The Happiest Day (8 page)

It was almost
Christmas when Peter got the call he had been waiting for.  Smythe, called the
law office, as Peter had requested.

“Sir, I wanted to
inform you that Mr. Thornton and Miss Warner arrived home this evening.”

“Smythe, thank
you.”  Peter threw on his overcoat and drove immediately out to the estate. 
Smythe let him in and directed him to the front parlor.

“I’ll let Mr.
Thornton know you’ve arrived.”

“Thank you.”

Peter threw his
coat on the sofa and began pacing the floor impatiently.  He needed to see
Rachel.  He had been worried sick for months and the only thing that would
settle his mind was to see her with his own eyes.

“Hello, Peter,”
Norris said smoothly, walking into the parlor.  “I’m surprised to see you
here.”

“Where have you
two been?” Peter demanded.

Norris studied his
step-son.  The past months had aged him.  There were a few streaks of silver in
his hair and he seemed gaunt and tired.  “We went on a trip.”

“Do you know how
worried we’ve been?”

Norris poured
himself a drink.  “Would you like one, son?”

“No.  I want you
to answer the question.  How could you just leave like that without telling
anyone where you were going?”

“Geoff and Laurie
knew where we were,” Norris said in a placating voice.  “We stopped by their
school before leaving for Europe.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but the day at the
courthouse, we were told by you and your sister that you didn’t want to speak
to Rachel or to me ever again.”

“I can’t speak for
Maryanne, but I have questions for you and Rachel.”

“Well, Rachel is
upstairs changing, but fire away.  What can I answer for you?”

“Why did Rachel
lie on the stand?”

“Who said she
did?”

“She wasn’t with
you that night, she was with me.  I didn’t bring her home like you asked, I
took her to my place.”

Norris looked at
him over the rim of his glass.  “I see.” He took a drink of his brandy.  “What
exactly was your question?”

“Why did she lie
on the stand?  Who was she protecting?”

“Peter, have you
considered that it might be better if you don’t know the answers to some of
these questions?  The less you know, the better.”

“Why did you keep
her away so long?  Did you even think about the additional damage to her
reputation?”

“Frankly, I didn’t
give that a second thought.”  They heard footsteps and Peter tensed, anxious to
see that Rachel was alright.  When she entered the room, he was stunned by her
appearance.  Instead of looking sad and unwell, she was glowing.  She looked
serene and…content.

She did, however,
draw back in surprise when she saw their guest.  “Peter!”

“Rachel,” he said,
suddenly resentful that she looked so well after all the worrying he had done. 
“Welcome back.”

“Thank you.  I’m
quite surprised to see you here.”

In shock, he watched
Rachel walk straight to Norris, kiss him on the cheek, and turn so that he
could slip an arm around her waist.

“What’s going on?”
he asked hoarsely.

“Congratulate us,
son.  We were married in Boston three months ago and just before our return
trip from Europe, we discovered that we’re expecting.  You’re going to be an
uncle.”

Rachel’s smile
trembled a bit but her voice was clear and steady.  “Are you happy for us,
Peter?”

He felt as if he
had received a blow to the heart.  “You can’t be serious.”  His voice sounded
strange in his own ears.  “This can’t be real.”

“It is,” Norris
assured him with a smile.  “We couldn’t be happier.”

“Won’t you stay to
supper with us, Peter?”

He wanted to say
no.  He wanted to turn and leave the house and never look back.  He had
questions, though, that hadn’t been answered and he didn’t intend to leave
until he was satisfied.  “Yes, I’ll stay.”

He thought he
caught a flare of panic in her eyes but, if so, it quickly disappeared and she
smiled graciously.  “Wonderful.  I’ll go let Cook know that we have one more
for supper.”

He was quiet
during the meal, listening to Norris’ tales of Europe and their exploits
abroad.  Rachel was quiet as well and Peter finally remarked, “You’re awfully
quiet, Rachel.  Do you have any stories to relate?”

