Coulson's Wife (The Coulson Series) Read Free Page A

suggested.
    “Close my eyes?” Mary
Ellen didn’t want to admit she was rather curious about what a grown man looked
like with his clothes off, yet suspected the lights would be turned off so she
probably wouldn’t see anything anyway.
    “And I have something
that might help you. I prepared it after Edward told me you were getting
married,” Rachel confided. She reached into the handbag sitting on her lap and
pulled out a small glass mason jar and handed it to her niece. Mary Ellen took
the jar and looked at it curiously. It appeared to holding some sort of thick
liquid.
    “Before you go to your
husband, to — you know — you’ll want to wash up and put
on your nightgown,” Rachel whispered. “Don’t wear anything under the nightgown,
instead—well apply this, well — down
there. It will make it all less uncomfortable.”
    “Mama never told me
about this before.” Mary Ella frowned, then slipped the jar into her own
handbag.
    “Well dear,” Rachel said
as she patted Mary Ellen’s knee, “there are a few things I know that would
quite shock my dear brother and your mother.”
    They were silent for a
few moments when Mary Ellen asked, “Do you think Mama will get better? It’s
like she isn’t even there.”
    “Losing Ed Junior was
quite a shock for the poor dear. I do believe he was always her favorite.”
    “But Papa and the boys
need her. She has to get better.”
    “Give her time, dear. I
promise to look in on her frequently when I return home. And I’ll write you.”
    “I’d appreciate that,
Aunt Rachel. And I also appreciate you coming with me. I don’t know what I’d do
if I had to make this trip alone. Will you be staying long?”
    “I’m afraid not. From
what I understand, when we arrive in Philadelphia we’ll go directly to your
fiancé’s house.”
    “Fiancé — that sounds so strange.”
    “The ceremony will take
place when we arrive, and I’m to be a witness.”
    “You mean I’m going to
be married today?”
    “Of course, didn’t your
father explain?”
    “No, not really.”
    “I’ll be taken back to
the station after the ceremony, and head back home.”
    “Can’t you stay a
while?” Mary Ellen pleaded.
    “I’m afraid not, dear.
Edward made it very clear that I must return this evening.”
    “Then that must mean — tonight — Mr. Coulson expects me to perform my wifely duties
tonight.”
    “Yes dear.” Rachel
patted her niece’s knee again. “Just remember to close your eyes and use the
ointment I gave you, and you’ll get through it with minimal discomfort.”
    “I think I’m going to
be sick,” she said dully.
    “Nonsense. Women have
been performing their wifely duties since the beginning of time.” Rachel
studied her niece for a moment.
    “Dear, by any chance is
it your time of month?”
    Mary Ellen blushed at
the question and shook her head no, and whispered the date her menstruation had
last stopped.
    “Do you understand that
if you chart such things, it’ll help you determine if you’re with child, when
that time comes?” Rachel asked, not certain how much her niece really
understood about these delicate matters.
    “Yes, mother
explained.” Mary Ellen studied her folded hands that fidgeted nervously on her
lap.
    “And you have been
charting yours, I assume?”
    Mary Ellen nodded in
the affirmative, still looking down.
    “Are your cycles fairly
regular? Do you start about the same time each month?”
    Mary Ellen nodded
again, wishing her aunt would cease asking such embarrassing questions. However,
Rachel Browning Spencer had a reputation for saying what was on her mind,
regardless of social protocol. In some ways Mary Ellen was a little surprised
her father had asked his sister to accompany her on the trip, considering there
was no guarantee Aunt Rachel wouldn’t say something that might offend Mr. Coulson.
Yet there was really no one else he could ask.
    “I’ll tell you a little
secret,” Aunt Rachel whispered.
    “What is