Seemed as if sleep wasn’t what his wife was going for because she disappeared to attend to some business but told him to wait because she would be back shortly. His heart was softening towards her. It was best to pamper…she did have a difficult morning.

“I wondered where you had wandered off to,” Jonathan quipped.

He stood patiently waiting by her bedroom room door having discarded his cravat, jacket and vest.

“Clever use of a pun my love,” Amy smiled, “Here I’ve brought the bottle of sherry and two glasses.”

“Why?”

“Because you probably would’ve been downstairs sipping wine instead of catering to my wishes. I also felt for a glass myself.”

“I see that you have already started without me.” Jonathan observed that her glass contained some wine.

“I’ve sampled a small amount but have saved the rest for a toast. Allow me to pour you a glass.”

“What are we toasting?”

“A fresh new start. To Us…”

“To Us…”

Clink.

Meanwhile… 

Chocolates turned out to be a pretty nice treat until the children clamored for more.

“Auntie Celia, please for more!”

Even Joshua joined in on the request extending out his hand. “Mama, more…” Chocolate smeared the sides of his mouth which Celia began wiping away.

“I don’t have anymore. Baby…no more…,” Celia shook her head.

“No more…,” Joshua repeated.

Steven and Esther couldn’t believe that the delicious chocolates were all finished and continued asking. A frustrated Lydia chased them off to bed.

Lydia took a seat by her mother. “Today chocolates wonder what he will give you the other days,” she teased.

Celia glared at her. “Sonia got some too and I think so did the other servants.”

“You think. Man know how to cover himself.”

“The chocolates were for his wife.”

“I wonder what sin he committed to be giving her chocolates.”

The conversation infuriated her. “Mama, please tell Lydia to stop harassing me.”

“Lydia, behave.”

“I’m going to bed. I wouldn’t be thinking bout Jonathan if you didn’t remind me every time I come home.”

“Sometimes I sorry I pressure her to marry Joseph but what could we do. Everything was going fine till me eyesight fail.”

“Why would Joseph want to marry someone who can’t love him the same way?”

“Celia easy to fall in love with and hard to let go.”

“Jonathan let her go.”

“Never in his heart. Celia never let him go either but things different.”

“Joshua look just like Jonathan. I know she and Joseph see it. Make me think that part of the reason Joseph went to sea.”

“Make we stop bothering Celia bout it. Things already hard in this life. Lydia leave her alone.”

“Yes mama.”

<<<<<<<<<   

“Hmmm…” Jonathan smacked his lips. On his third glass.

“Is there something wrong?”

“It’s nothing. It tastes very good tonight.”

“Then I suggest you drink another glass,” Amy laughed.

“Just one more…”

Gladly she poured him another thereafter placed the bottle and glass aside. Jonathan took notice as Amy undressed – her pale skin stood out in the light.

“Help with the corset please.”

“So this is your main purpose.”

Amy spun around. “I beg your pardon. I don’t know what you are inferring but you have seen my naked form before. It makes no difference. My corset needs to be unlaced so are or aren’t you going to assist me.”

“Alright…alright..” he replied in an exasperated tone. “Where is your sense of humor?” Thinking about it did Amy ever have one?

“Ha…Ha…does that help?”

“Quite.”

With corset unlaced Amy removed her chemise and bloomers. Flawless skin revealed her pink areoles and blonde curly hairs covering her mound. There was no reaction from Jonathan because he wasn’t himself.

 “I need to go open a window because the air in here has become stifling.”

“Just a short while because I don’t want to catch a draft...”

Relief didn’t come from the night air – he wasn’t feeling well at all. He closed the window. “Amy, are you finished. I need to lie down.”

“Jonathan…come…lie down…”

“I don’t know… what’s happening… to me,” he muttered climbing into her bed.

“You see we both need some rest. Don’t speak anymore. I’m here and will take very good care of you.”

 <<<<<<<<<  

“Joshua, go to sleep.”

Hehehehe…he was making himself merry crawling around in the bed. One of those evenings Celia lamented.

“Hush…you’ll wake everybody. Come here,” she whispered holding him fast. “Why you giving me trouble tonight?”

