Ravenna rose with the sun the following day and began preparing for her promised afternoon outing with the miller, Samuel Reed. She wore a light pink dress and tied her hair back with a white bow. She looked at herself in the mirror and watched Anne approach in the reflection.
Anne adjusted the lacing at the back of her granddaughter's dress, smoothing the twisted lace and tying the back more firmly." You look beautiful, dear; Samuel is a lucky man to spend the afternoon with you."
"I just hope he is more considerate than Mr Jones." Ravenna pinched her cheeks to redden them. "Are you sure you'll be fine here by yourself this afternoon? There's so much to do here."
Anne laughed. "Child, I love your help. But I managed this infirmary for many years before you were around to help, a single afternoon will be just fine. Go, enjoy your afternoon with Mr Reed."
Ravenna laced up her good shoes, hugged Anne goodbye, and began down the road to the village, where she was set to meet Samuel.
She sang as she walked, as she usually did in the forest.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Samuel left his home beside the mill, his father wishing him luck. He had a shorter trip to Canden than Ravenna did, but the young woman had insisted he need not walk to the Hawthorne cottage to come to get her, to turn around to go back to Canden. Samuel fidgeted as he walked; his father's words that morning of encouragement had done nothing but made him nervous. He approached the Canden village center, where the market was.
He was entirely too early for Ravenna to be here. Samuel greeted some of the merchants in the marketplace and helped a very heavily pregnant Teresa set up her textiles stall, and she thanked him profusely. Teresa was very flush today, he noticed.
"Are you sure you want to be selling today, Teresa?" Samuel asked, concerned for his friend that he often purchased from.
"You worry entirely too much, Samuel. Isn't today your outing with Ravenna? You shouldn't be bothering yourself with helping me, she should be along any time now. Go on, I don't want to be holding you up for when she arrives."
Having been shooed away from Teresa's market stall, Samuel waited patiently on the edge of the fountain in the Canden village center. He dressed as best he could- the miller was not very wealthy, so his clothes were a little worn. His brown hair that refused to be tamed waved slightly in the breeze, his green eyes scanning the horizon for signs of Ravenna.
Samuel fidgeted as he had on his walk to the market; he was very nervous. He grew up around Ravenna and admired her intelligence and beauty. "And her love of helping others makes her the most beautiful of all," Samuel whispered, tossing a coin in the Canden fountain.
Ravenna appeared on the trail, and Samuel left his seat at the fountain to join her. He smiled widely; the day he had hoped for years had finally come true. The Ruler must have heard his prayers! Samuel offered his arm to the young woman, who took it with a smile.
"Good afternoon, how have you been today?" Ravenna asked.
"Much better now that you're here. The day seems much brighter with your arrival." Samuel blushed. He had never been much of a flirt, and the words felt unusual in his mouth. "Would you like to join me in the meadow outside of the village for a quiet picnic? There's a wonderful spot not far from here."
"That sounds lovely, Mr Reed."
"Please, dear, call me Samuel." Formalities made the simple miller uncomfortable. He began asking about her trip to the village but was interrupted by tripping over his feet. Ravenna tried to help steady the man but, in helping, fell with him. She landed on top of him in a clumsy pile of limbs. Samuel immediately went red; how could he have done this on his first outing with Ravenna? He picked himself up, still red, and offered his hand to Ravenna, who was laughing in the dust.
"Is this a habit of yours, Mist–er, Samuel?" Ravenna recalled his request to call him Samuel and not Mr Reed. She smiled at the miller, who was rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"A little, Father always tells me I'm going to end up killing myself in the mill one day. I'm so sorry, are you alright?"
"A little dust can't hurt me, and a laugh is good for anyone." She brushed off her dress and retook Samuel's arm.
The man was delighted. His mishap didn't ruin the day! She even laughed about it! Miss Hawthorne, indeed, was a wonderful woman, after all.
Samuel led them to a small clearing in the meadow, not far from his mill. The young man liked to come out here on picnics with his mother when he was younger and was hopeful that Ravenna would love this special place too. Samuel took his bag and spread a large blanket for them in the meadow clearing. He offered Ravenna his hand, which she took, and helped her to the ground. Her hand felt so small and soft in his own. Samuel sat beside her on the blanket and began setting the meal for them.
Neither Ravenna nor Samuel knew of the angel who had accidentally appeared in the forest not far from where they sat.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ravenna and Samuel left the meadow once the afternoon turned late. Samuel walked Ravenna back to the Canden village center and asked if he could walk her home. She was about to accept it when Teresa called out.
"Ravenna, I need your help! Please!"
"Excuse me, Samuel, I will be right back," Ravenna assured the young man and rushed to her friend.
Teresa was at her market stall and had leaned forward, supporting herself on a nearby post. "Ravenna, I'm so grateful you're here, I think the baby is coming!"
