step a massive effort. He had never felt so useless. If this child was ever born, he’d never touch her again.
“It will be easier with the next baby,” Maris said, causing Reyn to stumble.
“Planning a large family, are you?” Mrs. Lynch asked.
“Yes.”
“No!” Reyn growled.
“At least one more after this. We wouldn’t want him or her to get lonely.” Maris gave him a watery smile.
“You are impossible, wife.”
“So you have told me. Oh! Oh!”
Reyn panicked at her sharp intake of breath, but Mrs. Lynch smiled. “Ah, well done, Mrs. Durant. We’ve started up again. Just a few more turns around the room and I’ll have you get back into the bed and sit up. Captain, plump those pillows and give her your hand to squeeze. Don’t be surprised if she breaks some bones, and anyway, you have another hand, don’t you?”
Reyn shut his eyes so he wouldn’t see Maris’s mouth twist in pain. The contractions were steady now, and very close together. Maris went back to groaning, then screaming. Mrs. Lynch murmured encouraging words, directing Betsy, who had been making herself small in a corner of the bedroom, to help her.
He would never forgive himself if something happened to his wife.
They had been married by special license by Mr. Swift, who was somewhere downstairs with Ginny and Miss Holley, probably not partaking of any brandy while they waited. It had been a quiet wedding in the gated garden of Hazel Grange, with only their servants and his sister as witnesses. Neither Reyn nor Maris cared what the neighbors had thought of the sudden, scandalous union. In time, the gossip would die down and people might even forget that Maris was ever a countess.
Reyn had no idea yet what they’d tell a son or daughter. He only hoped he’d be equal to the task once the time was right.
The Durants had decided to make their home at Hazel Grange. Once Ginny was married to her vicar, the Swifts were welcome to live at Merrywood, if they could stand the comings and goings of horses and foals at all hours.
What had Reyn been thinking of, volunteering for this duty? Just because he’d delivered a few foals did not make him an expert. But Maris had implored him, her eyes huge and wet. He had never been able to resist her tears, not from the first day he met her.
“Lovely, my dear, just lovely. Give a push now, there’s a good girl. Yes, just like that. Isn’t she doing a splendid job, Captain?”
“Splendid.” Reyn felt light-headed.
“Look there. The babe’s crowning, Captain.”
Reyn was used to following orders, but he was very much afraid the sight of the coming child would be his undoing. Instead, he looked at his wife. “I love you, Maris.”
“And . . . I . . . you . . . oh!”
Out of the corner of his eye, Reyn saw something dark and bloody slither onto the bed. His heart stopped.
“Reyn, you are hurting my hand.”
Mrs. Lynch moved her hand over Maris’s stomach. “Betsy, the twine and scissors, if you please. You have a pretty little girl, Mrs. Durant. Just one more hard push and we’ll have the placenta out and your baby ready for you to hold. Isn’t she sweet, Captain?”
His daughter made a tiny snuffling sound. Reyn thought babies were supposed to be slapped across their buttocks so they would give a lusty cry. This little scrap looked barely alive.
“Is she all right?” Reyn croaked.
“Of course she is. They both are. Buck up, sir. You’re white as a ghost.”
There was more blood and mess. Reyn had been in battle countless times, but nothing had prepared him for this. Mrs. Lynch massaged the umbilical cord until she was satisfied, then tied it in two places and snipped between them. She gave the baby to Betsy to clean and wrap up while she tended to Maris. A lifetime seemed to pass before his child made her presence known, objecting to Betsy’s ministrations.
“A daughter. Jane. I’m so glad, Reyn.”
He was, too. There would always have been some lingering regret and confusion if Maris had born a son.
“You’ll have your boy next time.” Mrs. Lynch winked at him, and Reyn decided it would be most improper to strike her. To have Maris go through all this again was simply not to be imagined.
“Here she is, my lady.” Betsy was beaming. According to her, she’d helped her mam with several confinements and knew all about babies.
Reyn watched as Jane nestled into the crook of Maris’s