“Excuse me,” Jane said. “I know this is terribly thrilling for everyone, but might I have a look at my daughter?”
The midwife brought the baby over and handed her to Jane. Jane was almost afraid to take her, but her instincts overcame her nervousness and she accepted the child into her arms.
“Hello, baby,” she said, looking into her daughter’s eyes. “It’s lovely to make your acquaintance.”
The baby wrinkled her nose and squirmed, her tiny arms waving. Her mouth opened and closed, making a popping sound.
“You should feed her as soon as possible,” the midwife said to Jane.
Jane looked at all of the faces staring at her. “This isn’t a girlie show!” she said. “Everybody out. You can come back in a bit.”
“We’ll be right outside,” Lucy said as she herded the others out of the room. “I’ll call Ben and tell him and Sarah the good news.”
Alone with Walter and their child, Jane held the baby to her breast. At first the little girl pushed away, twisting her face up and mewling like a kitten. But Jane kept bringing her back, and finally her lips closed around Jane’s nipple and she began sucking.
“Can you believe it?” Walter said. “We’re parents.”
“And ten minutes ago we were just people,” said Jane.
Walter laughed. He stroked Jane’s hair and watched the baby feed. “When do you think we’ll know?” he asked Jane.
Jane shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “This is new for me too.”
In the days since the wedding, the question of whether or not Jane had used Crispin’s Needle had come up several times. Each time she had deflected the question and it had gone unanswered, until finally people had stopped asking her.
The truth was, she had not used the Needle. But she still had it, sitting in its black velvet box in the top drawer of her bureau. Like Walter and Jane, it was waiting for the birth of the baby.
Before getting married, Jane and Walter had made a deal. Although both of them were willing to change for the other, neither was willing to ask the other to do so. And so they had compromised—when they had their first child, they would make the decision based on whether the baby was a vampire or not. If she was, then Walter would turn. If she wasn’t, Jane would use the Needle. That way they would all three be the same. They would then announce the results to their loved ones.
Now that the moment had arrived, though, Jane had no idea how to tell. Perhaps it wasn’t even something that
“It doesn’t really matter,” Walter said. “Not right now.”
“No,” Jane agreed. “It doesn’t.”
The baby opened her mouth and burped.
“Now, Cassie,” Jane said. “Is that any way for a little lady to behave?”
Cassandra Austen Fletcher opened her eyes very wide and stared at her mother and father. Deciding they would do, she then yawned, kicked her tiny feet, and went to sleep. It had, after all, been a very eventful day.
About the Author
Michael Thomas Ford is the author of numerous books, including the novels
