A Tale of Something New: A gripping and romantic tale of light and darkness (ATO Series Book 1) by D. S. McColgan

Author:D. S. McColgan [McColgan, D. S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A Tale Of Ltd
Published: 2024-03-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter eighteen

Liliana had never known such nausea before. It drowned what little vitality she had left in her. From morning to nightfall, and even in the middle of the night, she was sick to her stomach. She wanted to vomit as soon as she smelled, saw or even heard someone fiddling around in the kitchen. The farm was filled with foul smells, in every room, in every corner. Dung and sweat lurked everywhere. Even her own smell was repulsive, so badly so that it made her cry a couple of times.

At first, she blamed the evil little creature inside her. She still refused to speak. Because if she did, she would have had to answer certain questions; especially one specific question. This didn’t prevent Grandmother from chatting at her and reassuring her that these symptoms were unfortunate but not unusual. Since that night with the knife, Liliana had often thought about how she could induce an abortion without drawing too much attention to herself. Grandmother would have known how to do it, but Liliana couldn’t ask her because she only assisted in such undertakings if the mother’s life was in danger. And how could Liliana convince her of that without confessing whose child she was carrying?

When the boundless nausea set in, she had no strength left for such plans. Every day was a battle against her own body. She drank Grandmother’s tea blend of chamomile, mint and lemon balm, vomited on an empty stomach, and dragged herself to the stable, where she took countless breaks during her work. She’d hoped to hide her condition from the rest of the family for a while longer. But after a whole month of stomach upset, even Cedi grew suspicious. She heard him whispering to Annelies as she left another meal in a hurry. Later, Grandmother arranged for everyone to gather at her bedside.

‘You may have guessed already what’s going on with Liliana. But I believe she’d rather tell you herself.’

Liliana had to get a grip of herself. Apart from the one word with which she’d begged Grandmother to stop with her incense, this was the first time she had spoken at all since Hans died. Her throat rasped unpleasantly. ‘I’m pretty miserable because I … I’m expecting a child.’

Meaningful glances and curt nods were exchanged. She saw the unspoken question on their faces and felt her hands twitch nervously.

‘From Hans, isn’t it?’ said Cedi, who couldn’t stand the silence. ‘I saw you two dancing and going home together on the night of the Spring Celebrations. You know, before he …’

She nodded, grateful not to have to utter the lie herself.

‘He always liked you,’ Annelies sighed, and Jakob grumbled approvingly.

Liliana lowered her eyes. She was sweating and shivering at the same time. Did they really believe this, or did they dismiss their suspicions because the alternative was too heinous? Even Grandmother, to whom she had confessed her feelings back then, showed no emotion.

Anxiously, she made them promise not to let any of this be known in the village.

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