Page 27 of Bride Takes a Laird (Highland Vows & Vengeance #2)

K endra waddled across the hall’s floor and reached the massive table in the center. “It is as beautiful as I remembered.” She stroked her hand along the gleaming wood and smiled. “I am gladdened the hawker hadn’t sold the table yet. My thanks, John, for arranging to have the men to bring it.” Many memories were linked to the table: times spent with her father learning sums, eating meals with him and her brother when they were young, and quiet nights spent sitting together as her father spoke of his travels. How she missed those precious moments.

“I am pleased to serve you, My Lady.” John stood near her and seemed apprehensive. “Shouldn’t you sit? I fear you’ll fall on your face.”

“Are you saying that I’m large?” She scrunched her eyes at the soldier in mirth because he hadn’t spoken falsely. She was as fat as a coo and just as slow. The girth at her waist encumbered her movement and she could barely walk.

“Ah, no, of course not, My Lady.” John’s face brightened.

“I jest, John, for ’tis true, I am as large as a coo. Just look at the size of me. I can bearly fit through the threshold.”

Linet entered the hall carrying a basket of bread. “What are you doing out of bed? Kendra, you’re supposed to be in confinement. Glorious God, you could’ve fallen down the steps. Am I going to have to watch you every moment of the day?”

Kendra smiled at her friend for her concern. “John helped me down the stairs and made certain that I didn’t fall. And nay, you don’t need to watch me.”

For his aid, John received a glare from his wife. Linet set the basket on the table and settled her hands on her hips. “What were you thinking, John? She shouldn’t have left her bed. Kendra, come along, we must get you back to your bedchamber.”

“It’s lonely there and I wish to stay here for a little while. When John told me the table had arrived, I had to see it for myself. I don’t know why you are making such a fuss.”

“Maybe it’s because you are near to birthing your babe? Or perhaps it’s because you can barely stand with the weight of that babe hunching your back? Am I the only one concerned that you’ll have this baby in the hall?”

Kendra loved Linet for her worrisome mood of late. “I have plenty of time, more than a month or so before the baby is expected. Now cease nagging me. I just wanted to see the table. Can you believe the hawker still had it? I can almost see my papa sitting at it as he’d always done.”

“I should think the hawker wouldn’t have sold it since no one could afford to purchase it. At least, none in these parts. Why do you not sit, at least, so I don’t worry. John is concerned as well for he is standing close to you and ready to catch you if he must.”

Kendra rounded the table and continued to press her hand on the cool wooden surface. She loved the old table and what it represented. It was endeared to her. There was nary a mark to blemish its surface and its shine remained even after years of use. “Oh, nay, I need the chamber pot again. I vow this baby is pushing down so hard. I have to pee. Help me, Linet?” She held out her arm for her friend to take.

“I’ll get the pot. You stay here,” Linet said and hurried behind the buttery where they had stored a chamber pot. Her friend was kind enough to put one in every room of the manor since she’d had difficulty making it to her bedchamber even months before.

“John, be gone, and let us give Kendra some privacy.”

John left after he inclined his head to her.

Kendra leaned on the table with the flat of her palms and drew a sharp breath. Her back ached furiously but she pressed herself upward and took a step toward Linet.

A noise came from the manor’s entry and Gilda rasped as she reached the hall’s threshold. “My Lady, you have a visitor. Ah, I think he must be your husband…” Gilda’s eyes widened and she waited for Kendra to acknowledge her.

“My husband? I doubt very much that he is my husband. What does he want?” Kendra disbelieved her because it was doubtful Magnus would come. She gave up hope long ago, many moons before, that she’d ever see him again. If he hadn’t bothered to answer any of her missives, why would he bother coming to see her?

“Ye,” Magnus said as he stepped around Gilda. “Ye, wife, I want ye. It took me long to get here, Kendra, but I have finally arrived…” He peered at her with a frown.

“You came. I…did not deem you would.” Kendra gasped as she felt a sharp pop deep inside her, and looked down at the floorboards at the puddle between her feet. “Linet, I…didn’t…make it.” A pain racked her back and she almost pitched forward. Embarrassed beyond belief, her face burned. She couldn’t hold back and moaned when another pain came and it was much stronger than the last.

Linet held out her arm. “Oh, Gracious Lord! You’ve lost your birthing waters. Agnes warned me that might happen. We need to get you in bed. Take hold of me and we shall get you back upstairs.”

“Birthing waters? What is going on here? Why are ye…? Are ye expecting a bairn? Ye appear to be—”

Kendra cut him off and held up her hand. “Do not speak it because I can only imagine what I appear to look like. Yes, I am expecting a bairn, Magnus, your bairn. Now move out of the way before I have this baby right here on the hall’s floor.” She huffed and tried to move around him but Magnus didn’t move and blocked her path.

