A LADY NAMED ROSE
Chapter Eleven
The first thing Rose saw upon awakening was Josephine's
eager face mere inches from her own. She tried to close her eyes and pretend to
be asleep again, but the child was too darn clever to fall for that. She
giggled and shook Rose's shoulders until she emitted a low groan.
"Wake up, wake up!" Josephine
chanted in a singsong voice. "Mama's coming home!"
"Mmmmmph..." Rose rolled over to
one side. Undaunted, Josephine scrambled over her legs.
"Wake up, sleepyhead!" she yelled
into Rose's ear.
Rose pulled a pillow over her head. "My
God, I'm not deaf!"
"You have to get up," Josie
persisted. "Mama's bringing my sister home and we have to get ready."
Rose rubbed her bleary eyes. It was hard to
guess the time, as her window faced west and dawn was slow in reaching her side
of the house, but it couldn't be any later than six. Josephine had made a habit
of disturbing her like this every morning for a week, ever since her mother had
gone into the hospital. Rose couldn't prevent it; Victoria had asked her to
leave her door unlocked in case of emergency. Turned out it was a necessary
precaution, but what a nuisance!
This was the day Victoria would be released,
but not for hours yet. Still, all four of the children were up and about early
in anticipation. None of them had been allowed to visit their mother and new sister
in the hospital. When they begged and cajoled their father, he would only shake
his head and say vaguely, "You're too noisy. She needs her rest."
Rose wondered how serious things really were, but didn't dare ask. Bridie
didn't care to speculate, either.
"She had such a hard time when Josephine
was born," she told Rose. "Me 'n Doc Wells, we kept telling 'er to
stay off 'er feet, and she didn't heed a word."
Well, the woman was confined to her bed for
months; how much more was she expected to do? Rose thought.
This morning, Bridie arrived even earlier
than usual to help prepare for the lady of the house's return. While she tidied
rooms and cooked a hearty breakfast, Rose tended to the children. She picked
out a navy blue ruffled dress for Josephine to wear and tied her unruly hair in
a big bow. Richard reluctantly donned the sailor suit Rose ironed for him and
banished Skipper to his doghouse for the occasion.
When the Model T came into sight, winding its
way uphill, Rose couldn't stop the exuberant children from running out to the
driveway to meet it. The car pulled to a halt in front of the house, and
Randolph stepped out first, opening the back door for William and Victoria.
She was exhausted--that much was certain--but
she took time to hug and kiss each child. At first, Rose, standing alone on the
porch, was the only one who noticed Randolph helping a middle-aged woman in a
nurse's uniform alight from the car, a tiny bundle in her arms. She didn't
understand why, but a feeling of anxiety stirred in the pit of her stomach as
she made her way down the front steps.
"Children, children, give your mother
some room," William's voice boomed. "Everyone, this is Belinda.
She'll be taking care of your little sister."
In their excitement, the children had nearly
forgotten about the baby. Now they all clamored to see her. The nurse folded
back the blankets and permitted a peek at the sleeping newborn, but then shooed
them away. "Please, she needs to sleep," she said, rather
impatiently.
Rose decided it was time to offer her
assistance, and stepped forward. "I can show you to the nursery."
"Oh, Rose, thank you," Victoria
said, and Rose got a good close look at her face. Her eyes were red, as if
she'd been crying. "Belinda will be sleeping in the nursery for a while. Can
you see to it that she gets settled in? And when you're done, I'd like for you
to come see me, please."
"Yes, ma'am."
As she led Belinda upstairs, Rose noticed
that the nurse paid no attention to her surroundings. She walked briskly, said
nothing, and held the infant tightly to her chest. Once in the cheerfully
decorated room, however, she hesitated and looked about her, aghast.
"Is something wrong?" Rose
inquired.
"Is something wrong?" the woman
repeated. "This won't do at all. The child will suffocate on all these
toys! She's not well, she needs--"
"Not well?"
A look of alarm briefly passed over the
nurse's features, as if she realized she'd said too much. She recovered
quickly. "I just mean she a little...smaller than she should be, arriving
early as she did."
She gently lay the bundle in the bassinet.
Rose had to marvel at her skill; the infant barely stirred. Then Belinda turned
her attention back to the room. When Randolph entered carrying her suitcase and
medical bag and asked where she wanted her cot, she instantly began giving
orders.
"Well, this room is too crowded.
Everything will have to be rearranged."
For once, Randolph's upbeat demeanor seemed
to fade. As he set about following the nurse's instructions, Rose excused
herself and went to the master bedroom. Victoria was sitting up in bed, her
husband at her side. There was a touch of concern in both their faces, but
Victoria at least tried to mask hers with a broad smile.
"Rose, my dear, how ever can we thank
you?" she gushed. "I can only imagine how frightened you must have
been--"
"It's all right, Mrs. Scott. Anyone
could have done what I did."
"Nonsense," William cut in.
"The children told us what you did. Where did you learn midwifery?"
Rose faltered, unable to conjure up an answer
without thinking of Jack. "On--on the farm. Back home. With cows,"
she finally sputtered.
William laughed. "Well, we're very
impressed."
"And grateful," Victoria added. She
and William exchanged meaningful glances. "We're naming our daughter
Cecilia Rose. After you."
It was hardly what Rose expected. She
blushed, once again at a loss for words. "Thank you," she managed.
"That's quite an honor."
"It isn't enough to repay you for saving
our lives, Rose," Victoria said firmly, and Rose was suddenly hit with a sense
that something momentous was about to take place.
The Scotts are going to want to repay you,
Jack's voice reverberated in her thoughts.
"Rose, we've been talking, and I
remarked to my husband that I had a feeling about you the moment I met
you," Victoria said. "I can tell you're a smart girl, much too bright
and talented to spend the rest of your life as a servant."
"I don't know if Bridie told you, but we
assisted her sister Meg with her college tuition," William pointed out.
Rose was aware of this, but it wasn't Bridie
who told her; it was Meg. In return for her years of service, the Scotts had
also paid for the telephone installed in Bridie's apartment and covered the
cost of her honeymoon trip to Niagara Falls as a wedding gift.
"And now we'd like to do the same for
you," Victoria announced.
"Rose, how would you like to attend my
alma mater, Vassar College?"