Until Forever (Complete)

Chapter Thirty Six

A smile curved the corners of Elizabeth's lips and her eyes twinkled with joy as she watched Bailey make his way into the dining room that morning. She fought the urge to spring to her feet and fall into his arms as she waited patiently for him to settle on the other side of the table right beside Samuel.

It was been a blissful night. At first Elizabeth had been unable to tamper her excitement of having Bailey confess to loving her, down long enough to actually fall asleep. And when she had finally fallen asleep, she had slept only for a few hours and had woken up before the day broke.

The food was brought in. Surprised at the absence of her parents, Elizabeth turned briefly to the door in search of them. She wondered if their absence at the breakfast table had anything to do with Gretchen and the baby. Were they alright? Gretchen had barely rested the day before and had done so because she wanted Elizabeth to know the truth about her mother; A revelation that Elizabeth hadn't even gotten the chance to think about until now.

Her mother was dead. The thought filled her yet again with sadness as she turned her attention to her plate. She would have loved to meet Juliet, to get to know her, to have a relationship with her. The thought that she would never get that opportunity, saddened her.

“Lady Elizabeth?”

She was pulled back to the present. She turned her attention to the door.

“Yes, Stephen?” She turned her addressed the butler who stood by the door.

“I'm afraid there seems to be a problem, my lady.” He said and she noticed, as she stared at him, that he seemed nervous.

“With my mother?” Elizabeth rose to her feet, feeling fear grip her heart.

The butler shook his head solemnly and she heaved a breath of relief. “Some visitors, my lady.”

~ ~

Ethan maintained his position by Gretchen's side, her hand trapped by his. He tried to convince himself that the headaches she had been experiencing all night, was in no way connected to the fall she had experienced the day before. Yet, he knew better.

He shouldn't have let her out of bed, he scolded himself. He should have insisted that the conversation with Elizabeth could wait. But Gretchen was stubborn and this was a fact Ethan was very much aware of.

With every second that ticked by, Ethan found his anxiety rising. He was anxious for the Physician to show up but the man seemed to be taking his time or perhaps he was being held up by something or someone... He sighed, trying and failing to still his pounding heart.

“Father?!”

Ethan was jolted to his feet by the sound of the bed room door being slammed against the wall. He turned impatient eyes to the intruder, opening his mouth to chastise whoever it was when he saw the look of horror on Elizabeth's face.

She covered the distance that stood between them and took captive of his hand, pulling him along.

“You have to stop them!” She yelled, yanking at his arm, yet making very little progress in trying to get him to follow her.

“Ellie?” Gretchen called, rising to a sitting position.

“You should rest.” Ethan said firmly, uprooting his hand from Elizabeth's grip and turning his attention to Gretchen. He knelt beside her bedside. “You need to sleep for a few more minutes until the Doctor...”

“What's wrong?” Gretchen ignored him, turning her attention back to Elizabeth. He could tell just by listening to her, that she was trying not to reveal how much pain she was experiencing.