“Mama…ma…ma…want go room.” Room meant he wanted to play with his cousins in the next room.

“You already gone to room today…remember?” Celia nodded her head.

He nodded his head as well but still said, “Mama, want go room.” Those brown eyes sparkled with insistence.

“No Joshua you are going to sleep.”

“No…,” he wept.

Peace was achieved when Celia hummed an old song from her childhood and stroked along his back.

“That’s my good little angel. In the end it will be fine for the both of us.” 

 <<<<<<<<< 

Next morning… 

“Bloody Hell!” Jonathan awoke with a painful headache.

Surprise…surprise…Apparently Jonathan had spent the night in his wife’s bed and there was something else.

Amy’s eyes fluttered open. “Good morning my love,” she beamed stretching her arms.

“What the hell happened last night?” He rubbed his aching temples. “Please get me a glass of water.”

Amy eased her way out of bed and poured him a glass of water. “Jonathan, how could you not remember? Last night was filled with so much passion.”

“Passion as in sexual passion...”

“Look at yourself. You are naked and so am I,” Amy responded curtly shoving the glass into his hand.

“I am…naked. I don’t remember undressing,” he murmured to himself, “And I certainly don’t remember touching you…in that way…” Quickly he gulped down the water.

“You make it seem so awful to lie with your wife.”

“A man should remember making love to his wife…shouldn’t he?”

Doubt clouded his judgment. Last night he hadn’t intended on sleeping with his wife and yet it had occurred. Clothes strewn on the floor was enough glaring evidence.

Amy scoffed, “I’m truly hurt by your words and lack of memory. Perhaps my performance wasn’t up to your standards.”

“Amy, I didn’t mean anything against you,” he said pulling her towards him. “What I mean is that…I would have loved to have remembered.”

“Believe me we made the sweetest love. It was like we were on our second honeymoon. You were so loving and whispered so much words of love to me.”

“Then forgive me for not recalling the finer details.” He gave her a small kiss and stroked her tresses.

She basked at his attentiveness. “You’re forgiven. My love, say we are happy again.”

“Yes we are happy once again.”

Amy was his wife and he must be content with that decision.

 knock…knock… “Madam…”

“Beatrice, you stupid cow! Please return to your room until I call for you?!” They heard Beatrice scamper away. “These servants don’t know how to conduct themselves! You give them the same instructions over and over and over!”

Oh his head. “Amy there is no need for name calling or this fit of rage. Ms. Beatrice is blameless. She didn’t know what was going on.”

“She is to blame for many things. These days her work has become shoddy. I’m prepared to send her on the next ship to England.”

Such a statement didn’t make much sense to Jonathan. “You are overreacting! Ms. Beatrice has been a loyal servant to you and I will not hear of this nonsense about sending her away!”

There were so many sides to his wife but at times her temperament was ghastly very much like his father’s.

Leave it to Amy to do away with the joyful mood. Scrambling to his feet he pondered how much sherry he indulged last night. A throbbing head told much.

“Jonathan, don’t leave like this.” Quickly she arose. If her nudity was tempting last night he felt nothing now. “You’re right in saying that I overacted…she interrupted a tender moment between us. Over the past few months those moments have been few.”

“I must prepare for work. You must prepare for your dinner party,” he sighed.

“Please consider coming along with me.”

“Work will occupy my mind… and you wouldn’t want… that… at your dinner party,” he intimated donning his underwear, trousers and shirt. The socks and shoes he clutched meekly in his palms.

“Amy, seriously, I want you to apologize to Ms. Beatrice.”

“What?! Is the servant greater than the mistress?!”

“You were in the wrong,” he growled.

“I will never apologize to someone…like her,” she stated emphatically.

“Then consider our earlier moment…gone.”

“Jonathan!” she shouted as he left. “Jonathan!”

 <<<<<<<<<  

Beatrice received a hard smack across the face.

“You’ve ruined everything!”

“What have I done?” Beatrice asked between tears.

“Cease from crying you silly beast and start attending to my needs. You must be at your best today or I swear…Where the hell is James? James!”