He scooped her into his arms. “Sweetheart, why did ye not send me a missive telling me that ye were having a bairn?”

Kendra closed her eyes at the disappointed tone of Magnus’s voice. When she opened her eyes and took him in, she glared. “I did. I sent many missives, Magnus. I thought you ignored them or was…” She moaned and her body stiffened from the pain that wound its way up her spine. “Too busy to…respond. Pray, put me down, I can walk.”

“I do not deem ye can, sweetheart.” He shook his head and then leaned it against hers as he trudged up the steps. “What chamber is yours?”

She pointed at the door in the center of the hallway. “There. Did you?” Kendra panted lightly at the ache that slowly intensified.

“Did I what?”

Kendra drew in a sharp breath and clutched onto Magnus’s shoulders when a pain came upon her. When it eased, she drew breath through her nose. “Did you ignore my missives?”

“I never received any missives from ye. Had I done so, I would have come sooner.” Magnus reached the door and Linet rushed to open it for them. He turned sideways but even so, they barely fit through the opening. With light steps, he continued until he reached the bed and then set her gently upon it.

“Linet, you best fetch the midwife.” Kendra peered at her friend and tried to smile.

“I will have someone fetch Agnes and shall not leave you for a moment.” Linet pulled back the cover on the bed. “Worry not. I will take care of you.”

Kendra shifted to the side and waited for her friend to finish. “Honestly, Linet, I likely have plenty of time. Go on and fetch Mistress Agnes. I’ll be well enough until you return. ”

Magnus shot his gaze to Linet. “She’s having the bairn now?”

“Seems she is, Laird Cameron. Kendra, let me help you get settled and then I’ll go and fetch John to alert Mistress Agnes.” Linet pulled off one of her slippers but Magnus pressed her gently back with his arm.

“Linet, go and get the midwife and hurry. I’ll see to Kendra.”

Kendra wanted to call Linet back to her but her pains were coming quickly. She didn’t know what to say to Magnus and being alone with him brought on a strange trepidation. “I can settle myself, you need not bother.” She tried to lean forward to remove her other slipper but her wide girth prevented her from reaching her foot.

Magnus, with the gentleness of a lamb, removed her slipper. He turned and retrieved her nightdress. “Do you want to wear this?”

She nodded. Kendra shifted the material of her overdress so he could pull it over her head but it got stuck at her shoulders. Magnus pulled on the fabric and once she was free of it, he helped her redress in a light linen cotte.

“I missed ye and have so much to tell ye. Och , it’ll wait. What can I do?” Magnus pressed his hand on her cheek and she closed her eyes at the solace it brought to her.

“Nothing at the moment. Did you find Ned’s murderer?”

Magnus sat on the bedside and cupped her face with both his hands. He brushed his lips on hers, lightly touching hers with affectionate kisses. “I wanted to come to ye when I found out ye had left. I was sorry to hear of the passing of your da and wanted to be here to ease your mourning.”

Kendra lowered her chin and huffed as agonized pain seemed to paralyze her. She couldn’t speak but only moan. As much as she tried not to scream, her throat grew louder with each groan. The pains were stronger than she’d thought they’d be and she realized she might not be as courageous as she’d hoped to be.

“Easy, sweetheart. Take slow breaths. Grip my hand if ye need to.” Magnus continued to hold her and when the pain eased and her breath improved, he pulled back his head and gazed at her. “If I could take your pain, I would.”

She smiled at him and brushed his hair aside from his face. “I will bear it. It is my duty.”

His thumb grazed her cheek but his face remained serious. “Ye are a brave lass.”

Linet bustled into the chamber with Mistress Agnes following in her footsteps. The midwife appeared ready to take on the world. She smiled at her and gave a nod before setting her satchel on a nearby chair.

“My Lady Kendra, you be a little bit early but let us see where we are.” She approached the bed. “You, sir, must leave at once. Be gone.”

Kendra’s heart tensed. She wanted Magnus to stay and was about to say so, but when the midwife grumbled at her objection to him being there, she kept quiet.

Agnes stood on the other side of the bed and shook her head. “This is no place for a man. You must leave. Go on. She’s in safe hands with me. I have delivered many a baby.”

“Don’t leave, Magnus. Please, stay at least until I have the baby.” She drew a deep breath and moaned when another wave of pain returned.

“I am not leaving,” Magnus said in a gruff tone. “I’ll await in the hall. Linet, send for me the moment I’m able to return.” He leaned close and whispered in her ear, “Be strong, be brave, my love.” With a light kiss to her face, he rose, turned, and left the bedchamber.

