Just Me - M J Marlow (reading strategies book .txt) 📗

mother-in-law sat beside me stroking my hair gently with a sad smile on her face. Daphne was sitting next to me in the living room the next morning when the inspectors arrived to question me about Layton’s shooting. I told them what I could and they left with their empty assurances that they would find out who had murdered my husband. I had a feeling they would never find out who had committed the crime. “There is no reason for you to remain in England, Mrs. Layton,” Inspector Sykes said to me kindly. “If you wish, I can have you taken to the airport now…” “She must remain in England until the will is read,” Daphne broke in firmly. I looked at her and saw the fear and determination in her eyes. She patted my hand and smiled at me kindly. “Kerrigan will stay with me until then.” I started to protest and she shook her head. “You know it’s for the best, dear.” She was so concerned I did not have the heart to refuse her. So I merely nodded and the Inspector noted this information in the file. We went to the penthouse and Daphne and I shared lunch. I was sick almost immediately afterwards and she had Elise make some broth and then sent me to bed like a child. After a week the morning sickness began to fade. I was left feeling completely exhausted and I wondered how I found the strength to attend Layton’s funeral. The sight of my friends standing across from me made the tears come again. I thought about Layton then and my tears were not feigned. I had come to care for this man and someone had shot him down before he could make his life count for something. It wasn’t right. “Are you feeling all right, Maggie?” Maxine asked when she got me alone at the reception later. “You look so pale.” “I’m starting to feel better, Maxie,” I said softly as I sank down on a chair nearby with the water I’d been sipping for the past hour. “The worst of the morning sickness is over.” I felt a familiar and hated sensation and I ran to the nearest bathroom. Maxine followed me and Cheryl soon joined her. “Oh Maxie!” I sobbed as she held me. “I’m so scared. I don’t know what to do.” “That’s what we’re here for, Maggie,” Cheryl said gently as she wiped my face for me. I nodded even as I smiled briefly. “Don’t worry,” she continued as she handed me a glass of water so I could rinse out my mouth. “We’ll help you.” The door opened and Daphne sailed in, looking distressed. “Kerrigan, darling,” she crooned as she helped me to my feet. “I knew you should have gone to bed sooner. I should have insisted you stay home.” She nodded to Maxine and Cheryl and herded me off before I could stop her. I found myself in my room being turned over to Elise. “Bring Dr. Stanley up here, Elise. This has gone on much too long.” When the maid was gone, Daphne stroked my cheek. “Poor darling Kerrigan. It would kill me if anything happened to you now. Your child and you are all I have left of my son.” I saw something in her eyes that disturbed me suddenly and I was frightened for her. She wasn’t going to let me leave. With Layton gone, his mother had no one left and was fixating on me. The door opened and I saw the doctor who had been treating me for Layton walk in. He had his bag with him. “Elise tells me you aren’t feeling well, Kerrigan,” he smiled at me gently as he examined me. “Tell me what’s been going on.” He nodded as he heard my symptoms and took a prescription pad out of his bag. “We’ll get you something to help with the nausea.” He patted my hand. “Lots of fluids, plenty of rest, and regular healthy meals. If you continue to have these attacks, we’re going to have to put you in the hospital.” “No hospital,” I shook my head firmly. I laid back and closed my eyes. “It’s just morning sickness,” I said fervently. “Another day or two and I’ll be just fine.” “If you continue to remain this sick, Kerrigan,” Stanley told me bluntly, “you will be dehydrated to the point where we will have to put you on an IV to hydrate you. We have to take care of your child and you.” He put his hand on mine. “Layton would insist…” “Nathaniel isn’t here,” I sobbed. “He should be here.” I let the tears fall then and turned away from him, hugging a pillow to my chest as I continued to mourn the loss of my husband. It struck me then that I had more than cared for Layton. I had fallen in love with the man. His absence in my life had left me uncertain and afraid and I did not like it one bit. “I need him and he isn’t here!” “Oh Kerrigan,” Daphne cried out in dismay and came over to hold me. “You really loved him, didn’t you?” “Of course I loved him,” I looked up at her in confusion. “How could I not love him?” I looked up at her in distress. “Why did he have to die, Mother? It’s not right for him to be gone when I need him.” My hand moved to my abdomen. “We both need him.” Daphne held me closer and I felt her shaking. I knew she was sharing my grief fully this time. She had been holding back her own feelings from me, I realized; afraid to be honest with someone she had not been certain shared them. She did not let me go until I had finished crying and then she sat there stroking my hair until I fell asleep. “Is it really as serious as that, Stanley,” Daphne asked as she and the doctor left my room. “Hospitalization?” “It isn’t good for the