Jonathan made a beeline for his bathroom dousing his face with water. Less noise and his headache was gradually going away. Sleeping with Amy…last night…He recalled waiting, drinking sherry, unlacing her corset but the rest of the evening was a blur. It didn’t make sense to try and decipher what really went on unless it occurred again.

<<<<<<<<<  

“Please Dr. Campbell Mrs. Campbell requests your presence in the breakfast room.”

Putting aside the morning’s differences Amy had wanted to make amends and sent Beatrice to summon him to breakfast.

“Ms. Beatrice, inform my wife that I don’t care for breakfast this morning.”

“Ms. Beatrice I apologize for my wife’s ill-temper this morning.”

“Thank you Dr. Campbell,” she whispered before hurrying to her mistress.

Henderson waited with his overcoat draped over one arm and his gloves, hat and cane in the other. Celia had ceased her sweeping.

“Good morning Ms. Celia. How are you doing this glorious morning?”

“Good morning Dr. Campbell. I’m doing well and hope you are the same.”

“Seeing your face every morning is the highlight of my day,” he smiled as Henderson assisted him. “How were the chocolates?”

“They were very delicious and everyone enjoyed them.”

“Well I’m off for the rest of the day. As always Ms. Celia, have a good day,” he said tipping his hat.

“And a good day to you as well...”

Such an image to behold – Amy raked her fingers through her long tresses. So he prefers to smile with this insubordinate black wench. Let’s see how long she’ll be smiling when I give her a task. 

“James! Beatrice!”

“Yes ma’am!”

“Go upstairs and wait for me. I need to make a quick visit to the kitchen.”

 <<<<<<<<<  

10:15 a.m. 

“Ms. Amy asked that you take Dr. Campbell his lunch,” Annabelle said handing her a medium-sized wicker basket.

“Where?”

“Her Majesty’s Infirmary.”

“But that far away Ms. Annabelle…is a carriage available?”

“No. Don’t argue just do as you are told.”

“Yes ma’am…”

Maybe her straw hat would aid her in this tiresome journey.

Her Majesty’s Infirmary was a two hour journey by foot along a dusty road traveled mainly by horses and carriages not walking human beings. By the time she arrived she would need time to recover. Annabelle provided her with two oranges to occupy her mind and satisfy her stomach.

 <<<<<<<<<<  

“Watch it!” she yelled after a passing carriage. The dust that it left behind didn’t help either. “You can’t walk in peace with these carriages about.” Who weren’t offering any complimentary rides. She coughed flailing her arms then made sure that the food was properly covered.

Along the way she ate one of the oranges and paused to take a breath. The intense sun was bearing down heavily and the infirmary was nowhere in sight. It would have been easier if there were corners to bend or at least a cloud cover overhead. This was a form of punishment she thought. Ms. Amy was indeed a clever woman. Finally she saw the two-storey red brick building. She laughed giddily at having made it.

Celia had heard many stories about this place. Rather than a place of healing it was viewed as a place where the poor came to die whether black or white. It was said that the ghosts of the dead haunted the grounds and would travel back with anyone who dared to enter the hallways. Part of her reflected on those frightening tales but it had to be ignored. She hoped that her arrival was timely.

She spent a moment outside removing her hat and fanning herself. Her mouth felt dry and she desperately needed a glass of water. I should have eaten the second orange. She was saving it for her return journey.

“Are you sick or have you come to visit someone?” A nun with a pleasant face asked Celia as she entered. She wondered how the nun endured her black habit in the suffocating heat.

“I’ve brought lunch for Dr. Jonathan Campbell.”

“You could allow me to take it to him or do you wish to see him as well.”

Her feet ached and she wanted to rest for a while. “I wish to see him.”

“By what name should you me addressed?”

“Ms. Celia ma’am…”

“Ms. Celia, please wait here.”

Some faces stared at her while others looked afar off. Although a bit crowded it wasn’t as terrible as she thought. She half-expected the halls to be filled with the walking dead. Long benches standing in rows of three were occupied with all manners of persons in need of care. Nuns patrolled the corridors keeping a sort of silent order. Now and then one would here coughing, some murmuring or feet shuffling but nothing otherwise. It did have an unusual smell – a mixture of people, medicines and cleaning fluids rolled into one.

