Chapter 7

The baby came right on schedule and both Nana and Lina were there to assist the doctor. Elizabeth knew it would be painful, but was unprepared for the actual reality of it. If she thought that Ardeth taking her virginity from her had hurt, well, it was nothing compared to this! After many hours of labor, sweat, and tears, she finally heard the boisterous cry of her baby boy. Nana cleaned him up and wrapped him in a soft blanket before letting Elizabeth hold him. Elizabeth was in awe of the small bundle she held, but when he suddenly cried out, she panicked and looked to Nana.

Nana laughed gently. "It's all right, lovey, he just wants to feed! He's been cooped up in a dark place for a while, without the normal means of nourishment, so let him eat!"

Elizabeth looked at her perplexed. "How do I do that?" she asked.

"Open up your robe there a little bit and hold him to your breast. He'll find his way, right quick."

Elizabeth did as she was told, and found Nana was right. She had hardly brought him up to her bare chest when he turned his head and found her nipple. Elizabeth smiled as the infant suckled greedily on her, and wondered at this miracle. "Oh, Nana, look at him!" she breathed. "He's so smart! And he looks exactly like his father, dark curls, brown eyes, and he even has the same full lower lip..." Elizabeth trailed off as she delicately stroked the infant's cheek.

"What are you going to call him, Elie?" asked Lina.

Elizabeth looked at them. "I'm going to call him Eleth. He is of two cultures, and I want him to bear the names of both." Lina and Nana smiled as they watched the young mother with her new baby.

Carter stood nervously in Clive's office, waiting for the fury that would come from his master. Clive had sent Carter to America to track down the old nurse from the Walker estate, but had little success. He had found the wealthy family that had hired her, but half a year later she had left suddenly, and no one seemed to know where she went. Carter had come back to London to inform Clive, and was now waiting for his response.

Clive got up from behind his desk and paced the floor as his wrath ran its course. "What do you mean, no one knows where she went? I find it hard to believe that a lone, elderly woman could escape someone's notice! Someone must have seen her!"

"Sir," ventured Carter carefully, "you have control of the Walker fortune. Why do you still want to hunt the daughter down? You don't need her anymore."

"Oh, but I do, Carter. It's not about money, now. It's about humiliation. Elizabeth made me the laughing stock of our society!" His anger increased as he spoke. "To let that bandit have his way with her, getting her pregnant, is something I will never forgive her for. And she will pay for it when I get my hands on her!"

"What will you do to her?" asked Carter.

Clive stopped pacing and stared out the window. "I will marry her, and she will have my children. A lot of children, to make up for that bastard she's carrying now."

"What if she doesn't want you to..."Carter looked uncomfortable as he tried to put it delicately, "...touch her?"

"She will be my wife! She won't have a choice. If she doesn't come to me willingly, I have no problem with forcing her. It's the least she owes me," he growled.

"Sir, have you thought about the possibility that she went back to Cairo?" asked Carter hopefully.

"And do what? Sit outside his prison cell for the rest of her life? No, I don't think she's there, but she's somewhere, and I want you to find her." Clive walked over to his desk and opened a drawer. "Here," he said, as he took a photo of Elizabeth out and handed it to Carter, "take this to Ireland and scour the docks for someone who has seen her. Don't stop searching until you find her trail!"

"Yes sir," replied Carter.

"Wire me if you need more money," said Clive as he sat back down at his desk and continued working.

Carter bowed his head and left the room, sighing in relief that the meeting had gone as well as it did. Now, he was off to Ireland to find the missing and only child of the Walkers.

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Elizabeth was astounded at the rate that Eleth grew. It seemed that every week she had to buy him more clothes, for he outgrew them as fast as she purchased them. Every morning she would take Eleth into town to visit with all of the shopkeepers, getting to know the people and the simple lifestyle they led, just as they got to know her. The shopkeepers of Vincennes were delighted with her and her baby boy and lavished all manner of little gifts on the happy mother and child when they visited.

