Henry & Sarah

by Kadrak, Suzanne

  “Sarah,” Henry replied softly, “I donʼt want to destroy your hopes, but I am still not sure if Jeremy is lying to us.”

  “But he wouldnʼt help us now if he wanted to do us harm, would he?” Sarah reasoned.

  Henry nodded. He had to admit that it was quite possible that Damian was dead, even if Holly Witherspoon, Oscarʼs former house help back in England, had never mentioned anything in her letters and telegrams. Oscar had asked her about Damian Cox, but she had been unable to tell him anything as she didnʼt have any connections to the Partridges and she had not wanted to raise any suspicion by asking them or anyone else about Damianʼs whereabouts. And as she didnʼt read the newspaper either—except for the obituaries—she wouldnʼt have seen any notice mentioning the death of some soldiers in India, even if there was a higher ranking officer amongst them.

  Sarah weakly let her head sink on Henryʼs shoulder, and he held her and stroked her while they were nervously waiting for Jeremy to return.

  And Jeremy did return. Despite his stiff leg he had been as quick as a weasel.

  “A coach is waiting outside!” he called and ran over to Henry in order to help him get Sarah back on her feet and down the stairs.

  When they got outside, Henry heard Yasmina call down to them from the top window. She appeared rather worried.

  “Henry! My goodness, what is going on?!”

  “Labor pains!” Henry called up to her while he was quickly shoving Sarah inside the coach. “We are off to the hospital! Everything is under control!”

  At least I hope that everything is under control... Henry thought as he climbed inside the coach, followed by Jeremy who equally wanted to get in. Henry looked at him in wonder and blocked his way.

  “You donʼt seriously intend to come with us, do you?!” he snapped at the boy.

  “You might need me,” Jeremy replied.

  “Give me one reason why on earth we should need you!”

  “Have you actually thought about the possibility that the baby might come before you arrive at the hospital?”

  Henry had to admit to himself that he had not considered this at all.

  “Iʼll handle it,” he retorted although he didnʼt have the faintest idea what he would have to do in case it happened.

  “Be reasonable,” Jeremy said calmly before Henry could slam the door of the coach in his face. “I actually have some experience, because more than once I helped Angus deliver his horsesʼ foals when I was still working for the Partridges.”

  Henry rolled his eyes.

  “We are not talking horses here! This is about a human being!”

  “For Godʼs sake, will you two come to a decision, or I will sure as hell deliver the baby myself!” Sarah suddenly yelled. As Henry had never heard her swear like that before, he presumed that it was really high time to leave. He shot Jeremy an angry glance, and with gritted teeth watched the boy climb inside the coach. Then they sped off.

  Innumerable times Henry had tried to envisage this memorable day, had tried to figure out what it would be like; that moment when they would be on their way to the hospital. And in his visions the situation had been pretty much the same as it was now; just that in his wildest dreams he would not have imagined Jeremy to be sitting right next to him.

  He secretly looked at the young man who had once been the so despised stable boy and who was now apathetically staring out of the window, his gaze lost in the distance. Suddenly, Henry realized what a major sacrifice it had to be for Jeremy to see his secret flame becoming the mother of his rivalʼs child. Henry wondered what had happened to him, where he had got the scar from and why his leg was stiff. The vacant look in Jeremyʼs eyes gave Henry the assurance that whatever gruesome and horrid experiences lay behind the boy had been enough to break his spirits and to make him see his life through an entirely new perspective—and to maybe make him feel honest remorse. Henry sensed a flicker of sympathy for him. Still, he incessantly prayed to God that the baby would not come before they had reached their destination, as he didnʼt want to be indebted to Jeremy for the rest of his life.

  But everything went well and when they arrived at the hospital some ten minutes later, Henry helped Sarah out of the coach, and together with Jeremy he carried her over to the entrance of the building where they immediately found themselves surrounded by a couple of hospital assistants, who didnʼt ask too many questions and immediately made Sarah lie on a stretcher. Then they quickly carried her inside, with Henry and Jeremy running after them.

  “Iʼll be right back,” Henry said to Jeremy when they hurried along the corridors. Then he went in search of Oscar. And although Oscar wouldnʼt be the one to make the baby see the light of day, Henry still wanted to at least inform him that his nieceʼs child was on the way.

  Oscar was just in the process of disinfecting the nasty foot wound of a man who had obviously stepped on a rusty nail by accident when Henry knocked on the door of the practice and excitedly stormed inside.

  “Sarah or Yasmina?!” Oscar asked, immediately guessing why Henry had turned up so unexpectedly.

  “Itʼs Sarah,” Henry replied. “Oscar, before you get out there... well, I just want to let you know that you might run into someone you would have never believed to ever see again in your life. But it seems to be alright; I mean, he is actually here to help.”

  Oscar looked at Henry in wonder.

  “My God, Henry, what are you talking about?”

  Henry smiled weakly.

  “You better see for yourself...”

