Calumbra 23 - Book 1: The Maid

38 - Death Black and Gretna Green

When Delaware woke up, she was surprised to find herself in her old room and also surprised to find someone lying beside her. It was as if she were living the day all over again as she looked over and saw Trinidad sleeping soundly next to her. She panicked when she felt a small flutter in her stomach and pressed her hands over her domed belly. Her baby was kicking and she delighted in the greeting. Months of nothing but growing and now it seemed as if the child was finally able to communicate. Delaware beamed with joy as she rubbed her stomach softly, hoping to get some more reactions out of her child. To her delight, a small nudge pressed against her hand and she played with it for a second, loving every moment of it.
She didn't realize that Trinidad was watching her until she turned and saw him looking at her with a soft gaze, something he did very rarely.
"You're awake..." she said. "Why am I back here?"
Trinidad didn't respond, just stared at her. Feeling self conscious, Delaware looked away but he made her look back. He put his hand on his chest and seemed to brush upward twice. He looked down a little at her stomach and smiled.
"Happy." He said softly.
Delaware smiled. "Really?" He nodded. "I'm so glad! I was so afraid you would hate me and the baby and... I'm sorry I hid this from you. I should have never done it."
Trinidad shook his head 'no' in agreement and Delaware laughed a little bit. She grabbed his hand and put it on her stomach.
"Wait a moment."
After a couple of minutes the baby kicked and Trinidad grinned wide.
"Isn't that amazing?"
He nodded and then looked at her for a second. He turned her face to him.
Don't ever lie to me again..
Delaware nodded and she did the sign for 'promise' to show that she meant it.

