Gar, who had been momentarily shocked that his wife had actually given birth to a girl-child, quickly put out his hands.
“Give her to me,” he said, enraptured by the first glimpse of his daughter. “Please, let me hold her.”
With the help of Rhoswyn, Avrielle cut the cord and wrapped the child up in a clean blanket so the eager father could take her.
“Careful, Gar,” Avrielle said as she handed over the precious cargo. “Be very careful with your little girl.”
Gar was quite competent with infants. Unlike most fathers, he liked being active in their rearing and care. He’d found a good deal of satisfaction and joy in it. He clutched the little one to his chest, bring her over so that Mattie could see her. Together, the parents admired their latest offspring.
“Look how beautiful she is,” Gar said, awe in his voice. “She has your hair, Queenie. It’s the same color.”
Mattie was inspecting the little hands, making sure the infant had all ten fingers. “She’s magnificent,” she said. “I think she looks like you.”
Gar grinned, but there were tears of emotion in his eyes. “She looks likeyou,” he said softly, turning to kiss Mattie sweetly. “Thank you, my love. I am so very grateful.”
Mattie accepted his kisses. It did her heart good to see how enchanted he was with a daughter. After so many sons, she honestly hadn’t been sure she would ever have a girl and was thrilled to know her fears had been for naught. But as Gar kissed her cheek, the pains in her belly started up again and she grunted when a particularly strong one rolled over her.
“God’s Bones,” she muttered. “That was painful.”
“It is the afterbirth,” Avrielle said, her hand on Mattie’s belly. “It is coming away.”
Mattie nodded, but on the tail of the strong pain came another one, even stronger than the first. She gasped at the force of it.
“That does not feel like the afterbirth coming away,” she said. “I know what that feels like and that is not it. Something is wrong.”
Those words sent terror into Gar’s heart and he looked at his wife in panic as both Rhoswyn and Avrielle struggled to see what was happening down below. Mattie’s belly was contracting tightly and she was in a good deal of pain, but after a minute of trying to figure out why, it was Rhoswyn who finally realized what was happening.
“A second baby,” she said. “There are twins.”
“Twins?” Gar gasped. “Two…twobabies?”
Mattie gripped the chair, grunting as more pain rolled through her. She was giving birth again, so soon after the first one, and the pain had quickly reached a desperate level.
“Can you see it?” she begged. “Please, can you see it? Is it coming?”
It was. Feet-first. Rhoswyn and Avrielle passed concerned glances as Mattie struggled to push the child out. They didn’t dare convey their fears to Gar, who was standing beside Mattie, holding the first infant and trying not to become distraught at what was unfolding in front of him. Rhoswyn, who had suffered through a breech birth with her fourth child, knew that this one would be more grueling. She spoke calmly.
“This bairn is a wee bit naughty,” she said. “He’s coming out with his feet first, Mattie. It just makes it a little more difficult tae push him out, but he will come. With yer next pain, push as hard as ye can, sweetheart.”
Terrified, Gar reached down to grasp Mattie’s left hand and she squeezed hard enough to break bones as she struggled to push the infant out. Gar didn’t even want to see what was happening. He knew it was something terrible and it was all he could do to keep from breaking down. For Mattie, he had to be strong.
He had to be brave.
“Push, Queenie,” he said softly. “You’re doing so well, my love. You are so brave.”
Mattie pushed and pushed. Several minutes later, she was still pushing and Gar looked at his mother to see what her expression was. If he could see fear, he knew he was going to lose his composure, but Rhoswyn was calm, as was Avrielle. The infant’s legs had been delivered and, with a little turning and twisting, a second little girl slid right out into her grandmother’s waiting hands.
“Another lass,” Rhoswyn announced as Avrielle moved quickly to cut the cord. “A beautiful little lass, Mattie. She’s perfect.”
But the baby wasn’t crying. As exhausted as she was, Mattie realized almost immediately that the child wasn’t crying and fear clutched at her.
“Why isn’t she making noise?” she asked, frightened. “Why isn’t she crying?”
Gar was still holding her hand, but he knelt down next to her and put his free arm around her, hugging her tightly, his lips against her temple.
“All will be well,” he whispered. “I swear it, all will be well. She’s simply a quiet lass, ’tis all. Give her time.”
Rhoswyn was rubbing the child vigorously, trying to force her to breathe, as Avrielle dealt with the afterbirth, which finally came. Just when the tension in the chamber reached a splitting level, the infant let out a weak cry, piercing the warm air.
