New Beginnings (New Beginnings Series) (18 page)

Sara took in a breath and he hesitated a moment, “Don’t stop,” she whispered.

Sam softly moved his hands over her body, feeling the tender curves as he sought to pleasure her. She let out a gasp as his fingers moved, bringing a warmth over her body she never experienced before. Her breathing grew heavier until suddenly her back arched against him as the intense moment took possession of her body. Sam again placed himself over her, feeling her muscles contract against him as the waves continued to dominate her. He made love to her with devotion, seeming to pull her into himself, so they became as one, feeling the passion surge through them.

They lay together afterwards, not wanting to sleep. Finally Sara spoke, hoping to not break the spell. In little more than a breath she said, “It has never been like that before.”

“You have never been in love before,” Sam answered, pulling her as close as possible, “It’s never felt like that for me before either and I’ve heard it only gets better after a couple’s first time.”

“Better?” Sara’s expression indicated disbelief, “I can’t imagine it being better. You did something to me tonight I have never experienced in seventeen years of marriage.”

“Never?” it was Sam’s turn to be stunned.

“I read a book William had hidden away,” she admitted shyly, “but I thought it was just a man’s imagination and it wasn’t real. Reading it made me feel ... different.”

“No doubt it was all real,” he smiled at her, “but it is best to take these things slowly.” As she rested her head on his shoulder he added, “Let me take you to the moon, Sara and then I’ll show you the stars.”

Before they slept, after a while, she answered, “I’ll go to the end of the universe if you take me.”

“You will go east with me?”

“All right, we will go east for our honeymoon, but can we wait a couple of weeks to get Catherine taken care of.”

“It’s a deal,” he answered with a big smile, sealing the promise with a kiss.

The next morning, Mary knocked on the bedroom door to let Sara know Catherine came back to visit. She quickly dressed and went down to greet the girl, taking her into the sitting room.

“I’m so glad you decided to come back, I was starting to worry when a week went by. Are you all right?”

“I started to get scared and I wasn’t going to come back, but you said you would help me. I think my mother is starting to suspect something is wrong.”

“Mr. Fielding and I were talking.”

The girl obviously tensed up when Sara mentioned her husband.

“We think there is a better solution for your problem, Catherine.”

She looked at Mrs. Fielding in a desperate way. “What else, other than getting rid of the baby, would work? In only a couple of months everyone will know. It has been hard enough hiding that I am sick some mornings.”

Sara tried to give the girl a reassuring smile. “I understand you are scared and I realize slipping the baby seems to be the only answer. I must tell you it is a painful process and can last a day or more, but the outcome can be even worse.”

“That doesn’t matter; my father will kill me if he finds out.”

“What if you went to Winnipeg to be with a family Mr. Fielding knows? We could say you are working for them as a nanny. You may have heard I cannot have a baby of my own and we would like very much to adopt yours, Catherine.”

The girl looked blankly at Sara, not knowing what to say. It was something she hadn’t let herself believe.

“I understand it is a hard decision, but I hope you consider it. The life of a baby is involved here … a human life. I have lost so many of my own I appreciate how precious a baby is.” This time it was Sara’s eyes pleading.

“I don’t know if my father and mother would let me go to Winnipeg on my own.”

“Don’t worry about that, Sam and I will make those arrangements. Would it be all right if we went out to your farm in a few days to talk to your parents?”

“It would be best if you talk to my mother first. My father figures Mr. Fielding is up to something bad, by making everyone think he has changed. Is he really different, Mrs. Fielding?”

“I didn’t know him very well before, but from what I have heard he has completely changed. I wouldn’t have married him if he wasn’t a good man.” Sara smiled at her, “We really are looking forward to having a baby in this house and if it is yours, Catherine, you could watch it grow and see it is in a good, loving home.”

“All right,” the girl finally answered, “it really made me sad to think of killing it. Mrs. Kent let me hold her new baby in the store last week after I was here to see you. I wasn’t sure if I could go through with it.”

“It will be fine.” She placed her hand on the girl’s back, “I promise, we will do everything we can to help you.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Fielding,” Catherine stood up to leave, “everyone says you are such a kind woman. I really didn’t think it was true when I heard you worked magic. I knew you couldn’t be a witch when Willie was such a nice boy.”

“Thank you, Catherine,” a hint of a tear showed as Sara spoke, “he was a nice boy, wasn’t he?”

Sam was waiting at the entrance when they came out of the sitting room and greeted the girl with a smile, which she returned to him and said, “Thank you for your help, Mr. Fielding,” as she went out the door.

He studied his new wife in a questioning way, her answer being a smile and a look he never saw in her eyes before, the sparkle of dared anticipation.

Sam knew Tom Hall, Catherine’s father, often frequented the saloon on Thursday afternoons. He generally stayed until late evening, leaving more often than not, in bad humour. He agreed the girl could be in danger if her father discovered her condition.

In this time, it was not unusual for the man of the house to lay a beating on his wife and children. Sara had felt the effects of the occasional backhand during her former marriage, but felt certain it was a part of her life she would not be reliving. She agreed it would probably be best to wait until then to speak to Catherine’s mother in private.

It was almost three in the afternoon, on the following Thursday, when Sam came home to report Tom Hall was indeed in the bar and sitting down to play poker. He already consumed a couple shots of whiskey so it was probable he would remain for the rest of the day. Dickens was being harnessed and the couple prepared themselves for the journey to the farm.

It was about a half hour drive to the Hall residence. The home, a “Soddy”, was built out of large chunks of dirt that grass roots held together, with poles near the top to hold more sod over the roof. Often settlers built one for a temporary home, until wood could be found to build a house. This home looked to belong to a family struggling to make ends meet and appeared to be in need of repair. As Dickens trotted into the yard, four children of various ages ran to them with greetings, as a fifth went into the house to tell Mrs. Hall visitors had arrived.

