Page 68 of The Unforgiven
“Do you understand what that means?” Sybil demanded.
“Am I ill?” Madeline croaked, suddenly frightened. She hadn’t given it much thought, glad not to have to deal with nearly a week of bleeding and cramping every month. It was a relief, especially since George could come to her any time.
“You’re not ill; you’re pregnant,” Sybil announced, her eyes boring into Madeline.
“But I can’t be. I’m-I’m not married,” she stammered.
“Has no one ever explained these matters to you, you foolish child?”
“No,” Madeline muttered.
Something like pity moved behind Sybil’s eyes, but she gave Madeline no quarter and continued her interrogation. “Have you not been indulging in sin with my grandson for months? Oh, did you think I don’t know?” she asked, correctly reading Madeline’s expression of shock.
Madeline hung her head, too ashamed to look at her grandmother.
“You took advantage of his bereaved state and lured him into your bed as soon as Amelia left. He was heartbroken, and you preyed on his vulnerability,” Sybil accused.
“It wasn’t like that,” Madeline interjected, stunned. “It was George…”
“Be silent!” Sybil roared. “How dare you argue with me when you’ve disgraced this family, you little trollop. I suppose I never should have expected anything better from you, given your parentage. Measures will have to be taken to protect your reputation, and ours.”
“What measures?” Trembling with fear and shame, Madeline was shocked to the core to learn what had happened to her without her knowledge or understanding. Surely George must have known about the possible consequences of his actions. He was a married man, and many years her senior. Madeline covered her face with her hands and hunched over, as if in pain. Tears slid between her fingers and ran down her hands. She didn’t even have a handkerchief in her pocket, a small oversight that only added to her misery.
Sybil handed her one and pushed her into a chair. “Clean yourself up,” she said, not without sympathy.
Madeline tried to get hold of herself, but the tears wouldn’t stop falling. She was so woefully uninformed about the whole process that the magnitude of what had happened to her was too much to bear. Only an hour ago, she had been basking in the afterglow of her first ball, and now she was here, her futureuncertain and her grandmother, whose approval she’d tried so hard to win, ashamed and disgusted by her.
“I’m sorry,” Madeline wailed. “I didn’t know this could happen.”
“No, I don’t suppose you did,” Sybil replied. “Stop sniveling, Madeline. You’re not the first or the last foolish girl to fall pregnant before marriage. Of course, the fact that George is already married does complicate matters. Had this child been Gilbert’s, we’d have had you married before the end of the year. There’d be gossip, of course, but eventually, everyone would tire of your disgrace and move on to something else.”
“What’s going to happen?” Madeline asked, her pleading eyes on her grandmother. Sybil was so strong, so capable. She’d have the answers.
She had opened her mouth to reply when Cissy ushered Mammy into the room. Mammy looked ashen, her eyes wide with apprehension.
“Take Madeline to my bedroom and examine her,” Sybil ordered Mammy. “I need to know how far gone she is.”
Mammy looked as if someone had just upended a bucket of ice water over her head. Her gaze flew to Madeline’s face, but Madeline couldn’t bear to meet her shocked gaze and stared at her hands folded demurely in her lap, clutching the soiled handkerchief.
“Did you hear me?” Sybil demanded. “You delivered half the children on this plantation in your time, so I must rely on your knowledge. I can hardly call Dr. Holbrook, given the circumstances.”
“Yes, madam,” Mammy replied. “Right away.”
Mammy took Madeline by the arm and led her into Sybil’s bedroom. Madeline didn’t notice anything except the sea-green bed hangings, which made her feel like she was drowning. She feltsick to her stomach, and terrified of what this examination would yield.
“Lie back, child,” Mammy said softly.
Madeline obediently lay on the bed and allowed Mammy to push up her skirts and pull down her pantaloons. She was embarrassed, but Mammy seemed very matter-of-fact and talked to her softly, telling her to relax. Madeline cried out as Mammy slid her fingers inside her and felt around before removing her hand and palpating Madeline’s stomach. Mammy’s eyes were moist with tears and her hand shook as she wiped it on a towel after completing the examination and they both walked back into the parlor.
“Well?” Sybil demanded.
“’Bout three months gone,” Mammy said.
Sybil nodded and turned to look at Madeline. “You will begin to show soon, and I won’t have scandal tainting this family. Not again. You two will go to a cabin in the bayou and remain there until the child is born. Everyone will be told that you went to visit with your mother’s relations in Charleston.”
“My mother had relations?” Madeline asked, brightening.
“No, you dimwit, that’s just an explanation for your absence. Your Mammy will deliver the child. She’s good at that,” Sybil added bitterly.
