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“I don’t mind if you don’t want to sit with me all evening,” Jessica said.
“I like where I am because I can see your beauty here. Who wants to look at my brothers’ scruffy faces?”
Jessica wasn’t sure what game he was playing, but it was starting to make her uncomfortable. She was sure it was all for show, so everyone would know his second marriage was going as well as his first.
She realized he wanted to save face, just as she did with her mother. She wasn’t telling her about their marital troubles, just as he wasn’t letting anyone else see it.
By the end of the evening, they’d danced twice more. The third time, with Sally on her hip. The baby was getting sleepy, so she rested her head on Jessica’s shoulder, content to be in the arms of the only mother she’d ever known.
Once they were home that evening, Jessica immediately started having the children go to bed. She was surprised when George took the baby from her and carried her up the stairs to bed. Jessica followed, changing Sally’s diaper and putting her down for the night.
She made sure the other children were settled in their beds, and went downstairs to where George was in the parlor. “I’m calling it a night. All the children are in bed.”
George stood. “I’ll go up with you.”
“I know the way,” she said, still wondering what the man was up to.
He stepped close to her and brushed his lips softly against hers. “I told you earlier. It’s time for you to be treated as my wife, and not as a servant. I’m sorry for my behavior.”
She frowned up at him. “I forgive you.” But she didn’t trust him. How could she?
They went upstairs together, and she was surprised when he caught her hand as she was walking into Sally’s room. “You’re sleeping in here now.”
Jessica wasn’t certain she even wanted to sleep with him. Oh, she loved him, but that didn’t mean she trusted him not to hurt her again. “Are you certain?” she asked, still willing to walk away if he didn’t want her with him.
“Absolutely.” He pulled her into his room, where she’d been only to collect and put away laundry and change the bedding.
“My nightgown is in the baby’s room,” she said.
“Well, go change and come to bed with me.” It almost felt as if he thought he was giving her something special by letting her sleep with him. She wanted to tell him it was too little too late, but her heart wouldn’t let her. She wanted to be closer to him if at all possible, and she would be now that she could.
She changed into her white nightgown and went into the master bedroom. “Do you have a preferred side of the bed?” she asked.
“My side is the side toward the door. If there’s a problem, I’m between you and that problem,” he told her.
Jessica nodded, knowing then he accepted her baby. He was obviously willing to defend it against anything. She was pleased at least part of her was wanted.
Climbing under the covers, she turned toward the wall and closed her eyes. It had been a very long day, and she was sleepy. Besides, they had church in the morning, and she wasn’t about to miss it.
George watched her deliberately turn toward the wall, and he realized he had a lot of fences to mend before she trusted him. He wished he’d been kinder to her, but he would just have to do everything in his power to make up for it.
Chapter Ten
George’s kindness continued for a month before Jessica could start taking it seriously. He hadn’t initiated lovemaking again, and she certainly hadn’t.
One evening in early December, after the children had gone to bed, Jessica sat with George in the parlor. “What are your plans for tomorrow?” George asked.
Jessica shrugged. “Minding the children, cooking, and the midwife is coming to check on me.”
“You haven’t said anything about how you’re feeling? Is the morning sickness gone?” he asked.
“Do you really care?” Jessica asked. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. She’d tried so hard to act as though the way they now acted toward one another was the same as it had always been, but she was tired and a bit cranky. It was so hard to believe he cared even a little.
“Of course, I care. You’re carrying my baby.”
She nodded. “When you start caring forme,we’ll talk.”
George’s jaw dropped, and she left the room with his mouth still agape. She wasn’t going to continue to be treated poorly, and she certainly didn’t want to be treated well simply because they’d made a mistake and she was carrying his child.
