Chapter 38
‘I can’t help feeling that every day I don’t meet a monarch after this is going to be a disappointment,’ Charlie said when they were on the train home, in his civilian clothes once more. There weren’t many fellow travellers, and they had managed to get a compartment to themselves.
Bobby laughed. ‘Yes, you looked to be bosom pals. Will you invite him for Christmas dinner?’
‘If he brings his own sprouts.’
‘What was it he said to you?’ she asked curiously.
‘Just congratulations, and…’ Charlie flushed. ‘And that he knew what I’d done and he thought I was a brave man.’
‘Quite right too.’
‘By the way, you’re definitely letting me get that gramophone after the daft sum you spent ordering pictures from the photographer.’
Bobby smiled. ‘Can I help being proud of my brave, handsome husband? I want one for everyone in the family and some for the local newspapers. Come next month, there won’t be a person in Yorkshire who doesn’t know the name Charles Atherton, DFC.’
‘Well, I think you can say “I told you so” now,’ Charlie said, lounging back against the antimacassar. ‘In spite of my catastrophic predictions of air raids and you giving birth during the ceremony, we seem to have survived our trip to the capital relatively unscathed.’
‘Don’t tempt fate. We’re not at home yet.’ Bobby grimaced, and pressed a hand to her stomach. ‘Ugh.’
‘What’s up? Do you need the lav again? You might as well just lock yourself in for the whole journey.’
‘Very funny.’ She rubbed her belly, trying to soothe her restless baby. ‘It’s Marmaduke. He won’t keep still today. It’s giving me terrible cramps.’
‘Perhaps he’s homesick,’ Charlie suggested. ‘We’re coming through Peterborough now. If we’re lucky and there aren’t too many delays, we ought to be in Skipton for the last bus.’
They weren’t to be lucky, however. It must have been some way past Sheffield, deep in the blackout, that the train stopped.
An hour later, they were still there. Bobby’s cramps were showing no sign of letting up, and Marmaduke felt low in her belly, pressing against her bladder.
She had needed to visit the privy four times in the hour they’d been stuck here.
There had been blood on her underwear the last time, which worried her, but she hadn’t said anything to Charlie.
‘We’re going to have to find a room for the night in Leeds at this rate,’ Charlie muttered. He opened the door of their compartment and called to the conductor outside. ‘Excuse me. Do you know what the delay is?’
‘Now, sir, you know I can’t tell you that,’ the man said indulgently. ‘Careless talk, et cetera et cetera.’
‘Are you at least able to tell us how long it’s going to be until we start moving? My wife is expecting and she’s very uncomfortable.’
‘I couldn’t say, I’m afraid, sir. As soon as we know more, I’ll be sure to inform you. In the meantime, your wife should feel free to lie down and rest.’
Charlie closed the door. ‘He says you can lie down.’
‘Very kind of him,’ Bobby muttered. ‘Charlie, I… I don’t feel well.’
He frowned. ‘What’s the matter, darling?’
Bobby shuddered as another cramp ripped through her. These were so much worse than anything she’d experienced with her monthlies, although those could be bad enough to put her in bed. Her stomach felt hard and tight whenever another one came.
Her eyes widened as she felt a sudden dampness between her legs. Dr Minchin had told her what that meant.
‘Charlie,’ she whispered. ‘I think… I think he’s coming. The baby.’
Charlie stared at her. ‘What?’
‘I just felt my waters breaking. He’s coming, Charlie.’
‘But… he can’t be. He isn’t due for a month.’
‘Well perhaps if you try explaining that to him, he might change his mind,’ Bobby snapped, pain making her irritable.
‘Right.’ Charlie stared at her. ‘Oh God. Right. Um… OK, stay calm. I’m a vet, I know about births.’
‘I’m not a bloody calving heifer, Charlie.’
‘All right, you should, um, lie down. Take off your underclothes and lie on the floor.’
‘Would it help you if I was on all fours?’ she asked dryly.