Kendra wiped at the tears in her eyes. Magnus had come and that alone made her weepy. She pressed back against the mattress when an intense pain forced her to yell. After it had passed, she whispered, “Linet, if I die…”

“You will not die.” Linet sidled to the bed and grabbed her hand. She clasped it and Kendra squeezed it with force. “Speak no such nonsense. Now hold on, my friend, and we shall see this through together. Let Agnes see what’s what.”

Agnes bade Linet to help her remove her nightdress. Kendra lay back and continued to moan. She clutched the bedding so tightly that her fingers dug into her palms. “I cannot do this because I am a coward. Please…” She moaned with such force that it turned into a growl.

Linet shifted her face so she would look at her. Kendra groaned louder and tried to breathe, but it was difficult. “You are not a coward, Kendra. Mistress Agnes will tell you what to do and you will listen to her direction.”

Kendra hastily wiped the tears that fell over her eyelashes. “I shall try… Aye, I will.”

“Your baby does not want to wait. It shouldn’t be too long now for he is coming fast.” Agnes remained at the end of the bed and rolled two blankets and shifted them beneath her knees. “This will help ease your back pain.”

“I cannot breathe. Open the window, Linet. I need air.” Kendra tried not to scream when the next pain came, so she gritted her teeth and groaned furiously.

“Nay, do not open that window,” Agnes said when she looked up. “We cannot risk evil spirits coming inside the chamber when the baby is born for it could enter the child.”

“I do not believe such nonsense,” Kendra said and tilted her head for Linet to open the window. “Open it, please, just for a moment or two. I need air.”

“’Tis cold out,” Linet said as a gush of cold air rushed through the window when she opened the shutter. “That’s enough for now.” She quickly closed it and went to the basin. When she returned to her, Linet put a cool cloth on her forehead. “That’s it. You’re doing well. Is she not a brave woman, Agnes?”

Agnes kept her focus between her legs and didn’t respond to Linet’s question. “I can see the baby’s head. When you wish to, push, My Lady, push with all your might.”

Kendra gripped the bedcovers, Linet’s hand, and squeezed her eyes shut. She bore down and pushed with all her strength. Rumbling in her throat rose and her breath hitched. She forced her mouth closed and squeezed her eyes shut. A moment later, she heard the sound of a wail and she opened her eyes.

“Oho, a little lad, My Lady. He appears to be healthy.” Agnes swooped the baby into her arms and wrapped him in a cover. “Lay still until I return to you and then we’ll get you cleaned up.” She took the baby and appeared to be cleaning him. She wiped his skin and smiled. “’Tis a handsome fellow, My Lady. You did well.”

Kendra’s eyes widened as she waited to see her baby. But then another pain came and she huffed. “Something is wrong… I feel it.”

Linet hurried to Agnes and took the baby from her. She cooed at the baby and gently rocked him. “What is happening? Why is she still having pains?”

Kendra flailed her legs until Agnes rushed back to her and lifted the bedcover. She pushed her legs apart and held her still. Kendra thought something terrible was happening and that she might succumb to the pain. She felt weakened and gasped for breath.

Agnes’s eyes rose and she pursed her lips before speaking. “Oho, there is another babe. I can see the head breaching you, My Lady. Take easy breaths and when you are ready, bear down.”

Kendra thought she’d expire from the pain but she did as the midwife instructed and took slow breaths, almost panting from her exertion. She felt the intensity of the pain building and when it became unbearable, she pushed, grunting with all her effort. Agnes stayed seated with her head practically between her knees.

“I cannot do this,” she said and huffed. “Make it cease.” Kendra moaned and didn’t think she could continue to push. Fear lodged in her throat and it overtook her will. She eased back and raised her chin. With her gaze on the ceiling, a sob caught in her throat. She cried and wept with a moan, knowing she’d failed. Exhaustion overrode her ability to heed the midwife and even so, she thrashed about the bed when the pains swarmed her lower back and legs.

Linet approached the bed and sat on the small space next to her. “Kendra, look at your son. Focus on him, for he’s a sweet lad. When the next pain comes, do your best. See him? Does he not look like his father?”

Kendra shifted her head to the side and peered at the baby. Tears rolled from her eyes and she sobbed at the sight of him. He did look like Magnus with a dark head of hair. She couldn’t tell what his eyes looked like but they were dark. He was magnificent and winsome. Her heart burst with love for him and she wanted desperately to hold him.

When the pain came, she bore down and tried not to scream. It was close, though, and she bellowed loud enough to shake the rafters. Before she could catch her breath, her daughter entered the world and screeched like a hellion.