Shadow in the North

Chapter Fifty-One - Give and Take

Mr Thornton sorely needed to travel to Le Havre on a most pressing matter of business. He had put off the trip, for he was loath to leave his wife when she was some eight months with child, but she had assured him that twins would likely come early, and that he might see to his business instantly upon the babes' birth. He was then, in somewhat of a quandary, for he understood it to be safest for the babes if they did not come until the end of the full nine month, and yet he was hard-pressed to delay his business by a further month, when he had already put off his suppliers and buyers for several weeks.

By necessity, he worked long and late, and saw Isabel but little, yet still, he insisted on taking meals with her, for he thought her appetite poor, and in need of a solicitous husband's encouragement. The time spent at table was time he could ill-afford, for a large shipment of cotton from the Americas had gone down on crossing the Atlantic, and now all scrambled for cotton from Egypt, and bartered for raw cotton at such high prices, that the Masters were likely to turn very little profit. He felt haggard upon retiring at well past midnight – Isabel already asleep, and curled up in his nightshirt, in lieu of his physical presence – and he would silently disrobe, before sliding into bed, and falling asleep no sooner than his head had hit the pillow.

This night was quite different, for he came into his darkened room, to find Isabel sat up in bed, and with a furrowed brow. Instantly, Mr Thornton took up a lighted candle from the hallway, and tentatively brought it into the room, so that he might see what Isabel was about.

'Izzy, love?' asked he, stepping to the bedside and setting down the candle. 'Are you well?'

'Yes.' But she looked quite tense, and his senses were immediately on alert.

'It is the babes? Do you have pains?' asked Mr Thornton, now kneeling before her, at the side of the bed. Biting her lip, she merely gave an anxious nod. 'But it is early, love!' worried Mr Thornton.

'Yes, John, but twins often are.'

'Shall I send off for Dr Donaldson?'

'Nay, John!' smiled she, now taking his hand in hers, and bringing it to her lips. 'The pains are not strong, nor close together, and so there is no urgency. I will try to sleep – as you should, too – for it may be many, many hours yet, and I can see that you are tired.'

'Sleep! How can I sleep if you are in pain?' cried Mr Thornton, aghast. In truth, he did not think he could sleep, even if she felt not the slightest hint of discomfort, for he was now so very anxious to see his babes born safely; to know his wife would bear her trial, well.

'John,' scolded Isabel (although she was not angry, but merely attempting to direct him), 'you will be no good to me if when the moment comes, your head is flagged upon my pillow. Now sleep whilst I am not in need of you, and I shall try to do the same.'

'Very well,' agreed Mr Thornton, grudgingly, but he was instantly alarmed when he watched his wife rise from the bed. 'Where do you go?' demanded he; his voice laced with nervous excitement.

'To sleep in my bed. I will labour in there, so that your bed is not disturbed.'

'Then I shall sleep in your room; I'll not leave you on your own,' insisted the impatient father; the impassioned husband. And in one swift movement, he lifted Isabel into his arms, and carried her into her room, before settling her upon the mattress. Fully clothed (so that he might send off for doctor or midwife, the moment they were needed), Mr Thornton pressed himself against Isabel's back, as she lay quietly on her side.

'Sleep, John,' urged she, in a soothing whisper. 'I shall wake you if I have need of you.' And because he was so very tired, and because Isabel did not voice a single doubt or fear, after some thirty minutes, Mr Thornton did fall asleep beside his wife, in the hope that he might be a father by breakfast. When he awoke to the gloom that was a cruel winter morning, Isabel was still curled quietly beside him, and with no expectation of the babes arriving shortly, she only asked for him to call his mother to her room.