Love Sneaked In (Montgomery Family Trilogy) (34 page)

It was killing Matthew to watch her in so much pain. “Dr. Moore, surely there’s something you can do. She’s exhausted, and I don’t know how much more she can take. Please do something.”

Dr. Moore examined Helen and shook his head. “The baby appears to be quite large, and your wife hasn’t opened up enough for the child’s head. If your wife doesn’t open fully within the next hour, I’ll try to stretch her to accommodate the babe.”

Matthew pulled the doctor to the side and quietly asked, “How much danger is Helen in? Whatever you do, just save Helen. I don’t want to lose her.”

“My lord, it could come down to you having to decide which one you want to save. If I understand you correctly, it’s your wife that comes first?” Dr. Moore asked.

“Yes, Doctor,” Matthew whispered, “Whatever happens, my wife has to make it through this.”

Oh God, please don’t let anything happen to Helen.

They waited an hour, but the baby still wasn’t able to enter the birth canal. By this time, Helen was in so much pain she was barely conscious. The doctor started to try to stretch her opening, but the pain was so excruciating that Helen screamed.

“Doctor, do something! I can’t bear to hear her scream like this. Just hurry and be done with it, please!”

Dr. Moore attempted one more time, and this time he felt the baby move. “I’ve got it. The baby has finally entered the birth canal. It shouldn’t be much longer now.”

Around two o’clock, the baby was finally ready to be born. The doctor told Helen to push, but she was so weak she couldn’t do it.

Matthew picked up Helen’s hand and kissed it. “Darling, come on. I know you can do this. Just a little bit more, and then it will all be over. On the count of three, try one more time for me! One…two…three!”

Helen squeezed Matthew’s hand tightly, took a deep breath, and then pushed with all her might. The doctor encouraged. “That’s it. Just one more good push like that, and your baby will be here.”

Helen again squeezed Matthew’s hand so tightly that he was afraid she would break it, but he held on as she made one more valiant effort. The baby slipped out into the doctor’s hands.

“It’s a boy! My lord, you have a son!” Dr. Moore said.

Helen let out a sigh and closed her eyes.

“Dr. Moore is she all right?”

Dr. Moore nodded his head and smiled. “She’ll be fine. She’s just exhausted. She’ll wake up momentarily. She’s not through yet. There’s another baby that still has to be born. I suspected this earlier.”

Matthew sat there in shock. Twins, again?

How amazing!

Helen moaned, and he knew that the other baby was ready to enter this world. “Darling, you need to push again. I know you’re tired, but our other child wants to be born.” He held her hand as she pushed again, and this time the baby came out on the first push. It was another boy, slightly smaller than the first child.

Sally had cleaned up the babe and laid him in the waiting cradle. Helen looked at Matthew and smiled. “You don’t do things half way, do you? What are we going to name them?” Matthew was so relieved that she seemed to be recovering her strength already. As Helen lay there she added, “I would like to name one of our sons after my brothers, and we could name the other one after you and your father. Is that all right with you?”

“I think that would be excellent. I’d like to name the oldest boy after my father and me. Our second son can be named for your brothers. Are you in agreement with that?”

“That will be fine. So our eldest son will be named Matthew Winston Cunningham, and our second little one we’ll name Nelson Henry Cunningham. I can’t think of any names that I’d like better.”

Sally carried both children to them and placed the first born in Matthew’s arms and the second born in Helen’s arms. Helen checked Nelson, counting all his fingers and toes, and found a small birthmark on the back of his right knee. While she was checking Nelson, Mathew did the same for little Matthew and didn’t find any birthmark, so it would be easy to tell them apart.

The doctor said, “Both your sons are quite small, but they’re healthy babies, even though they’re three weeks early. Since there are two of them, I suggest you get a wet nurse so it won’t be such a strain on Lady Collingswood.”

With determination in her eyes, Helen said, “I appreciate your concern Dr. Moore, but I’ll be fine. I’ll nurse both of them. We don’t need a wet nurse.”

Matthew tried to convince her to follow the doctor’s opinion, but Helen was determined, so he suggested, “Why don’t we do this? We’ll hire a wet nurse just to help you. After all, since there are two of them, you might not have enough nourishment for both. I understand your desire to take care of our sons yourself, but I don’t want you to overdo.”

“All right, I’ll let the wet nurse help me feed our sons.” By this time, Helen had used up all her energy and closed her eyes as she drifted off to sleep.

Matthew showed the doctor out and gave him one hundred pounds to show his appreciation for all that he’d done for Helen. Without him, it could have turned out badly. After the doctor left, he went back upstairs and just sat there watching Helen sleep.

Matthew was so relieved that Helen was recovering so quickly and that his sons appeared to be healthy. He was pleased they looked like Helen. He knew they would be handsome, strong men like Sanderford, since there was such a strong resemblance between him and Helen.

Helen and Matthew talked and decided they would leave for London on the sixth of May when the twins turned a month old, which would still give them plenty of the season to enjoy. He knew Helen found motherhood to be very rewarding, and she was having no problem nursing both of his sons. Both of them had Helen’s red-gold curls, and they looked like they would have her beautiful blue eyes. They were very small, but each of them had a ferocious appetite, and they were gaining weight each day. Christina and Catherine were disappointed that they were boys, but they got over it quickly and soon were asking when they would be able to hold them.

