Of Parchment and Saltwater

Chapter 10

I awoke to the smell of blood and smoke, Simcoe's blows still stinging on my face. It had only been minutes. 

With a cry of indescribable pain, I dragged myself towards Benjamin, still unconscious. I couldn't bring myself to look at the dead bodies on the other side of the room. 

"Ben?" I said breathlessly, putting my ear to his chest and hearing a faint heartbeat, "You have to wake up, darling. I think—I think the house is on fire."  

His head turned slightly and his eyelids flickered open, pain stitched into his expression. 

"Lou, leave me here. Get some help for yourself. I'm not going to survive." 

I shook my head furiously and began dragging him towards the door, a trail of blood left behind from his legs. Collapsing in agony after only a few feet, I broke down in tears.

"Benjamin, lay still. I'm going to get you outside but it's going to hurt. We've got to get out before the fire spreads." 

I took him by the underarms and began crawling towards the door, tears streaming down my face. There was no way the baby could survive this.

The crackling of flames grew louder as we approached the hallway and I grabbed my cloak with my teeth as I passed it laying on a chair, covering Benjamin with it in case the burning house fell on us. Our beautiful home, destroyed in an instant. 

I threw open the door and dragged him out backward, the heat of the flames so close I could taste the smoke in my throat. 

Without stopping, I began carrying him towards the closest neighbors about half a mile away. 

As we neared the oak tree in my garden, I let go of Benjamin and bent down in the grass, retching and coughing uncontrollably as blood dripped from my lips. 

Sobbing, I held my crushed hand to my chest and wiped the hair from my face. 

"Louisa," Ben gasped weakly, "You have to stop. I need you to stop. Let's just rest here, both of us."

"No, Ben, I need to keep going...you need a doctor-" 

"And you need one too. Please, I'm in so much pain; I need to rest." 

I wouldn't find out until much later that he begged to stop because he feared for my life and the baby's life, not his own. 

"Are you sure?" I panted, helping him lean against the tree and crawling beside him. 

He let me lay on his chest, and I reached to help him situate his legs so they were in a more comfortable position. 

"Just breathe," he said softly, "do you hear my heartbeat, Louisa? Focus on that. I'm not going to leave you."

As we watched our house burn, I began to hum The World Turn'd Upside Down, the first song we'd ever danced to.

Benjamin caught on and we cried and sang together, hugging each other as though our lives depended on it. Perhaps it did.

If the mamas sold their babies
To the Gypsies for half a crown
If summer were spring
And the other way 'round
Then all the world would be upside down.