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“We must lift her legs and bend her knees thus.” Firm but gentle hands grasped her lower limbs and spread her legs wide. It was Aiden, his tone calm and capable. But he was kneeling between her legs and had a perfect view of her most private parts. Roselyn opened her mouth to protest, but was seized by another relentless contraction and lost the will to do anything but push.
“Shall we exchange places, Laird?” The voices were distant now, Roselyn could barely make out the words let alone make sense of them. But the instant her husband started to shift she grabbed at him and clung on as though her very life depended on it.
“Stay with me, I need you, I love you.”
He kissed her damp forehead and smoothed back her hair again. “I love you too, my wee Sassenach, and I shall remain right here. But Aiden shall have to attend to the other end of matters, aye?”
She nodded, defeated. She needed their help, she and her helpless baby, and would take all that was offered.
“We must protect him. My brother, he will harm him. He will throw our child into the sea…”
“No, sweetheart, he shall not. I promise you that. He will nae harm you or our bairn.”
“He said… I shall kill him. I will not let him—aaagh!” She bore down again, and this time she swore she felt something move.
“Yes, I see the head. Hold now, my lady, hold for a few moments, then with the next contraction he will be here.” Aiden’s quiet, competent tone calmed her, and her husband’s gentle encouragement lent her the strength to continue.
“‘Tis almost done, my love. Just one last push. We are here, we shall help you.” Blair wiped her hot brow with a cool cloth, then kissed her forehead. He glanced over his shoulder at Aiden. “How goes it?”
His friend’s expression was serious, intent. He met Blair’s gaze and offered a curt nod. “A few moments more, Laird. Ah, yes, now. Push now, Lady Roselyn. Push.Push!”
Roselyn did as she was bid and let out the loudest scream yet as she swore her entire body split apart. There was a rush of warmth, wetness beneath her, then sudden and blessed relief. She lay still, gasping, her body heaving with the effort she had expended.
All seemed to cease, it was as though time was suspended for those few brief, sweet moments of utter calm. There were some muttered words she could not decipher from Aiden, then her husband exploded into action.
“Give her to me. You see to my wife.”
“Blair…” she whimpered as he got to his feet.
“Soon, my love. First I must see to our daughter.”
A daughter? A baby girl… A wave of joy washed over Roselyn. She would never have said as much but throughout the months of her pregnancy she had secretly longed for a daughter though she knew her husband required sons.
“May I hold her? Please, give her to me…” Roselyn ignored the intimacy of Aiden’s deft fingers still working between her thighs. She reached into the darkness surrounding her, desperate to hold her newborn daughter.
Something was wrong. Missing. She listened hard. Why did the child not cry? She would be able to locate the babe if she would only let out her first wail.
“Blair? Where is she? My baby… aagh!” Another contraction seized her, less intense, less painful than the previous ones but still sufficient to halt her pleading.
“‘Tis just the afterbirth, my lady. All done now.” Aiden remained close as he completed his gentle, capable ministrations. She was comfortable, dry, her belly no longer hurt like she was on fire within. But her husband was not beside her, and her baby remained silent.
Roselyn began to sob. This was bad. This was very, very bad. The child had come early. Was it too soon? Had her precious daughter not lived?
“I am sorry, I am sorry, my lord. I shall produce a boy for you next time. Please, just let her live. Let me keep my baby girl…” She was sobbing, screaming her entreaties to any who might be within earshot.
“My lady, the laird is with her. He will save her.” Meggie sounded frightened, stunned even, but Roselyn gathered herself enough to realise that the wee girl was trying to be brave and she could do no less. The child’s words made no sense though.
“Save her? What do you mean? What has happened?”
“The baby is nae breathin’, my lady. Our laird is blowing his own breath into her…”
“Oh, Sweet Virgin, please, help my baby. Help her now. I shall pray every day. I shall spend my entire life upon my knees on cold stone if you would just—”
The still night air shimmered with the sudden cry of a newborn babe. The shrill wail hung there in the chill night as all fell silent. The child quieted too, there was not a murmur to be heard. Roselyn turned her head in the direction of the sound and struggled to rise up on her elbow. Aiden’s strong arms supported her, as Meggie clutched at her shoulder.
There was a muffled gurgle, a snuffle, then a high-pitched and angry shriek as the babe filled her tiny lungs properly at last and let the waiting world know her displeasure at the recent turn of events. Her cries were almost drowned out by the cheers of the assembled men, but Roselyn heard only the sweet sound of her baby’s shrill voice. In moments she held the squalling child at her breast as the little one instinctively whimpered and groped as she sought the nipple.
“You should try to feed her, my love. We have fashioned a screen of sorts from our plaids and ye shall have a little privacy now.” Blair was again by her side, his arms around both her and the baby.
