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  He and Sadie charged through the door to his apartment and into a panicked scene.

  “You’re… you’re going to be all right,” Eve was saying.

  She sat, stiff as a board, on the couch beside Amelia. Her eyes were wide and she’d lost all color from her face. Amelia was in dire straits—her face red with effort and sweat making her hair and bodice damp. Eve held her hand, looking as though she might pass out.

  “Don’t you worry, Amelia, Sadie’s here,” Sadie said.

  Eve let out a breathy cry of relief and leapt up and away from the couch. She launched herself into Mark’s arms and hid her face against his shoulder. Sadie took her place beside Amelia.

  “Mrs. McGee,” Amelia panted, laughing with relief and panic. “Thank God.”

  “Don’t you worry, sweetheart,” Sadie went on, all bedside manner. “Let’s see what we’ve got here.”

  Mark’s brow flew up as Sadie lifted Amelia’s skirt and pushed it back over her knees as though he wasn’t there. When she reached for Amelia’s drawers he looked away.

  His heart hadn’t stopped hammering since he left to find Sadie and it didn’t slow down now. He put an arm around Eve to steady himself as much as her.

  “Well!” Sadie exclaimed, the only calm one in the room. “I was going to ask Rev. Andrews if we could borrow his bed to bring this baby into the world, but it looks like we won’t have time to get it ready.”

  “Oh dear,” Amelia mewled through her pain.

  “The baby is coming now?” Eve asked as if she would faint.

  “Just about,” Sadie answered with a nod. “I’ll need some boiling water and a blanket, and something to cover the sofa wouldn’t be amiss.”

  “I can get the water.” Mark jumped into action.

  “I’ll help,” Eve added.

  She jumped to flee the room, almost leaving through the door that led to the church. Mark took a few steps to get ahead of her and steer her to the opposite side of the parlor.

  “The linens are in there.” He pointed her to a closet by the door once they were alone in the kitchen. He took the kettle off of the stove and brought it to the sink. “Are you going to be all right?”

  Eve leaned against the closet door just inside the kitchen. “No. I don’t know.”

  She looked up at him, eyes wide with fear and grief. For the first time, Mark felt as though he was looking at a frightened girl in dress-up clothes instead of an elegant woman.

  “What if she loses the baby, Mark? What if I lose her?” she went on.

  Mark left the kettle he was filling in the sink and crossed to take her in his arms.

  “She’s going to be fine, darling,” he said as she threw her arms around him and held on. “Sadie knows what she’s doing.”

  “I remember the horrid place that Mother took me in London like it was yesterday,” Eve said in a haunted voice. “I was in so much pain. Everyone was panicking. There was blood. I thought the world was coming to an end.”

  He kissed her head, held her closer when he felt her trembling. “The world didn’t come to an end. You’re still here. You’re here with me, and I don’t ever want to let you go.”

  Eve swallowed a sob and looked up at him with such desperate hope in her eyes that a lump caught in his throat.

  “I can’t be here for this, Mark.” Tears streamed from her eyes and down her cheeks. “I know I should. So much of me wants to. But I’m so frightened.”

  “Shh.” He hugged her close. “I’m right here. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

  She shook her head against him. “There is. I’m sure there is. So many things can go wrong.”

  “It’s true,” he said and took a deep breath. “Something can always go wrong in our lives. But Amelia has people here who can and will help her. You have people here who want to help you too.” He tried to rub the tears from her face, but she shook him off.

  “I shouldn’t.” Eve wept. “I don’t deserve it. I’ve kept away from Amelia on purpose, you know, even now. What kind of a sister does that?”

  “One who has suffered too long on her own,” he said. “But you’re not alone anymore.”

  For a moment she looked up at him, the helpless child she must have been. Then she threw herself against him and hugged him with all the strength of an army. He felt her body tense, with resolve this time instead of fear. She took a step back.

  “What do I need to do?” she asked, voice wavering.