By his first birthday, Eleth was walking and babbling, keeping the three women and the household staff on their toes, as they had to move objects up and out of his reach. He was tall for his age, with long limbs and broad shoulders, and his fair skin contrasted greatly with his dark hair and eyes. He had a twinkle in his eyes and a devilish grin that he used to his advantage when he knew he was in trouble, and rarely did he ever cry. Elizabeth poured out all her love on this special child of hers and Ardeth's, and she would smile in contentment thinking that if she had to do it all over again, she would, no questions asked.

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Clive was in his office working, when Carter burst into the room. "Sir, I've found her trail!"

Clive looked up. "What?"

"An old deck-hand in Ireland recognized the photo and told me he'd seen Elizabeth board a ship bound for France. I did some research at the local shipping line office, going back over all the outbound ships from the week in question, but didn't find anything on Elizabeth Walker. So I took the names of the crew and began questioning them, one by one, and finally, almost a year after I started this quest, I found someone from the ship that also recognized her photo, but he told me her name wasn't Elizabeth, but Miss Goodwin. I went back to the shipping office and looked up their passenger log and I found the name Caroline Goodwin, a single woman, traveling to France!"

Clive listened to the narrative with satisfaction. They hadn't exactly found her yet, but this was a good start. "Excellent, Carter. Do you know where the ship docked in France?"

"Yes sir, I have all the information."

"Good. Head to France and find this Caroline Goodwin, also known as Elizabeth Walker!"

Carter bowed and headed out the door. Clive sat back in his chair, a wicked smile on his face. "It won't be long now, Elizabeth."

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Elizabeth was happy with her little family of Eleth, Nana, and Lina, and as the seasons went by, she never once longed for her own family back in London. All of that seemed like a dream to her now, and she couldn't imagine any other life. Well, that wasn't exactly true, she mused. She could imagine a life with Ardeth, and sometimes she longed to show him what they had created during those few nights on the desert. Rachel still wrote to her, but there was no more word on Clive or his chasing her, so she felt secure and confident that this was how it was meant to be. After a time, she even learned to let go of Ardeth, knowing that she would always love him with her heart, but they had followed different paths, and she knew it was for the best.

Eleth was two and a half years old when something finally did happen to change their comfortable routine. Nana and Lina were cleaning out some old trunks up in the nursery when Elizabeth decided to take Eleth to town for a walk. They did their daily routine of visiting the different shops and had ended up at the bakery, Eleth's favourite place to visit.

"Bonjour, Jean-Claude!" called out Elizabeth as she and Eleth entered.

"Bojur, Shawn-Cod!" squeaked out Eleth.

Jean-Claude came out of the kitchen. "Ah!" he cried. "Bonjour, mon petite enfants!" Eleth went running to the rotund baker and Jean-Claude picked him up, throwing him high in the air and catching him on the way down, making Eleth giggle uncontrollably. Elizabeth smiled at this routine greeting, thinking it would be so nice to have a father figure in her son's life.

"Shawn-Cod, sticky-bun!" babbled Eleth.

Jean-Claude laughed and took him over to the counter to let Eleth pick out his favourite pastry. "He has a sweet tooth, no?"

"Yes, and it's all your fault, Jean-Claude," said Elizabeth with a grin.

"That is because I am the best baker in the world, oui?" he said to Eleth.

"Oui!" replied the little boy with a mouthful of pastry.

Elizabeth happened to look out the window while Jean-Claude played with Eleth, and that's when she saw Carter on the other side of the square. She blinked her eyes, trying to focus them better, wondering if she was really seeing him. When Carter stepped into the sunlight, she knew without a doubt that she had been found out. She gasped loud enough to make Jean-Claude question her.

"Elizabette, something is wrong?"

"He's found me!" she said in a panicky voice.

"Who?" asked Jean-Claude.

"Clive!"

"He is here?" said Jean-Claude, rushing over to the window. Elizabeth had confided in the baker and he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Well, I don't see him, but that is his right-hand man standing over there by the café." Elizabeth and Jean-Claude watched as the café owner, who was speaking with Carter, pointed in the direction of the bakery. "Oh, no! He's coming over here! Jean-Claude, what do I do? If I run out, he'll see me for sure!"

