The Devastation (Unexpected Circumstances #7)(21)

“Yes.” Alexandra choked out the word as her body shook with another spasm.

“Are there many minutes between pains?” Edith asked. After a moment of silence, I realized she was asking me.

“What?” I replied.

“How far apart are her pains?”

“Um…well…she’s been crying since I got here.”

“All the time, or does she stop for a while?”

“She stops.”

“For how long?”

“I have no idea!” I yelled.

The woman took a long deep breath, glared at me, and then turned to my wife.

“Alexandra?”

“A minute or two.” Alexandra moaned. The sweat was back on her brow again though I had just wiped it away. “No more than that.”

“Let’s see how you are doing, then.”

To my horror, the woman reached down and began to lift my wife’s skirts.

“What do you think you are doing?” I yelled at her as I slapped her hand away.

She backed off. Her eyes widened for a brief moment, and then they calmed and settled into…amusement? She pursed her lips and shook her head slightly.

“King Branford,” Edith said as she placed her hands on her hips, “do you think this child is going to come out through her dress?”

I looked at Alexandra on the ground, thought of where I had to be in order to put a child inside of her in the first place, and then considered how well that act would have worked if her clothing had remained in place. I felt my mouth open and close a couple of times, but no sound came out. Apparently, Edith took my lack of response for an answer.

“Then you realize we must remove her dress.”

I didn’t know what to say. At this point, Greysen had managed to follow Parnell’s lead and had disappeared from the room without my knowledge. I was left alone with my wife in labor and a woman who looked at me as if I were a fool.

Perhaps I was.

“King Branford,” Edith said, and I heard a strangely familiar quality to her tone of voice. “I know this will be…unusual for you, but I need you to promise me something.”

“Promise you?” I repeated, confused. “Promise you what?”

“You want to help Alexandra, do you not? You want to see your child come into this world alive and healthy?”

“Of course I do!” I yelled.

“Then promise me something,” she replied.

I could only nod slightly.

“You are going to listen to me,” she said, “and do everything I tell you to do without question. If you hesitate, it could be dangerous for Alexandra and the baby.”

Whether that was the case or not, I knew one thing for sure—my wife was in pain, and I had no idea how to help her. I was left with little choice and no time to ask for the advice of my companions or make other arrangements.

“Anything you say.” I agreed as I held Alexandra’s hand to my chest.

Edith looked me over before nodding, apparently satisfied with my answer. I realized then what felt so familiar—she sounded like Sunniva when I was young and being scolded. While I considered this, she removed Alexandra’s clothing almost entirely, leaving my wife in nothing but the loose underclothing that had been beneath her dress. Even that article was raised up to Alexandra’s waist and tucked into itself so it would stay in place.

Edith then coaxed Alexandra onto her back, and she gently pushed my wife’s legs apart and peered at her. I felt a little sick as she reached in with her hand, and I had to focus my attention on my wife’s face, pushing the loose strands of hair from her sweaty forehead and kissing her on her temple.

“She is close,” Edith said as Alexandra fought through another burst of pain. “I can feel the babe’s head.”

His head? Truly?

I tried to peer over Alexandra’s knee to see what there was to be seen, but Edith pushed at my shoulder and told me to rise. She also stood, and her hands reached for Alexandra’s. Edith then pulled Alexandra upright until she balanced on the balls of her feet with her legs spread apart.

Alexandra’s cries became louder almost immediately.

“She will need to hold on to you,” Edith said. Her voice remained quiet and certain, which was the exact opposite of how Alexandra sounded and how I felt.

“Why is she in more pain?” I asked, unsure if I really wanted the answer.

“The baby is close,” Edith told me. “When Alexandra was lying down, it kept the baby from pushing against the right place to come out. Getting her on her feet will help bring forth the child faster. Trust me.”

I was not sure I could, but I also had little choice in the matter. I nodded, and Edith gave me a half smile.

“And give me your shirt.”

I pulled off my shirt and quickly handed it to Edith before I knelt behind Alexandra. I wrapped my arms underneath hers and up around her shoulders, holding her upright as she leaned forward and listened to Edith’s instructions. Alexandra held my arms, and again her fingernails dug into my skin. I would have complained, but it was then Alexandra let out a long wail.

“Push!”

And another.

“Push!”

And another.

My back and chest were covered in sweat just from the act of holding my wife up on her feet. My arms ached as if I had engaged in battle for a day and a night. I could have sworn the whole ordeal lasted for hours though Edith assured me later it had not. Just as I was about to come to the conclusion that I was not strong enough for this, Alexandra let out a final, shuddering cry and went limp against me.