  Pride flooded him. She was so brave, so beautiful—tears, trembling hands, and all. He would have done anything to set her world to right, only there was nothing he could do. There was only one person who could banish the pain of Eve’s past once and for all.

  “Fill the kettle with water and put it on the stove,” he told her. “You might have to add more wood to get the fire going.”

  Eve nodded and set to work. Her task would distract her long enough for him to set the right wheels in motion. He left the kitchen and strode into the parlor.

  Amelia was breathing deeper now, but panic still hung in the air. Sadie wiped her brow with a handkerchief.

  “How is she?” he asked, coming halfway around the sofa but stopping when he saw Amelia’s skirt was still hitched up.

  “We’re almost there,” Sadie smiled.

  Mark’s heart beat faster. “Sadie, I need your help finding the right linen.”

  Sadie heaved a sigh, but stood. “Men. You can’t trust them to do anything.”

  Mark rushed her on into the kitchen where Eve was pushing wood into the stove. Without missing a beat, he put his plan into action.

  “Eve, darling, let me do that. Go back into the parlor.”

  She shoved the last piece of wood in and shut the stove’s door. “I… I think that should be enough.”

  “It will.” He crossed to take her hand and led her across the kitchen to the door. “Now go.” He kissed her forehead and sent her into the parlor with Amelia.

  Sadie shook her head as she reached for linens in the closet.

  “That was foolish,” she cautioned.

  “Eve is a beautiful, kind woman who has been through hell and back,” he said.

  Sadie’s eyebrows shot up. “Reverend!”

  “She doesn’t deserve your censure. You’ll see.”

  She blinked, looking at him as if seeing him in a whole new light. “If you say so.”

  She turned, arms full of blankets and sheets, to head back to the parlor. Mark stopped her.

  “Give them a few minutes,” he said. “Trust me, they need it.”

  Sadie took a few steps back. “My, my, Reverend. You are full of surprises these days.”

  He dodged past her and opened the door a crack to take a look. Eve hovered over Amelia, chewing her lip and wringing her hands. He’d done what he could, the rest was up to God.

  Eve paced the carpet in front of the sofa where Amelia lay.

  “I wonder what’s taking them so long,” she fretted.

  Amelia winced and tried to catch her breath. “Eve, sit down. You’re making this worse than it is.”

  The comment stung, but Eve did as she was told. She sat on the sofa, stiff and anxious, avoiding Amelia’s eyes.

  “This is so strange,” Eve confessed in a rush, heat rising on her face. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Neither do I.” Amelia gave a short, anxious laugh. “Everyone took care of me last time.”

  The hard lump was back in Eve’s throat. She glanced to the door. Where were Mark and Mrs. McGee?

  “You’re lucky,” she fumbled for something to say, looking everywhere but at Amelia. “I’ve never known what it feels like to have anyone truly take care of me.”

  A thick silence filled the room.

  “I tried,” Amelia said. “Honestly, Eve, I did try.”

  Eve took a breath and looked at her sister. Amelia was in tears, different tears this time. The pain of labor had been replaced by something older, deeper. Eve’s heart squeezed in her chest.r />
  “I felt so hopeless when Father died,” Amelia went on. Her voice was high and thready. “I was old enough to know what Mother was capable of, but not so old that I could stop her. And what other family we had turned their backs on us.”

  “Because we had no money, I remember.”

  Like floodgates unlocking, a host of memories assailed Eve, good and bad. In the space of an instant she remembered summers in the country, Christmases full of laughter and light. She remembered how devoted Amelia had always been to her, and she to Amelia.

  “It was more than the money,” Amelia went on. “Father’s family never approved of Mother to begin with. She was infamously of low character and had married Father for his fortune and title. I never thought she would… would do what she did to all of us.”

  “It’s not your fault.” The words swelled up through Eve’s chest and heart with alarming intensity. In a flash that came from her heart, she saw things clearly. “None of it was your fault. We were two girls up against a cruel and heartless world. What could we do?”

  Amelia brushed tears from her red and puffy face even as another wave of pain struck. She grunted with the intensity of it, reaching out her hands. Eve surged toward her to take them. As Amelia squeezed with all her might, Eve squeezed back.

