only a mile from the house. We’ll get there before the babe comes.”
Her gaze met his. “Lionel, you aren’t understanding me. The babe is coming now.”
He blinked at her. “She can’t.”
She tipped her head to the side, her eyes nearly closing until they were mere slits. “I’ve done this before. I think I know when my babe is about to be born.”
Of course she did. As much as he wanted his child born under a roof, he knew that children did whatever they damn well pleased.
“What do you want me to do?” Fear and anxiety gripped him so hard he could barely breathe.
“The blanket, please.” She had to work to get the words out as she endured a lasting pain. Lines grooved into her forehead, and her lips paled.
Lionel grabbed it from where it had fallen when he’d swept her into his arms. “What do I do with it?”
“Bunch it... up.” She exhaled long and loud. “Put it behind me.”
The bark had to be hard against her back. Blast, he should have realized that. He did his best to make a giant pillow of sorts then leaned her forward to place it behind her. Gently, he guided her backward so that she was propped up.
She readjusted her position, moving her backside down and parting her legs as she planted her feet on the ground. “You’re going to have to guide him out.”
He noted that she referred to the babe as a he but decided this was not the time to engage in an argument. Dropping to his knees, he lifted the hems of her skirts, pushing them up to her knees. Right away, he saw the top of the babe’s head. He’d seen this before, but there’d been a doctor present! And Emmaline had been inside! On a bed!
Lionel swallowed and eased forward so he was between her calves. He steeled himself for what would come next. There would be liquid and yelling and, he prayed, a babe’s cry.
“I need a hand!” Emmaline growled.
“I’m helping,” Lionel said.
She pulled her skirts back until her thighs were completely exposed.
“To hold!” she yelled.
Lionel looked at the groom, who’d stood back and frankly looked as if he wanted to disappear into the ground. “Come hold her hand, please.” Silently, he pleaded with the man to swallow his discomfort and be a source of help and comfort.
Thankfully, the groom hastened to Emmaline’s side. He was careful to avert his gaze from her exposed lower half as he took her hand. Emmaline instantly squeezed it so hard his fingers turned white.
“Sorry about that,” Lionel murmured, knowing from experience how fierce his wife’s grip was.
Emmaline cried out and bore down, her face turning red. Liquid rushed from her as the babe’s head came free. Lionel clasped the warm, wet scalp as emotion barreled into his throat. He held it back. Later he would give in, but now he needed to focus completely.
“The head is free,” he said.
There was a moment of respite as Emmaline drew deep breaths, and the groom’s hand regained its flow of blood. Then she groaned as she pushed again, this time freeing the babe’s shoulders.
The sound of the next cart brought welcome relief, but Lionel didn’t take his eyes from his child. He held onto her slick body gently but securely.
“Oh my god! Everyone stay in the cart.” It was Fanny. “David, fetch a blanket for the babe.”
Lionel glanced up at Emmaline’s face and saw the relief in her gaze just before she tightened once more, her body bearing down as she pushed the child from her body.
Clasping the small babe, Lionel stared at the perfect form, red and wrinkled, and very much what he’d predicted: a girl. She did not cry. Instead, her blue eyes were wide as they took in the world around her. She looked as amazed as he felt to have welcomed her to the world beneath a tree along the side of the road.
“We have another daughter, my love.” His emotion was unstoppable this time, his voice breaking over the endearment.
“Of course you were right,” Emmaline’s voice held humor and love, despite her ordeal.
“We have nothing to cut the cord,” Fanny said softly, half in question and half in worry.
“I know,” Emmaline said. “Swaddle her, and I’ll carry her back to the house. Lionel promised we were close.”
“I didn’t promise,” he said, unable to stop staring at his daughter even as Fanny began to wrap her in the too-large blanket. Lionel pulled off his coat and used it