Page 23 of A Very Bookish Murder (Ally McKinley Mystery #3)
EIGHTEEN
Ally had rarely seen the earl agitated. She had seldom seen Hamish Sinclair as anything other than somewhat debonair, suave and firmly in control, so the wide-eyed, tousle-haired wreck who greeted them in the Great Hall came as something of a surprise.
‘They’re coming, they’re coming,’ he exclaimed as he led them up to the large first-floor bedroom, where a writhing Magda was sweating and swearing like a trooper.
‘Oh God!’ she yelled when she saw Ally. ‘Tell him to get some towels and hot water!’ Her body racked again, and she shouted lustily.
Hamish appeared to be rooted to the spot with sheer terror. Ally took his arm, turned him towards the door and ordered him to find some clean towels and boil lots of water.
‘Towels?’ he asked, looking around vaguely.
Ally realised then that Hamish had probably little or no idea where anything was kept.
‘Where are Mrs Fraser and Mrs Jamieson?’ she asked, referring to the housekeeper and the cook, just as Magda emitted a further shriek.
‘In bed, I expect,’ he said. ‘But I didn’t think to call them because they’ve not had children and?—’
‘At least they’d know where the bloody towels are kept!’ Ally exclaimed. ‘And they’d get some water boiling!’
‘I’ll wake them,’ Ross said. ‘I think I know where their quarters are – at the back, on the ground floor?’
Hamish nodded mutely. He turned to Ally. ‘There’s two of them, you see. Babies.’
‘Yes, I’m aware of that, Hamish. Let’s just concentrate on one for the moment.’ Ally pulled a chair up and sat down next to Magda, who was bracing herself for the next contraction.
‘Will they come together?’ Hamish asked anxiously, and Ally wondered how one man, well into his seventies, could be so completely ignorant.
‘No, Hamish, they won’t come out arm in arm, if that’s what you mean.
They’ll come out one at a time,’ Ally retorted, praying that someone would come with some towels soon because these births were looking imminent.
Why hadn’t she insisted that Hamish wake up the two women, because she really wanted Ross to be with her now?
After all, Magda was having twins , for God’s sake!
Ross came back into the room. ‘How are things progressing?’ he asked.
‘I’m not too sure because I’ve never been down this end before!’ Ally said. ‘Come and have a look.’
Ross sat down and took Magda’s hand. ‘Don’t you worry,’ he said, ‘you’re doing fine. And I can’t tell you how many little ones I’ve brought into this world. They might not have been baby boys, but all newborns arrive in very much the same way!’
At that moment, Mrs Fraser stumbled in, in her dressing gown and slippers, with an armful of pristine white towels.
‘We got lots of water comin’ on to boil,’ she said, glaring at Hamish.
‘Have ye never once noticed the airing cupboard?’ she asked him, but any reply was drowned out by another ear-shattering screech.
Ross turned to Mrs Fraser. ‘Could you possibly go back down to the kitchen and put a pair of sharp scissors into a jug of boiling water? And find some bag clips.’
‘Bag clips?’ she asked, looking at him as if he was mad.
‘Bag clips,’ he repeated. ‘We’ll need them for the cords.’
Hamish was now fussing over his wife, wiping her brow and murmuring words of comfort which were completely inaudible due to Magda’s yelling and swearing. Ally was impressed with her considerable vocabulary of profanities.
Hamish was on the phone again. ‘Still no reply from the doctor,’ he said.
Ross nodded. ‘Magda. It’s time for you to push.’
‘Push! Push, Magda!’ Ally shouted. ‘Come on! Give it everything you’ve got.’
‘I’m too tired!’ wailed Magda. ‘I’m bloody done!’
‘No, you’re not! Come on! Push hard – now!’ Ally grasped Magda’s hand tightly.
‘I can’t do this any more!’ Magda shouted, tears running down her cheeks, then screamed as another contraction racked her body.
‘Yes, yes, you damn well can!’ Ross shouted back. ‘Come on, Magda – push ! I think I can see the baby’s head. Nearly there, Magda! Another push!’
‘I can’t!’
‘Yes, you can!’ Ally helped her to lean forward a little, watched by Mrs Fraser, standing agog, never having experienced anything of this nature before.
Hamish was standing alongside her staring at his son slowly coming into the world, and Ally could hear Ross speaking soothing words of encouragement to Magda.
At that moment, the first heir to the earldom of Locharran for more than seventy years slid into the world with a lusty yell.
‘Och, you’re managing just fine,’ said Ross, looking from Magda to Ally. ‘Now, let’s see what the other wee chap’s doing in there.’
Ally had wrapped the firstborn in a towel and laid the baby on Magda’s breast. She wondered if Hamish was up for cutting the umbilical cord. He was staring in awe at his tiny son, and then appeared horrified as Ross handed him the scissors. ‘Come on, Hamish – it’s your son!’
