Page 34 of The Lovers
James shook his head, as if annoyed by a pesky fly. “I am upset, but not about her.”
He looked like he wasn’t going to say anymore, but a need to share proved to be stronger. “Harry died this evening.”
“Was he a friend of yours?”
James shook his head again. “No, he was my nephew.”
“You have siblings?” Elise asked, intrigued. Perhaps James’s mother had married after Edward was finished with herand had other children. For some reason, Elise assumed that James had no family, but she must have been wrong.
“I have a sister—Molly. Asher’s her father too. Molly is the only family I have.”
“And your mother?” Elise asked.
“Died birthing me.”
“How old was Harry?”
“Five months. He passed quietly. Just went to sleep and never woke up. Molly is devastated. She’d fought so hard to keep him alive.”
“Was he ill?”
James shrugged. “He didn’t eat enough to survive. Just didn’t seem to have the strength to nurse. Molly had a physician look at him, but he could offer no advice. Just told Molly to eat more meat to fortify her milk for Harry. He was a sweet little mite. Looked just like Molly.”
Elise laid her hand over James’s, startling him. He looked like he was going to yank his hand away but thought better of it. “I’m sorry, James.”
“Thank you.”
“When will the funeral be?” Elise asked. She’d offer to come, if that was all right with James.
James shook his head in disgust. “There will not be a funeral. Harry hadn’t been baptized. Molly kept putting it off till he was stronger, so as a consequence, he can’t be buried in consecrated ground. If that cold bitch upstairs ever acknowledged him as her great-grandson, he might have been buried with her. As is, he’ll have to be buried behind Molly’s house. She’s heartbroken. It’s bad enough to lose a child, but to be denied a Christian burial is devastating for a mother. She needs to know thather boy is with the Lord, not moldering in a stinking hole behind the privy.”
Elise pushed aside her cup and considered James for a moment. She thought she hated him, but at this moment, he was just a sad, bereft young man, and she wished to help.
“James, what if we could sneak baby Harry into Lady Matilda’s coffin?” Elise asked.
“And how, pray tell, are we going to do that?” James appeared to be shocked by the suggestion, but he was listening, his eyes intent on hers as he waited for her to explain.
Elise smiled. “I have an idea.”
“Tell me. I can’t take Harry from Moll unless I can promise her that he will be buried properly.”
“I will offer to prepare Lady Matilda’s body for burial. I doubt Edward will object. I will dress her in one of her favorite gowns and place the baby’s corpse beneath her skirts after she’s been laid out in the coffin. The skirts are so voluminous that they will hide the child, and even if someone notices something, they will assume that it’s just bunched up fabric.”
James gave Elise a look of utter astonishment. “Why would you do that for me? You have every reason to despise me.”
“I’m not doing it for you. I’m doing it for Harry. He was innocent of all wrongdoing, and I wish to help. I think it’s beastly unfair that a child cannot be buried properly just because he hasn’t been baptized.”
“Are you a secret heretic?” James asked with a watery smile.
“No. I’m a person who thinks that there’s much unfairness in the world.”
“I won’t argue with you there. I’ll ask Molly tomorrow. You have until then to change your mind.”
“I won’t change my mind. I just hope that the gravediggers are up to the task.”
“I’ll help them myself if that grave will be Harry’s final resting place.”
Elise nodded. “We’ll make it work, James.”