child if she becomes dehydrated, Daphne,” Stanley replied. “I should take her now but you saw how she felt about the suggestion.” He ran his hand through his thick golden brown hair. “Not that I blame her after undergoing heart surgery so recently, but we don’t want to risk losing your son’s heir.” He smiled at her then. “This pretty child is carrying the future of the Layton family.” “Layton would have been such a loving father,” Daphne’s grief was doubled at this thought. She did not hesitate. “You do everything you must to assure she carries this child full term.” “She’s a healthy young woman,” Stanley replied, “so that should be no problem.” He went to the phone and called the pharmacy he used to order the medication. “She’s to take this until the episodes end.” He looked back towards the door. “Light meals every three hours should keep the worst of it at bay.” Daphne nodded and saw the man downstairs. She was not surprised in the least to see Maxine and Cheryl waiting for her in the living room. The other visitors had gone so the only reason these two were here was because they really cared about the girl. “Come into the study,” Daphne nodded. The mother and daughter followed her. “Can I get you something to drink?” she asked as she poured herself a glass of wine. Her guests shook their heads and she sat down and took a sip. She rubbed her temples and sighed. “This has been so hard on her. She’s going to need all of us now.” “Is she feeling all right?” Maxine asked her friend. Daphne nodded. “Pregnant on top of widowed. Poor Maggie.” “It will be a struggle, Maxine,” Daphne broke in, “but she’s a fighter.” She looked very sad. “I have not known her very long, but I have come to care for her very deeply. I can see how my son fell in love with her.” “He loved her?” Cheryl exclaimed. “When did that happen?” “The first moment he saw her,” Daphne told the younger woman. She smiled sadly. “He called me that very night and told me he had just met the only woman he would ever want as his wife. He was practically gushing as he told me about her.” She looked at Maxine. “You’ve known my son most of his life, Maxine. Have you ever known him to gush?” For the next hour the trio shared stories of Layton and a bottle of wine. Maxine could tell this was what Daphne needed. Daphne called the butler and had him prepare guest rooms for them so they could spend the night. Maxine agreed but Cheryl had things she needed to take care of. “We’re moving on to our next location, actually. I have to go home and pack,” Cheryl got to her feet. “I’ll be by tomorrow to say goodbye on the way to the airport.” She pulled out her cell phone and was already dialing. “K? It’s C. We have a problem.” She was halfway to her car before she realized something. “Get a team here to keep an eye on Maggie. I have a feeling she’s going to need us.” I looked at the obstetrician in utter disbelief. I didn’t care what the tests said, it just was not possible that I was four months pregnant. That meant I had gotten that way the very first night Layton had sex with me. She assured me that it was true and decided an ultrasound was probably in order just to reassure me. “There we are, Kerrigan,” she smiled as she nodded to the monitor. “Your baby.” I looked at the monitor and saw my child. “Looking very healthy and quite secure.” She let me listen to its heartbeat and I was convinced. She nodded to her nurse. “Help her dress and bring her to my office.” She turned to my mother-in-law. “If you would join me, Mrs. Layton?” Daphne followed her and did not like the woman’s serious expression as Rosemary closed the door. She didn’t say a word as she made her way to her chair. “I understand that your daughter-in-law had heart surgery just before she married your son, Mrs. Layton. We’re going to have to monitor this pregnancy very closely.” “You think she could lose the child?” Daphne choked. “That would kill her, Doctor.” “The child is quite healthy at this point,” Rosemary replied. “I’m thinking more of Kerrigan’s health. We must do all we can to insure that she receives the best care possible. Keep her from stressful situations as much as you can. From what I’ve heard about your daughter-in-law, she will push herself if no one is there to stop her.” She looked at Daphne. “Once she feels well enough to travel, let her go back to Iowa if that is what she wants.” “You’ve heard something, haven’t you?” Daphne looked at the other woman sharply. “They aren’t satisfied yet?” “All I’m saying is that you should take your daughter-in-law somewhere she will be able to relax,” Rosemary evaded the direct question. “I can say nothing more, you know that.” There was a knock on the door and Kerrigan stepped inside. “Ah, the mother-to-be. Please sit down, Kerrigan.” She smiled as she saw me holding the photo they’d taken of the baby. “Your first image of your child,” she nodded. “How does that make you feel?” “I’m stunned,” I told her. “I still can’t believe that this child is in its fourth month. He or she was conceived the very first time Nathaniel and I…” I blushed as I remembered that first time. I had hated him for what he was doing to me then. “My husband and I were not very close at first,” I told the woman honestly. “We only came to realize we truly loved each other later.” “And