THE FIRE WITHIN
Chapter Ten
Christa looked up at the ceiling.
Michael was no longer by her side. She figured Marie must have taken him to the
nursery.
She got up and put on her robe,
looking for him. Sure enough, he was in the crib.
"Hello, Christa, nice to see
you are up. I gather this little fellow didn’t let you sleep," Joseph
Schermerhorn said, holding the infant.
"Sort of. But I don’t
mind." She stretched, smiling at the infant.
Joseph Schermerhorn got up and
passed the infant to her.
"We are going to take care
of this infant as if it were our own," Joseph said.
"What do you mean?"
Christa did not understand.
"Didn’t your uncle tell you
the reason why you got to stay here?" He looked at her as if this was the
first time she had heard it.
"No. He failed to tell
me." She sat down.
"The only reason you got
shelter and food was because we were promised the infant as soon as you
delivered. You see, we don’t have a grandson, so Bill said we could have
yours," he explained to her.
"What? This can’t be
happening. Please don’t take my baby." She was about to be sick.
"He will be well taken care
of. Do not worry, unless you would like to be thrown in the streets." He
looked at her, wanting her with him. He had always wanted a son.
"No. Please. I would like to
stay." She had no choice. She surrendered.
"You can stay for one year,
since we cannot produce breast milk. We will need you until then," he
said, leaving her to her thoughts.
"Okay. Then I agree."
She thought about it, and there was nothing she could do.
She took Michael upstairs with
her. After Michael was asleep, she put him down on the bed and started to write
a letter to Amsterdam.
My Love,
Something terrible has
happened, but I don’t want you to panic. Michael is fine and we miss you, but
the plain and simple truth is that Michael is no longer ours. The Schermerhorns
have taken our son. Bill promised them our child. I don’t know what to do. Help
me.
Love,
Christa
She wrapped up the letter inside
a piece of bread and told Marie to give it to Tommy.
Marie arrived at the bordello
shortly thereafter. She took the letter to Tommy.
She studied his features, and the
baby did not look like him. It looked more like Amsterdam.
Tommy was surprised to receive
something from Christa. When he opened the letter, he passed it on to
Amsterdam.
When Amsterdam read it, he
couldn’t believe Bill would stoop so low.
He would meet her soon enough and
tell her what they had to do. He didn’t want to tell her what he had to say,
because he knew she would hate it, but it was best for Michael to stay at the
Schermerhorns, at least for now.
The ritual of his father’s death
was coming around again. Last time, he hadn’t had a chance to do it, but this
time he was ready.
He went to the dining hall, where
they were having the ritual. Inside, there were dancers, and it was a good
show. When Bill saw Amsterdam, he just stared at him. He called for Jenny, who
had stood at his side since this whole rivalry had begun.
Tonight was the night, no matter
what. There would be no backing out this time.