Beyond Reason Read Free Page B

the soaking two days ago.
    Mary’s father could not settle in his own house. He had ridden down as soon as school was out, anxious for news. He knew the slightest chill could make Billy ill. Tonight two bright-pink patches on his cheekbones accentuated the hollows of his thin face. Doctor Carr understood his concern as he watched Billy, head in his hands, trying not to cough.
    ‘Mary has developed a fever,’ he told them gravely. He swallowed hard and reached his decision. ‘She is unable to feed the baby.’ Billy’s head jerked up. ‘Ye need to be in bed yourself,’ the doctor said gruffly. ‘Dinna worry about the babe. I know a young woman who has lost her own infant. She will mother your bairn and give you and Mary peace until you both get your strength back.’
    Billy stared up at the doctor, his eyes burning. ‘No,’ he gasped hoarsely. ‘No.’ He looked towards the alcove bed but Mary did not even hear the doctor’s suggestion.
    ‘She’s too ill to know, laddie,’ Dr Carr shook his head sadly. ‘It’s for the best – for all of you. Have you anybody to care for wee Andrew?’
    ‘I’ll look after the wee fellow,’ Lucy volunteered.
    ‘Who is the woman who would nurse the babe, Archie?’ Dominie McWhan asked.
    ‘Peggy Baird. She was a pupil of yours once. She lives in one of the cottages at Crillion Keep. Her mother is cook there for young Josiah Saunders.’
    ‘Ah yes, I remember Peggy well. She stayed with us at the schoolhouse during the winter terms.’ The dominie nodded in relief. ‘She and Mary were friends. Her mother is a fine woman – clean and respectable.’
    ‘Aye. She was widowed young, but she married again. Her husband is Jacob McLauchlan, coachman at Crillion Keep. They have a young son. A bit late in life maybe, but they count him as a real blessing. He’s a fine wee laddie, young Fingal. He’s about the same age as your grandson.’
    ‘Yes, I remember now. So Peggy, the wee lad’s half-sister, will nurse the babe?’
    ‘Aye. She adores bairns. Young Fingal spends a lot of his time with her when his own mother is up at the Big House, but Peggy is taking it hard, losing her own bairn.’
    The dominie nodded and looked at his son-in-law. There was no response.
    ‘Billy, have I your permission to take the babe there?’ Doctor Carr asked, frowning at Billy’s bowed head. ‘Peggy Baird will take good care of her.’
    ‘I don’t know,’ he muttered. ‘I can’t go on without Mary. I can’t….’
    ‘We’ll get you to bed, and I’ll give you a draft to ease your cough and help you sleep. We’re not going to lose your wife if Mistress Cummins and I can help it,’ Doctor Carr added with determination. He was a good doctor, considerably younger than Dominie McWhan. ‘You get to bed and get well yourself so you can help when Mary needs you.’
    Dominie McWhan was deeply troubled during the weeks which followed his granddaughter’s birth. He never neglected the welfare of his young pupils, but as soon as school was over, he divided his evenings between his granddaughter at the Bairds’cottage and his daughter’s. They were at opposite ends of the parish.
    ‘Mary is putting up a valiant fight,’ Doctor Carr assured him. ‘Mistress Cummins is determined she will not slip away from us.’
    Silently they all acknowledged that Billy’s chance of a long life was slim. Mary’s survival was vital but her recovery was slow. Billy never complained, but as she regained her strength Mary realized how ill he had become. He needed her. He was her main concern. She was the only one who could help him in his fight for life. She remembered little of her baby’s birth and showed no yearning to see her. It was her father who insisted on taking her in his pony and trap to visit baby Janet at the Bairds’ cottage. She was a beautiful baby with wide, smoky-blue eyes and thickly fringed lashes, but Mary felt no urge to hold the little one in her arms. She didn’t feel any