1. That it wasn't right for a lady like her to be pouring water for someone like Maria.
2. That none of her previous children had given her so much trouble. None, it had been easy.
3. That she knew the child would be a boy, and that she had been thinking on what to name the boy. Did Barbara think that "Horatio" was a good name? Had her mother arrived yet? Had she come?
4. That she had known there was something between Horatio and Barbara. Not at the dinner party, not from any letter of Horatio's, but it was after that. Maria could not catch her breath because the pain was too great, so she could not complete the explanation.
5. That Horatio had been away, too, when his son died. His daughter had died firs,t and Horatio had been wounded, so he had gone out into the hallway to gather himself, and when he came back in, little Horatio was dead, too. He had loved those children; he had loved those children.
Bonus. Something that Maria thought about telling Barbara, but didn't: that she'd given her whole life to Horatio, but it still wasn't enough to make him happy. Did Barbara think that she could make him happy with the portion that she was going to give him? She was welcome to try. After Maria dead, there was nothing that would stop her.
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branchandroot
Five things Maria told Barbara while she was dying.
Date: 2006-09-01 02:11 am (UTC)2. That none of her previous children had given her so much trouble. None, it had been easy.
3. That she knew the child would be a boy, and that she had been thinking on what to name the boy. Did Barbara think that "Horatio" was a good name? Had her mother arrived yet? Had she come?
4. That she had known there was something between Horatio and Barbara. Not at the dinner party, not from any letter of Horatio's, but it was after that. Maria could not catch her breath because the pain was too great, so she could not complete the explanation.
5. That Horatio had been away, too, when his son died. His daughter had died firs,t and Horatio had been wounded, so he had gone out into the hallway to gather himself, and when he came back in, little Horatio was dead, too. He had loved those children; he had loved those children.
Bonus. Something that Maria thought about telling Barbara, but didn't: that she'd given her whole life to Horatio, but it still wasn't enough to make him happy. Did Barbara think that she could make him happy with the portion that she was going to give him? She was welcome to try. After Maria dead, there was nothing that would stop her.