Page 27 of Rivals at Ashmore Castle

Mr Cowling arrived with a commotion in the hall. Nina felt the weight of his presence and his agitation: it was as if the house creaked under it. She was having a late breakfast: she’d been told not to get up until midday, but couldn’t remain in bed that long. He had been supposed to go straight to the factory from the station, but evidently he had come home instead. She heard his upraised voice ‘And when were you going to tell me?’ and the murmur of Mrs Deering’s respectful – possibly nervous – reply. In mercy to both parties she abandoned her eggs and bacon and went to intervene.

He reached her in a couple of strides to envelop her in an embrace that was almost uncomfortable. ‘Are you all right? Should you be out of bed? When is the doctor coming again?’

She managed to detach herself and said, ‘How did you know he’d called?’

‘Because Snowdon was getting on the train I got off, and said he’d seen Nicholson’s carriage turning into our gates yesterday evening. And I was forced to say it was all news to me!’

She could see that he was angry at being kept in the dark, but also that the anger was mostly fear. She said soothingly, ‘I’m perfectly all right, so stop worrying. Come, sit with me and I’ll tell you everything. It’s all right, Mrs Deering, you can go.’

The housekeeper, who was looking shaken at this brush with danger, said, ‘Shall I bring fresh coffee for the master, madam?’

‘Coffee be damned!’ Cowling growled.

‘I’ll ring if anything’s wanted,’ Nina said, and hustled him away before necks could be wrung.

When they were alone with the door shut, she waited while he let off steam. ‘How do you think I felt, coming home thinking all was well, to have a neighbour tell me my wife had been taken ill? What do I keep a pack of servants for? And Decius – by God, he was here yesterday and never a word did he send me! He’ll hear about this, I promise you! That young man will be lucky to keep his job, after the trust I’ve put in him!’

‘You mustn’t blame Decius,’ Nina said, trying to get him to sit down. ‘I made him promise not to telegraph you, which is what he wanted to do.’

‘Oh, he takes his orders from you, now, does he?’

‘In this case, yes, because I wanted to be able to tell you myself. Please sit down, Joseph. It’s good news, and you’re spoiling it.’

He sat at last – it was rather more of a collapse – and stared at her with confusion. ‘Good news? But the doctor was here.’

‘Decius sent for him for reassurance – mostly his own. I was content with Mrs Deering’s explanation, but he was afraid you’d skin and eat him if he didn’t take precautions.’

‘Aye, and so I would! And what does Mrs Deering know about it? She’s not a doctor. Not even a trained nurse.’

‘I didn’t need a doctor. Don’t I look well? If there was anything wrong, I promise I would tell you.’

‘You look bonny, all right,’ he agreed reluctantly.

‘Then if you’ll listen quietly and not go exploding again, I’ll tell you what happened.’ She told him about going for a walk, Decius encountering her, and then feeling ‘very strange’. ‘Decius took me home, and I had a conference with Mrs Deering, who smiled like a whole choir of angels and said it was the most natural thing in the world. Decius insisted on sending for Dr Nicholson, and he confirmed what she’d said.’

‘But you said you felt strange,’ he objected suspiciously.

‘Because this is all new to me.’ She was standing before him, her hands lightly cupped over her bump, and drew in a quick little breath. On impulse she sat herself on his knee. He opened his arms automatically to accommodate her – though she had never done such a thing before in her life – and she said, ‘Give me your hands.’ Puzzled, but not unwilling, he complied, and she drew his arms round her and placed his hands on the bump, manoeuvred them, and held them in position.

‘There!’ she said.

He started in surprise and would have snatched them away if she hadn’t been holding them down. ‘Good God Almighty!’ he exclaimed.

She smiled into his startled face. ‘Exactly! And imagine how strange it feels from the other side. It’s called “the quickening”, according to Mrs Deering, which I think is rather lovely. Dr Nicholson was more prosaic – it just means the baby has developed enough to start moving about.’

‘The baby,’ he breathed.

‘It’s our baby moving that you can feel,’ she said.

‘Oh, Nina!’ he cried. ‘It’s a miracle!’

She nodded, thinking that, however many times it happened across the world and throughout time, it still was a miracle. His eyes widened as he felt a kick. ‘By God, he’s a lively one!’ he cried. ‘But does it hurt?’ he asked.

The question touched her. ‘No, not a bit, but you can imagine how startling it was the first time.’

‘Aye, it must have been. I don’t suppose anyone tells you these things beforehand. And if they did – well, I don’t expect it would mean much until it happened to you. Oh, Nina!’ He buried his face in her neck, and she guessed there were a few tears because she felt dampness.

She released herself and stood up. ‘So is everyone forgiven? I wouldn’t have given up seeing your face when I told you for the world.’