-
Ravenna wasted no time. She called over Samuel, and the miller ran over. "Samuel, Teresa needs my help. Could you please tear down her stall and take her things back to her home?"
Eager to help and glad to be told how he could, Samuel immediately began to work, taking little Thomas to the elderly Quills to be taken care of. Ravenna helped to support Teresa, and the women started to head toward the Hawthorne cottage.
"I....OH.... I'm really sorry to interrupt your day with Samuel," Teresa winced halfway through her sentence. Her contractions were not close yet, but the Hawthornes lived outside the village, and it was quite a walk.
"Please, we had a lovely day, and now you're going to have your child. It will be a good day for everyone," the young healer reassured. "I'm just sorry we have to walk when you're in pain."
The women walked down the path toward Ravenna's home. Every time Teresa had a contraction, Ravenna would support her friend as Teresa breathed through it. Teresa continued to ask about her friend's afternoon with Samuel, not allowing her labor to stop her from finding out how the date went.
Ravenna heard the sound of a carriage coming their way and helped Teresa move to the side of the path. The carriage stopped, and Peter Jones' coachman jumped from his broken seat to the women at the side of the trail.
"Goodness, ladies, is everything alright?" The man's face was rife with worry.
"Oh yes, thank you sir, my friend here is just in labor for her child. We are on the way to my cottage to help her deliver," Ravenna told the man she had mended a few days prior.
The carriage door slammed open. "What is going on out here? I have places to go!" shouted Peter Jones. "Did you fall off your damned seat again? You are the most incompetent..." Peter Jones spied the young woman in the pink dress, supporting a heavily breathing woman. "Well hello, Miss Hawthorne, what a coincidence meeting you here, I was just coming to pick you up for our dinner!"
Ravenna was furious. She told him she would spend time with him next week, but he ignored her again. In addition, he was not caring about Teresa in her arms, who was wincing through another contraction. "Mr Jones, with all due respect, which at the time is none, either help me get Teresa to the infirmary so she can deliver this child, or kindly leave me alone! I am trying to help Teresa through her labor, and I do not have time for your arrogance if you are not going to help!"
Teresa looked over at Ravenna, her mouth agape. The young woman had spoken her mind to one of the wealthier men in Canden and one of her suitors at that. But pain took over her body again, and Ravenna's rage was forgotten.
Peter Jones looked like Ravenna had slapped him. His coachman looked at his employer and began, "Please, Mr Jones, sir, these women need our hel-"
A glove across his cheek cut off his words. "Do not speak out of turn, boy! You have grown far too comfortable doing that lately. And you heard the young woman, she does not have time for me today, so I do not have time for her. Let's go." Peter huffed. The large man slammed the carriage door shut again and rapped on the window as a sign for the coachman to go.
Ravenna could not believe Peter Jones. He had the means to help get the women to the infirmary and chose not to because Ravenna had told him she wasn't available for dinner as someone else needed her more. She was tired of the man trying to dictate how she spent her time and who she spent it with. The healer couldn't be upset with the coachman. He had tried to convince Mr. Jones to help Teresa and was punished for it.
Ravenna and Teresa continued their way down the path, and finally, the women could see the Hawthorne cottage in the distance. Teresa needed to stop more often to allow contractions to pass. Ravenna was getting worried; she hoped they could make it to the infirmary in time for the baby to arrive.
The young women continued to chat as they slowly made their way to Ravenna's home. Ravenna asked her friend how she was feeling and asked her to describe how she felt. She had no idea what Teresa was going through; Ravenna had never been with a man, let alone been through the birth process.
"It feels, it is hard to describe, almost like a pressure? It's such an unusu- OH," Teresa leaned forward and braced herself against her friend.
Getting near the cottage, Ravenna began to shout. "Grandmother! Grandmother! I have Teresa!" She hoped Anne could prepare for the labor quickly if there were notice. Anne opened the door, saw Teresa supported by her granddaughter, and disappeared into the infirmary. The older woman began to prepare blankets, water, and medicines.
Teresa got into the cottage with Ravenna's help. Anne took Teresa's hand and led her to the infirmary room. Teresa had become flush; she was in a lot of pain. Ravenna went to the wall containing their medicines and herbs and produced skullcaps for Teresa's pain. She prepared the plant for her friend and could hear Anne encouraging Teresa to take deep breaths.
Singing to herself in the kitchen, Ravenna set the kettle on the stove and found their dried raspberry leaves for tea. She produced the basket Anne had woven specifically for Teresa's newborn and lined the carrier with blankets carefully. Placing the tea and medicine on a tray, Ravenna quietly entered the infirmary room at the back of the cottage. She grabbed her friend's hand and gave an encouraging smile as she brushed a strand of Teresa's hair out of her face.
Ravenna heard a knock on the door. She excused herself from Teresa and Anne, and she answered the door. Peter Jones grabbed her wrist and yanked her toward his carriage, his other hand silencing her protests.