After a few days of staying with the Blackwoods again, Delaware decided that she needed to go back to her little cottage. Trinidad decided he should fix her door that he exploded and took Huntley into town to get some wood for it. As she waited for them to come back, Delaware and July sat in the drawing room.
"Huntley tells me that you think you will have a boy?"
"Yeah, I have a sneaky suspicion. I may be wrong but you never know..."
"What have you decided to name him?"
"Coventry."
"I see. Will he be taking Trinidad's name or yours?"
"Trinidad's, of course... or would that be wrong?"
"Well, it's up to you whether or not you want it to have the Blackwood name or not. It's sad but true in that morals are not what they used to be and so having his last name as Blackwood will not tarnish the house or anything. I'm quite sure that whatever you have will be no match for the Blackwood signature black hair against your blonde so there will be no doubt he is one even if he took the name Tate."
"True..."
"Will you live at the cottage?"
"Yes, I think I'll have to put up my duster and care for my child full time. I have plenty of money to look after him and myself so it's not problem about work. Besides, I'm sure there are plenty of ears that will not be pleased to know that the actual oldest Blackwood now has an heir."
Delaware glanced away and July looked at the window where Angelica was washing the outside glass.
"You're still suspicious of her?"
"I've been suspicious of her ever since I came to the house the first time. Lady Olivia didn't help very much and I fear that her harebrained ideas and Lady Olivia's superstitions seeped into Master Samson. I have a funny feeling that Samson found out about his mother and then they both tried to poison Trinidad and successfully killed off Dominick."
"You really believe that?"
"With all my heart."
"Do you think he is a threat to Tavit?"
"Now that I'm back I don't think so but I have a feeling that when I leave to take care of my child, he will try to use alchemy again. He's scarily proficient at it and I'm surprised Angelica is good with it too. She can crack codes, which is usually the hardest part but if she's good at it... well..."
"I see."
"We're back!" Huntley said, walking in the door with Trinidad behind him. "I'm going to get Sully and we'll replace your door, Ms. Tate."
I'm sorry. Trinidad signed for the hundredth time that day.
"It's alright. Just fix it please."
He smiled as he went after Huntley and July chuckled, sipping some tea.
"You don't know how happy he is."
"He does seem to smile more often..."
"He always smiles when it comes to you, Ms. Tate. Ever since I've known Trinidad, whenever you came up his whole demeanor changed. He could be in the angriest of moods and Tavit would mention something from their childhood in regards to you and he would light up like a candle. You make him feel important, I think."
"He has family to do that."
"Family is a part of you. Sometimes people need to feel important to people who aren't obligated to think so. Having someone who is not bound by familial ties to think that you are someone special makes that feeling that much more grand. I'm sure there are people in your life that have made you feel worth something."
Delaware could see that and smiled, putting her hand on her stomach.
"Yes, I can understand that..."
"If he asked, would you marry him?"
"I don't think he'll ask. If he did, maybe, but I highly doubt he would. Besides, I'm not really into marriage."
"Oh?"
"Well, I'm not into sex before marriage either. This was a fluke by all means necessary. I never should have let my guard down and drank absinthe. It was stupid of me to do. Then again, I shouldn't have thought that my body was done with producing my cycle. I've learned from this not to take my physical body for granted since it can do a lot more than I thought it could.
"But marriage is something I stopped doing a long time ago. I've been married once or twice and it was torture to watch the men I loved die as I never aged. It was even more tortuous to have to have them use concubines to produce an heir because I couldn't give them one... or thought I couldn't. Either way, it was horrible for everyone involved and it was easier for me to just be lonely."
"That sounds terrible... You said that you've been in aristocracy before?"'
"Yes, once. It wasn't my cup of tea, so to speak. Too many pretenses and masks that I had to wear. Too much work not to be spoken ill of or to be spoken well of. The work involved was enough to make you crazy and I was so happy to fake my death then."
"How did you die?"
"Carriage accident. It was easy to do."
"You talk of death so casually."
"I do not die so it's no threat to me."
"Do you wish sometimes that you could... you know, just die?"
"Every day."
"What would be your perfect death?"
Delaware frowned. "You've gotten morbid today..."
"I've always been fascinated by your ability to not die. I would never want it but you can't ask a dead person how it felt or what it was like, but someone like you, well... It's different."
"I see... Well, at first I had wanted to die naturally. Before I looked into what would actually kill me, I thought that when I found the cure, I would just begin to age like everyone else and finally get some peace. But, when I realized how to stop living I knew that I wanted it to be by someone special. I would entrust that person to me and when the time was right, when I felt like I had accomplished all I had wanted to do in this world, I would tell that special person it was time and they would send me on my way. And now... Now, I know exactly how I want to go."
"How is that?"
"I have entrusted Trinidad with the way to kill me and I will do it when I have to kill him."
"Kill him?"
"Yes. Our alchemies are so powerful that only someone in the same league as us can kill us. Small time alchemy could harm us greatly but kill us, no. We agreed a some time ago that when the mutations began to take away Trinidad's humanity, when he was beginning to turn more beast than man, I would kill him and he would kill me. I realized that I didn't want to die alone and Trinidad is very special to me."
"'Never has there been a story of such woe as the tale of Juliet and her Romeo'. A lover's end."
"I guess you could call it that... but for now, I'm going to be a mother, something I never in my life thought I would be able to do. So, I am enjoying harboring this life within me and I can't wait to meet it."
"Do you think... do you think it will be immortal as well?"
"I don't know. I'm taking it in stride. When it comes up, it comes up. We won't even know until the child reaches about adolescent age or just a little bit beyond. I'm twenty two years old physically and I believe Trinidad is around the same age so if he is immortal, that's when the effects would start."
"Well, immortal or not, it will be loved by all in the household."
The two women then began to talk about babies.

Angelica opened Samson's door and walked in, putting her hands over his eyes.
"Guess who?"
"Hmm... the maid?"
She gasped fakely. "How did you know?"
Samsom pulled her around and sat her in his lap.
"I always know my woman..."
"I have some interesting news for you, my love."
"Is that so?"
"Remember how you were wondering why Delaware left and now why Lord Trinidad is being so beamingly happy?"
"Yes..."
"I just found out it's because Delaware is with child. She and Lord Trinidad had a fling at the party some months back and she is having his child."
Samson made a face. "This could pose most aggravating. Trinidad gave up the dukedom because he was going to be immortal and also because he didn't want it. How are we supposed to get Tavit's line out of the way if we now have the real heir to the dukedom being born?"
"Well, I did overhear them talking about how they weren't sure if the child was immortal or not... Maybe we could do something to it?"
"Two immortals would make an immortal, Angelica."
"Not necessarily. Sometimes things cancel each other out. Maybe two immortals only make a mortal."
Samson grinned at her, cupping her chin in his hand.
"I love you."
"I know you do."
"If you can make something to ruin this, I promise that I will drive you to Gretna Green and wed you promptly."
"Is that a promise?"
"It is a vow."
Angelica leaned down and kissed Samson passionately.