I smiled, withdrawing my hand as I returned to my seat. “I hope we’ve helped fill the hole in your heart.” I hesitated, then asked, “Did you ever avenge your wife’s death?”
A shadow flickered across his face before vanishing.
“One day, I will,” he said, his voice quieter. “I think I can do it before I die.” He leaned back slightly, a wry smile playing on his lips. “I’m old, my dear.”
“You’re not that old.” The image of Mathias entangled with his maid earlier flashed through my mind unbidden.
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Oh, but I am. Seventy-two is old enough for me. And while I’ve lived a… colorful life, I am grateful to have had a wife who gave me a beautiful—albeit willful—child. Grandchildren. I try to present myself well and be a valuable resource to my community. My wife would have wanted that.”
A wistful sigh escaped him.
Then—
Emily bolted off the sofa, a moan of agony tearing from her throat.
I jumped up as well. “Emily?”
She gasped, clutching her stomach, her long dress darkened with wet splotches.
“Olivia,” she wheezed, panic flashing in her eyes.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
Her breathing hitched as she clutched my arm.
“My water just broke,” she wailed. “The baby is coming.”
Chapter 36
Olivia
Emily’s legs buckled, and she collapsed onto the rug.
Mathias shot to his feet.
“Let’s get her upstairs.” He scooped Emily into his arms with ease. “The servants are gone for the day—I dismissed them early—but there’s still a maid around here somewhere.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks as an unwelcome memory surfaced—Mathias, hips thrusting between that young woman’s legs. I swallowed hard. “You go find her.”
I had no desire to meet the maid’s gaze—not after seeing her bare body intertwined with his.
“I was close to someone once—a midwife,” I murmured, forcing myself to focus. “She taught me a few things. I’ll try to remember what I can.” My heart clenched at the thought of Amara.
Emily let out an anguished cry, her fingers digging into my arm. “It hurts, Olivia! God, it hurts.”
“I know, I know,” I soothed. “But we need to get you upstairs.”
The contractions came fast and relentless, forcing us to stop every few steps as she doubled over in pain. By the time we reached the bedchamber, she was trembling, breathless.
The young maid was already at work, the same one I had caught with Count Montego. She moved quietly, stripping the bed of fine linens and replacing them with thick wool coverings.
She glanced up and offered a slight nod. “Madam, allow me to introduce myself. I am Anne Geneviève.”
“Olivia,” Isaid curtly.
She hesitated before continuing, her tone oddly sincere. “I apologize for earlier, Olivia. The count has been my lover for some time. We did not expect to be interrupted.”
I nearly clapped my hands over my ears and muttered, La, la, la. This was far too much information.
