If there was one thing Amahle knew after having three babies it was pregnancy, and she knew that she was pregnant with Jackson’s child as well as she knew her own name. Londiwe would be a year old now, and she hoped and prayed with all her might that they had survived somehow and were even now rebuilding their village and lives that were destroyed during the raid that took her away from them. She missed her little Londiwe, but she missed her older children even more and longed to hold them again, even though she knew it would never happen, so she clung to the hope that this baby would help her heal and give her a new purpose in this life of leisure. She enjoyed making beautiful things and had learned and perfected every embroidery stitch she’d been taught; she’d been playing around with her own ideas lately and was now in the process of making a tapestry that depicted her village before the Hunters came. This one she was keeping for herself and Jackson had promised to have it framed for her so she could hang it up in her sitting room, which she was slowly redecorating in her own style, with rich tones of yellow and red curtains and woodwork highlighting cream colored walls. However, she would set that aside for now and concentrate on making things for the baby, and asked Naomi to teach her a way to make a blanket. She returned some time later with a pair of knitting needles and a ball of soft yarn, and showed Amahle how to knit and make purl stitches, and how to make patterns with them and in no time Amahle was knitting a blanket for the coming newborn.
When Jackson came to see her that evening, she had nearly finished the blanket and asked him if she could have some more yarn which made him ask her what it was for. She told him it was for the new baby, and mistaking her answer for the baby his wife was having, he gave her a perplexed look and thanked her for doing that, but told her that Elizabeth would have everything she needed for the baby when she returned from England. This made Amahle laugh a little, and looking more puzzled than before, he asked what was funny about that. She took his hands and looked him in the eyes and told him, “This is for my baby” at which point you could have knocked him over with a feather. He replied, “Our baby?” asd she nodded yes, with a hint of a smile on her face and still holding her hands he told her, “I promise to do everything I can to be a good father to our child, and care for you tenderly and lovingly. You may ask me for anything, my Amahle, and I will get it for you.” and he kissed her hands and smiled at her. Then he told her about the sire in the stables, and how Elizabeth’s stallions were the only survivors because they were being stabled in town and she cried for a while as she thought about the poor animals being trapped and she asked him if he was going to find a better design when he rebuilt it, and he said he hadn’t thought about it. Amahle sat quietly thinking for some time picturing what he had told her in her head, then she looked at Jackson and said, “The latches on the doors need to release if it gets too hot, how can you make that happen?” and he shook his head in wonder that such an idea had never been entertained before now. He reached out and hugged her to him and stroked her hair, as he told her, “You are the most amazing woman I have ever met.” and after a few minutes he pulled gently away and said, “I will have Talbert talk to the smithy and see what he can do about your idea. Thank you, Amahle, for thinking past the way it was to see the way it should be. I have to be going now, there’s so much to do and it burdens my heart that you have so little company. I’m overjoyed for so many reasons that you are carrying my child and I love you all the more because of it. You are the one true light in my otherwise dismal life.” They both stood up and he pulled her to him and kissed her and gently released her before he left, and she stood there for some time afterwards looking towards the door and wondering, not for the first time, what lies beyond it.
Naomi brought in her supper and set it out on the little dining table that could seat two, but tonight she was eating alone, unless you counted the baby. She had developed a good appetite and found Maggie’s cooking to be very tasty, even if it took some getting used to at first. Before coming here, her people ate fruits and vegetables raw and only cooked meats over the fire but now she was wondering why they hadn’t tried it. And she was impressed with the use of herbs and spices having never tasted such things before, all the different flavors blended together danced around on her palate like warriors before a battle and she loved it. She just hated the circumstances of her being here at all, never knowing the fate of her family, unable to properly grieve as she would have at home by cutting off her hair, plucking her eyebrows and wearing mourning clothes until her hair grew back out. Sometimes it was almost more than she could bear, and she picked up her knitting and went out to the atrium and sat there working on the blanket, making an intricate pattern by alternating the stitches in such a way as to resemble the beadwork she would have done in her village, a custom when having a baby. Now that she thought about it, she was going to have Jackson get her some beads, and Naomi had thread and fabric so she made a mental note to herself to ask him tomorrow.
