She came to see me at the orphanage before the wedding, under the guise of making a donation. I recognised her perfume as one I’d smelled on Max many times before.”
“But surely you couldn’t recognise her from her voice alone, after only one meeting?”
“She has the worst French accent in all of England; I’d know that voice anywhere.”
May was out of excuses. “I take it you haven’t spoken with Max about this?”
“No. This is my fault, May. I allowed myself to fall love with him-“
“We can’t help who we
“So, I notice that you and Max hardly seem to be on speaking terms,” May began, sitting on a stone bench and releasing Sophie’s hand, so she could look around the bright garden.
“We talk!” Lucy defended, settling the baby in her arms as she sat, since his eyes looked to be growing heavy.
“You almost looked nauseous when he kissed your cheek yesterday evening.”
“Let’s just say, he’s not the man that I thought he was.”
“But you’ve known him since you were children.”
“He was sixteen, hardly a child.”
“Lucy, please, tell me what pains you so? I can’t bear to see you like this, so cold and unfeeling.”
“I'm not unfeeling,” Lucy said, bowing her head as her tears fell. “I rather feel too much for Max, which is the problem.”
“I don’t understand.”
“No, you don’t.” Lucy agreed.
May left her to get herself under control and didn’t press for more information. She knew her friend well enough to know that she would open up in her own time, or not at all.
Lucy kept her eyes focused on little James’ sleeping face and began her tale only when her tears had stopped.
“The day I lost the baby, I received a note from your father, requesting my presence urgently at a London address. I realise now that it must have been from Max’s mistress but I was too worried…” She remembered that May didn’t know the state of her father’s health either, “…by the urgency of the note, to think clearly.”
She took another break, breathing deeply to hold her tears at bay.
“When I got there, the door was ajar and before I could knock, I heard her and Max in conversation. They were arguing and he was telling her that he only married me for my money, position and faultless reputation. Then he told her how much he loved her and asked her to understand that he couldn’t marry a woman like her, even if they did have children together.”
May ’s mouth had dropped open in shock.
“I fled from their words without making my presence known but my vision was blurred. I tripped and lost my footing, falling down a flight of stairs. That’s why I lost the baby.”
“Oh, my darling.” May put her arms around her friend and pulled her close, causing Lucy to begin crying in earnest, though she tried not to disturb the baby. “I’m so sorry.”
May didn’t know what was going on but she was certain that Max wouldn’t behave like that. He loved Lucy, she would bet her childrens’ lives on that fact, and no matter how forced this marriage had been, she was also sure that there were no two people more suited for each other than Max and Lucy. Yes, they had their differences as well as their similarities, but those differences compensated for weaknesses in the other.
Lucy was responsible, while Max tended to flee from it.
Max knew how to have fun, while Lucy tended to prefer being shy and demure.
They both had a temper and weren’t afraid to ‘tell the other their fortune’ if necessary.
And they both loved each other so deeply that it frightened them.
When Lucy’s tears had dried, May tried some gentle probing.
“How do you know he was talking with his mistress?” She asked kindly. Right now she was hoping that he had been talking to his mother, or perhaps Maude or Madeline, their other sisters.
“She came to see me at the orphanage before the wedding, under the guise of making a donation. I recognised her perfume as one I’d smelled on Max many times before.”
“But surely you couldn’t recognise her from her voice alone, after only one meeting?”
“She has the worst French accent in all of England; I’d know that voice anywhere.”
May was out of excuses. “I take it you haven’t spoken with Max about this?”
“No. This is my fault, May. I allowed myself to fall love with him-“
“We can’t help who we
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