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Enid looked down at the little girl that she had laid down on the top of her thighs. She’s very cute she thought to herself but she also acknowledged that due to her child’s sex meant she had to go through this entire ordeal again, her and Oscar.
When they first agreed to their marriage when they dined at her house for luncheon after attending the Russell’s end of season ball, they had agreed on 3 terms to ensure their relationship would be a success within society. 1. They would never go to the others cottage unless explicitly invited. 2. When they are in the city they run by every scheme, every society move pass one another. 3. They would need a child in order to secure a succession of the Van Rhijn name and to ensure there was no suspicion or gossip around their relationship.
Their marriage did not start on the best of terms. For one major thing Agnes had been staunchly against the pair. “I will not have that social climbing widow marry into my family.” She had exclaimed when Oscar, with Enid notably absent announced their engagement. Agnes had no problem not hiding her distain and sat in the back row when they were wed, she was head strong about her lack of support but she wasn’t going to miss the wedding of her only child. The wedding “night” was entirely awkward and uncomfortable affair. They had agreed that the child needed to be Oscars, they couldn’t run the risk of a child looking exactly like someone else and everyone having to live with the rumors.
So after a lot of wine, the marriage was consummated. They laid there after staring at the ceiling. “I hope it was not unpleasant for you.” She said finally breaking the awkward tension between the two. Oscar sighed, “it was not that bad, I hope the same for you.” Enid would probably not admit it out loud but her heart broke for him knowing his desires were something she could never fulfill, but hoped that them being together would provide him comfort and freedom.
They continued with this routine for nearly 7 long months until she realized her courses had stopped coming and she was finally with child. Oscar had been ecstatic, they were finally free at least until the babe was born. He had spent much of his time at his cottage while she remained in the city. The pregnancy was not too bad, any illness was not too debilitating. The only main grievance was having to be stuck with Agnes, who had taken to giving her a combination of a cold shoulder and offering her unsolicited parenting advice, but only when Oscar was away. Marian had been a godsend she was kind and never pestered her about anything.
She didn’t hate being pregnant nor was it something that filled her with a sense of forthcoming joy. She was indifferent to the entire situation. She missed her position in society when she had to withdraw from public and she looked forward to the new found power she was going to attain after the child was born.
“What do you suppose it is?” Oscar had asked her one night, they were sharing a bed because they had gotten accustomed to having long discussion to distract from their mission to consummate their marriage so it had become a habit even after she had gotten pregnant. Enid and Oscar did enjoy each other’s company even if they were not romantically intertwined. “I hope for all of our sakes it is a boy.” She said sighing, she didn’t take lightly how hard it had been for Oscar and she didn’t want to put him through that again. She didn’t want to go through all of that again.
The labor had been a long one, starting early in the evening. They both had grown accustomed to taking their supper in her room so they can talk and scheme. She had known her time was coming because she had been having pain sporadically and her stomach had dropped considerably. But then the pain became closer together. She was attended by a midwife, Marian who had been trained as a nurse and was a mediator between her and Agnes and Agnes herself. Enid had promptly kicked out Oscar, but he had been with her for a while, helping her pace about the room.
She progressed slowly, each wave of pain ripping through her. She continued to pace leaning against the bed when the pain over took her, she eventually got onto the bed sitting almost squat like when she began to push the child out. She pushed for what seemed like hours and all she could do was scream and scream from the anguish. Agnes to her credit decided to use her motherly instincts and told her to buck up and beat through and that egged her on enough to get the baby’s head out, then the absolute hell that was the 30 minutes trying to get the baby’s shoulders out, but eventually she succeeded and the babe was placed into her arms.
“It’s a girl ma’am” the midwife had told her as the child calmed hearing her mother’s heart beat. Enid sighed. But this was the life she and Oscar had chosen and a deal was a deal.