‘There’s no need to pick on me about it. It isn’t my fault.’
‘Of course it’s your fault. It’s your damn baby.’ Bobby took the hand he held out and let him help her lie on the floor.
‘I’ll speak to the guard,’ Charlie said. ‘There must be a way to get you to a hospital. You stay here and… breathe deeply or something.’
‘What if he’s born while you’re gone?’
‘He won’t be born just like that. Labour takes hours. Days, sometimes.’
Bobby stared at him. ‘Days? Did you say days?’
‘It probably won’t be that long. Stay calm, all right? I’ve delivered hundreds of babies.’
‘They weren’t babies, Charlie, they were lambs. Get me a doctor, now. A proper, human doctor.’
‘I’ll do what I can.’
Charlie disappeared to speak to the conductor. Bobby wriggled out of her stockings, girdle and knickers, trying to slow her panting breaths. Another cramp-like sensation tore through her and she cried out.
Her husband reappeared shortly after.
‘He’s going to arrange for a message to be sent to the next signal box.’ Charlie took her hand, and she gripped his fingers tightly. ‘Just hold on, Bob. It’ll be all right.’
Bobby cried out again as her stomach jolted, feeling like it was tearing her in two.
Her brain was screaming. She could feel the baby right against the wall of her womb, she was sure.
He felt so heavy, and his movement through her body entirely outside her control.
Charlie said labour ought to last hours, but it felt like the baby might arrive at any minute.
She hoped he would, and end this blinding animal agony that was like nothing she’d ever experienced.
The conductor arrived soon after. Bobby could barely focus, but she could make out the blur of a railway uniform.
‘Oh my word,’ the man said when he saw her lying there, pain-wracked and slicked with sweat. He pulled himself together. ‘Um, a message has been sent to the next signal box to have a car waiting at the station, sir. It will mean an unscheduled stop.’
‘I don’t care what it means,’ Charlie snapped. ‘I just want to get her to a doctor. Why can’t the car come here? Or let me out and I’ll flag someone down.’
‘We’re in the middle of nowhere – in the midst of the Peaks. There’s nothing out there but hills and sheep.’
‘Then get this bloody train moving, can you? That’s your job, isn’t it?’
‘We’ll be moving again as soon as we can,’ the man said stiffly. ‘I’m afraid there has been significant bomb damage to the line.’
Bobby screamed. The pain no longer felt like cramps. Now it felt like being torn apart, limb by limb, organ by organ.
‘I won’t make it,’ she gasped. ‘He’s coming, Charlie. I think he’s coming now.’
‘Is there a doctor on this train?’ Charlie demanded of the conductor.
‘I’ll make enquiries.’
‘Make them fast.’
The man disappeared, and Charlie knelt by Bobby to take her hand.
‘It hurts,’ she whispered. ‘Oh God, it hurts.’
‘I know, love,’ he said soothingly, stroking her hot forehead. ‘I’m here. It’s all right.’
‘You won’t leave me, will you?’
‘They’d have to drag me away.’
The conductor came back ten minutes later, escorting a no-nonsense young woman in a VAD uniform. She carried a medical bag over her arm.
‘This young lady has midwifery experience,’ he told Charlie. ‘I’ll leave her to… yes. If you need anything, Miss Hunter, just call.’
The man fled, as if desperate to get away before a baby popped out. Bobby didn’t blame him.
‘Deborah Hunter,’ the nurse said by way of an introduction.
‘Charlie Atherton,’ Charlie said. ‘This is my wife, Bobby.’
The nurse nodded. ‘You may leave now, Mr Atherton. I can take things from here.’
‘I’m not leaving.’
Bobby let out a cry.
‘You ought to,’ Deborah said. ‘From the state of your wife, I’d say the baby might be here any minute. You’d rather not see that, I suppose.’
‘I’m a vet; I’m sure I’ve seen worse. And I’m not going to leave my wife while she’s in pain.’
