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He moved his head slightly, ears picking up something my own couldn’t hear. “Esme wants to know if she can come in. She says she might be able to help.”

Evie let out another blood-curdling scream. I knew the pain was serious because Evie was the stoic type. Even as a toddler, she’d pressed her lips together and refused to cry when getting vaccinated. I nodded vigorously. “Yes. Sure. Please.”

Esme hurried in, and I could see concern all over her face. Gods bless friends who love our children. She came straight to Evie. Diarmuid was on one side. Not wanting to displace the dad, I moved to give her access and space.

“Well then, girl,” Esme told Evie. “Take heart. Females have been helping females bring young into the world from the beginning of time. All will be well.” While she was talking, she was pulling a pendant necklace free from where it had been stowed out of sight between her breasts. “Look at this.”

She held the multifaceted crystal by its cord so that it spun in the air near Evie’s face. The facets caught the various lights and colors in the room and dazzled like a disco ball. In seconds, Evie’s features relaxed, she slumped a little, and appeared calm.

“There it is, dear heart,” Esme said quietly. “Stay there in that quiet place until Rhiannon is ready to join us.”

I heard a thump. Diarmuid had fallen to the floor and appeared to be sleeping. It seemed he’d been accidentally hypnotized second-hand. Probably just as well.

“I will not go to sleep. I will not go to sleep. I will not go to sleep.” I chanted out loud, but not loud enough to disturb Evie.

A small pop and inverted air pressure accompanied the arrival of a woman who looked like she’d breezed into Central Casting to audition for the role of Mary Poppins.

No umbrella, but she did have a large black leather bag.

Like Julie Andrews and Emily Blunt, at the time of filming the movies, she was young and beautiful.

With practiced haste, she removed her hat and jacket. With a nod to Esme, she said, “Release her. I need to communicate.”

Esme immediately withdrew the pendant and said, “Evangeline. Talk to your midwife.”

Evie’s face resumed a mask of pain. “Hurts,” was all she said.

The midwife turned to me. “Who are you?”

“Her mother,” I replied.

“You and you…” She indicated Esme and me. “… can stay. Everybody else out.” With a glance at Diarmuid, she added, “He can stay.”

Keir squeezed my arm, then disappeared behind the priceless Chinese screens that formed a makeshift barrier with.

I stood a few steps away. Close enough that Evie could see me, but far enough not to be in the way.

After a minute of assessment, the midwife said, “Help me get her up.” Esme went to one side of the chaise lounge. I went to the other, being careful not to step on Diarmuid. “I need her to stand. She can lean on the back of this…” Without naming the furniture, she left an impression of disapproval.

Esme screamed again as we pulled her to her feet.

What happens to a mom’s body when she hears her child scream is indescribable.

It’s as if every cell stands at attention and pricks the nervous system.

I hurt all over, but didn’t mind. Somehow, it felt better to be sharing in the distress in some lesser way.

We managed to get Evie to walk three steps, then lean over the back of the chaise lounge.

When I realized Esme was dabbing at my face and chest with a dinner napkin, it took a few seconds for my addled brain to grasp that tears were pouring out of my eyes and onto the bare skin above the strapless gown.

“Thank you,” I told her at the same time the midwife said, “SHE’S HERE!!!”

Once Evie was maneuvered into a work-with-gravity position, Rhiannon came sliding out like she was onboard for a day at the water park.

With a triumphant smile, the midwife held my granddaughter up, then did a little fae magic to clean her up and dress her in soft pink swaddling.

Even though labor and delivery had been fast by human standards, Evie looked exhausted.

Still, she had enough energy to “wish” herself and the furniture clean like new.

She then re-dressed herself in a red plaid robe, cinched at the waist with a long swing skirt, topped by a priceless choker with five rows of pink pearls.

Though she looked immeasurably tired, she was immaculate.

She held out her arms for Rhiannon and promptly unswaddled her to check the number of fingers and toes. After snuggling with her baby for a couple of minutes and delivering more kisses than could be counted, she promptly went to sleep.

After taking the baby from her, in seconds, I’d settled into the transcendent experience of holding a newborn.

My first grandchild. She was warm, pliant, smelling like a person fresh from heaven.

I’d forgotten just how special new babies can be.

I bent at the waist and pressed her against my shoulder before standing up. Some things are never forgotten.

Diarmuid was still passed out. I wondered if we should wake him, but decided to let him come out of it on his own.

