The Ruby in the Storm

Chapter 45: Children of Fate

Chapter 45: Children of Fate

Leila sat in the drawing room, a needle and thread in hand, and frozen to the spot. She had to keep busy, if only to keep her mind off the many thoughts racing through it. She had received word that Samuel was on his way back from Charlestown three weeks ago, which meant she only had a handful of days before he arrived.

In the weeks following Edward Worthington's departure, Leila had tried a number of things to take her mind off the traumatic past few weeks that she had endured. From the hallucinations to the "wine" she had been desperate for, she was not sure how much of it to tell Samuel. It would have been easy enough to keep it to herself had Edward not witnessed the entire event almost from start to finish.

She knew that she'd eventually have to be honest, but right now all Leila wanted was either to run away or to have the good doctor prescribe her some of that opium again. Honestly, what could the harm be? Right?

No. No. She had to stay vigilant. If Leila was going to think of way to be honest with her husband, she had to keep a clear head.

The first situation at hand was for her to be up front and honest. The second was to attempt to actually have a child with him, in the hopes of placating his likely relations to her confessions. Of course, if she did the latter first then that would likely soften the blow, but then it would open the possibility of her being accused of manipulating him.

But really, how mad could he get when his child is growing in my belly?

Samuel didn't have much of a temper on a normal day. He was quite even tempered, despite his disposition. Of course, if it came to her confession, that fact would change considerably. She was starting to wonder if there was a right way to inform him.

Or... If she had to do it at all...

Really, what was the harm in keeping it to herself? Sure Edward would know, and maybe he would tell Samuel, but then it would be his word against Leila's, and Samuel had been besotted with her since childhood. In fact, though she knew it made her a horrid sort of person to do so, she could use it to her favor. After all, she convinced him to marry her just by shedding some tears and openly panicking. Dr. Stephenson would be the only one whose word Samuel would likely believe over hers, but he would not be likely to offer that information without reason, and if he was never in a room with him to begin with, there would be no need for conversation.

It was convoluted, dare she say overly complicated and unnecessarily stressful. She could be brave and just be honest, and in the short term tolerate his temper... Or she could simply say nothing, and allow the story to play out as it will. After all, though for some reason she felt she missed him, Leila didn't love Samuel, not really. She didn't need this marriage to be one of love, only protection. If she managed to conceive a child with him then he would not cast her out if he found out the truth. He would lose some of his feelings for her, that was very likely, but she would still have a home, husband, and protection of the Worthington name. That was all she needed.

"Come home, Samuel," she whispered, "it's time to pick up where we left off."

XXX

"So, how do we get in?" Charlotte asked.

Lydia squinted her eyes in the direction of the jails and pursed her lips. "There are two reasons why we would go, but I am not sure if my uncle has taken precautions and informed the deputies that I might try to speak with my sister." She looked to Charlotte. "I don't suppose he knows you're here?"

Charlotte sighed, deflated. "He does, we met at a dinner at Sebastian Doyle's home. He also knows that Ross and I have a history." Then, she frowned. "Why would your uncle not want you to speak with your sister?"