  When Oscar stepped out in the hallway, he saw Jeremy walking after the two nurses who were carrying Sarah on a stretcher towards the delivery room.

  Oscar appeared surprised at first. Then he broke out in chuckles.

  “Well, isnʼt this just another example of lifeʼs funny twists and turns...”

  “I suppose it is,” Henry mumbled and let out a sigh. Then he rushed over to the delivery room. When Jeremy saw Henry approach, he quietly withdrew to a corner in the waiting area and sat on a chair.

  Sarahʼs face was distorted with pain because the contractions began to come at much shorter intervals. She had been moved from the stretcher onto a blank and sterile treatment table. Henry felt infinitely sorry for her. He had never seen a woman in labor before, and Sarahʼs obvious suffering almost broke his heart.

  He grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly.

  “The doctor is on the way, my darling…” he whispered, trying hard to pull himself together and not to let his excitement show too much.

  The next moment, the door opened and a white-haired, friendly-looking man who introduced himself as Dr. Bradshaw entered the room, busily rubbing his hands.

  “Now, letʼs see what we have got here,” he said merrily, giving the impression that he was pretty much in control of the situation. And without further ado, he started with his work.

  Henry averted his eyes at the sight of the doctor sticking his hand into Sarahʼs abdomen. He was embarrassed by her nakedness although he knew her body very well and was sure that Dr. Bradshaw had seen a fair amount of naked women in his career, too. Still, he felt uncomfortable but didnʼt have too much time to worry about it as Sarah suddenly let out a terrible scream. The next moment, Henry saw something peering out between Sarahʼs legs; something tiny and crumpled and smeared with blood.

  “Now, thatʼs what I call a pretty baby!” Dr. Bradshaw twittered happily, pulled the little one out of Sarahʼs body and quickly handed it over to the nurse, who received it and wrapped it in a towel.

  Henry was staring incredulously at the baby in the nurseʼs arms. His heart was hammering so loudly that he thought his chest would burst.

  Oh my God… he thought when suddenly another one of Sarahʼs deafening screams tore him out of his dreamlike state.

  He panicked.

  “Doctor, why is she still screaming? Whatʼs wrong with her?!”

  Doctor Bradhsaw remained surprisingly calm.

  “Well, I suppose she will stop
screaming once we will have got the other one out,” he remarked almost casually.

  “The other one...?!” Henry croaked.

  “Twins, Mr. Abbott, twins,” the doctor added with a reassuring smile. Then his hand disappeared in Sarahʼs insides yet again.

  For a moment, Henry felt overcome with a terrible sickness; the excitement, the tension, the blood—it suddenly all seemed almost too much to cope with. But then, in a matter of minutes, it was over, and in Sarahʼs arms lay two little babies; the babies that Henry would from now on be the proud father of.

  Before he could even begin to realize what had happened, they brought Sarah to another room. Henry followed her on wonky legs and sat down next to her bed on a chair.

  Then someone brought the babies, neatly wrapped in bundles, and placed them in Sarah’s arms.

  Sarah smiled. She looked tired and exhausted but still appeared as happy and content as only a young mother could be.

  Shyly, Henry risked a first glance at the bundles. And there he saw that huddled in them were the two sweetest creatures he had ever set eyes on, two little babies, uttering gargling sounds, their tiny fingers making funny movements in the air as if they were trying to grasp something which wasnʼt there at all.

  Henry stared at them in awe. Taken aback by the sight of the babies and unable to utter a single word, he let himself sink next to Sarah on the edge of the bed and slightly removed the towels in which the little ones were wrapped so that he could get a better glimpse at them.

  “It is a boy and a girl...” Sarah whispered.

  A boy and a girl... it was hammering in Henryʼs head. A boy and a girl... boy and girl...

  “Would you like to hold them?” Sarah asked.

  Henry nodded. Then he ever so carefully took one of the bundles in his left arm and Sarah placed the other one in his right arm. Sitting there on the bed in a hospital in New York, the two infants in his arms and his beloved Sarah at his side, Henry felt as if he was the luckiest man on earth. He could hardly believe what was happening to him.

  A sudden knock at the door tore him out of his stupor.

  It was Oscar.

  A broad smile on his lips, he walked over to Henry.

  “Gorgeous,” Oscar said when he took a closer look at the bundles. He tickled the babiesʼ noses, then he added quietly, “Henry, I really do not want to disturb now, but Jeremy is still outside, and I have the feeling he wants to know if there is anything he can do for you or if he is free to leave.”

  Henry nodded and very carefully put the babies back into Sarahʼs arms. Then he bent down and placed a gentle kiss on Sarahʼs forehead.

  “Henry,” Sarah said to him, “would you do me a favor? Donʼt be too hard on him...”

  Henry knew that she was talking about Jeremy.

  He winked at her.

  “Iʼll see what I can do…”

  Then he got up and left the room.

