Page 16 of A Groom for Lauren
She shuddered and then moved around him towards the settee. He turned to follow her and finally was able to take a good look at the house. Previously she would meet him at the door and not allow him in.
The house was in a curious disarray. Unclean nappies, glass bottles with soured milk, and unwashed baby clothes were strewn about the place. The smell wasn’t pleasant, but it didn’t reek with filth either.
“I’m so sorry that everything is in such disarray,” she said, her face reddening again. “Ever since I had Esther, I’ve been unable to keep up with housework.”
Christopher looked at her clothes, they were made of silk, which was uncommon as most of the women wore linen or calico. Her hair needed to be brushed, but she had the sides pulled back with a brilliant mother-of-pearl comb with fine gems dotting the crown.
“Did you always live in Nebraska, Mrs. Hale?”
A scornful laughed exited her mouth as she picked Esther up from the basket and moved her to a bassinet in the corner of the room. “Oh, goodness no. I came here when I married Jonah.”
As she changed Esther’s nappy, she related her life before her marriage. He noted the way she spoke. Her face had taken on animation that hadn’t been there before. The dull eyes now had a sparkle, and her strain-lined lips were soft and red.
“I see,” he said when she finally took a breath.
“Oh, I must have bored you into the doldrums with that. Please forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive. I asked, didn’t I?”
She nodded slowly, a thoughtful expression on her face. “You did. It’s just that Jonah disliked hearing me talk about my life back home. He said it made me pine for things he couldn’t give me.”
Silence lingered after that telling outburst. Christopher could see how shocked she was at revealing that interesting tidbit of her married life. He recalled his mother saying that ladies never discussed intimate details such as marriage within anyone.
“Would you like some coffee, Dr. Spaulding? It’s the least I could do,” she said wryly.
Christopher didn’t think it was an exaggeration.
“Please.”
As she went about making coffee, he went over to where she had put Esther in the bassinet. The child had stopped crying, but she gummed at her hands rather incessantly. A moment later, the child’s face scrunched up and she began to cry again.
“Oh, for Heaven’s sake, will she ever be quiet!” Lauren shouted as she thumped one of the mugs onto a cluttered counter. “I just stopped her from crying and she’s crying again.”
Christopher looked at Lauren. “Babies cry, don’t they?”
“Yes, but she always cries. Heather has been here several times because we thought something was wrong, but we can’t seem to find anything. I’ve changed her nappy, she’s been fed. What else could she want?”
Lauren’s anger seemed to increase the more she listed her daughter’s complaints. Something about it didn’t sit well with Christopher. “Well, let me see if I can calm her down.”
He gulped. Dear Lord, he’d never held a baby this young before. Matter of fact, the last time he held a baby, it had four legs and hooves and he’d had to dart away before the mother kicked him in the forehead.
But he had to try. Give this mysterious woman some relief.
“You’re a man. What do you know of holding babies?”
Giving her a sheepish grin, he said, “Nothing. But I would like for you to show me.”
Lauren gave him a long look. “Why are you doing this?”
“I want to help you however I can,” he said simply. “Now, before this young lady begins to bring down the roof over our heads. Why don’t you show me how to hold her?”
Leaving the coffee pot on to boil, Lauren came and picked up the squalling baby. Giving him explicit instructions, he was soon holding the child in his arms.
“Esther,” he said the baby’s name.
In an instant, the child stopped crying, her eyes as wide as saucers. She gazed up at him as if she never seen anything like him.
Which, perhaps she hadn’t.
