Page 68 of Bride Takes a Laird

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. Hedidlook 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.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Magnus’s breath formeda cloud of mist. He couldn’t stay inside the manor and listen to his wife’s screams. He needed to distract himself from the plight Kendra was going through. On his walk about in the courtyard, he trailed along a waist-high stone wall. Stars speckled the night sky and a shimmer swathed the darkness.

He wasn’t pleased to see the essence of the heavens because it reminded him that childbirth was a dangerous business. He prayed that God wouldn’t call Kendra home and that she wasn’t taken from him. Then he prayed to the Goddess Flora, for she would protect his wife. Magnus was being selfish and prayed to both deities—he couldn’t lose her. He needed Kendra because his life would be meaningless without her.

Why hadn’t he realized that until now?

A woman emerged from the manor and hurried toward him. He turned to face her, his heart thumping in his throat. “Ah, Laird Cameron, there you are. I’m Gilda, Linet’s mama, and the maidservant to my lady Kendra. We met briefly when you arrived.” She bowed slightly and smiled when she raised her face to his.

She didn’t look like she had bad tidings to share. He took a deep breath because, he discovered, he’d forgotten to breathe. “Good eve, Mistress.”

“I do not deem we have long to wait for Kendra was well into herpains. Seems your bairn wants to enter this world and is hasty.” So she had no tidings at all, really.

Magnus nodded absently, hoping what she said was true. The thought of Kendra suffering tensed every part of him. He wished he could be there with her, supporting her, and assuring her.

“Are you hungry? I thought you might want a bite of supper?”

“Nay, I couldn’t eat right now, but my thanks.”

Gilda stepped beside him. “Do you mind if I walk with you? ’Tis the truth, I could do with a bit of air and to keep my mind occupied. I fear that I am as worried as you be.”

He slowed his pace so the elder woman could keep up with him. “Do ye know how Kendra fares? Has Linet given a report? I am impatient for news.”

Gilda shook her head. “None have left the chamber as yet, and I am certain you must be anxious to meet your baby. Agnes, the midwife, is skilled and has delivered many babies. Your wife is in good hands. My lady Kendra also has Linet with her. I thought it best to give them room to do their duty and I ensured clean cloths and freshly heated water were made and readied. I heard Kendra though for she’s bearing the pain well.”

“I cannot bear that she’s in pain.”

She clicked her tongue and shifted to gaze at him. “You must love her to have such concern. I too cannot bear it for Kendra has been akin to a daughter to me.”

Magnus nodded and couldn’t hold back his grin. He held out his arm for Gilda to take because he didn’t want the servant to trip in the dark. “Kendra is unlike any woman I’ve ever beheld. When did she learn to be a steward?”

Gilda chuckled lightly. “Ah, so she has shown that side of herself to you? I have known Kendra since the day she was born. A few years after her mama passed, she asked her da to teach her counting and sums. It was her way of getting him to spend time with her. I fear thatshe was a lonely lass what with her da being away and her brother as well. She did what she could to spend time with them.”

“So she had more than one purpose for learning sums?”

“Indeed, aye. Kendra usually has more than one purpose for anything she does. When her da became ill, she sold almost all the manor’s possessions to find a cure for him. She used all the wealth and hired healers, bought potions, and even communed with mages and paid for them to cast spells to take away her da’s ailment. But it was all for naught.”

“Is that why Lord Graham accepted coins from Lord Heatherington for Kendra’s hand?”

“Ah, so ye know about that too? Nay, Lord Graham wasn’t in his right mind and would never have accepted Heatherington’s offer had he been so. He wouldn’t give Kendra to the knave but he must have taken the coins and misunderstood. Unfortunately, he lost the coins before Kendra could return them. She searched everywhere for them and finally found the coins and is now intent on returning the manor to its former glory. She despaired over it and tried to repay Heatherington but he said the debt had already been paid. Kendra didn’t say so to me, but I assume you had something to do with that?”

Magnus wished Kendra had spoken to him about the missing coins. He could have eased her worry over it. “Aye, I gladly repaid the debt for her.”

Gilda clung to his arm and peered ahead as she spoke, “You allowed Kendra to repair the manor and restore it. She’s very pleased about that.”

“It is a bonny home.” Magnus hadn’t ever seen such a small manor home like Kendra’s. It had a grandness about it and yet held charm.

“Kendra worked herself to weariness tending to the manor after her brother left to go lend his sword to the English. She was alone, left to bear the responsibility when Aston went off to war. He needn’t have gone, but he had wanderlust in his heart and in his feet. Still, thatleft Kendra to look after her da. She wouldn’t allow us to help her. It was not only disheartening for her but also taxing. She took care of him when he ailed and ensured all those within the manor had enough food. We are devoted to my lady for her kindness and devotion.”

“Aye, as I said, Mistress, she is an incredible woman.”

“It does this old heart good to hear you proclaim such.” Gilda tapped her chest. “She was distraught when you didn’t come. But now you are here and I hope you mend her broken heart.”