Between Sin and Salvation

Chapter III

═════ ◈ ══════════ ◈ ══════════ ◈ ══════════ ◈

Author's note

Thank you so much for all the reads and votes! This chapter was originally very long so I've split it into two, so please keep reading as there's a lot of Tommy and Louise interaction next chapter ;)

═════ ◈ ══════════ ◈ ══════════ ◈ ══════════ ◈

The next couple of weeks passed with a veneer of normalcy, instilling Louise with a false sense of confidence that her vow to avoid Mr. Shelby had indeed held true. If she were a religious woman, she would've been on her knees thanking the Almighty, a tempting thought even with her lack of faith. She'd even returned to the distillery on multiple occasions, each visit devoid of the dangerous man's presence as if he'd never been there to begin with. Whatever business he had with Mr. Solomons seemed to have been a one-time affair or taking place elsewhere.

But the reasoning didn't matter. All that mattered was that she'd escaped the haunting grip of his piercing blue eyes. She moved through her days with a newfound sense of ease, though something twisted her gut, an instinct that refused to be ignored. A primitive part of her screamed that this reprieve was fragile, a delicate thread threatening to split at any moment.

"Thomas is a strong name, don't you reckon, Mrs. Hawkens?" Anna cooed to the nurse smoothing her hair, nestled in the cot she had taken ownership of during her time in the clinic. The girl's complexion had considerably brightened with her regular meals, each day looking less like a fragile twig that could snap at the slightest breeze. Her impending childbirth still hung heavily in the hushed conversations Louise had with her mother, but surprisingly, the girl seemed excited to welcome her child into the world. Distastefully, Louise noted that Anna's optimism was rubbing off on Margaret. Hope was insidious, blinding those foolish enough to embrace it to the crushing disappointment of reality.

"Don't you think Thomas is a bit common? Not very original, in my opinion," Louise remarked from her perch on the windowsill, wrinkling her nose. The mid-morning sun illuminated her face, casting a warm glow that softened her features. In this light, one could almost mistake her for something kinder; her freckles and gapped front teeth were deceptively innocent. Yet, the illusion would always be shattered by the unmistakable scar that slashed across her left eyebrow.

"How do you even know it's going to be a boy?" Margaret clucked, eyes narrowing at Louise. She subtly shook her head, a silent reprimand for Louise's brashness.

"A mum knows these things!" Anna retorted, voice stubborn yet earnest. "Besides, Dr. Vergne, a name doesn't need to be original to be strong."

Raising her hands in surrender, Louise made her way over to the girl's bedside. "I concede," she said, a wry smile on her lips. Her eyes strayed to where Mrs. Brooks sat in the corner of the clinic, fingers rubbing her temples as if she had heard every potential baby name thrice over-a possibility, considering Anna had the tendency to change her mind every quarter hour.

Louise's face grew serious as she sat at the end of Anna's cot, which creaked under their combined weight. Despite the remarkable improvement in Anna's condition, a cesarean section was increasingly seeming like the best course of action.

"Anna, I know this will sound scary, but I need you to listen carefully," she began, watching as Anna nodded her head in affirmation, eyes wide with a mix of fear and trust. "It's looking like we will need to perform something called a cesarean section to deliver your baby. First, we'll put you to sleep so you won't feel a thing. Then we'll make a small cut here," Louise's finger delicately traced a horizontal line on the girl's lower stomach, catching on the fraying blue hospital gown. "Then we'll take your baby out ourselves and stitch you back together like nothing happened," she continued, her voice calm but firm, doing her best to infuse confidence into the frightened girl before her.