“I think Norris is
doing a fine job.  He’s a much better story teller than I am.”

“How are you
feeling?  With the baby, I mean?”  He was still hoping that she would admit
that Norris had been joking; there was no marriage and no baby.

“A little tired,
but otherwise fine.  We’re very excited.”

He shook his head
as if in disbelief, staring at her with dark eyes.  She flushed, and then
paled.  She looked suddenly ill.

Norris was
immediately solicitous.  “Darling, you look a little peaked.  Why don’t you go
lay down?  I’m sorry, I should have thought that the trip home would be
exhausting for you.”

“Thank you,” she
said hoarsely.  “I’m sorry, Peter.  Sometimes it just hits me.  It was terribly
good to see you, though.”  The men stood as she did and she nodded her head
then left the room.

He and Norris sat
down again and Peter stared at his plate.  “She really is expecting.”

“Of course.  Did
you think I was lying?”

“I hoped you were
lying,” he shot back.  “It wouldn’t be the first time, would it?”

Norris sighed. 
“Peter, must you do this?  Now?  Everything is settled.  Rachel and I are
married, we’re starting a family.  No one can accuse us of living an amoral
life.”

“This is
unbelievable,” Peter muttered.  “God damn it, I feel like I’m in a nightmare.”

“Let’s retire to
the study,” Norris suggested.  “You look like you need a drink.”

Peter followed
him, his head spinning.  Rachel really was married to Norris.

They entered the
study and Norris poured him a drink.  They drank in silence, each lost in his
own thoughts.  Finally, Peter stated in a low voice, “Tell me what happened
that night, Norris.”

“We already
answered that question that day in court.”

“Norris, I demand
an answer!” Peter exploded.  “Did you kill my mother?”

“You’ll wake
Rachel,” Norris said wearily.  “What do you want from me, Peter?  I’ve already
been judged innocent.  Do you want me to confess to murders I didn’t commit? 
Would that make you happy?”

“Somebody murdered
them and there were only two people in this house.”

“Why do you assume
it was me then?”

Peter laughed incredulously. 
“What are you saying?  Are you honestly trying to make me believe that it was
Rachel who killed Frederick and Helen?”

Norris looked him
straight in the eye.  “That’s exactly what I’m saying, Peter.  And that’s why
you’re never going to tell anyone about this ever.”

Peter fell back in
a chair as if Norris had punched him.  “It isn’t true,” he said in a hushed
voice.

“It is.  I swear
it.  I don’t blame her, though.  After what Stern had done to her that night,
I’m glad she did it.”

“Why my mother,
though?”

“Helen came across
them.”

“How did she get
them upstairs?”

“I helped her and
we staged the scene.”

Peter looked up at
him, dazed.  “Was she really in bed with you?”

“Not on that
night, no.  When she woke me up to tell me what she had done, I was asleep in
her bed, waiting for her.”

“Was it the first
time?”

“No.”

Peter struggled to
his feet.  Nothing he had ever known was real anymore.  “I’ve got to get out of
here.”

“Will we see you
again?”

Peter looked at
him with an incredulous look.  “After what you just told me?”

“We’ll miss you,”
Norris said quietly.

He stumbled to the
door of the study and looked back one last time.  “This God that you pray to
all the time, how does He feel about what you’ve done?”

Norris lifted one
shoulder.  “We removed evil from this household.  I think God was with us that
night.”

Peter’s hand
grabbed the door frame.  How could he leave Rachel alone with this man?  Then
he remembered.  She was his wife.  He had no more power where she was
concerned.  “Good-bye, Norris.”  He left the house without another word.

Upstairs, Rachel
laid in her bed, tears streaming down her face.  She knew Peter was still
downstairs and it broke her heart, knowing how disappointed he was in her.  The
look on his face when Norris had announced their marriage and pregnancy almost
brought her to her knees.  She had faked feeling ill simply to get away from
the look in his eyes.

