LITMIR.BIZ

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quality that Ann could not fault. And it was Hester who persisted in conversing with him. How could Hester not see the possible ramifications of her actions? At the first opportunity she’d have another private talk with, the abigail.

      “All aboard!”

      Without thinking, Ann reached out for the conductor to help her up the steps. It was the look on the older man’s face that made Ann realize her reaction had been that of a woman. She quickly glanced about to be sure Nate Bishop hadn’t seen her faux pas. Fortunately, he was nowhere in sight.

      As Ann walked down the aisle, she could see Nate and Hester were already conversing. And to Ann’s shock, Hester reached across the aisle and caressed his broad shoulder. The turn of the maid’s head as she glanced out the corner of her eye and just the right flutter of lashes made her intentions quite clear. Even in her condition, she was blatantly flirting.

      Ann continued forward, unexpected anger tearing through her like a cleaver. Were these the same tactics Hester had used to get herself with child? Ann wondered bitterly.

      Positioning herself between Hester and Nate, Ann looked at Hester. “How could you dare forget yourself?” she said through clenched teeth. “Now move next to the window.”

      This time there were no arguments. Hester obediently changed seats. She knew exactly what Ann was angry about.

      Hearing Albert’s angry command, Nate had to curl his fists and force himself not to bound from his seat and attack the yellow-bellied coward. He wanted to tell Hester she could sit by him. He wanted to give Albert a taste of how it felt to be struck. He wanted to break the man’s jaw! Unfortunately, none of what he wanted to do was going to change a thing. Still, he couldn’t keep from grabbing Albert’s coat sleeve and yanking him toward the aisle.

      “If you ever talk like that again, or lay a heavy hand on Hester while I’m on this train,” Nate said quietly, “I guarantee that an Indian’s or marauder’s punishment will be welcome, because if I get to you first, you’ll no longer be able to call yourself a man.”

      Ann jerked her sleeve from his grasp, then looked straight ahead, determined to ignore the warning. How much harm could the man do? Her nerves were already stretched beyond their limits. Neither the anger nor the threats would have even taken place if Hester had kept to herself.

      The rest of the afternoon passed in blessed silence. Ann tried taking a nap, but sleep evaded her. Seeing Hester flaunting her feminine wiles had disturbed Ann deeply. She knew that it had not only been Hester’s uncalled-for gestures that had caused her fury to explode. Nate’s acceptance of Hester’s attention had also played a part in it. But Ann now realized there had been yet another reason. As disgusting as it was, she had experienced an unexpected case of jealousoutrage.

      In truth, when Edmund was alive, she hadn’t caredwhom he slept with. She had actually been grateful to anyone who kept him from her bed. But when he had dared to seduce her personal maid, Ann had felt betrayed. She had begun to think of Hester as a friend.

      

      It was nearly one in the morning when Ann jerked straight up, striking her head painfully on the top of the sleeper. What had awakened her? Had she heard Hester groan? With little room to maneuver, she scooted around until she could lean over and peek inside the curtain at the bed below. “Are you all right?” she whispered worriedly.

      “The child is coming,” Hester groaned.

      “No, no!” Ann insisted. “There isn’t a midwife. Can’t you make it wait?”

      Hester grimaced at the duchess. “It’s not something I have control over.” Her face twisted in anguish as she was besieged by another pain.

      Ann scrambled to get her robe over her nightshirt. Again she heard a loud groan from below. What was she to do?

      She nearly fell from the berth when Hester released a bloodcurdling scream. Somehow Ann managed to grab the ladder and swing her bare feet onto the wooden rungs. Passengers already had their heads poked outside their curtains, either curious or angry at being disturbed.

      “Hester. my wife is having a baby,” Ann called frantically. “Is there someone who can help?”

      Another scream. Ann yanked the curtain back, terrified that she’d find Hester dead. Instead, Hester’s eyes were wide-open. Beads of perspiration covered her face and damp tendrils of hair clung to her cheeks. But it was the blood on the bedclothes that proved to be Ann’s undoing. Hester was bleeding to death! Ann immediately looked away. Grasping the ladder was the only thing that kept her from swooning.

      

      Nate had heard the quiver in Albert’s voice when he pleaded for help. So far, the lanky Englishman hadn’t received a reply. Having heard Hester’s first groans, Nate had already accepted the inevitable. There was a good reason for a man to keep his britches on when traveling. He never knew what would take him from his bed. For instance, he had thought to be rid of the Potters by getting off in Chicago, then catching a later train. Unfortunately, Hester’s time had come too soon. They weren’t due to arrive in Chicago until nine-twenty in the morning.

      Nate felt his hands shaking. The last child he’d brought into the world had been stillborn.

      Nate climbed down from his bed and joined the useless husband.

      He shoved the pale-faced man aside and pulled the curtain back to have a look at Hester. She grabbed his hand and squeezed as another pain racked her body. Nope, Hester wasn’t going to wait until Chicago to have her baby.

      “Albert, make yourself useful and tear up those sheets on your bed,” Nate ordered. “And get the porter to bring water, scissors and whiskey.”

      “Whiskey? What are you going to do?” Ann wrung her hands. “This is no time for imbibing!”

      Nate tried to pull forth some sort of sympathy for Albert’s nervousness. None was forthcoming. “I’m going to make you a father, though I pity the child. The whiskey is for cleaning. By the way, shaving off that mustache was the smartest thing you’ve done.”

      Ann caught herself before she reached up to feel. In her haste, she had forgotten to glue the hair on her lip. Now she was left with no choice but to leave it off.

      Much to Nate’s surprise, Albert insisted on helping deliver Hester’s baby. But he proved to be more in the way than helpful, so Nate told him to just stay by Hester’s side. Most of the time Albert’s eyes remained squeezed shut. Nate finally told him to go to the saloon car and get drunk. Albert flatly refused, but made a point of staying out of Nate’s way.

      Though she didn’t show it, Ann was weeping for poor Hester. She knew. she should be the one to offer soothing, encouraging words. not Nate. She had never seen a woman in labor, nor had she witnessed the pain involved. Why couldn’t men be the ones to have the babies? If they enjoyed their pleasure, they should be forced to share the labor.

      Nate’s laughter caught Ann by surprise.

      “That’s it, sweetheart,” he said to Hester. “Push harder. I can see the head. Come here, Albert, and see your child being born. You can even cut the cord.”

      Envisioning all sort of horrors, Ann threw her hand over her mouth and rushed to the door at the end of the car. She managed to swing it open just in. time to keep from retching all over the pulled curtains.

      By the time Ann collapsed onto the grating between cars, she had lost what little she’d eaten that day. She procured a handkerchief from the pocket of her robe and wiped her mouth.

      “You have a big healthy boy,” Nate said coldly.

      Ann groaned and said weakly, “Thank you.for helping deliver the child. I’m certain, Mr. Bishop, that if you knew all the circumstances, you would feel more lenient toward me.”

      “I doubt that.” Nate went back inside the car, snatched up the bottle of whiskey and walked away. The no-account wasn’t worth roughed-up knuckles, Nate told himself. To hell with him. Nate had just delivered

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