  “I should have done something,” Amelia growled. “I should never have become a governess and left you behind. I’m sorry.”

  “No. You did what was right for you.” It hurt to say it, to know it was true when a large part of her still ached for her sister to save her.

  “I could have done something,” Amelia went on, tears streaming down her face.

  “Not as long as Mother had her heart set on what she wanted,” Eve said.

  She leaned closer as Amelia’s pain peaked. Her heart hammered in her throat as Amelia screwed up her face and battled whatever was happening to her. It didn’t seem right. If bringing a new life into the world was this agonizing, then why did anyone bother?

  Her heart answered that she had been in this much pain, that her whole world had been this much agony, ever since her one baby had been ripped away from her. She had struggled for two years to bring her own new life into the world, and this was what it had felt like.

  “Amelia, I have to tell you something,” she said, tears running trails down her face.

  Amelia panted as the contraction subsided. Her face was red and she was damp with sweat, but she held on to Eve’s hands as if they were both still deep in the throes of labor. Still catching her breath, Amelia nodded for Eve to go on.

  “I… I was with child once.”

  Amelia’s eyes flew wide. “You were? When? What happened?”

  Eve swallowed. The torture of that memory was as strong as it had been in the moment.

  “Shortly after you left. Mother insisted we get rid of it.” She shut her eyes and lowered her head. “She took me to a horrid place in some dingy back alley.”

  “Oh, Eve, I’m so sorry.” Amelia pulled her closer.

  “That’s not the worst of it.” Eve kept herself at arm’s distance. “Something went terribly wrong. They took me away from that place and to a real hospital.”

  “Thank God for that!”

  Eve shook her head. “No. I don’t know if I can thank Him.” She met Amelia’s eyes. “To save me, they had to perform surgery to remove my womb. It’s gone forever and any hope of children with it.”

  “Your scar.” Amelia let out a breath. Her face twisted with pain again, but this time it was emotional, not physical. “Oh, my darling!”

  It was impossible to embrace the way Eve was sure Amelia wanted to with the bulk of her pregnant belly in the way. Eve pressed up against her side nonetheless, weeping as she had all those years ago. Amelia tightened her arms around her as best she could.

  “I’m sorry.” Amelia wept with her. “My dearest, I’m so sorry. If I had been there—”

  “You wouldn’t have been able to do anything,” Eve finished for her. “Mother was too strong in her opinions, too greedy and… and evil to be stopped.”

  “But at least I could have held you,” Amelia insisted.

  Eve started to shake her head, to argue and protest, but her energy left her. She had longed to have Amelia there to hold her and hug her and tell her everything would work out at the time. Now here she was, in her sister’s embrace at last. Two years was not too late.

  “I ran away, you know,” she said, gulping as the sharpness of her pain subsided. “I had to.”

  “Run away?”

  Eve nodded. “Mother refused to let me go. She said I was even more of an asset to her because I couldn’t have children. I had friends at the theater in London. I simply walked out in the middle of the night one night with nothing but the clothes on my back and went to them.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me before? You could have come here sooner.”

  Eve shook her head. “I couldn’t. I never told anyone. It was too big of a shock. I… I’ve been running from it for years.”

  “Mark. Does he know?”

  Eve nodded, a sudden smile erupting. “He loves me anyhow, Amelia. He wants to marry me, knowing we could never have children.”

  “Oh, Eve,” Amelia wept anew. “I’m so sorry I judged the two of you. Please forgive me. Please stay. I don’t think I could bear it if you went away now. I have so much—” Amelia gasped as another wave of pain overtook her.

  Eve sat straight, her alarm tightening into resolve. “What do I do?” she asked. “How can I help?”

  Amelia’s face contorted and her breathing turned shallow. “Stay with me. Hold my hand.”

  Eve grabbed Amelia’s hand with both of hers. “I’m here,” she said. “I’m not going anywhere. Mrs. McGee!”