‘Please,’ Bobby gasped. ‘Please, Nurse. I want him to stay.’
Deborah shrugged. ‘I can’t make him leave, I suppose. Just try not to get in the way, Mr Atherton. Now then, Mrs Atherton, when did your pains begin?’
‘I started noticing cramps yesterday morning. They… they weren’t too bad then.’
‘It sounds as though you may have been in labour for some time without realising it. How far apart are the pains?’
Bobby cried out again as the sensation of being torn apart shot through her.
‘I think… every five minutes or so,’ she panted.
‘Then we must be close.’
‘He’s a month early, Nurse,’ Charlie said. ‘Is that bad? It must mean there’s something wrong, does it?’
‘Not necessarily. He may be rather small on arrival, that’s all.’ Deborah looked up at Charlie. ‘If you really want to make yourself useful in the birthing room, call the guard and tell him I need hot water, soap and any clean towels he can find. Quickly.’
Charlie nodded and went to do as he was asked.
Time seemed to blur for Bobby after that. She might have been in labour for hours, or it might only have been minutes. She had a sensation of Charlie holding her hand, squeezing tightly on his fingers with each fresh burst of pain, and a woman’s voice telling her to push.
She had almost forgotten she was giving birth. There was only the pain she was trapped in, and a feeling it was going to last forever. Her body was being split into two pieces and she’d never be able to put it back together again. She felt delirious with agony.
And then, just as she was about to give up and wish herself dead rather than another minute of this, it was over.
The pain subsided, and her body, weak and sore as it was, was under her control again.
She could hear Charlie laughing softly, the whisper of scissors, the gentle coo of the nurse, then a wail as from a good, healthy pair of little lungs.
‘My baby,’ Bobby gasped. ‘Is he…’
The nurse put a towel-wrapped form into her arms. ‘He’s a fine, strong baby boy. But you seemed to know that already.’
The baby’s cries ceased the moment Bobby held him. She stared with wonder at the tiny red face blinking at her with deep black eyes.
‘It’s a boy.’ She laughed, looking at Charlie kneeling by her side. ‘Charlie, it’s a boy.’
‘It is. The most beautiful little boy there ever was.’ He kissed her soaked forehead softly. ‘You were wonderful, darling.’
‘I’ll leave you alone for a moment,’ Deborah said, getting to her feet. ‘I need to speak a few words to the conductor about cleaning up in here.’
Charlie got up to pump her hand. ‘I don’t know how I can ever thank you enough, Nurse.’
Deborah smiled. ‘Well, I’m still not convinced husbands in delivery rooms are a good idea, but I’d say you have the makings of a fine midwife, Mr Atherton. Congratulations to you both.’
When the nurse had gone, Charlie knelt again by Bobby and the baby.
‘I thought he was bound to be a girl,’ Bobby whispered. ‘We nearly always have girls in my family.’
Charlie ran a tender finger over his new son’s tiny nose. ‘I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life, except perhaps his mother. I’ll tell you what, you can keep your kings. Nothing will ever compare to meeting this little man.’
‘He’s perfect. Absolutely perfect.’
‘I have to say, though, darling, he doesn’t look much like a Marmaduke.’
‘I know what he looks like,’ Bobby said softly.
‘I can guess what you’re going to say. Ernest, after his godfather.’
‘If you approve.’
‘Yes, it suits him.’ Charlie smiled as the baby gripped his finger. ‘He looks a serious little soul. What about a middle name?’
‘I’d like to name him after your brother, if it’s all right with you.’
Charlie laughed. ‘I’d be perfectly happy with that if my brother wasn’t called Reginald.’
‘Well, does he have a middle name?’
‘David, after our grandfather. I could live with David.’
‘Ernest David Atherton.’ Bobby spoke the name slowly, trying out the sound. ‘Yes, I like that.’ She smiled at the wrinkled, beautiful, miraculous, gummy little face that belonged to her and to Charlie. ‘Welcome to the world, Ernie Atherton.’