Page 41 of A Christmas Wish for the Village Midwife

Victor grimaced. ‘I’m no expert – never had a pregnant one before – but they usually give birth in the morning. Don’t ask me why, but that’s just their way. So I wasn’t ready for her to have the little one now… and it’s cold, and that worries me. If I’d been in charge of her mating, I would have made sure she was ready to unpack in the spring. But I wasn’t, and she was already expecting when I got her, and now I’m wondering if I bit off more than I could chew. I should have let her go to a sanctuary or somewhere where they know more than me.’

‘Victor, you’re brilliant with the others, and I’m sure it will be fine.’ Zoe gave the most encouraging smile she could. ‘If anyone can look after mum and baby, regardless of whether the circumstances are right or not, it’s you.’

‘You might be right, you might be wrong, but I appreciate your encouragement. I suppose it will be all right or it won’t, and I’m sure it’ll all come out in the wash either way.’

‘Exactly.’

‘Anyway, I thought I’d better phone for the vet because this is her first cria⁠—’

‘Cria?’

‘Her first bairn.’

Zoe laughed. ‘Oh, her first baby!’

‘Aye. So I don’t know how she’ll be. From what I can tell from my books, they manage all right by themselves for the most part…’ Victor took off his hat, rubbed a hand through his mop of white hair and glanced at Dandelion, who seemed content enough, though she was pacing around, seeming to know what was about to happen to her. ‘I reckon I’ve got nervous in my old age. There was a time I’d be able to see to any kind of birth – done pups and sheep and more besides. But this one has stoked up the jitters in me, I don’t mind saying.’

‘And I suppose it doesn’t help that she’s delivering at the wrong time of the day too. Does it make a big difference?’

‘I couldn’t tell you, love,’ Victor said.

But even as he said it, their attention was drawn back to Dandelion, who flopped down with a strange kind of moaning grunt. In the lamplight, Zoe could see that the birth had already begun.

‘Oh Lord!’ Victor clamped his hat back on and stood, watching, his arms folded and then unfolded, and then his hands in his pockets and then taking his hat off again, and Zoe’s heart went out to him for how helpless he appeared to feel.

‘Are we supposed to do something?’ she asked.

Victor shook his head. ‘It’s up to her now, unless she gets into trouble. I was hoping the vet would be here for that.’

‘She seems to be coping,’ Zoe said uncertainly. ‘Not that I’d know.’

They were both quiet as they watched the struggle. Zoe had no clue how much time had passed, but soon enough, the baby began to appear and then, some moments later, slid out onto the hay.

Victor grabbed a couple of towels, handing one to Zoe. ‘You clean the bairn; I’ll look mum over.’

‘I just rub it with this?’ Zoe held up the towel, and he nodded.

‘Gently, like. Have a look to make sure it’s breathing while you’re there.’

It felt like a huge responsibility, but there was something in Victor’s trust that made Zoe swell with pride. He’d given her a task that was so important, not even questioning her ability for a second, and though she was nervous that she might let him down, she was determined not to.

The baby was surprisingly robust and, as Zoe cleaned away the remnants of the birth, gave out a faint hum. At first, Zoe thought she might be imagining the sound, but then Victor looked over and nodded. ‘Sounds happy enough. Whatever you’re doing, you’re doing it right.’

‘That’s a relief,’ Zoe said, returning to her task with a broad smile now. ‘How’s Dandelion?’

‘Seems all right to me. Her body clock might be mixed up, but nothing else is amiss, as far as I can tell.’

‘It’s such a shame Alex couldn’t have been here,’ Zoe said as she smiled down at Dandelion’s newborn. ‘He’d have loved this. He said he wanted to see the birth.’

‘He’s welcome to come and see just as soon as we’ve got the all-clear and all’s well.’

‘Victor…’ Zoe paused to look up at him. ‘You’re all right with us, aren’t you? I know some of your friends aren’t keen on some of the things Alex is getting involved in, and… well, we’d hate to think it was upsetting you too.’

Victor gave a curt nod. ‘I can’t say it doesn’t put me in a difficult situation from time to time, but that’s because I understand both sides of the argument. The problem is government involvement. If it was just a few folks wanting to give nature a helping hand, well, that’s one thing. Like your Alex wants to. But too many around these parts have had their noses put out of joint by government types marching in and telling us that’s how things have got to be, clearing fells where sheep have grazed for centuries so they can put trees and bogland back in without a single thought for where all those sheep are going to go. You have to understand the land before you try to change it – that’s the problem.’

Zoe nodded slowly, mulling that over. ‘As long as we’re all right… that was my big worry. I had wondered if…’

‘I’d tell you straight if I was unhappy about something. Surely you know that by now, lass.’