Jean-Claude handed Eleth back to Elizabeth and ushered her into the storeroom. "Stay in here and keep quiet. I will put him off your track and you can make your escape when he leaves." Jean-Claude shut the small door, leaving Elizabeth and Eleth in total darkness.

Eleth started to whimper. "Mummy?"

"Sh....quiet darling, it's all right," whispered Elizabeth. "We're playing a game of hide and seek with Jean-Claude! We have to keep quiet so he won't know where to find us." Eleth was content with the explanation and kept quiet while he finished his pastry.

Carter entered the bakery, and saw the round shopkeeper eyeing him suspiciously. "Ah, hello, I mean, bonjour. Do you speak English?"

Jean-Claude looked at him coldly. "A little," he replied sullenly.

"Good. I won't take up much of your time, but the café owner said that a certain English woman tends to frequent your shop. I was wondering if this is her." He pulled out the picture of Elizabeth and showed it to the baker. Jean-Claude stared at it for a moment, then stared back at Carter, saying nothing. Carter waited patiently for a moment, then spoke up. "Her family is looking for her and they are very worried about her. Have you seen her?"

Jean-Claude nodded his head slightly. Carter sighed in relief. "Good. Now, can you tell me where she lives?"

"I do not know," replied the baker a little too quickly.

"I see. Well, can you tell me what direction she comes into town?" Carter waited again as the baker said nothing. Carter cleared his throat. "The café owner says she comes into this shop every day with her little boy. Surely you must know from which direction she comes from."

Jean-Claude stared at Carter coldly. Finally, he pointed in the totally opposite direction from where Elizabeth truly did come in from, and gave him the name of the street. "Rue de Lyons," he said gruffly.

"Thank you, good sir. You have helped her poor family tremendously." Carter smiled and left the building. Jean-Claude waited until Carter was out of sight, then went and let Elizabeth out of the storeroom.

"I have sent him the opposite way. Hurry home, now, to Madame Jacquelina. She can help you best now!"

Elizabeth looked at Jean-Claude with tears in her eyes. "Thank you, Jean-Claude, for the past three years of taking me and my little Eleth under your wing. I don't know if we shall ever see you again...," the tears spilled over and rolled down her face.

"Tut! It has been my pleasure to know the little mother with her beautiful boy! Now, vite, Elizabette, vite! God be with you!"

Elizabeth kissed the round baker on the cheek and snuck out of the shop and around the corner, running home as fast as she could.

Before walking down the street that the baker had pointed out, Carter had stopped by the telegraph office to send a wire to Clive:

"I have found her. Stop. In the town of Vincennes, France. Stop. Will let you know when I have her exact address. Stop. She has a son. Stop. Signed, your humble servant, Carter. Stop."

When Clive received the wire back in London, he yelled in triumph. He opened his office door and spoke quickly to his secretary. "Book me on the next passage to Vincennes, France. I want to leave immediately."

"Yes sir," replied his secretary.

Clive put his coat on and locked up his office for the day. He went home and began packing, whistling cheerfully, as the two and a half year hunt was finally coming to a close. His servant helped him pack quickly, and was just about to close the lid on the last case when Clive halted him.

"Wait. I can't forget to take this," he said as he tossed his gun on top of the pile of clothing.

His servant gasped. "Sir! Do you really think you'll need that?"

"I don't know, but I haven't spent all of this time and money to finally reach her and be denied. She'll come home, willingly or not, but she will come home."

The servant slowly closed up the case as Clive stood looking out the window, contemplating the coming journey and his eventual reunion with Elizabeth. So, she had a son, he thought to himself. Well, there were plenty of orphanages here in London that would take him. He would let Elizabeth keep the boy until they returned to London, then sneak the child out of the house in the middle of the night. Then they would make sons of his own. He smiled in wicked pleasure at that thought. He would be avenged of the humiliation he'd been made to endure.

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