‘No.’ Stubbornness lined the pregnant woman’s face. ‘I swaddled each of my babes with my grandmother’s blanket. It has brought luck to all of them. I’ll not deny this child the same.’
Aileen started to argue, but held her tongue. What did it matter where the child was born? She could see that Bridget would not relent.
She directed her attention to Zaira. ‘Do as Bridget says. And afterwards, go back to the hut. Make sure a warm fire is burning and prepare Bridget’s bed.’
Zaira raced ahead to follow her bidding. When the girl had gone, Aileen assisted Bridget in rising to a standing position. ‘In the meantime, I will help you,’ she assured her cousin. ‘This one will come faster than the ones before. Can you walk?’
‘Of course.’ With a bemused smile, Bridget took Aileen’s arm, accepting the support. ‘You seem concerned.’
Though there was always an element of danger, helping women deliver babies was a task Aileen enjoyed. To help guide a new life into the world, hearing the newborn squall and wrapping the tiny infant in warm swaddling clothes—it somehow made her own barrenness easier to endure. Were it not for Rhiannon, she would have none to call her own.
She knew her daughter slept in one of the tents, along with the other children. Though she wished Rhiannon could attend the birth, it was better for her to remain here.
Bridget stopped walking a moment later, breathing slowly. Her eyes closed with the effort of the contraction, and she gripped Aileen’s hand for support.
Inwardly, Aileen counted the length of time between contractions and feared the expectant mother would not make it home in time. She searched for a kinsman, someone to bring a horse. At last, she caught sight of one of her brothers.
‘Cillian!’ she called out, waving to him.
Her brother turned and smiled at her, crushing her into an embrace. Beneath his mantle, she realised that he had changed since his apprenticeship. His arms held the strength of manhood, his smile confident. ‘It has been a long time, my sister. Are you well?’
She nodded, explaining Bridget’s situation. Cillian glanced at the woman, his brows furrowing. ‘I thought you were not allowed to heal any more.’
Aileen didn’t lie. ‘That is true. But I cannot leave her like this while waiting for Illona. She won’t make it back to her hut without a cart. I cannot put her on horseback. Can you help us?’
His expression grew serious. ‘What of the new healer? Is this not her responsibility?’
‘I sent for her.’ At the warning in Cillian’s eyes, she waved her hands. ‘Bridget is our cousin. Seamus will not mind if I help her until Illona comes.’
‘He forbade it, Aileen.’
‘The new healer is a stranger and an Ó Banníon, no less,’ she argued. ‘I am Bridget’s family.’
Her brother sighed and shook his head. ‘I do not know, Aileen.’
‘Please, Cillian. Bridget needs us.’ Even now, the expectant mother’s pains grew closer together. Aileen gripped his hand. ‘She will not make it home without our help.’
Finally, he relented. ‘If I had any doubts in your abilities, never would I agree to this. I will bring a cart to help you. And I’ll make certain Illona comes.’
‘Thank you.’ She kissed his cheek, and he ruffled her hair.
‘What’s this I hear about you and Connor MacEgan?’
Her face flushed scarlet. ‘Nothing that would interest you.’
He laughed. ‘Our mother will tell me anything I wish to know.’
‘And none of it will be true,’ Aileen argued, while her brother went off to find a horse and cart. She breathed easier when she saw Cillian hitching a mare in the distance. Now she needed to find Frasier and tell him of his wife’s labour.
She spied Lorcan near a table heaped with pastries and waved to the boy. ‘Lorcan! Bring Frasier to help me with Bridget. Her babe will come this night.’
Lorcan reached out for an almond pastry. He stuffed it into a fold of his tunic before hurrying toward the crowd to find Bridget’s husband.
Bridget swayed, and Aileen strained to hold her upright. With each step, she recalled her own agony giving birth to Rhiannon. And yet, a frisson of excitement bloomed within her. She would endure childbirth again in a heartbeat, should God bless her with another babe.
‘We will be there soon,’ she soothed the labouring mother.
‘If I do not deliver this babe in the field,’ Bridget responded. Tight lines of pain etched deeply at the corners of Bridget’s mouth. A vicious contraction gripped the woman, and Aileen coaxed her through it.