  * * *

  Henry found Jeremy at the end of the corridor, sitting on a chair, expressionlessly watching the nurses who were walking past him as they were going after their work. When Henry apporached him, Jeremy abruptly got up and looked at him sternly.

  “Is she alright?” he asked.

  Henry nodded.

  “And the baby?”

  “They are fine as well.”

  “They?”

  “Two,” Henry explained. “Two babies.”

  A faint smile flickered across Jeremyʼs lips.

  “Congratulations,” he mumbled.

  “Thanks.”

  The two men looked at each other uncertainly. Henry scratched his ear, not knowing how to handle the uncomfortable silence which had set in.

  “So, do you still need me?” Jeremy finally asked.

  “No, I think we will handle it from here,” Henry answered.

  “Alright then.”

  Henry looked at Jeremy pensively for a moment. He found that there was still something furtive about the boy, but Henry believed to also sense something truly sincere which he had not seen in him before. Hoping that his intuition and his ability to judge character didnʼt let him down, Henry stuck his hand in his trouser pocket and took out the letter that Jeremy had given him earlier on, the one with the address of Damianʼs regiment in London.

  For a split second Henry hesitated, then he handed Jeremy the letter.

  “Are you sure you donʼt want to keep the address?” Jeremy asked with a smirk.

  “Strangely enough, I am,” Henry mumbled.

  He couldnʼt bring himself to openly thank Jeremy for his admittedly welcome interference. Still, he wanted to somehow express his gratitude.

  “Well, if you ever... need something...” he said.

  Jeremy just shook his head.

  “Thanks, Iʼll be fine,” he replied. “Tell Sarah my regards.”

  “I will,” Henry answered.

  “Alright then.” Jeremy buried his hands in his trouser pockets. Then he said, “And by the way, donʼt you worry; you will never see me again.”

  And with these words he turned around and limped away.

  Henry watched Jeremy until the boy disappeared out of sight.

  Then he let out a sigh and smiled to himself.

  Epilogue

  Only two days after the birth of Henry and Sarahʼs children, Yasmina gave birth to a boy. One month later, Henry and Sarah got officially married and, together with Paul and his family, moved to a house just outside Williamsburgh. It was a very old two storey house where a lot of renovations had to be done, but Paul and Henry worked hard to built their families a little cozy home. The house had an extra room where Yasmina and Sarah could go after their tailorʼs work, and a nice little garden with enough space for Renana and Ephraim to play with their new dog that Paul had got them.

  One year later, Reginald Kavanagh promoted Henry from his position as an assistant to the supervisor of the warehouse to the assistant of Harold Burton, the sales manager of Kavanaghʼs shop. During the time he worked with Harold, Henry demonstrated yet again that he was well able to fulfill the tasks that he was given although he had never worked in that field before. When Burton eventually retired, Kavanagh offered Henry to become the new sales manager; a proposal that Henry was more than willing to accept. And with thousands of new immigrants coming into the country, Henry always had his hands full with work and became a busy and wealthy man. He never missed his work as a teacher.

  * * *

  In the meantime, a well-known stage director who had seen Henryʼs brother Paul perform in ʻSodom and Gomorrahʼ approached Paul and offered to put him under contract. This marked the beginning of a thriving acting career, with Paul taking part in numerous stage plays throughout New York and the neighboring states, next to the most famous actors of the time.

  * * *

  Jeremy eventually got involved with a young woman named Clarissa who worked as a dancer and singer in a tavern. The two deeply fell in love with each other, got married, moved to Boston, and had three children.

  * * *

  Lord Partridge was extremely distressed by the turn the events had taken. He felt let down by both Sarah and Damian but blamed himself for the failure of his plans. To distract himself, he fully engaged in his company. But as he was a greedy and ruthless man, he never cared about the well-being of his employees. And as he wouldnʼt listen to their consistent pleas to do something in order to improve the harsh conditions they had to work under, he found his factory up in flames one day. It turnded out that one of his upset workers had secretly set a fire. The factory burnt down to the ground. When shortly after that, Lord Partridgeʼs son Adrian got involved with a girl from a nunʼs school and had her accidentally pregnant, Lord Partridge died because of a heart attack.

  * * *

  Lady Partridge dealt surprisingly well with the death of her husband. The first thing she did after the burial was to fire Emily. Then she began to see Baron Copperwood on a very regular basis. The latter proved to be a shoulder to cry on because he
gave her the reassurance that he knew what she was going through; after all, his wife had died due to food poisoning only a couple of months ago after having eaten a portion of bad German lumpfish roe. Malicious gossip claimed that Baron Copperwood had helped a little bit along. Irrespective of these rumors, Lady Partridge sold Partridge Mansion, married Baron Copperwood, and moved out onto his large estate in the outskirts of London. Sarahʼs horses Orion and Silver were sold to a reputable stable where they led a happy life under the care of the stable ownerʼs daughter Melinda, who was a true horse lover and treated Silver and Orion well despite Orionʼs persistent flatulence problems.