“You are Edward Abbott?”
He nodded at her, taking her in. She set her bags down. Her hair was indeed long and curly and she had only gathered some of it on top of her head, letting the rest fall free around her shoulders. She had no bonnet on, did not care to hide her hair under one of them. Her green eyes flashed at him and her freckled cheeks darkened. He was pleased with the way she looked and his heart fluttered for the first time.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Gabby held out one hand and he took it. After shaking it up and down slightly, he kept his grip on her and helped her take the steps down. She leaned over and looked at the little boy. “Hello, Jonathan. How are you feeling?”
“Good.” The boy was looking at her with a strange look. It was a mixture of wonder, resentment and excitement. He looked a lot like his father. He had the same blazing blue eyes and dark hair. He had long eyelashes for a boy, making his face very attractive. She looked up at Edward again. He was not as fair as his son and she assumed Jon got some of his looks from his mother, even though she felt he looked more like his father.
She looked at the baby Edward was holding in his arms. She was small and pretty. She looked at Gabby and blinked before breaking into a tiny grin. Gabby’s heart melted. She held out her arms to see if the child would come to her. She didn’t move away from her papa, just laid against his chest.
“You want to go to Claire, pretty flower?” Edward said and Claire looked at him with wide eyes. It wasn’t “little flower” but it was too much of a coincidence for her to miss it.
****
Chapter Four
In a week, Claire had successfully immersed herself into the lifestyle. Edward had taken her to the courthouse right away and she didn’t mind at all when they married in front of the judge.
It was so very different from home, from New York, from the disdain and ridicule of her brothers, she felt like a new person. She was happy when she woke up in the morning, listening to the cries of a child she had not birthed but had come to love very quickly.
She woke up early but not as early as her husband. She noticed that although she was up in the very early morning hours, he was gone by the crack of dawn. She wasn’t sure what he needed to do that early in the morning at the vicarage. Did the plants need to be watered that early and the lawn need to be cut that early in the morning?
She had wondered it many times when she woke up during the night to attend to the baby, who was still not sleeping all the way through. She was a pleasant baby. The hardest challenge Claire faced was getting through to Jonathan. He had proven to be a stubborn little boy, insisting that he could care for the baby without her help but never being rude or disrespectful about it.
She held the baby in her arms, cradling her and cooing at her. She was standing in the kitchen, looking out the window, waiting for Edward to come home for lunch. She had made him some ham sandwiches and roasted potatoes, which he expressed great delight with the last time she had made it.
Up until the loss of Beth, they had been teaching Jon to read and write at home. When she passed, he started going to the little schoolhouse in town. He didn’t like it and came home early often, just leaving the school and walking.
She watched to see if he would come home today. Edward would bring him from the vicarage, which was where Jon always walked, if he did. It had been a week and Claire had seen him come home twice in that time.
She saw the dust trail Edward was leaving behind on his way to the house. He was indeed bringing Jon, the little boy riding in front of him on his horse. She smiled and looked down at Emilia.
“Look, it’s daddy and Jonny. We are so lucky, aren’t we? We are two lucky, blessed ladies to have them, aren’t we?”
They got closer, and she could see the brilliant smile Edward was giving her. It filled her heart. She smiled back and waited for them.
“Hello there!” She called out, waving. She lifted Emilia’s hand and made the little one wave. “There they are. See?”
The baby girl looked out at them as they approached. She squirmed a little and looked excited and happy, bouncing in Claire’s arm.
“Look at those two beautiful girls, Jon!” Edward said as he got down from the horse and approached the house. Jonathan ran in front of him and held out his arms to take Emilia from Claire without saying anything.
“Hello, Jonny. Do you want to hold your sister?”
He just nodded, his arms still outstretched. Claire gently lowered the baby and he secured her in his arms before going inside. He was very protective. She just smiled and sighed as she watched him go in.
“Hello, pretty lady.” Edward said as he came up on the porch. “How has your day been?”