“He’s gone.”

She startled then
wiped her face hurriedly.  Norris hated to see her sad.  “Is he?”

“How do you feel?” 
He came over to the bed and sat next to her, stroking her hair.

“Better.  I guess
I’m just tired from all the travel.”

“Me, too.”  He
began to massage her neck with a gentle touch.  “Feel good?”

“Mm,” she
answered, her body beginning to relax.  “Was he upset when he left?”

“No more than when
he came.  He was asking a lot of questions about what happened the night Helen
and Stern died.”

“What did you tell
him?”

“I stuck with the
story.  He’s just going to have to accept it.”

“I hate living a
lie,” she said, her voice trembling a bit.  “Everyone is so angry with us and
it hurts.”

“We can’t take the
chance of confiding in anyone.  This has to stay between us or I’ll be ruined. 
We’ll lose everything.”

“I know.  I made
you a promise, Norris.  I’ll never tell.”

He lowered his
body so that he lay behind her and kissed her neck reverently.  “I love you,”
he said emotionally.

“I love you,
too.”  She tried to turn to face him, but he held her in place.

“No,” he
whispered, “stay like this.”  He pulled her dress up from the hem, exposing her
below the waist.  She felt him fumbling with his own pants and willed herself
to stay relaxed.  It wasn’t that he wasn’t a considerate or skilled lover—he
was both.  It was that she couldn’t shake the feeling that he every time he touched
her, he was pretending she was her mother.  From the first night he had made
love to her, gently taking her virginity, he never said her name and rarely
kept his eyes open.  Afterwards, he always looked surprised when he saw who lay
beside him in bed.

He entered her
from behind and she lifted her thigh to allow him deeper penetration.  She
reached behind and hooked her arm around his neck and arched her head against
his chest.  She enjoyed the intimacy of his lovemaking but wished she felt more
of a connection with him.  He brought his hand around her body and settled it
between her legs.

“You feel good,”
he murmured in her ear.  He set a gentle rhythm and their bodies moved
together.  “Darling, darling…”

“Norris,” she said
in a husky voice, “say my name.”  She pressed her body against his gently
massaging hand.  “Harder….yes….say my name…”

He easily followed
her commands to please her body, but never did say her name.  She heard his
breathing grow faster and harsher and the tempo of his thrusts increased.  She
felt herself falling over the precipice into all-consuming pleasure and a
scream escaped her lips.  He gave two or three final thrusts and a groan was
torn from his lips.

“Julia,” he
moaned, emptying himself into her.  He laid heavily against her back, waiting
for his thumping heart to return to normal.  The room was semi-dark and he
could only make out the shadowy shape of the woman in his arms. 
Rachel.
 
Disappointment and regret washed over him as he realized what he had just
done. 
Damn it.
  He couldn’t apologize to her because then he would be
admitting to his mistake.  Instead he kissed the crown of her head.  “I love
you.”  That, at least, was the truth.

Winter turned into
spring and Bert was working in his office one late morning when he heard the
door open.  Looking up, he drew back in surprise.  “Rachel!”

She stood in the
doorway, unsure of herself.  “Hi.  May I come in?”

“Of course.”
Belatedly, he stood and ushered her into the office, pulling out a chair for
her.  “I’m sorry, I’m just so surprised to see you.”  His eyes fell on her
bulging midriff.  She was wearing a peach, long-sleeved dress with a dropped
waist, but her advanced condition was apparent.  “I heard about the baby. 
You’re doing well?”

She shrugged.  “As
well as can be expected, I suppose.  Feeling tired.”  She fiddled with her
gloves and looked nervously around the room.  “I waited across the street until
I saw Peter leave.  He’ll be gone for a while?”

“Yes.”

“How is he?”

“A bear,” Bert
admitted with a laugh.  “He’s always been a moody sort but over the past four
months, he’s been next to impossible.”

“And Maryanne?”