“Ms. Celia, come along Dr. Campbell will see you now.”

The nun led her past a huge wooden door and up a stairway. Jonathan’s office was located on the second floor at the far end of the building. Up here the air was different – much better.

“Celia, I didn’t expect you to come here. Have a seat you must be pretty tired,” he said concerned. He arranged a chair for her to sit and one to set her tired feet upon. “I’ll pour you a glass of water.”

“Thank you.”

His office was small but tidy – a desk with three chairs and a small bookcase.

“Ms. Amy decided to send you some lunch - bread, cheese and by now warm ale...”

Amy had never sent him lunch before but maybe she was genuinely trying to make amends but sending Celia on such a long journey wasn’t prudent. He would need to give her a return carriage ride.

The water tasted so excellent that she beseeched him for another glass.

“It’s a nice surprise because I usually take lunch at the club when I have the time.”

That comment sounded suspicious. “Have you eaten anything today?”

“Well…”

“Tell me the truth because I know how you are when your mind is occupied.”

Chuckling he asked, “How can I be?”

“Don’t bypass my question. In the meantime have half of my orange while I take out your lunch.”

“You could have some lunch as well,” he said biting into the orange. “There seems to be enough for the both of us.” The orange was succulent and sweet.

“Alright...”

She divided the bread and shared the cheese equally. Jonathan pulled a chair beside her and they ate quietly. He was enjoying their time including the warm ale. Celia seemed calm and it felt like two friends having a good meal together.

“How do you feel working here?”

“You have some good days and some bad but you learn a great deal.”

“This office doesn’t compare to your home office.”

“And I prefer it that way.”

“I can see it in your eyes that it’s very fulfilling work.”

“Very fulfilling…I’m thinking about coming out of private practice and working at a regular hospital.” Amy would be so thrilled with that prospect.

“I always say do what makes you the happiest. There are few times when people have such an opportunity.”

“You’re right of course.”

He hadn’t dared inform Amy about his plan. It would have probably ended in an argument. Private practice afforded him more freedom and a great deal of wealth. She would never understand him wanting to shift his status.

Lunch ended far too quickly and as Celia prepared to leave Jonathan thought it was the perfect time.

“Celia there is something I need to tell you.”

What could it possibly be? Her eyes requested.

“I must tell you before you hear it from somewhere else,” he replied in a low tone.

“Is it something terrible?”

“Terrible to us,” he sighed, “My father is returning for a visit.”

“Your father!” She yelled standing.

Could her heart beat any faster? Naïve to believe that her life was rid of that old bastard… She was experiencing a haunting and not from the ghosts that dwelled within these walls.

“Celia…”

Instantly she remembered where she was and sat back down. “When?” she asked quietly.

He reached out and grasped her slightly trembling hands. “That’s what I don’t know. It pains me not being able to tell you.”

“He is not going to ruin my life like he once did…” It was more a question to him. She loved working again.

“No…I won’t allow it.”

“I remember walking to my mother’s house shedding so many tears for all that he was taking away from me.”

“He took away the most important part of my life.”

“I heard what he did to you.” He locked Jonathan in the wine cellar for three days. “How could a father do that to his own son?”

“It is nothing…nothing compared to what you had to endure. I should have done more…gone against him,” he said leaning his head against hers.

“What could you have done? At the time you had no influence.”

Better to be like Romeo and Juliet than live a life that is devoid of that true feeling of love. He understood it now.

“You were everything to me. My mother died and I thought God must truly hate me for leaving me with that cruel man. I wanted to die. But when you became a greater part of my life it didn’t seem so unfair.”

“I know that I’ve lost you forever,” he bemoaned.

“You haven’t lost me. Look at me…I’m right here with you. Sure things cannot be as they were but we can form some sort of friendship.”

Her heart was breaking for him and they shared a tearful embrace.

“Promise me that you’ll stand by my side.”

“I promise.”