“I—told—you,” gasped Skye as a final contraction racked her.And then the child, fully born, began to squall loudly. “Is—he—all right? All his fingers—and toes?”
Eibhlin swiftly wiped the baby off and gazed down at the tiny face. “She’sfine, Skye! All her fingers and toes!”
“She? Oh, damn!” Then Skye laughed weakly. “Willow will love having a little sister, and I am happy to have another daughter, but the MacWilliam is going to be very disappointed.”
“You’ll have others,” remarked Eibhlin drily.
Skye sent Eibhlin an amused look, thinking how good it was to have her matter-of-fact big sister with her. How long, she wondered, would the Queen allow Eibhlin to stay now that the child was born? A thunderous knocking began on the door.
“Quick, Daisy, tell whoever it is that they can’t come in,” directed Eibhlin.
Daisy ran to the door and opened it a crack. “You can’t come in,” she said to Sir John, the Tower governor. “My lady is having her baby.”
“I’ve brought my wife to help you,” said Sir John, and before Daisy could prevent it Lady Alyce pushed into the room and hurried over to where Skye lay. Seeing the newly born infant on its mother’s stomach, Lady Alyce’s eyes twinkled conspiratorially. Bending down, she whispered, “Groan loudly, my dear.” Understanding filled Skye’s eyes and she groaned long and piteously. “Oh dear,” cried Lady Alyce, running back to her husband, who waited patiently at the door. “It will be hours, John. You’d best go along. I will come back when I’ve news. Close the door, girl.”
Daisy gladly complied, breathing a sigh of relief as she did so. The Tower governor’s wife laughed softly and smiled down at Skye. “There, my dear, that should give you peace for a little while longer. Besides, it never does to let men know that having babies can sometimes be easy.”
“Thank you, madam. I’ve never had a baby so quickly. Each one comes faster than the previous one.”
“How many have you had, my dear?”
“This child is my sixth, but it’s my second daughter.”
“Oh, a little girl! I had a little girl once.… She would have been fourteen this past Whitsun. She died of the white throat, eight years ago. Her name was Linaet.”
“I lost my late husband and our youngest son the same way,” said Skye.
The two women fell silent, then Lady Alyce asked, “What will you call this babe, Lady Burke?”
“Deirdre.”
“Skye!” cried Eibhlin. “Deirdre’s fate was a tragic one.”
“She was held prisoner by her King. My innocent child is being held prisoner by her Queen. She was born in captivity, in a most infamous place, Eibhlin. The name is fitting. And as I have not the comfort of a priest, you must baptize my daughter, dear sister.”
Lady Alyce looked troubled. “Why are you here, my dear?” she asked.
Daisy took Deirdre from Skye and began cleaning and dressing her. Eibhlin cleaned her sister free of all traces of the birth. Skye explained to the kindly older woman. “No one has told me why I am here, madam. No charges have been leveled against me. I hoped …” she hesitated, “that your husband might know.”
“Alas, my dear, no! Oh, I wish I could help,” she cried. “It seems so unfair.”
“Do not trouble yourself, Lady Alyce. We Irish are used to being misunderstood and mistreated,” said Skye sweetly.
“Well, at least I can stay here for a few hours,” said the Tower Governor’s wife. “If they think the child is being born, they’ll leave you be. Later, having been witness to such a hard birth, I will of course advise my husband that your sister must stay a month or two if you and your poor weak infant are to survive.”
Skye smiled. “You’re a true friend, ma’am. But do nothing to endanger yourself or Sir John with the Queen. The Tudors, I have found, can be most unkind even to their friends. I have learned this first hand.”
“What does the Queen know of the Tower except whatever my husband tells her?” replied the good lady. And she plumped herself down in a comfortable chair before the fire. “I understand, Lady Burke, that you’ve the best malmsey in England. I am mighty partial to malmsey.”
The following morning Lady Alyce informed her husband that the poor, imprisoned Lady Burke had managed, though the dear Lord only knew how, to give birth to a wee girl child. “Both she and the little lass are very weak, and will need constant nursing for the next few months if they are to survive,” said Lady Alyce firmly. Her husband recognized her mood. She would brook no interference.
“My dear,” he said mildly, “it is all right with me if Lady Burke’s sister remains with her, but the final decision is not mine to make.”
“You have some influence, John. Use it! I don’t understandwhat the Queen is about imprisoning poor Lady Burke,andwithout charges.”
“Hush, my dear! I can see that our distinguished guest has made a conquest of you, but we must trust that the Queen and Lord Burghley know what they are doing. I will send word now to the Queen.”
Elizabeth had been having one of her infrequent and painful menstrual flows when word was brought to her of Lady Deirdre Burke’s birth. “God’s nightshirt,” she swore irritably, “she has done it deliberately!”
