Page 65 of House of Salt and Sorrows
The babies are healthy, the babies are normal,I silently repeated over and over.
Scooping out a generous dollop of lotion, I rubbed it into the tight skin, softening it and relaxing her in the process. Verity opened the door, and Mercy carried in a tea tray.
“We brought some of the ginger scones you like, Morella,” Mercy said, sliding the tray onto the nightstand. The soothing scent of chamomile wafted from the little kettle. “We thought maybe the babies were hungry.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you both,” Morella murmured around another sharp movement from the twins. “Thank you.”
Once her abdomen was well and truly moisturized, we dressed her in a clean gown and moved her over to the sitting area so Hanna and the triplets could change the bedsheets. Morella nibbled on a scone while watching them work. Honor brushed out her hair with long, comforting strokes.
I noticed tears welled in the corners of her eyes. They were fat and clung to her eyelashes, not like the ones of pain that had raced down her cheeks earlier, eager to be free and spread their misery.
“Morella, what’s wrong?”
“You’ve just been so kind. I never expected that.”
I squeezed her hand. “We’re family, we take care of each other. We want you feeling as good as you can right now. All of us.”
Morella’s breath caught in her throat, and she nodded, averting her gaze to the window. “I wish Ortun was here.”
“He’ll be home tomorrow, I think.”
When he’d left for Vasa, we’d all lined up in the foyer to wish him goodbye. He’d walked right by me, his jaw set in a tense clench.
Morella’s eyes grew pained. “He feels so far away.”
“Even if he was at home, I bet he’d be in the hallway, hiding with Roland,” I told her. “He gets rather squeamish about pregnancy things. I remember Mama teasing him he could stare down a forty-foot wave in nothing but a dinghy without a tremble, but a little bout of morning sickness was enough to send him racing for cover.”
She smoothed her hair back. “I’m just so tired. Would one of you mind helping me back to bed?”
Rosalie wrapped her arms around Morella as they shuffled back to the canopied bed. Morella crawled into the fresh sheets, pulling the duvet up to her chin.
“I just need to rest,” she murmured.
“Do you want us to stay with you while you fall asleep?” Though most of her color was back, her eyes were bright, and I worried there was a fever.
Her eyes fluttered up to the top of the canopy, staring at the great octopus making up the bed frame. Her jaw quivered as she studied it.
“Morella?” I prompted.
“I don’t need you all to stay, but…there is something I wonder if I could ask you to do?”
I sat beside her, careful not to jostle her stomach. “Anything.”
“The Churning Festival is only days away.” She pressed her lips together. “There’s still so much work to be done. I planned on getting to it once I felt better, but I’ve just been so tired the last few weeks. I…I feel as if it’s going to be a disaster. I don’t know how to do any of this. Plan the meals, plan the entertainment. I haven’t even assigned rooms for the guests yet.” She took my hand in hers. “Annaleigh…I just don’t know what to do.”
I heard a lowtsking sound from the door. Camille had returned and was leaning against the frame, listening.
“We’ll help, of course. Do you have a list of the guests?”
She nodded. “On my writing desk.”
Honor scurried after it and brought the sheets of paper to the bed.
“Cook and I have gone over the dinner for First Night itself, but there are still the other meals to plan. I’m in over my head, I’m afraid. I’ve never planned anything on this scale.” Morella laughed, but it sounded small and sad. “I’ve never been to anything like this before. I don’t know what’s expected. I don’t want to embarrass Ortun.”
“Don’t worry a thing about it,” I said with more confidence than I felt. “You get some rest now. We’ll go downstairs and take care of everything.”
Camille immediately turned on her heel and left. One by one, everyone else nodded and offered little words of encouragement before heading out. Verity backtracked to the bed to give Morella a kiss on the cheek. I gathered up the papers and her notes and turned to leave.