“She’s expecting,
too.  Looks to be about the same as you I’d say.”

“That’s
wonderful.”

“She misses you. 
She cries all the time.  I feel helpless.”

“I miss her
terribly.  I guess that’s why I’m here.  I feel so lonely, so disengaged.  When
Norris and I were in Europe, everything was wonderful.  No one knew us and he
and I stayed busy.  Then when we first came home, Laurie and Geoff came home
for the holidays and I stayed busy with them.  They’ve been gone for months,
now, and Norris works all the time.  If he’s not at work, he’s sitting in the
chapel, for hours on end.  I am so very alone.”  Surprisingly, Norris seemed
uncomfortable with her changing body and suggested that they sleep separately
until the baby came.  She was alone both day and night.  Looking at Bert, she
tried to smile, but tears trembled on her lashes.  “I suppose it will be
different when the baby comes.”

“Sure, sure it
will.”  He scooted closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.  “Sweetheart,
if there was anything I could do to make things right between you and Maryanne
or even you and Peter, I would.”

“I know and that’s
not why I came.  I just needed to see someone.  Reach out.  I feel like I’m
disappearing.”  She looked up at him with pleading in her eyes and his heart
contracted in sympathy.

“Give it another
two months or so and you’ll be so busy…and maybe Maryanne will come around. 
You’ll have motherhood to bond you and I can’t imagine her not wanting to see
your baby and vice-versa.”

“Thanks, Bert.  I
should go.  Norris wouldn’t like it that I was here.  I told my driver I would
just be a moment.”  She stood, pulling her gloves back on her hands.

He stood with her,
placing his hands on her shoulders.  “Listen, why don’t we have lunch together
this Friday?  In fact, every Friday?”  He suddenly felt the need to not lose
the connection she had tentatively forged.  His wife may have difficulty
dealing with what had happened, but he was sure that she would appreciate the
fact that he had reached out to Rachel.

“I don’t want to
make trouble for you and Maryanne.  We’d be seen.”

“Then…how about
meeting across the river in Kentucky?  There’s a little roadside café off of
Route 27, about twenty miles down.  No one would ever see us there.  Come on,
Rae.  Is it a date?”  He chucked her under the chin, trying to tease a smile
out of her.

For the first time
since she’d arrived, there was a ghost of a real smile.  “OK, I’d like that.”

He wrote directions
and gave her a kiss on her cheek.  “See you Friday.  Tell your driver that he
doesn’t have to wait there.  I’ll bring you back to the city and he can pick
you up.  It will give us extra time together.”

Suddenly, Rachel
had something to look forward to and for the next three weeks, she met Bert for
lunch.  He filled her in on all of the news from those who had turned from her
and she found herself laughing and making real conversation for the first time
in months. 

On the third
Friday, Bert was putting away a file and Peter looked up from his own work.

“Want to go grab
some lunch?” he asked his friend.

Bert looked up at
the clock, guiltily, and shook his head.  “Can’t, mate.  I’ve got plans.”

“Maryanne?”

“Uh…no.  An old
friend, actually.”

“Same old friend
you’ve been meeting for lunch the past three weeks in a row?”

Bert looked
uncomfortable.  “Uh..yeah, I guess.”

“Seems too early
in the marriage for you to already be stepping out.  What’s going on?”

Bert stood up and
reached for his keys.  “It’s private.”

“Won’t be once I
tell your wife.”

“Don’t be such an
asshole, Pete,” Bert said with a frown.  “It’s Rachel, all right? I’ve been
meeting Rachel.”

“What the fuck?”
Peter breathed.  “You can’t be serious.”

“I am.  She’s
family and she’s my friend.  The rest of you may have turned your backs on her,
but I won’t.  I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

Peter tapped a
pencil against his desk with a nervous energy. “How is she?”

“Not doing so
well.  Norris is Norris, you know.  He’s not exactly stellar husband material. 
She’s lonely and sad.  Seems he sometimes calls out another woman’s name when
they’re together.”

