It could be nothing else, and as soon as Ophelia properly registered the crying, she knew that it was Harriet. What was more, Harriet needed her.
“Oh, no!” She rushed across the foyer and up the steps.
“Ophelia!” Adrian called after her.
Ophelia’s heart thundered as the fear rose. Breathing heavy. She reached the upper landing and stumbled, nearly fell, but stayed on her feet and charged in the direction of the nursery.
Guilt swarmed her also. While she had been out enjoying herself, Harriet had been left behind, scared, alone, wondering where she was! She might not have been Ophelia’s child, but that mattered not. At that moment, each cry was like a knife through Ophelia’s chest.
“Your Grace!” Mr. Watley appeared from the nursery. “Thank God, you are home.”
“Harriet!” Ophelia hurried towards him. “What is wrong? What has happened?”
“She is fine,” Mr. Watley assured her as she ran into the nursery. “We believe it is just a fever.”
“A fever?” The shrieks crashed down on Ophelia as she entered the room, and they battered at her as she made for the cot. “This is… it is more than a fever!”
Harriet lay in the cot; expected, as her cries announced the fact well before she was seen. But she was wide awake, screaming her head off, her body red and her arms and legs fidgeting and kicking wildly.
“We have done everything we can for her,” Mr. Watley explained as he watched her lift Harriet into her arms. “And we have sent for a physician. He will be here at first light.”
Ophelia rocked Harriet in her arms, which softened her cries a little. “She is in pain,” she winced. “And she does not know why.”
Mr. Watley sighed with pity. “All we can do is make her comfortable and pray the physician can help.”
Ophelia’s heart broke for the baby. It screamed and kicked in her arms. Its body was so hot that it was felt through its clothes. And when it looked at Ophelia, as if in hope that she might help, she wanted to cry.
“There is nothing to be done?” Adrian walked into the room. “That cannot be true.”
“We have tried everything, Your Grace,” Mr. Watley said. “No doubt the physician will be able to recommend a remedy that might put Harriet to sleep. But without his advice, I would not dare risk making one myself.”
Adrian clicked his tongue with anger.
Ophelia watched him, certain that his frustration was on account of the noise. It was not very pleasant, and even in his room with the door closed, it could still be heard.
But as she watched him, as she saw his eyes fall on Harriet, Ophelia saw not anger for the noise she made, but anger at something else…he is upset that there is nothing he can do.Just as he was upset that Harriet was in such pain. Ophelia was certain of it.
Despite the situation, she smiled, truly touched that Adrian had it in him to care so much about a baby that he wanted nothing to do with.
“It is going to be a long night,” she said to Adrian as she nursed Harriet in her arms. “If the physician will not arrive until sunrise, there is no sense in you being here. I will watch her.”
Adrian’s brow furrowed as he considered. “No…”
Ophelia sighed. “There is no need to feel guilty, Adrian. Truly, there is nothing that you can do for her. There is little I can even do.”
“I said no, Ophelia.” His voice was hard and determined. “If you are to stay with her, then so will I. Better that we are both here to watch over her.”
Again, Ophelia smiled. And again, she felt something touch her heart… a tension releasing… a warmth spreading from it that swept over her body. She knew he did not want to be there, just as she knew he did not truly care for Harriet. But that he was willing to try, that he wanted to do the right thing, meant the world to her.
He really is changing. What is more, he wants to change…
It was a long night.
Harriet cried incessantly. There were moments when she stopped, managing to fall asleep for a few minutes, even an hour. But then she would wake again, and her screaming would continue.
Ophelia did not once put her down. She sat on the chair by the cot, getting as comfortable as she could. She held the baby close. She whispered sweet words into her ears. She rocked her gently. And even if she wanted to, she knew that sleep would not come.
True to his word, Adrian remained in the nursery the entire night. Rarely did he waste time sitting. He would stand with his arms behind his back, sometimes watching Harriet, sometimes watching Ophelia, and sometimes simply looking into the distance, his thoughts a mystery.
