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CHAPTER28

Nearly nine months later.

Slayer plowed through the snow,nearly half a foot having fallen since last night. He silently berated himself for not listening to his own warnings. He did not care if his wife wasn’t due to deliver their bairn for another month, he wanted Mother Abbess here in case anything happened sooner, but Sky had thought it unnecessary. After all, her two sisters would arrive in a week to be here for the birth. Elsie’s son, barely a month old, would be with her and Cavell. And though Leora was two months away from delivering her first bairn, there was no stopping her from attending Sky’s delivery.

Yet who had been right about Mother Abbess arriving early… he was. A lot of good it would do him now with this snowstorm. There was no way Mother Abbess would be able to travel here now and possibl;y not even her sisters.

He practically flew up the steps and into the Great Hall and stopped abruptly when he spotted his wife, her hand braced on a table, bent over, rubbing her back, and grimacing.

“Bloody hell!” Slayer cried out and rushed to his wife, having received word while in the village seeing that everyone would be safe from the storm that she had started labor.

Sky leaned back against him when his arm wrapped around her, and her hand shifted to rub her stomach.

“Now what do we do without Mother Abbess?” he asked, feeling utterly helpless and not liking it.

“Women have been having bairns with the help of other women for ages. We will do just fine,” Euniss said. “Besides, I have sent for her Aunt Ruth. She helped your mum deliver Sky and many other bairns. Now she will help Sky deliver her bairn. Now get your wife to her bedchamber.”

Slayer glared at Euniss but lifted his wife gently into his arms.

“You can berate me later for dictating to you. The only thing that matters now is your wife,” Euniss said.

“I would much rather see you smile on this day,” Sky said with a tender smile of her own as her husband carried her up the stairs.

“When it is over and I see that you and our bairn are well I will smile,” he said, letting his worry be known. Her mum had died giving birth to Sky. He did not want that to happen to his wife.

“I will be fine,” she assured him.

Her confident remark, however, did nothing to ease his worry.

“Nay, not the bed. Not yet,” Sky said when he went to place her on it. “I want to walk a bit yet.” She rubbed her arms after he placed her on her feet. “It is chilly in here. Can you stoke the fire?”

He wondered if she was truly cold or if she was keeping him busy so he would not worry, but when he saw her shiver, he hurried to add logs to the hearth and get the room warmer.

His arms went around her again once he was done, knowing it would not be long before he was chased out of the room. She shivered again and he realized the problem.

“You are fearful,” he said softly.

“A bit,” she admitted, “but it is not the birth itself I fear.”

“Then what?” he asked anxiously.

“What if I deliver a lass with eyes like mine?” she asked. “The first lass to be born in my family to one like me is doomed to the same fate.”

Slayer went to dismiss her fears, letting her know it would make no difference but realized she knew what life could be like for their daughter if she was born with two different colored eyes.

“I would say it doesn’t matter but I know it does to you. But look how different things are for you now. The clan has come to know you and they care for you. No one turns their back on you. No one refuses to talk with you. When travelers or merchants stop here and dare make a disparaging remark about your eyes, the clan is quick to defend you. Our child will be well-loved and accepted by the clan and that will become known throughout the Highlands, unlike how the color of your eyes had to be kept hidden. Besides, do you really think anyone would go against a Gallowglass warrior and not just one. Our daughter would have a whole army behind her.”

“You promised you would not fight as many battles now that you lead the clan,” she reminded, the thought of him riding into battle terrifying her.

“I promised, but I told you that there may be times I cannot avoid that, but I will do my best.” Slayer kissed her cheek. “I love you, Sky, and I will love our daughter just as much. So, there is nothing for you to fear.”

“Nothing to fear? Of course, she is going to be fearful. She is about to endure a whole lot of pain,” Euniss said, entering the room and Ruth following in behind her. “Now go and leave us women to our work.”

Another pain struck Sky and she grabbed her husband’s arm tightly, trying to breathe through it.

Once again Slayer felt helpless, keeping hold of her, the only thing he knew what to do.

When the pain finally passed, Sky managed to smile at him.