Petals on the River (52 page)

Annie waved away her concern.
 
"Ne'er mind me face, m'liedy.
 
Just let

me look at ye !
 
" Her eyes swept the slender form.
 
Then she gathered

Shemaine's thin hands in her own and laughed in pleasure. "Ye're lookin'

grand!
 
Simply grand!"

"Come into the bedroom and meet Calley," Shemaine urged, taking Annie's

arm.
 
"And then you can tell us how you came to be here."

"Oh, I'll tell ye right now.
 
If tweren't for yer master layin' out

twenty pounds for me, I'd the'er be here at all."' Shemaine halted

abruptly and, tugging on Annie's arm, pulled the tiny woman around to

face her.
 
"What do you mean, Annie?
 
Did Mr.
 
Thornton buy you?"

"Not exactly." Annie shrugged.
 
"He paid out five pounds ta rent me, so

ta speak, but if'n he don't take me back, then he'll be twenty pounds

poorer." She shook her head in wonder, amazed by his ability to lay out

such a large a sum.
 
"Yer Mr.
 
Thornton must be rich or somethin' ."

"He's not rich, Annie, just very, very wonderful, I'm thinking,"

Shemaine said with an elated smile.

Dr.
 
Colby Ferris, a tall, gray-haired man with gaunt features and a

perpetual stubble covering half his face, arrived before they finished

the noon meal.
 
Annie took her duties seriously and provided the

physician with warm water and soap to wash his hands and clean linens

with which to dry them before she would allow him in the woman's

bedroom.

"Me ma said tweren't right for a midwife ta leave one house an' go ta

nother where babies were bein' born without showin' proper respect ta

the mothers by washin' yer hands."

The tall doctor settled a stern stare upon the small woman. 'Young lady,

do you know how many babes I've brought into this world?"

Annie settled her thin arms akimbo and stubbornly held her ground.

"Prob'ly more'n I can count, but what hurt is it gonna do ta wash yer

bloomin' hands after tendin' the sick or maybe touchin' the dead. .
 
.

Or..." She searched mentally for another good reason and finally flung

up a hand in frustration toward the window through which the mount he

had arrived on could be seen.
 
"Or ridin' a smelly ol' horse?"

Dr.
 
Ferris seemed momentarily taken aback by the small woman's

impertinence, but after a lengthy pause, he scrubbed a hand reflectively

over his bristly chin and began to chuckle, much to the relief of those

who had witnessed the confrontation.
 
"I guess there'll be no harm done

by washing my hands.
 
What about my feet?
 
Will you be inspecting them,

too?"

Annie glanced down without thinking, and then clapped a hand over her

mouth as she saw his dusty boots and realized that she had been a victim

of his humor.
 
Leaning her head back to meet his gaze, she gave him a

wide grin, lending some charm to her plain face.
 
"Wipin' em will be

good enough for the time bein', I suppose, but ye'd best be mindin' yer

manners, cause I'm gonna be meetin' ye at the door when ye come back.
 
.

.
 
at least for a while."

A hoary brow shot up to a lofty level, as if the doctor had taken

offense at her threat, but his next query had nothing to do with her

demands.
 
"What about that toad, Myers?
 
Is he going to let you stay

here without raising a ruckus?"

Annie Carver was astounded by the physician's obvious conclusion. "I

came here with his consent, I did, so ye needn't be a-thinkin' I

skedaddled.
 
Mr.
 
Thornton gots a paper ta proves it."

Dr.
 
Colby Ferris scoffed.
 
"It must have taken a goodly sum to get you

out of that toad's clutches.
 
Myers has never been overly generous with

his possessions."

"Oh, it took a goodly sum, alright," Annie agreed, and threw a thumb

over her shoulder to indicate her benefactor.
 
"Mr.
 
Thornton had ta lay

out twenty pounds, five ta rent me an' fifteen against the likelihood o'

me not bein' returned."

"Are you saying that Myers actually signed a receipt to that effect?"

Annie nodded cautiously, not at all sure why the doctor was so shocked.

"That he did, gov'na."

Colby Ferris looked pointedly at Gage.
 
"Then I'd advise you to keep the

receipt safe, sir, because Myers isn't to be trusted.
 
He'll cheat you

if he can .
 
.
 
.
 
or find some way to call you a thief."

"I don't know the man very well, except that I've come to dislike him in

a very short span of time," Gage admitted.
 
"You can be certain I'll be

as careful as I can."

