Free The Midwife's Dilemma by Delia Parr

Trinity so she would have a better sense of where she was living now. I suspect they probably included a stop at the general store to get a larger tin of licorice root while they were out and about, so I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”
    Jane’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “Those two women are just too good to be true. I’ve actually had to pinch myself, just to be sure I haven’t been sucked into a fairy tale with not one but two fairy godmothers.”
    Martha tucked the handkerchief into her apron pocket. “You’re not alone. I feel the same way about them, and so do most of the folks in town. But from what I’ve learned from the two of them so far, the sick man you were caring for long after your wages ran out might have felt the same way about you. I know Fern and Ivy are very grateful that you did,” she added as she helped Jane to drag the braided rug.
    Huffing a bit by the time they had the rug inside the room, Jane held one end of the rug while Martha positioned the other close to the wall. “I didn’t have any way to contact Mr. Ashford, but if I’d left that poor man all alone, he would have died in a matter of days, hungry and thirsty and lying in his own waste. No one deserves to die like that, alone and unloved, regardless of how a life has been spent or wasted,” she whispered, as if her choice to stay as his caretaker were so natural and so right, anyone in her position would have made the very same decision as she had.
    Martha knew better, however. She dropped her end of the rug down and nodded for Jane to do the same. Once they’dunrolled the rug they had salvaged from storage, Martha was disappointed to see that it was well-worn and needed more than a few stitches to repair places that had separated, creating any number of opportunities for Jane or Cassie to trip.
    But when she glanced over at Jane, the woman was smiling as if the rug were brand-new. “It’s going to be perfect, especially after I do a bit of mending. Let’s see how the beds fit,” Jane urged.
    Martha followed her back out into the hall and mentally added gratitude as another good quality to Jane’s character. Then together they worked to bring in the two beds. The wooden headboards were heavy, the mattresses were bulky and awkward to handle, and by the time they had everything in place, she was in awe of Jane’s strength and stamina.
    Those qualities were hard to dismiss, mostly because Martha was winded and had a twinge in her back, while Jane had enough extra breath to be humming while she worked. She moved about the room with apparent ease, even though she had already helped to clean and set up the sitting room downstairs while Martha had been sleeping the day away.
    â€œMaybe we should take a minute to rest and plan out the rest of the room before we bring in anything else so we don’t have to waste our energy moving things around in here,” Martha suggested as she rubbed the small of her back.
    Jane cringed. “I’m sorry. I’ve worked you too hard, haven’t I? Why don’t you leave the rest to me? There’s not much else left out in the hall.”
    â€œOnly a couple of heavy trunks that even you shouldn’t attempt to handle on your own, not to mention a washstand and a pair of side chairs,” Martha argued, unwilling to admit she was less of a workhorse than Jane. “Do you always work this hard without stopping?”
    Jane paused for a moment before she answered. “Not always. Only when I’m really trying to impress someone.”
    â€œWhy in heaven’s name would you think you had to impress me?”
    â€œBecause . . . because I know how important you are to Miss Fern and Miss Ivy and how much they value your opinion. I want you to think highly of me, and I want to reassure you that Miss Fern and Miss Ivy didn’t make a mistake hiring me and taking Cassie and me