A Family Christmas by Glenice Crossland

Author:Glenice Crossland
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781409035909
Publisher: Random House

Chapter Seventeen

LOUISA GOODMAN PLACED the seed cake in the oven. She must remember to purchase some more caraway seeds when she went shopping. She felt the familiar dull pain that heralded her monthly bleeding and went upstairs to find a cloth and some safety pins. She opened the drawer and felt quite faint as she realised there had been none of Prudence’s dirty ones to wash in the last month. Her pulse raced as she thought about the sickness her daughter had experienced over the past few weeks. She slammed the drawer shut and hurried downstairs to where Prudence was as usual enthralled in one of her romantic novels.

‘Prudence, when did you last have your period?’ she asked.

The girl kept her eyes on the page. ‘I’m not sure.’

‘You must know if it came two weeks ago when it was due.’

‘Oh! I never noticed it was missing.’

‘You mean it is now two weeks late?’

‘Oh no, more than that,’ Prudence answered innocently.

‘Prudence, tell me what happened when Robert came to your room.’

‘I’d rather not.’

‘I shan’t ask you again. I shall go and ask Robert.’

Prudence forced the sobs to her throat and tears to her eyes.

Louisa drew her daughter into her arms. ‘Why didn’t you tell me before?’ Prudence’s performance would have put Greta Garbo to shame as she cried as if her heart was about to break. ‘Prudence, I’m going to get your father and then we must take you to a doctor.’

‘No. I can’t. No one must know, not when I’m not married. I’d be too ashamed.’

Louisa hurried out and across to the vestry where she knew her husband would be arranging his Sunday sermon. ‘Herbert, you must come home. Something terrible has occurred.’ Louisa began to panic at the shameful words she was about to utter. ‘I believe Prudence is … I believe she’s pregnant.’

‘What?’ Louisa watched the colour drain from her husband’s face. ‘What are you saying? Our daughter would never be capable of such a thing.’

‘Oh, I think she would.’

Herbert paced the vestry floor, his hands clasped on his chest as if in prayer. ‘Robert Grey. I’ll kill him for this.’

‘And what good will that do? Besides, you’re the one who preaches forgiveness. Our daughter is just as guilty. In fact, I wouldn’t have put it past her to have seduced him.’

‘What are you talking about? What’s got into you, woman?’

‘Don’t call me woman.’

‘I’m sorry, but well, you are a woman. Oh, Louisa, the shame of it. He’ll have to marry her.’

‘Yes, but he doesn’t love her, Herbert. I know he doesn’t.’

‘You don’t know, and anyway that can’t be helped. He should have considered that when he sullied an innocent girl.’

‘Innocent? Are you sure about that?’

‘Oh, Louisa, I’m not sure about anything. Are you really certain she’s …?’ Herbert couldn’t bring himself to say the word.

‘Well she’s either pregnant or there’s something else wrong with her.’

‘She must see a doctor, make certain.’

‘She doesn’t want to, says she can’t, being unmarried.’

‘Then Robert must marry her. I’ll go see him. There’s no alternative.

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