Peter blanched at
the thought of the two of them in bed but felt compelled to ask, “Whose name?”

Bert headed for
the door.  “Her dead mother’s.”  The look on his face described his feelings
exactly and he gave a brief salute, leaving the office.

Peter’s thoughts
were in turmoil.  His emotions over the past year had moved through the
spectrum with dizzying speed, making him short-tempered and displaying a
definite lack of attention.  He was no longer angry at Rachel and after what
Bert had just told him, his heart ached for her.  She deserved better than what
Norris had to offer.  All she had ever been was a poor substitute for her dead
mother.  To take her into his bed was reprehensible and to pretend that she was
Julia Warner was inhumane.  Something needed to change.

It was just the
next Friday that Bert received a last minute call to return to the courtroom.  “Shit,”
he muttered.  “I’m supposed to meet Rachel in a half hour.  Can you call AJs in
Alexandria and have them get a message to her that I can’t make it?”

“AJs in
Alexandria.  Sure.”  He tried to act casual even though his heart had started
thudding.  “I…I could go down there if you wanted.”

“Don’t do that!”
Bert exploded.  “The poor girl has enough on her plate without a tongue lashing
from you.  Just call the damn place, OK?”

“Sure, sure.”
Peter stood and watched Bert hurry down the street to the courthouse, then
turned and grabbed his suit coat.

Arriving at the
restaurant, it only took him a moment to spot her at the corner table.  Her
head was bent and her hands were placed on her abdomen.  She seemed tense.

He strode over to
the table, trying to appear more calm than he felt on the inside.  “Fancy
meeting you here.”

Her head snapped
up and she gasped in surprise.  “Peter.  What are you doing here?”

“Bert can’t make
it.  He got called back to court.  He sent me to meet you.”

Rachel’s eyebrows
rose.  “Bert sent you here?”

“Not really,”
Peter admitted.  “He wanted me to call and leave a message for you.  The coming
here was my idea.  He was afraid if I came here, I’d be mean to you.”

“Are you going to
be?”

“I’ll try to
behave.”

“Well then, go
ahead and sit.”

He pulled out a
chair and sat across from her.  “I miss you,” he said frankly.

She smiled a
little.  “Do you?”

“It feels like my
arm has been chopped off.  I feel like half a man.”

His words brought
tears to her eyes.  “I feel the same way.”

“I don’t care
what’s happened anymore.  I won’t even ask you about it.  I just want to see
you and know that you’re alright.  I want you to try to make me smile-”

“And fail,” she
laughed through her tears, wiping the away with the back of her hand.

“I was always
smiling on the inside.  I want you to tell me how horrible my marriage is.”

“It is.  The worst
I’ve ever seen.”

“I want to know
that I can drive out to the estate and see you whenever I want.  I just want to
be a part of your life again.”  He fiddled with the silverware.  “I want you to
feel like you can confide in me again and turn to me for help if you need it.”

She opened her
mouth to answer, but grimaced instead, bending over her stomach again.

“What is it? 
What’s wrong?”

“I’ve been having
some pains.  They started a little while ago, but they’re getting worse.”

“It’s too early
for the baby, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”  She gasped
this time, obviously in more pain.  “Peter, maybe you should get me to a
doctor.  I think something’s wrong.”

Peter waved the
waitress over.  “Where’s the nearest hospital?”

She gave them
directions to a hospital less than ten miles away and Peter swung Rachel up
into his arms, ignoring the stares of the other patrons.

He drove quickly,
often reaching out and touching her, willing her to not feel pain or fear. 
Once at the hospital, he left her in the car, running through the front door,
calling for help.  Rachel was whisked away on a gurney and his last view of her
was her face, pale and scared, her hand reaching out to him.

