Gently, Isabella lifted Maggie’s nightgown and looked between her legs, praying for a glimpse of the baby’s head. Maggie moaned sharply, and her head sank back against the pillows in exhaustion. She closed her eyes and seemed to struggle for the strength to take a few shallow breaths. A sharp chill of fear ran down Isabella’s spine. The maid was obviously tiring; Isabella was uncertain how much longer she could endure the pain. She desperately hoped Maggie would have the strength to push the child from her body.
“Everything is going very smoothly, Maggie,” Isabella said in a soothing voice. “You must try to conserve your strength and rest between the contractions. Soon you will be able to begin pushing the babe out.”
A slight movement startled Isabella, and she turned to find Damien by her side. The earl had slipped unnoticed into the room, and he stood now at the foot of the bed, his eyes riveted in horror and wonder on Maggie.
“She looks as white as the sheets beneath her,” Damien whispered hoarsely. “Is everything all right?”
“How the devil am I supposed to know?” Isabella hissed in a loud whisper. Desperately needing to vent her fear and frustration, the earl provided a convenient target for Isabella. “In case you have forgotten, sir, my experience with childbirth is rather limited.”
Embarrassed by her outburst, Isabella anxiously turned her head toward Maggie, fearing the young woman had overheard. She need not have been concerned. Maggie was oblivious to her surroundings. Her eyes were tightly shut, and she made low, whimpering sounds deep in her throat.
“I’ve sent Fred down to the stables to check on the horses,” Damien told Isabella. “The poor man is frantic with worry and desperate not to show it.”
“His fears are not unfounded,” Isabella said solemnly. “Birthing can be a dangerous business.”
“Mrs. Amberly is still out cold, but Fran and Molly have volunteered to help,” Damien informed Isabella.
Regretfully, Isabella shook her head. “They are both expecting children of their own. As much as I would appreciate their assistance, I cannot subject them to this. After witnessing Maggie’s ordeal, I am sure they would dwell overlong on their own forthcoming births.”
“Then I shall stay,” Damien declared softly.
Isabella’s knees went weak with relief. “I suppose it would be too much to hope that you have done this before,” she said with a curious mixture of sarcasm and elation in her voice.
“I’ve delivered some livestock,” Damien replied in all seriousness.
“Perfect,” Isabella snorted. “Your vast experience nearly exceeds my own.” She turned with concerned eyes toward Maggie. “She is so tired. I only pray this will be a swift and normal delivery.”
At Isabella’s instruction, Damien took up a position at the head of the bed, behind Maggie. The poor woman was so consumed by her labor pains, she was barely aware of his presence.
Isabella climbed onto the mattress at the foot of the bed and gently raised Maggie’s knees. “With the next pain you must bear down and push hard, Maggie.”
Isabella placed her hand on Maggie’s distended belly and waited for the tightening of the next contraction to begin. When she felt the muscles tense, Isabella calmly issued instructions. “Bear down, Maggie. Now.”
Disoriented, Maggie struggled to obey, but she lacked the strength to lift her upper body off the bed while pushing with her lower extremities. Collapsing against the pillows in exhaustion, Maggie sobbed brokenly, “I cannot. Dear God, I cannot.” Tears seeped from her eyes, wetting her temples and falling into her sweat-soaked hair.
Numb with fear, Isabella stared beseechingly across the bed at Damien. The earl was pale under his tan, but he did not hesitate once in his actions. He sat down on the bed, braced himself against the wooden headboard and carefully lifted Maggie so that her back rested flush against his chest.
Barely half-conscious, Maggie whimpered as the next racking pain gripped her body. Waiting for Isabella’s silent cue, Damien whispered encouragingly to Maggie and, miraculously, the maid was able to follow his commands.
After an agonizing hour, Isabella began to panic. How long could this possibly continue? Maggie was almost beyond reality, awash in a constant sea of pain. The grim expression on the earl’s face confirmed that Damien shared this view. But what could they do?
Isabella was so consumed with worry that she nearly missed the sudden appearance of the tiny dark crown of hair between Maggie’s legs. “My God, it’s. the head! I can see the baby’s head!”
“This is it, Maggie, the baby is finally coming,” the earl elatedly announced.
Dazed, Maggie somehow managed to bear down once more. She let out a harsh, blood-chilling scream and pushed with every ounce of strength her overfatigued body could muster. A minute later, the infant slid into Isabella’s waiting hands.
“It’s a girl!” Isabella cried out in jubilation. The babe gave a tiny wail of indignation that soon grew in strength and volume. “She is tiny, but she appears healthy.”
“Her vocal cords are certainly in working order,” Damien commented as he craned his neck for a glimpse of the baby.
With a soft, clean sheet, Isabella tenderly began cleaning the infant’s body. The baby was red and wrinkled, and to Isabella’s eyes utterly beautiful. Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks as the baby squalled loudly with indignation. What a wonderful noise! Then she stopped suddenly in the middle of her ministrations and called to Damien in alarm.
“Good Lord, she is still attached to her mother!” Isabella exclaimed in fear. She lifted the baby so Damien could see the birth cord from the infant’s stomach trailing down to the bed and ending somewhere under the thin sheet that covered Maggie’s legs. “What should I do?”
“You need sever the cord, my little midwife,” Damien teased with a grin of relief. Isabella held the squirming infant gingerly while Damien located the knife Fran had left for that very purpose. He brought it to the bed, deftly tied off the cord and returned the baby to an astonished Isabella.
Impressed, Isabella finished bathing the infant and wrapped her in a dry blanket. Eagerly she approached the bed and laid the precious bundle in the curve of Maggie’s arm. The maid’s eyes instantly filled with tears and she tried to speak, but her numbed throat would not cooperate.