When Cecilia heard the news about Helen and the babies, she started throwing things again. By the time she calmed down, she had broken mirrors, picture frames, and all the figurines in her bedroom. Her servants were giving her a wide berth again, because every time her maid entered the room, she would find something else to throw at her. All afternoon and evening, Cecilia continued to fume. When she sat down to eat dinner that evening, she threw her bowl of soup at her butler and started screaming, “What is this slop! I won’t eat this! Bring me a bottle of white wine, and then get out of my sight!”

Her butler brought the wine and quickly left the room before she could throw anything else at him. Cecilia sat at the table, drinking the wine and thinking about Helen and the babies. She had the worst luck in the world. Not only did that bitch give him a son, she gave him two! How could she have had twins? This was going to be much more difficult now. Not only did she have to kill Helen, she had to kill the two brats. Louis had better come tonight so they could come up with a plan. Cecilia continued to drink her wine until Louis finally showed up at midnight.

Just as soon as Louis arrived at her house, Cecilia began ranting about Helen and the babies. Louis turned to Cecilia and firmly said, “I agreed to kill Lady Collingswood, but I will not kill innocent babies. I draw the line there, but we can still get rid of them. I’ll take them to a baby farm up north instead. There’s one close to Chard, Somerset.”

“How do you know about this baby farm, and how can I be sure they’ll never be found?” Cecilia asked with derision in her voice.

“The reason I know about it is one of my former mistresses had a baby, and that is where she sent her child to be taken care of. The old woman who runs the baby farm is Mrs. Benton, and she’ll want to make sure that Lord Collingswood never finds them since she will be afraid he would close down her operation. Once the babies are there, I promise that Lord Collingswood will never be able to find them. You’ll never have to worry about them again.”

Cecilia was pacing back and forth furiously and muttering profanities, but she realized she’d have to go along with the plan to send the babies to the baby farm. Since these brats were so small, they would probably die anyway. After the babies were settled in at the farm, she would bribe the old woman, Mrs. Benton, to make sure they died. “All right, Louis. I’ll agree to the baby farm, but just make sure Matthew doesn’t find out where they are. We’ve got to come up with a plan.”

How could they get Matthew away from the house? Hum.

They needed to get to Helen and the babies without him there…

While pacing the room, she mulled the situation over in her mind.

What to do…what to do?

Then it came to her. “This is what we’re going to do. Matthew’s sister is now living in Hampshire with her husband. I’ll forge a message from Viscount Hartford saying that Margaret just miscarried and may die, and that she’s asking for him. The night after he leaves to go to Hampshire, you’ll kidnap the conniving bitch and her brats.”

“Where can I take them after I’ve stolen them away?”

Rolling her eyes at Louis’s slow-wittedness, obviously she would have to think of everything, Cecilia impatiently retorted, “Once you’ve abducted them, take them to that old abandoned cottage on Lord Ralston’s estate. Let your hired thugs take the babies to the baby farm. Once they’re out of the way, you can kill Helen. Make it look like she drowned and leave her body where it will easily be found. Now, this time you’d better not mess this up. I need her dead so Matthew will turn to me in his grief.”

Cecilia was pleased with this plan. As long as Louis did what he was supposed to do, Helen and those brats should be gone.

Yes, if she did say so—her brilliance even astounded her.

Louis shook his head, but finally agreed. “All right, I’ll do it. This plan will work. When I kidnap them, I’ll take them all to the cottage. Once Clyde and Ross leave for Somerset with the babies, I’ll take Lady Collingswood down to the beach and hold her head underwater until she drowns. It will look like she washed up on the shore. I promise, I won’t mess this up.”

After Louis left, Cecilia sat there dreaming about Matthew. Once the bitch and her brats were out of the way, then she would move in, being there to help console Matthew in his grief.

Oh yes, this plan was perfect.

Louis had better not mess this up!

On the morning of the twentieth of April, Matthew received a message from Peter. As he read the note, Helen watched his face grow pale, concern written all over his handsome face. “Matthew…what’s wrong?”

Looking over at her, he dashed tears from his eyes. “Margaret…she’s had a miscarriage. I didn’t even know she was with child. The note says that she’s lost a lot of blood and that she might not make it.” Matthew looked like he was ready to break down, so Helen went over to him and put her arms around him. His voice was breaking from emotion as he continued, “Peter wrote that she’s calling for me, and he wants me to come as fast as possible.”

“Of course, you need to leave right away. I’ll have Cook put together some food for you to take with you.” Helen could tell by Matthew’s expression that he was tormented at the thought of leaving her, but he really didn’t have a choice. After all, this was his sister. “Matthew, I know you’re worried about me and our sons, but your sister needs you. We’ll be fine. I promise I shan’t go anywhere. Please tell Peter and Margaret that I love them, and that my thoughts and prayers are with them. I’m sure she’ll make a full recovery. She’s young and healthy.”

“Please pray that Margaret is all right. I had hoped she wouldn’t get pregnant while she’s still so young. I’m worried that someone will try to hurt you while I’m gone. I know everything has been peaceful since Christmas, but I’ve been here to make sure no one had a chance to try anything. I love you so much, and if anything were to happen to you or our sons, I don’t think I could go on. Please be very careful. I’ll give Margaret and Peter your love.” Matthew pulled Helen close, kissed her, and rushed from the room.