Lone Pine Bride (The Brides of Lone Pine #1)(20)

He could, she replied, and he did. He went to drop the hair on the ground and paused. Pushing it into his top pocket he ran his fingers through her hair to separate it and began to walk away, suddenly a bit embarrassed by what he had done. He hadn’t meant to be forward. It had just seemed the natural thing to do.

“Thank you,” she said, following him. “Do I look alright?”

He turned. “You are a beautiful woman,” he said. He paused. “A beautiful lady.”

“Is it very tangled?” She took a comb from her pocket and began to comb it bit by bit. “It might be better if I put it back up again. I have a ribbon in my pocket which I’d forgotten about. Could you tie it back for me?”

“You seem to have a lot of things in that pocket,” Seth said.

“I do. It’s a hidden pocket so nobody will realise it’s there and try to rob me. Ouch!”

“I could comb your hair if you want. I’ll be able to see the knots.”

“Would you?” She handed him the comb, turned her back on him and he combed carefully. It would be good practise for combing Rachel’s hair, he thought, because she might like him to do it if it got tangled. Hannah stood quite still until he finished and handed back the ribbon at his request.

“Is my face dirty?” she asked after he finished.

“A bit grubby. Mine must be also. We could ask Sadie and Ronald if we can wash up a bit.”

“Yes. The house looks good from here.”

“Yes.” They approached the building and it was with some relief that Seth noticed that it seemed alright. But they needed to check for cracks, he thought, because that would be dangerous. As they walked up the path Ronald opened the door.

“Sadie’s in labour,” he said.

“In labour? I didn’t realise she was with child,” Seth replied.

“She never showed very much and she didn’t want people to know. She’s seen the doctor a couple of times and, if his reckoning was correct, the baby is coming a couple of months early.”

“Maybe it’s the shock of the earthquake,” Hannah said.

“She says that. Will you stay with us until the baby arrives? I’m a bit frightened I’ll do the wrong thing.”

Another delay, Seth thought, and would he ever meet Rachel? He looked at Hannah.

“Of course we will,” she replied.

“Have you ever delivered a baby?” Ronald asked.

“Quite a few.”

She had never seen a baby born, let alone delivered one, but she certainly wasn’t going to tell him that. An expression of relief covered his face.

“You’re an answer to prayer,” he said. “Please come in. Must I boil hot water or something?”

Hot water? Why? But if that’s what he thought he should do maybe she should go along with it. “Yes,” she said. “Where is your wife?”

“I’m in here,” someone called from the adjoining room. Hannah walked through and was terrified. Deliver a baby? How did you do that? She must think and she must think quickly.

“Get clean blankets and sheets,” she told Ronald. “And bring a mattress from upstairs, Seth.”

The two men ran and within minutes the mattress was on the floor and covered by tarpaulin at Hannah’s suggestion, with a pillow for Sadie’s head. Sadie lowered herself onto it, Ronald brought the water and Hannah had no idea what to do with it.

She looked at her hands and they were filthy. The baby wouldn’t benefit from that nor from the men being dirty.

“Let’s all wash our hands,” she said. “And then we’ll tie sheets round us so the baby doesn’t get any of our dirt on him or her. We don’t want to cause any harm.”

“We’ll need something to cut the cord with,” Seth said.

Cord? What cord? To attach the baby to its mother, of course, and she definitely must not show her ignorance. “Which must also be clean,” she said.

Clean? How could you clean a knife so there weren’t any harmful things on it and would a knife be the best thing because it could cause the baby and the mother to bleed? Maybe something abrasive but not sharp?

“Boil a couple of knives for a few minutes,” she said. “Then get a stone, Seth, clean it and boil it in a different pot.”

“How long for?” Seth asked.

“Make it fifteen minutes.”

She had no idea but it had to be clean because the baby was new and would have been kept clean by its mother. They had to get things right even though they all seemed to know very little about such things.

“Is the stone to cut the cord?” Sadie asked.

“Yes.”

“Dr. Cranford mentioned that. He said the roughness seals off the ends but he didn’t mention boiling it.”

“We need to have everything clean for the baby,” Hannah said, trying to sound more confident than she felt.

“Yes. We’ve got some new clothes which I’ve made which she or he can wear.”

“I’ll just give you a wash down below,” Hannah said. “Can you bring me a bowl please, Ronald? Put in boiling water then add some cold. Have you got any you boiled before which has cooled?”

“He’s been boiling water for hours,” Sadie said. “I’ve been in labour ever since the earthquake.”