In a daze, he
returned to his car and parked it, then found himself in the waiting room,
staring at the clock which seemed to move in slow motion.  A pleasant lady came
in at some point and filled out paperwork with him and she laid her hand on his
and said, “You’re wife is going to be fine.”  He didn’t correct her.  It was
two hours later when a doctor came into the room.

“Mr. MacGregor,
I’m Dr. Morris.”

“How’s Rachel?”

“She’s going to be
fine.  I’m afraid, sir, that your wife’s baby was stillborn.”

Peter stared at
him.  “The baby is…dead?”

“Yes, sir.  It was
a girl.  Perfectly formed, just not breathing.”

“Does she know?”

“Yes, sir.  She
insisted on seeing the child before we took it.”

“Can I see her?”
Peter asked, his voice breaking.  “Rachel, I mean?  Can I see my wife?”

“Of course, sir.”

Peter’s hands were
shaking when he entered the private hospital room.  He walked quietly to where
Rachel lay in the bed, curled up in a fetal position.  He sat on the side of
the bed and stroked his hand over her hair.  She jumped a little at the touch
but then relaxed again.

“I’m sorry,” he
said simply, knowing that there was little he could say to make her feel
better.

“I feel empty,”
she whispered.

“I know.”

“Not just my body,
but my soul, too.  I wanted this baby so much.”  She turned her head slightly
so she could see his face.  “I’ve been so lonely for so many years.  When I
came to live with your family, I knew right away that I didn’t fit in.  There
was something about me that your mother hated.  She hated me.”

“Rachel…my
mother…” He was at a loss for words.  Why was she thinking of his mother at
this time?

“Do you know how
that affects you?  When you know someone hates you but you don’t know what you
did wrong?  It makes you wary; it makes you want to hide in a shell.  You’re
not as open with other people because you don’t want them to hate you.  Then
people think you’re stand-offish and unlikeable and it becomes a
self-fulfilling prophecy.”

“You’re wrong,” he
stated flatly.  “You’re not unlikeable.”

“That’s how it has
felt.  It has always been easy for people to write me out of their lives.  No
one fights to keep me…even you.”

“That’s not true.”

“You went for
months without talking to me or seeing me.  For me, it was torture, it was an
actual physical pain.”  She closed her eyes and sighed.  “This baby, though,
was a clean slate.  She was going to get all of my love.  She would not feel
any of my past hurt or uncertainty.  I was going to love her with everything I
had and she wouldn’t be able to help feeling the same way towards me.”

Peter’s eyes
filled with tears.  He had never realized the depth of her despair. 
“Darling…”  He laid his head down on the pillow and pressed his lips to her
forehead.  “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

“You don’t have to
apologize.  For me, it’s never been about the other people.  I never wondered what
was wrong with people and why they didn’t like me, I wondered what was wrong
with me.”  She laughed a little.  “You know, until I said it out loud, I never
realized how self-absorbed that sounds.”  The laugh turned into a sob.  “Oh
Peter, I wanted this baby so much.”

“I  know, I
know…”  He gathered her close to him and let her cry silent tears against his
shirt.  “I’m here, Spider.  Just hold on to me.”

“I was going to
name her Ruby.  Norris didn’t like the name, he wanted Jacqueline if it was a
girl, but she’ll always be Ruby to me.”  Sobs continued to wrack her body.

He held her until
her until she slept and couldn’t avoid notifying Norris any longer.  He called
the newspaper, where he knew Norris could always be found.  “Mags,” he said to
his father’s long-time secretary.  “I need to speak with Norris.”

“I think he’s in a
meeting, Peter.  Is it important?”

“It’s Rachel. 
She’s in the hospital.”

“I’ll get him.”

It was only a few
minutes later when Norris picked up.  “Peter, what’s going on?”

“Rachel lost the
baby.  I’m with her at the hospital.”  He clutched the black receiver in his
hand.  “Norris, will you come?”

There was a long
silence as Norris tried to digest the news.  “Of course I will.  How…how is
she?”