Before the horse came to a stop, Sara asked her husband, “Do the Halls have a debt at the bank, Sam?”

“Not at mine and Tom has been here long enough I’m sure not at any of the new banks either,” he answered, realizing she wondered as they appeared to be in such financial need, “Tom is a man who does not believe in credit, not even at the store from what I’ve heard.”

Mrs. Hall came out onto the porch, followed by her oldest daughter, to see who would be coming to their home. Another child held on to his mother’s leg and Catherine had one looking to be about a year old, in her arms.

With a hand from her husband, Sara stepped down from the sleigh and went to speak with the woman of the house. Sam stayed at the horse and chatted with all the anxious children, who were obviously not used to having much company.

“Hello, Mrs. Hall,” Sara said, shaking her hand. “I am Sara Fielding, Sam’s wife.”

“Hello,” she answered meekly, “I heard Mr. Fielding got married the other day.” Walking to the door she added, “Would you like to come in for a cup to tea?”

“That would be nice, thank you,” Sara followed her hostess into the house, smiling at her new friend behind her mother’s back.

As they sat at the table together Sara started to ask about Catherine. “Mrs. Hall, Sam and I have friends in Winnipeg who need to find a nanny to help care for their three young children. I thought of Catherine when they asked, I remembered her from the church school when Willie went there.”

Immediately Mrs. Hall’s defences came up. “No, I really can’t let Catherine go into the city. Tom would be very much against it and I need her here to help me with the other children.”

“But Mrs. Hall, you have another daughter not much younger than her. She would be a good help for you. This is an opportunity for Catherine to possibly go to college to become a teacher or a nurse.”

Mrs. Hall looked at her daughter who in turn looked down at the floor, not wanting to meet her mother’s eyes. “She went to you for help, didn’t she?” she started out calmly, but more excitedly added, “You went to the witch for help, didn’t you?”

“Mrs. Hall, I really do not do magic. I have learned a lot about medicine, but that is all.”

“She still went to you for help, didn’t she? I was starting to think she got herself in trouble and now she has gone to you to get rid of it.” The woman was standing at the table, her voice shaking with anger. “You little tramp,” she shouted at Catherine, slapping her across the face, but immediately Sara stood up and placed herself between the girl and her mother.

“Mrs. Hall that will do no good now, what has happened has already happened and Catherine has come to me for help. Please let me give it to her. You have probably heard I cannot have children of my own. This child could be Sam’s and my baby, we would love it with all of our hearts.”

By this time Sam heard the commotion coming from inside the house and opened the door to make certain everything was fine and heard the last of what his wife said. “Please, Mrs. Hall,” he said, “We would like to help Catherine. I know Tom and we thought it would be best if he wasn’t told and I am sure you agree.”

The woman stopped for a moment and nodded.

“You know how it feels to love so many children. I believe you only want the best for Catherine. She really is not a bad girl, but got caught in a bad situation. Please let us help her.”

Mrs. Hall sat back down in her chair, unable to speak for a moment. In time she said rather meekly, “I will try to get her father to agree to let her go to Winnipeg. If she could go to college and pay for it herself he may approve.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Hall, all I ask is that you try. I promised Catherine I would help her and we all think this is really the best solution.” They both excused themselves, Sara adding to the girl, “When you can, stop by again and we will make our plans.”

Catherine smiled her thanks, as her mother stood putting her arm around her daughter.

The ride back to Brandon took longer than it did to go out. Sam let Dickens walk most of the way so they could take time to talk.

“How do you feel about it, Sara? Do you think it will be all right with her?”

“Mrs. Hall seems concerned for her daughter, although I thought it wasn’t just her father she may have to watch out for. What about these people you know in Winnipeg, will you telegraph them?”

“No, I thought maybe I would take you on a pre-honeymoon, just overnight, so we can talk to the Stones in person.”

“How is it you know these people and do you think they will be willing to take Catherine in?”

“It is quite a while ago, when I worked in the bank there, Cedric Stone was one of the tellers. I was often invited to their home for meals. Eventually I boarded there for a time, until I came out to Grand Valley. Amelia was a school teacher. I would imagine she still is. At times children who needed a place to stay were there, sometimes for weeks on end. I can’t imagine us being refused, especially to save the life of an innocent baby.”

“That’s good,” she said, reaching through his arm, cuddling up as close as possible. “I don’t know if I should dare let myself believe maybe we will have a baby.” He smiled at her and placed his arm around her, holding the reins with his other hand. “Are you sure it is fine with you, to adopt a baby?”

“I’d be lying if I said it is better than having our own, but I won’t put you through again what you have been before. But I do want to be certain it isn’t a possibility before we say we can’t, all right?”

Sara nodded back at him, smiling, again her eyes showing a hint of hope.

Chapter Fourteen

The next morning Sam and Sara sat waiting in one of the train passenger cars, for their departure to Winnipeg. Tom Sutton arrived early at their home to deliver them to the stationhouse. The Fieldings boarded as soon as the tickets were purchased and found comfortable seats in the nearly empty car. As Brandon was a major stop, passengers occasionally left the cars for their half-hour wait. Two older gentlemen remained on board, tilted their hats at Sara and nodded to Sam and they wished each other a ‘good day.’

Sara sat next to the window, feeling like an eager child, anxious to see what was new and interesting. Sam smiled at her innocence, but noticed how it suddenly disappeared at something she saw outside. She quickly sat back in her seat and looked at him, forcing a smile to hide her thoughts. “It is so long since I have been on a train. The last time was when I traveled to Quebec City with my father after I came home from the States. During the war we travelled most often by train, but the cars weren’t near as luxurious as this one.” She bounced a little in the soft cushioning of the well-padded bench seats.