Hamish suddenly awoke from his stupor. He picked up the scissors and did as he was told. There was a further shout from Magda, and the second baby boy entered the world.
They both seemed perfectly healthy and extremely noisy. It was at that moment that they heard the ambulance arrive, and shortly, two paramedics came rushing into the room.
Ross, who fortunately thought about such things, had noted the time of their births as 12.31 and 12.48 a.m. and given the information to the paramedics.
Mrs Fraser was in tears, and Ally realised she was crying too. There was something about the miracle of birth that was so emotive. Hamish was fussing around Magda who, sitting up with a towel-wrapped baby in each arm, was now looking ecstatic.
Hamish had found his voice again after being rendered speechless by the whole experience.
‘We must give them names!’ he exclaimed. ‘Ross, you helped to deliver my first son, so you must choose a name.’
Ross shrugged. ‘I think you and Magda must choose, Hamish. They are the heirs, after all, so a suitable name has to be found.’
‘No, Ross, and you too, Ally,’ Magda said, never taking her eyes off her two babies. ‘You helped me so much, and I would like you to choose a name each, please.’
‘Whew! I don’t know…’ Ross said.
‘What’s the name of your late son?’ Hamish asked.
Ally realised that Ross, too, suddenly appeared to be on the verge of tears. He seemed to be finding it hard to speak. ‘Alan,’ he whispered.
‘That’s a lovely idea, Ross,’ Ally said. ‘Alan would be a good name.’
Ross nodded wordlessly.
‘That’s decided then; and, Ally, what was the name of your husband? Or your son?’ Hamish asked.
‘Well, my husband was Ken, and my son is James,’ Ally replied.
‘Kenneth! That’s a grand Scottish name!’ said Hamish. ‘Kenneth James Sinclair!’
‘And I like William because it was my grandfather’s name,’ said Magda, ‘and I would like the second one to be William Alan.’
The midwife arrived, smiling and declaring, ‘Hello, I’m Katy. Looks like you’ve done just fine without me though.’ With that, she withdrew some scales from her bag. ‘Let’s see what these handsome wee boys weigh.’
The babies, yelling at being exposed to the elements, were weighed. Kenneth James Sinclair weighed exactly six pounds and four ounces, and his brother, William Alan, was just one pound less. Both were pronounced healthy and to be an excellent size for twins, despite their early arrival.
Ally didn’t sleep a wink. The enormity of what she’d witnessed – the birth of two healthy babies who were heirs to the earldom, after all these years!
Hamish’s banker cousin in London who, until now, had been the only heir, would be feeling pretty choked when he found out, and his wife even more so.
Ally hadn’t liked either of them when she’d met them in the past, and, more importantly, the earl didn’t like them much either.
And what would Ken, her late husband, and James, her son, think about having the Honourable Kenneth James Sinclair named after them?
Ally’s thoughts turned to Ross, who was doing a fair amount of tossing and turning, probably thinking about Alan, the son he’d lost years ago, now remembered forever in the middle name of the Honourable William Alan Sinclair.
Katy, the midwife, had dealt with everything promptly and efficiently and promised to come back in the morning.
Goodness only knew how Magda would cope overnight – or what was left of it.
When Ally had last seen her, she was sitting up, her eyes shining as she fed both babies at once.
Hamish, meanwhile, had seemed absolutely stunned by the whole procedure.
At five o’clock, Ally gave up on the idea of sleep and decided she might as well get up. To her surprise, Ross got up too.
‘I think I dozed off a couple of times,’ he said, yawning, ‘but that was all.’
‘I didn’t even manage that,’ Ally said, ‘because my mind kept buzzing.’
‘It was quite a night,’ Ross agreed.
‘A moment in history!’ Ally exclaimed. ‘And you were fantastic.’
‘Well, I’ve seen a few mammals give birth in my time,’ he said with a grin.
‘And do you know what was really nice?’ Ally asked.
‘I’ve got a feeling you’re going to tell me!’ Ross was struggling into his jeans.
‘It’s particularly apt that these boys have been born up there, in the castle, the ancestral seat, and not in some soulless maternity clinic somewhere.’
Ross nodded. ‘She was extremely lucky, Ally. I mean Magda was getting on a bit to be a first-time mother.’
‘No older than I was,’ Ally reminded him.
‘Maybe, but you had one at a time over a couple of years! Don’t forget she’s delivered two good-sized, healthy boys in one go with the minimum of fuss.’
‘You’re right,’ Ally agreed. ‘She’s obviously designed for this. I wonder how many more she might produce!’ Ally laughed. ‘All I have to produce now is breakfast!’