The doctor waved a hand toward Annie's battered face.
 
"You know, of

course, that Myers will do more of this to the girl if you take her back

to him."

"Do you have any suggestions as to what I should do?" Gage was eager for

a solution to his quandary.
 
He briefly indicated Shemaine, who stood

washing Andrew's face at the far end of the table.
 
"I have a bondswoman

already, and there's no room in my cabin for another."

The elder stroked his chin thoughtfully.
 
"I've seen the girl working at

Myers's place and know what she's capable of." He snorted as he

digressed a bit.
 
"Work that Myers should've been doing instead of

laying such tasks on a little girl."

"Do you need an assistant?" Gage queried hopefully.
 
"Annie says she's

had some experience with midwifery and such.
 
Perhaps you could use a

servant to keep your house."

Dr.
 
Ferris seemed to dismiss the notion as he tossed a glance toward

Annie.
 
"What?
 
And see myself vexed into washing my hands every time I

sneeze?
 
Lord save me from such a fate."

"Ye needn't worry bout me!" Annie declared hotly, miffed by the doctor's

casual rebuff.
 
"I'll go back ta Mr.
 
Myers when I'm done here.

Twouldn't be the first time I've been knocked longside the head."

Stepping to the washstand, Dr.
 
Ferris proceeded to scrub his hands and

face until they were clean.
 
Drying them on a towel, he offered Annie a

grin.
 
"Are you going to show me where Mrs.
 
Tate is now?
 
Or are you

going to stand there like an outraged porcupine with your quills all

bristled?"

"Mrs.
 
Tate's doin' better since M'liedy Sh'maine had a talk with her.

Maybe ye could buy Shemaine from Mr.
 
Thornton an' take her on yer calls

with ye," Annie suggested tartly.

Gage lowered an ominous scowl upon the small woman.
 
'I didn't lay out

my hard-earned money for you, Annie, so you could sell Shemaine behind

my back."

Annie grinned back at him.
 
"Mighty touchy bout her, aren't ye? Maybe ye

like her more'n a mite."

"I like Shemaine just fine," Gage stated emphatically.
 
"And I'm not

willing to sell her.
 
Do I make myself clear?"

Ferris glanced at Annie, curbing a chuckle.
 
"I guess that means I'd

better look elsewhere for an assistant."

"That's the bloomin' truth if I e'er heard it," Annie agreed, cackling

gleefully as she cast an eye toward Gage, who finally relented enough to

smile.

''Come on, Doc," Annie urged, beckoning to him.
 
"I'll show ye the

missus."

She led the doctor to the back bedroom, and while Ramsey paced with

renewed anxiety, Gage helped Shemaine clear the food and dishes from the

table in spite of her repeated assurances that there was no need for him

to do so.
 
Several reasons prevented Gage from taking his leave before

the doctor had completed his examination.
 
He knew Shemaine wanted to

hear the verdict, and Ramsey needed him there as a buffer against

possible bad tidings.
 
Then, there were his own concerns, for he

realized he was not as distant to the matter as he might have supposed.

The Tates were his friends, and he wanted to be there to offer support

in whatever way proved beneficial.

The baby's condition could not be determined, Dr.
 
Ferris announced

solemnly when he returned to the parlor.
 
Nor could he predict whether

Calley would carry her child full term or if she would lose it in the

weeks to come.
 
It was imperative that she remain in bed if she held out

any hope of giving birth to a healthy baby, and he instructed Annie to

watch over the woman carefully, for it would be no easy task keeping a

hardworking mother inactive.
 
If there was anyone who could accomplish

such a feat, he was sure it was Annie.
 
After all, he needled with

amusement, she had made him wash his hands.

The doctor wisely advised Ramsey Tate to return to his cabinetmaking,

for his wife's sake as well as his own.
 
It would only make Calley

anxious if she saw her husband fearful, he reasoned. Working would not

only serve to occupy Ramsey's time, but his thoughts as well, no doubt

reducing his constant worry.

Before Dr.
 
Ferris took his leave, he promised to make regular house

calls to keep abreast of Calley's condition and, if a meal was furnished

at such a time to ease his widowered state, he would count that as

payment enough.
 
Then he quipped that he hoped Annie was as good at

cooking as she was at taking charge.

Chapter 11.

Life as a bondslave could be easily tolerated when one had a master

charitable and noble enough to expend a sizeable portion of his limited

resources to help an employee and an abused bondswoman, Shemaine