Being pregnant was making her sleepier than usual and although she knew this would pass soon, right now she heeded her bodies needs and went through all the rituals she was required to do before going to bed and Naomi helped her undress and put on her nightgown, and brushed out her hair with the special brush she had found for her mistress at the dry goods mercantile one day. It let her brush through the thick curly hair without breaking and pulling it, and she had developed a hair conditioner that left it smooth and shiny. One of these days Amahle would have to ask her what was in it, but right now she was too tired to care and she drifted off to sleep as soon as she laid down, and Naomi pulled up her covers and turned out the lamps before leaving the room. Amahle woke up a few hours later needing to pee and she got up quickly to get to the bathroom, but instead she got light headed and passed out by the bed and let loose on the thick woven rug that covered her floor. When she woke up a couple of moments later she was wet and smelled of urine and the odor made her nauseous and soon she had added her supper to the mess on the floor around her. Feeling terrible, Amahle got up and peeled off her night clothes and went to the bathroom and cleaned up in the warmish water Naomi had brought in earlier, and got on a clean gown and robe and unable to tolerate the smell and sight of pee and vomit so she got her pillow and a cover and went out to the atrium and fell asleep in one of the lounging chairs.
Naomi brought her breakfast in as usual but found a stinking mess instead of Amahle so she set the tray and cup down and went to find her mistress, who was lying on the chair curled in a ball, her pillow and cover on the ground next to her. Naomi woke her up and helped her into a regular chair and gave her the cover, then went and got her breakfast and served her out here for now, until she could clean up in the other room, which was going to require some men to move the furniture and get the rug outside to be properly washed and aired out. Amahle didn’t really feel hungry but she started eating anyway for the baby’s sake and before long she had cleaned her plate and could have eaten more had it been there. She got up and stretched out, feeling stiff and sore from her night outside in the chair, and slowly worked her muscles until they were no longer working against her and then went in to use the bathroom properly, rather than on the floor, hoping by now it was cleaned up. She went through her bedroom and found that it wasn’t too bad, Naomi had opened the windows, the rug was outside and the furniture was back in place. Amahle walked into the bathroom and found a hot fragrant bath waiting for her into which she gratefully sank after relieving herself and washed off the previous night’s accidents. She came to the realization that she would have a hard time fitting back into her tribe because she found these baths the most relaxing and soothing thing she’d ever done and the thought of washing in the cold waters near her village made her shiver, and she sank down to her chin to warm up again before Naomi came in with her towels and held one for her as she stepped out to wrap around her shoulders and another to dry her hair with ans soon she was good as new. She led the way to her low-backed chair in front of her dressing table and watched Naomi brush her hair out in the mirror, enjoying the feeling and letting it relax her even further. Naomi always put her hair up on crown of her head in a fall of wispy curls that framed her face and the back of her neck along with some on top, but today Amahle asked her to braid it instead and when Naomi was finished her head was wreathed in braids that twisted around diagonally and then and there, they both decided that would be her look from now on as it suited her exotic beauty. She examined the other woman's work and admired the way she had made it look and in thanks, she gave her one of her embroidered dresser scarves which Naomi took from her hands with gentle appreciation for the unexpected gift, telling Amahle how elegant it was and that she’d treasure it.
Amahle rose up and get dressed for the day with her maids help, deciding on a brilliant red dress with white petticoats and black lace embellishments around her throat, cuffs and the cutaway hem that showed off her skirts, and she chose a pair of black flats that peeked out as she walked. She noticed, as did Naomi, that her corset wouldn’t fit as tightly as usual and let it out a bit for comfort and even with that Amahle felt like her breathing was being restricted but she took it easy and soon got used to it, if that could be said about these torture devices while she wished for her handmade maternity thong that allowed her to grow and be comfortable. Those were the days… Picking up where she had left off, Amahle worked on the knitted blanket she had started yesterday, liking how the pattern was evolving and let that take her mind off other things for a while as she watched her design come to life, as she imagined her baby was doing.