“We must make her give up her struggle and work with the pains. If the bairn is coming, it must come for good or bad. At least she might live.” Ada looked to him for an answer.
“How can ye do that? Do ye have some brew that will bring her back to her senses?” Their expressions were answer enough. “Well then, how do ye plan to do it?”
“Will ye speak to her, Robert? Mayhap yer words will bring her out of this stupor,” Firtha suggested.
“My words? But ye have been with her for years, Firtha. Surely she will respond to you....” Robert ran his hand through his hair. He knew now why the birthing room was no place for men. He could fight his enemies and win but he had no idea how to bring Anice through this struggle.
“Speak to her, Robert. Please? She haes told me of yer kindnesses to her in these last months. She would trust yer words,” Rachelle pleaded softly with him.
He nodded and they moved away to allow him closer. Kneeling at the side of the bed, he leaned in towards her. Reaching for the cloth that Firtha used on Anice’s face, he dipped it into the bowl on the table and squeezed it out. Rubbing it lightly over her forehead, he began to call her name, first in a low voice and then more insistently. Tapping her cheek, he called her once more.
“Anice. Anice. Ye must awake now.”
She roused a bit, opening her eyes and trying to focus on him. Shaking her head, she started to moan.
“Struan, ye promised.” Her voice, made husky by screaming, had taken on a more pronounced lilt, losing some of its blandness. “Will ye stand by yer words?”
He looked from one woman to the next, trying to figure out the right thing to say and do. “She thinks I am Struan.” Did she see the resemblance or was she just incoherent? Did he look like his father that much that she could mistake them?
“Go with it, lad. Say anything she needs to hear. If she continues to fight, we will lose them both,” Ada urged him on.
“I will stand by the words I gave ye, Anice. Ye have my protection.” His throat tightened as she grasped his hand and raised her head, looking straight into his eyes but never recognizing the man who was before her.
“But only till the babe is born? Am I only safe till then? Can ye no’ help me when he returns? Please,” she begged in a gasping whisper and tightened her grip on his hand, “please protect me.”
Although he knew he was speaking on behalf of Struan and that Struan would make no such promises, he agreed to her request. Even while he spoke the words she thought came from Struan, Robert wanted to be the one who offered protection to her. Deep in his soul and in his heart, he knew he wanted to be the one for her. And so, without any effort, a part of him went into his words.
“Ye have my protection, lass. Until the bairn is born and after. As long as ye need it, I will give it.”
“I am safe then?” Anice stared into his eyes and he almost believed her to be awake. “The bairn struggles to come now. I am afraid.”
“Ye are safe, Anice. I will keep ye safe.”
She relaxed at his assurances; her face lost its terrible tightness and her breathing became more regular. She believed him. Or rather, she took Struan’s word of her safety. He loosened her grasp on his hand and moved away so that the women tending her could move closer. Another cramp came upon her then for her breathing became more labored and she reached down to her belly once more.
“There now, lass. Work with the pains, let the bairn come,” Ada soothed as she and Firtha lifted a few layers ofbedclothes from Anice. “Blow out through your mouth when the pain is at its worst. Dinna hold yer breath.”
Robert took one look at Anice and knew this was not going to end soon. Convinced that she was in the care of those who knew much more than he did, Robert stepped away and turned to leave.
“I thank ye for yer help, Robert,” Firtha offered even as she tended to Anice.
“Call on me if ye have need.”
He left quietly so as to not disturb them and walked back to his room. The sounds of people stirring for the day reached him from belowstairs. It would be an even longer day than it had been a night.
13
Would it never stop? Anice fought to open her eyes as another wave of pain sliced through her and centered on her core. The room was a blur around her; she could hear whispered voices and knew others were there, but did not know how many or who. And, after focusing her attention and strength on surviving each contraction that came, she could not care.
“Anice... sip this. ’Twill ease yer pains.”
“Ada, is that you?”
She licked her dry lips and then did as the old woman ordered. The brew tasted warm and sweet and slid down her throat effortlessly. She could not remember how many times Ada had made her drink this or that, or cajoled her into pushing one more time. It seemed that now that she made the decision to push this babe out, he’d decided not to come. The pains still came, each one stronger and longer than the last, but the babe had not. Even in the stupor she existed in right now, she knew that something was wrong.
“What time is it?”
Anice knew that this had all begun long after dinner but had no idea how much time or how many days had passed.