Knowing he’d hear me without raising my voice, I said, “Keir. You can come in now.”

He moved a screen just enough to squeeze past and joined me with a huge grin. “The new accessory looks good on you.”

I chuckled. “Right? I’m thinking about kidnapping her and running away.”

“You could try, but I guarantee the leader of the Wild Hunt has the wherewithal to track you down,” he said.

“You’re probably right.” I rocked back and forth on my feet. “Where did you take John David?”

“Bulgaria.”

Okaaaay. I admit that’s like the last thing I expected to hear. “Excuse me? Did you say Bulgaria?”

“I did. Yes.”

“Is there by any chance an English town by the name of Bulgaria?”

“The country.”

I blinked. “Okay. First, how did you get there so fast?”

“EVIE!!!” Diarmuid sat straight up, looking panicked.

The shout woke her. “Right here, love,” she said quietly. “Our baby is beautiful.”

“Our baby?” he asked like he hadn’t known one was coming. As his eyes began clearing, he looked around the room, but stopped when he saw I wasn’t alone. He popped to his feet and was in front of me in an instant.

“Here you go, pops,” I said. I started to hand her over, but when he took an anxious step backward, I realized he didn’t know what to do. “Look. Cradle her with your forearm like this, and be sure you support her head like this.”

He mimicked my instructions perfectly and accepted his daughter for the first time. “Is she…?”

“Perfect?” I asked. “More than.”

Rhiannon awakened during the transfer and stared up at Diarmuid with big blue intelligent eyes like she was determining whether or not he would do. Then her perfect little cherub mouth formed an “o”.

All the people who’d crowded round to witness the event laughed. She was already a charmer.

“She’s so…” Diarmuid began, but words failed him.

“Perfect?” I asked again.

“Aye. She’s so perfect.” It was a word in danger of overuse, but no other description was as perfect. Diarmuid’s smile said nothing about being king could ever hold a candle to being a dad.

I walked around to the king’s front so that I could show him how to put Rhiannon safely on his shoulder. Once she was safely balanced, conforming to his body as only newborns can, he started to relax and soon looked like he knew what he was doing.

“Evie. Are you alright?” he asked.

She was already asleep again. I looked at the midwife for confirmation.

“Yes, Your Highness,” she told him. “The queen is well.” After buttoning her jacket, she closed the last clasp on her bag. “You’ll get my bill,” she said, and then she was gone, leaving no trace that she’d ever been there.

“I guess we should tell my mother,” Diarmuid said.

I’d hoped for a little longer without the Maeve show, but it wasn’t my call. With a sigh, I left the room, taking Keir with me.

“Now then,” I said. “About John David.”

“I guess you want me to go get him?”

“That would be nice. We can talk about how he got to Bulgaria on the way home.”

“Okay.”

All the guests who’d been milling about the first-floor rooms, waiting for the advent of the next generation of Irish royalty, were wondering what to do next.

“HEY EVERYBODY!” When I was sure I had the attention of all the party goers, I said, “The king and queen have a perfectly beautiful daughter named Rhiannon. And. I’m afraid the party’s over. Please make your way to the exit and commend your thanks to our host at another time.”

As I was heading toward the stairs, I thought I heard the phrase “dark princess”. Not liking the sound of that one bit, I turned around, sought out Esme, and pulled her aside. “What is this about a dark princess?”

“Dark princess?” When she looked at me, I saw understanding on her face and braced myself for some kind of bad news.

“No. It’s not what you’re thinking, Rita.

They’re referring to the Solstice birth.

It’s a sacred portent of things to come.

From fae perspective, it’s not a bad thing. More like a prophecy. The good kind.”

“Oh.” Did this mean I was going to worry about my grandchild as much as I always had about Evie? I guess grandparenthood comes with downsides, too. “Alright.”

I climbed to the second story and found the band waiting.

“Well,” I told the conductor, “things didn’t go the way we’d planned, but look at it this way. You’ll still get paid.” With a glance at the other musicians, I said, “Pack up and head out.”

They didn’t need to be told twice. They’d done so many gigs that breaking down fast was second nature. Getting paid without working was like getting a bonus.

By the time I’d returned to the first level, I knew Maeve had arrived. There was a level of excitement, for good or bad, that followed her like a shadow.

After a big, fortifying breath, I returned to the drawing room. Maeve spared me a glance, but not a hello.