baby late this summer.”
“You couldn’t be mistaken?”
“I don’t think so.”
Garnet frowned. “If it’s still early, then there’s a chance I might miscarry, isn’t there?”
“Have you ever miscarried before?”
“No.”
“It’s possible, of course, but it’s much more likely you’ll have a healthy baby.” Sarah smiled to reassure her, but Garnet didn’t look reassured. Instead she glanced around the room, as if noticing it for the first time.
“How nice that you have your own home. Do you support yourself completely?”
Sarah blinked. “Yes.”
“How long did it take for you to learn to be a midwife?”
“I took training as a nurse, and then I worked with another midwife for a year or so. About three years total, I guess.”
The news seemed to disappoint her. “That’s a long time.”
“Are you interested in becoming a midwife?”
“Not really. I just…I’m interested in how a woman can make her own way in the world.”
Once again, Sarah considered what good manners required of her, but this time she chose to ignore them. “Why?”
Garnet seemed shocked. Probably no one had ever asked her such a rude question before. “I…I suppose you have a right to wonder.”
“No, I don’t, but I admit I’m curious. Most women would kill to be in your position.” Seeing Garnet’s wince, Sarah instantly regretted her choice of words. “I’m so sorry. That was thoughtless—”
“Oh, no, don’t apologize. You’re absolutely right. My husband is now one of the richest men in the city. I live in a beautiful home with servants to wait on me. I have every luxury available. I should want for nothing.”
“And yet you’re asking me how a woman can make her own way in the world.”
Color bloomed in Garnet’s cheeks, and she started to rise. “I shouldn’t have come …”
“Oh, please, don’t go! I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”
“You did nothing wrong, Mrs. Brandt. I was just being foolish.”
Sarah cast about for a way to make her stay. “I…Do you have any questions about the baby?”
Her lips stretched into a grin, a ghastly expression that spoke of pain and bitterness. “No, no questions. My mother-in-law will be thrilled. She so wants the Devries name to continue.”
“You could send her away, you know,” Sarah said, thinking she knew the source of Garnet’s pain. “Your mother-in-law, I mean. You’re the mistress of the house now. You could send her to live with one of her daughters, or surely the family has a house in Newport or someplace where she could go.”
“My husband would have to agree to send her away.” Plainly, Garnet didn’t believe that would ever happen.
“Then you could go yourself. For your health. For the baby.”
“For the baby. Of course.” For a second, an emotion that might have been despair twisted her lovely face, and then it was gone. She smiled the way girls like them had been taught to smile their entire lives, politely and insincerely. “Thank you for seeing me, Mrs. Brandt.”
“Please, come back anytime. I will always be happy to see you.”
“That’s good to know.”
Sarah followed her back to the front room and helped her with her cloak. “I would be happy to attend you, if your family approves.”
This time, Garnet’s smile was merely sad. “I’m sure I will be attended by the best doctors in the city, although you understand, that would not be my choice.”
“I do understand. But I can always be your friend.”
Tears flooded Garnet’s eyes. “You shouldn’t make such rash promises, Mrs. Brandt.”
Before Sarah could reply, she was gone, throwing open the front door and practically fleeing. Sarah wanted to call her back, but as Garnet reached the foot of the front steps, she nearly collided with Sarah’s elderly neighbor, Mrs. Ellsworth, who carried a napkin-wrapped plate of goodies she must be bringing for the girls. Sarah rushed to save Mrs. Ellsworth and the plate from falling, and by the time she had, Garnet had disappeared around the corner.
“Who was that?” Mrs. Ellsworth asked, breathless.
“A new friend,” Sarah said. “I’m sorry. She was a little upset.”
“At you?” Mrs. Ellsworth asked as they climbed the front steps.
“Oh, no.” At least Sarah didn’t think so, although she had no idea what Garnet was really upset about. She tried to distract Mrs. Ellsworth. “What have you brought us?”
“Cookies. Just shortbread, I’m afraid, but they’re Nelson’s favorite. He won’t eat many of them, though, so I brought you the rest.”
“How is Nelson?”
“He’s very happy. Did I tell you he’s keeping company with a young lady?”
“At least a dozen times,” Sarah said with a smile.
“I do wish my son would settle down and start a family. I would love to dandle some grandchildren on my knee while I’m still able.”
Sarah took Mrs. Ellsworth’s coat and called the girls to come down and greet her. A few minutes later, they were in the kitchen enjoying the cookies when Sarah’s front bell rang again. This time, a very excited young man had come to tell Sarah his wife was in labor and she had to come right away.
“I knew it,” Mrs. Ellsworth said as they helped Sarah pack her medical bag. “I saw four crows on the back fence this morning. You know what they say, one crow means sorrow, two crows mean joy, three crows a wedding, and four a birth.”
“What do five crows mean?” Catherine asked.
“A mess in your yard,” Maeve said.
FRANK STOPPED BY HEADQUARTERS TO SEE IF DONATELLI had left him a message about the meeting with Angotti. Finding nothing, he headed back to the Devrieses’ house. This time he went to the back door, where the cook reluctantly admitted him when he said he needed to speak to Roderick again. She rang for the valet.
“You can wait right here where I can see you until he comes,” she said, eyeing him warily as she continued to knead an enormous mound of dough.
“Afraid I’ll run off with the silver?”
“Coppers don’t seem to mind taking what they want, I’ve noticed, although they get right annoyed if anybody else does.”
Frank decided not to comment. “I guess the staff is pretty upset about Mr. Devries dying like that.”
She gave him a look, as if judging the sincerity of his sympathy. “It was a shock, no doubt about it.”
“His son is very different, isn’t he?”
“Mr. Paul is an angel,” she sniffed, expertly flipping the dough. “Never has a cross word to say.”
“Didn’t he ever argue with his father? I never knew a son who didn’t.”
She glared at him. “I meant to the staff. He didn’t say much to Mr. Devries neither, though. Nobody did. Wouldn’t do any good. He did what he wanted, that one.”
“Speaking ill of the dead?” Frank asked with a knowing grin.
“If there’s nothing else you can say,” she replied.
“I guess you know about the young lady who lives on Mercer Street.”
“She ain’t no lady.”
“So you do know about her.”
“We all do, and I can’t say we minded. Kept him away from here, didn’t it?”
“You approve of a man neglecting his family?”
She scooped up the dough and plopped it into a large crockery bowl. “I do if neglecting means leaving them in peace.”
