Page 105 of Scandalous: Family Ties and Spies

Not long after, the Laird of Crianlarich joined him in his vigil. The man’s fear was a tangible sensation on his skin, and it exacerbated his own sense of dread. Jamie had come and gone several times, and the last time he’d arrived with a large sandwich. With typical Rockwood stubbornness, his friend hadn’t allowed Valeran to refuse the food. The sandwich had tasted like sawdust, but he’d finished the small meal simply to have something to do.

Others had come to offer him encouragement and learn about Amalie’s status. Each one of them had quietly walked away when he’d remained silent, too frightened to speak. One hour after another slid by, and Amalie’s cries of pain had soften to quiet, weak sobs that battered his body with the force of someone beating him with a club. When they were approaching the tenth hour of her labor, Valeran suddenly heard Amalie release a loud harsh cry, before her soft sob filled the air. It was a sob of relief, followed by a baby’s loud cry as someone smacked the child’s bottom.

Relief surged through him, and he bent over in his seat to bury his face in his hands. She’d survived. His beloved mouse had survived. Valeran sat still for several minutes absorbing the fact his wife had delivered their child safely. From the doorway, he heard his mother-in-law’s voice filled with happiness.

“You have a son, Lord Sommerville. A beautiful baby boy,” Lady Patience said softly. Quickly springing from his chair, Valeran dragged in a deep breath as Amalie’s mother stepped forward and placed his and his beloved mouse’s child in his arms. Crianlarich moved to stand next to Valeran and the instant the child wailed, the man chuckled.

“He’s got his mother’s temper, lad.”

The man’s words made Valeran smile before he saw Wills’s tall figure emerging from the bedroom. He couldn’t see the younger man’s face, but he was certain he was grinning just as he and Crianlarich were.

“Here, Val, let me take him. The wet nurse is waiting in the nursery, and I want a little time with this little fellow who clearly knows how to be difficult.”

“Amalie. Is she—”

“She had a really hard time of it, but she’s doing well. You can see her momentarily. My aunts and the midwife are making her more comfortable at the moment.”

Wills patted Valeran on the back then headed down the hallway toward the nursery. Anxious to see his wife, Valeran paced back and forth, eager to run his fingers over Amalie’s face to see for himself that she was all right. More than five minutes passed, when a soft commotion erupted inside the bedroom.

Voices filled with alarm streamed out into the hallway. Through waiting to see his wife, Valeran charged toward the bedroom door, then came to an abrupt halt. The moment he saw the large black stains around Amalie’s legs, his stomach twisted with nausea. The stains appeared to be growing in size, and Valeran’s chest constricted and forced the air out of his lungs. The bed sheets looked like a blood bath.

“Christ almighty,” he breathed.

Mouth dry with terror, Valeran pushed his way past several women, and knelt at Amalie’s bedside. Heart pounding, he reached for Amalie’s hand. It was cold as the ice on the pond outside, and his heart sank.

“I’m sorry, Val, the midwife says there’s nothing she can do.” Lady Lyndham’s voice filled with tears, Amalie’s aunt pressed her hand into his shoulder.

“Nothing…she can…do?” he rasped in confusion and bewilderment.

“She’s hemorrhaging, Val. We’re…we’re losing…her.”

Across from him, he saw Lady Patience bending over her daughter and caught the scent of the woman’s tears. A second later, his mother-in-law released a soft cry of pain, before she whirled around and threw herself into her husband’s embrace.

Dazed, Valeran stared at the couple for several seconds as his mother-in-law’s words slowly echoed in his head to become a cohesive thought. Amalie. Hemorrhaging. He was going to lose her. She was going to bleed to death, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

“Mouse,” he choked out squeezing her cold hand.

“I…love ye…cat.” Amalie’s words were so soft, he wasn’t sure he’d heard them, and Valeran squeezed her hand tighter.

“Don’t leave me, mouse,” he choked out.

One thought careened and collided into another until he could barely breathe, let alone think. He couldn’t lose her. What would he do without her? Had the an dara sealladh shown her this moment? Was that what had been driving her fear? She’d said she’d not wanted him to suffer as she had.

Throat clogged with tears, he tried to focus his thoughts. He couldn’t lose her. Not like this. Suddenly, as if it were a light piercing the darkness, Wills’s face filled his head. What was it the younger doctor had been talking about several weeks ago? Something about giving a patient blood. It was all he could remember about the conversation, but if there was a chance to save Amalie, her cousin would know how to do it.

Staggering to his feet, Valeran stumbled toward the door, pushing his way past the women in the room. He staggered into the hallway, blindly making his way toward the main staircase.

“Wills,” he roared in a voice that boomed off the corridor’s walls. “Wills, where the fuck are you? Amalie needs you. Now.”

Valeran was still shouting the young doctor’s name when he saw several dark shadows running toward him.

“What’s wrong?” Jamie exclaimed, followed by a chorus of voices demanding answers as well.

Valeran ignored the questions as his gaze settled on the tall, lean shadow running down the hall toward him. The instant Wills reached the rear of the small crowd, Valeran lunged forward. Fingers fumbling at the man’s coat, he found the lapels and dragged him past the others and toward his and Amalie’s bedroom.

“Damn it, Val, Will ye let go of me? Tell me what’s wrong.” Exasperated, Wills tugged free to run alongside Valeran.

“Do you remember telling Jamie a couple of weeks ago about that blood procedure you’d been reading about?”