“Marie!” Suzanne was already out of the bed. She grabbed her robe and barely had it on before she threw the door open and raced down the corridor.
Behind her, footsteps and male voices sounded. Simon called, “Lucas!”
“I’m glad to see you home, Simon!” Lucas said. “We’ll talk later.”
Both men moved fast, but it was Lucas who was first in the door after Suzanne. Marie was writhing on a bed covered with drenched sheets. Madame Maurice was holding her hand and trying to soothe her. The older woman looked up in relief when Suzanne and the men entered. She looked as if she’d just realized that having children was not the same as delivering them.
“Suzanne!” Marie cried out as she thrashed across the bed. “Suzanne,mon amie!”
Suzanne immediately caught the younger woman’s sweaty hand. Speaking in French, she said, “It’s all right, Marie, it’s all right! Remember, only yesterday Madame Maurice said that having babies is perfectly normal—it just hurts a lot. This will be over soon, though it will feel much too long. And won’t you and Philippe be so pleased with yourselves when you can hold that child in your arms!”
“Philippe,mon coeur,” Marie said raggedly. “I so wish you were here!”
“He would be if he could, but he can’t. He’s creating a home for you at the château. But there is someone who can help. Simon’s cousin Lucas, the medical man, is right here, and between him and Madame Maurice, you’ll be well taken care of.” She brushed a towel over Marie’s sweating face with her free hand. “We’ll all take care of you.”
“Don’t leave me, Suzanne,” Marie begged, her face contorted as another contraction wracked her. “Please don’t leave me!”
“I won’t. I’ll be right here until I can hold my new grandchild.” Suzanne used her most soothing tone. “It’s going to be a boy, I’m sure. Remember Madame Maurice said that because you’re carrying low? She says she’s always right about such things. Philippe will be so proud! Men seem to be extra pleased with themselves when they have a son, as if that’s even more of a miracle than a daughter. So foolish!”
Marie began to relax as the contraction passed, but she held tight to Suzanne’s hand. Suzanne glanced up and saw that Lucas and Madame Maurice were talking in low voices. The older woman looked very worried and Lucas was nodding gravely.
Then Lucas moved to the side of the bed and spoke to Marie, his voice deep and wonderfully calming. “This is your first, isn’t it? Of course it’s alarming, but don’t worry, when you have your second it will all be easier. Now I’m going to examine you because that’s what we medical men do.” He shot an ironic glance at Suzanne. Continuing, he said, “Simon, help Madame Maurice collect supplies. She knows what is needed.”
“Of course.” Simon had managed to hastily drag on a shirt and a pair of trousers. Lucas wore a similar but shabbier outfit that Suzanne recognized from when he’d appeared at her door. She made a mental note to find him more suitable clothing than a Franciscan habit or the regrettable garments he was wearing.
But though he looked like a rag picker, his wonderful deep voice was calm and his intelligent presence spread confidence throughout the room. “The baby is turned opposite the usual way, Marie,” he said. “It’s called a breech birth. That means he’s an independent little fellow! I’ll see if I can turn him around so he can arrive more quickly.”
As Lucas worked to manipulate the baby to a better position, Simon and Madame Maurice arrived with hot water and towels and fresh bedding. Jenny also entered to gently sponge Marie’s perspiring face and help with the bedding.
But Lucas’s expression was grim as he tried and failed to reposition the baby. His voice was always soft and his hands gentle, but damnably, nothing he did helped. Suzanne guessed that Marie’s small-boned body was making this delivery more difficult and dangerous than normal.
Throughout an endless day, Suzanne continued to hold the girl’s hand. Once she had to get up to stretch her legs and relieve herself. Jenny moved in to take Suzanne’s place, but Marie was fretful and asked Suzanne to come back as soon as she could. “I will,ma petite,” Suzanne promised.
Lucas stood and followed Suzanne from the bedroom. To her pleasure, Simon was heading toward her. When he arrived, she leaned into his embrace, drawing his warm strength into her as she worked the fingers of her right hand to drive the numbness away. “My poor exhausted darling!” he murmured. “Her condition is grave?”
“Very,” Lucas said wearily. “I’ve been unable to turn the baby and they’re both growing weaker.”
Simon made a pained sound and his arms tightened around Suzanne. “You haven’t found an experienced midwife?”
Lucas shook his head. “Not with Brussels in chaos. I wish I could hand this over to someone with more experience! There is so much I don’t know about birthing.”
“I don’t know if a midwife could do more than you have, Lucas,” Suzanne said. “If I was having a baby, I’d trust you. But after this, I’m rather glad I don’t seem inclined to having babies!”
Suzanne had spoken as she had to lighten the mood a bit, but in a small, selfish part of her mind she resented losing these hours with Simon when he might soon be gone, never to return. But how could she abandon Marie? Impossible.
“Do you think Marie and the baby will survive?” Simon asked.
“I hope so, but I don’t know,” Lucas said in a barely audible voice.
“I’ll get some proper clothing on and come back to Marie in a few minutes,” she said, looking down at her rumpled dressing gown.
“I’ll have tea and sandwiches sent up,” Simon said. “I don’t suppose that my presence in the sickroom is desirable.”
Suzanne would like having him close, but this crisis wasn’t about her. “It’s not a terribly large room.”
Simon lifted her chin with one finger and kissed her. Not a deeply passionate night kiss, but a pledge of unity and mutual support. “I’m going out to find what news there is. From the sound of guns, there is a battle in progress south of Brussels. Close enough for us to hear, but not so close that we need to expect French soldiers in our streets.”
At least Simon was here, not in the middle of that battle. She would like to stay in his arms forever, but that wasn’t possible. She patted his backside so he’d know that she wasn’t completely exhausted and he reciprocated with a chuckle.
