Loathing Persuasion | (Regency Romance Novella)

══ Chapter Eight ══

The veil vanished the moment morning came. Mary detected an excruciating pain and a terrible heat surrounding her body. She could not control the tears from falling, like a consequence of a downpour, increasing as her brain registered the sensation of a damped bed. It frightened the young woman, impotent when facing that sort of agony, causing her muscles to remain paralised upon facing the unknown. Nothing should hurt that much. She tried to stabilize her breathing in an attempt to aid her unborn child, considering a panicked demeanor would cause them harm. George stormed into the room, returning from an early walk; seeing her under such conditions was his worst nightmare.

"Darling, you are bleeding!"

Mary was sweating profusely, moving her head in denial and holding the lower part of her stomach. The feeling was similar to having hundreds of knives piercing through it. One moment she swore it lessen, then came back with reinforcements. In a circumstance like that, it was not simple to remember her best opportunity of recovery was first calming down. Despite the cloud of suffering, Mary endured those strenuous minutes, those forceful waves hitting the shore and covering the sand, taking some away with them. The rest of The Barnes family soon awoke and it went downhill from there, the house charged with chaos. Mary was either under an extreme high temperature or shivering with cold, mumbling incoherent words. Inside of her mind, she was attempting to deliver a message, a wish. They called a doctor who came an hour later, finding the young woman desperate, sobbing and crumbling from the amount of pain that overcame her. He forced George to exit the room, his wife's cries staying behind, muffled by the closed door. All the gentlemen of The Barnes family gathered to wait in the drawing room, anxiety reigning. Jane and Mrs. Barnes endeavored to assist, placing fresh cloths on Mary's forehead, whispering words of encouragement, bringing towels after towels to clean the blood, but it never ceased flowing. Her consciousness lost stability, fainting for long dreadful minutes. Mary struggled to get words out of her dry mouth. A ponderous weight settled on the unmoving world. Over the silence in her ears, she begged for Jane to listen, for the doctor, for George, for anyone, though they seemed not to decipher that last wish humans yearned for.

"Ave...sffe...them...seff em..."

Jane observed how Mary caressed her stomach, continuing to insist with the same muddled commands. She began to repeat the same as her sister chosen by destiny and when locking eyes with her, pupils wide, Jane comprehended. Save them, save the unborn baby.

The meals of the day were forgotten and replaced by utter concern. Mary remained unconscious for more prolonged periods of time against her will. Jane urged the doctor to seek another solution, centering on the baby. However, he looked at her and confessed it was in vain, as the child was the one to perish initially, leading Mrs. Mary to that condition. In just a moment, the air became glacial and a certain pressure left their chests. The women gasped, appalled and destabilized, whereas the doctor approached the bed to cover the lying figure with a white sheet. Jane appeared in front of her family downstairs, hands trembling; though voice silenced, she could still hear Mary screaming, begging, imploring. Mrs. Barnes, accompanied by the doctor, joined them not long after.

"Mrs. Mary Barnes could not withstand the blood lost caused by a sudden miscarriage," he informed. "My deepest condolences."

George felt himself constrained with chains and anchored to his position; mind flashed blank and ceased its functions. The meaning of the words articulated by the doctor sounded like an antique forgotten language. William reacted on time and held his younger brother when he stumbled, complexion worryingly pale and his skin cold to touch. A boiling kettle whistle echoed through the quietude of the residence. It was as if a rope disintegrated abruptly within Edmund. He fulminated the doctor with his eyes and raged at him. Mr. Barnes had to restrain his son by the arm.