  Her shout did not go unanswered. An instant later, Mark and Sadie rushed through the door. Sadie continued around the sofa.

  “It’s time, my dear, I’m sure it’s time,” she said. As Eve stood, Sadie thrust a pile of linens into her arms. “Help me cover the sofa, dearie, before it’s too late.”

  The woman’s behavior toward her had changed, but Eve didn’t have time to think about it. She rushed to spread layers of sheets over the sofa and a blanket around Amelia’s shoulders as Sadie did her work. Mark hovered close to her, every line of his body saying he was ready to sweep her into his arms if she needed it.

  She didn’t. She could do this. She could help bring her little niece or nephew into the world. She was indomitable, after all.

  Chapter Ten

  The Cold Springs church was packed to the rafters for the pageant, in spite of being built to house a large congregation. The lights were dimmed, save those that illuminated the scene on the chancel. As a young Mary and Joseph crept up to take their places at the manger, a celestial choir of angels sang “Silent Night” at the far end. Their white costumes and gold wings shone through the darkness, but it was their darling, cherubic faces that brought tears to those that watched them.

  Eve had cried so much the day before that she had no tears left to shed. Instead, she beamed with pure happiness, so proud of the children and everything they had accomplished. She was blessed to know them, to be able to work with them. She was blessed to be where she was.

  One of the tiny angels caught her smiling at him from her seat in the first pew. He lost his place in the song, solemnity cracking in favor of a giggle. His neighbor jabbed him with an elbow to get him back in line. Even that naughty gesture made Eve’s heart light.

  There wasn’t time to revel in it. Mary and Joseph were in place. Eve turned to Amelia, seated beside her. Her sister still looked worn and tired, but she also glowed with the contentment of new motherhood. Eric sat beside her—Darcy on his lap—hovering like a fussy hen. He had arrived at the church well after his son had been born the night before, full of apologies and regret.

  “It’s all right,” Amelia had told him. “Aunt Eve was here.”

  Those words continued to beat in Eve’s heart as she to
ok her precious new nephew from Amelia’s arms. He was the most darling thing she had ever seen, so tiny and so perfect. His little face was pinched in sleep, thin lashes spread across pink cheeks. It was too soon to tell who he looked more like, Eric or Amelia, or just himself. She kissed his forehead and stood to carry him to the manger.

  “I think you were born for the stage,” she whispered to him, a twinkle in her eye. “One day old and here you are, playing the role of a lifetime. But don’t worry,” she added when she reached the manger where Isabella and Grover waited with eager faces, “they’ll love you. I love you.”

  It was harder than she would have imagined to let him go. Wrapped in swaddling as he was, she was certain he was safe as she laid him on a bed of hay. He was in good hands with Isabella, who bent over him with a wide smile and brushed a piece of straw away from his feet. It struck Eve as she rushed back to her seat that there were always those who would care for children, above and beyond their parents. God gave whole armies of angels to take care of His people, ones you could see and ones you couldn’t. If they seemed far away or absent sometimes, that was just an illusion. Love was always there.

  As she took her seat, Eve clasped Amelia’s hand, sharing an open smile with her.

  “‘And it came to pass as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us,’” Mark read from his place at the side of the chancel.

  Just the sound of his voice filled Eve with the confidence that everything would be all right. The angels continued to hum the tune of “Silent Night,” moving to take their places at the back of the church. The shepherds began their journey from up the center aisle to the holy family, a pair of live lambs with them. The congregation chuckled and sighed at the sight, but Eve had eyes only for Mark. He caught her watching and smiled. How wonderful he was. How strong he made her feel.

  The shepherds reached the front of the church and took their places in the scene. Two of the older boys returned to the back to usher the citizens of Cold Springs up the aisle so that they too could come to worship and adore—or at least look at—the newborn king. Eve’s heart sang at the joy and peace that painted the faces of all the diverse citizens of the town: shopkeepers, miners, farmers, and businessmen together. Whatever their differences, they were together now, witnessing the reenactment of a miracle that was a miracle in itself.