Clandestine: A Story of Three Sisters

Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen- News

Lack of sleep and a harried brain had made Charlotte look and feel awful. Her mind was constantly working now, trying to put the pieces together of a puzzle that simply wouldn't fit. It had been another week since the night she confronted Jed about killing Abby, and though his name was cleared, they weren't on much better terms.

Charlotte had told him he could sleep in their room again, and he had nodded when she offered, but still he slept in the basement every night. He couldn't bring himself to sleep next to her, knowing he was betraying her. His secret about Abby may be out now, but he still met with Madison everyday and he couldn't bring himself to crawl into bed beside Charlotte after he'd been with her sister. Instead, he punished himself by staying in the cold basement and torturing himself with his thoughts.

Meanwhile, the situation was the saddest for Madison. Jed didn't want to hurt her, and he knew what he was doing was wrong. He was stringing her along, pretending to be in love with her so he could have her body. And she was falling for it, he could tell. She looked at him with admiration and he could tell she felt at home in his embrace. It wasn't right, but he didn't know how to end it without hurting her even more. She had suffered a lot from losing Abby; the two sisters had been close, and the loss was as unbearable to Madison as it was to Jed. If she had to lose Jed as well, she may not recover from the grief. So Jed tried to reason with himself that they were both doing each other a favor, both of them filling the hole in their lives that was Abby. But he knew it was all his own selfishness making excuses.

Madison's mind fought its own battles everyday. Yes, she was falling for Jed, but it racked her with guilt as well. She and Charlotte were not as close as she and Abby had been, but they were still sisters, and Abby's death had brought them closer together. But now Madison was betraying her sister in the worst way possible, and she didn't know what to do. On the one hand was her sister's happiness, and on the other was her own.

And so, life continued as miserably as it had started in the sad cottage, everyone dealing with their own problems. They hardly talked to each other, and all the smiles and attempts at conversation were strained and fake. It was grueling, and it was taking a toll on everyone.

One day at breakfast, everyone could tell how much of a toll it took on Charlotte, and the maid even commented on it. Charlotte's hair was falling out of the messy braid it was in, her eyes had dark circles around them and were droopy with exhaustion, her skin was pale and sickly, and her posture was slumped and tired. "Missus!" the maid exclaimed at her sight, "Do you need me to fetch some medicine? Make you strong tea?"

Charlotte just shook her head and slumped into her chair, her eyes unable to focus on the breakfast before her. She looked down on the full plate of eggs, bacon, potatoes and fruit, and her stomach flip-flopped. She grimaced and attempted to stand up again.

"I think I'll just sleep--" Charlotte started to say, but her sentence was never finished. As she stood, her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she slowly started to fall to the ground.

Jed quickly jumped up and caught her before she hit the floor, shaking her and saying, "Charlotte! Charlotte, wake up. Charlotte? Charlotte, get up." He looked up at the servants and shouted, "Get a doctor as fast as you can!"

The boy servant sprinted from the room, running into the storm outside. The maid shut the door behind him and turned back to Jed to say, "He won't be so fast in this weather. It could be hours before a doctor arrives."

"Then don't just stand there!" Madison yelled at her, sitting on the floor next to Charlotte and trying to revive her. "Jed will take her up to the bedroom, and you bring juice, cold water and washcloths. Hurry!"

At Madison's words, Jed immediately stood and began carrying Charlotte up the stairs while Madison followed and the maid went to fetch the items. As Jed placed Charlotte onto the bed in as comfortable a position he could, Madison propped her up against pillows and loosened her corset. Then she went to the end of the bed and took Charlotte's shoes off, rubbing the soles of her feet. Jed hadn't realized it, but he'd been holding Charlotte's hand as Madison did all this.

The maid came into the room with a glass of juice and a bowl of cold water, a washcloth hanging out of it. Madison grabbed the washcloth, wrung it, and then began patting the cool cloth against Charlotte's face, dabbing at the feverish forehead and chapped lips. She kept patting and patting, everyone watching intensely to see any sign of movement.

Long minutes ticked by with no movement from Charlotte and no arrival of a doctor. Hope was slowly being lost, when suddenly a small cough was heard. They all looked to see Charlotte barely open her eyes, her lips quivering. Madison quickly grabbed the glass of juice and held it at Charlotte's lips. She tipped Charlotte's head forward and said, "Come on, Charlotte, take a sip."

Very, very slowly, Charlotte began to sip at the juice. Then her sips turned to gulps, and there was a collective sigh of relief in the room. There was a noise downstairs and the maid ran down to lead the doctor up to the room.

As the doctor came in, everyone else left the room, and waited downstairs tensely. The maid made more tea and served it to Jed and Madison, but no one drank it. No one spoke, and there was hardly any movement as the doctor remained upstairs with Charlotte.

Finally, he came downstairs. After drinking a gulp of tea, he turned to Jed and smiled. "There is no need to panic," the doctor told him. "She was weak and underfed, and wasn't sleeping well, which isn't healthy in her condition. Mr. Crawley, you're going to be a father."

The maid and servant boy grinned and congratulated Jed, then went to show the doctor out. Madison and Jed stood in their spots, shocked and silent. Finally, Jed walked away to go upstairs, and Madison was left to be be stunned into silence on her own.

Jed knocked quietly before entering the room. Charlotte looked a little better as she drank a second glass of juice, but her face was unsmiling and bland as Jed closed the door and went to sit by her on the bed. She put the glass down and leaned against the pillows, as if they could swallow her up if she leaned back far enough. But eventually she knew she had to speak.

"I have a confession to make," she told him, without meeting his eyes. "Since you trusted me with the love you had for Abby, it's only fair I warn you about... this predicament."

Jed raised his eyebrows, but waited for her to gather her courage to speak again. When she felt she could, Charlotte said, "I was very angry with you at the beginning of our marriage. And it wasn't just because I had the notion you had killed Abby. When you told me you were the one responsible for Will Atticus' death, I became even angrier, because... well... what you felt for Abby was what I felt for Will."

Jed's eyebrows raised even more and Charlotte nodded and continued. "Yes, I loved Will. We had loved each other, and had been having an affair for months. And then you came to Hush, and I was rude to you because it was the only way I thought I could get rid of you, so I could be with Will. But then... everything... happened, and we were both left without the loves of our lives."

"And you wanted to warn me," Jed said slowly, for clarification. "Because this child... may not be mine? It might be Atticus'?" Charlotte still couldn't meet his eyes, but she nodded slowly again. They sat in silence for a bit, Charlotte unsure how he would react. "But you do not know for sure? It could be mine or his?"

"I don't know," Charlotte whispered, and then silence enveloped them again.