Chapter 3
“ W hat do you think?” Martine asked Maggie an hour later from her bed. “Will my baby be all right?” She pushed up to her elbows. Eleanor and a handmaid were in the room as well.
“Just a moment,” said Maggie, gently placing her hands on various parts of Martine’s belly to feel the movement of the baby. Maggie wore a long white apron over her gown. It was what she used when delivering babies. Her hair was pinned up and she wore a white head wrap over her hair that was a cross between a wimple and a hood. “Mmm hmm. Interesting,” she spoke to herself.
“What’s interesting?” asked Martine. “Please tell me that everything is all right.”
“It is more than all right.” Maggie put Martine’s gown back into place. “Actually, I think it is very exciting.” Maggie got up and walked over to clean her hands in a basin of water. Then she picked up a towel to dry them.
“Well, are you going to tell us or make us guess?” asked Eleanor from the other side of the room.
“Please, tell me,” begged Martine. “Even if it is not good news. I need to know.”
Maggie smiled widely. “I was right,” she said. “You are going to give birth any day now.”
“So you’re saying the castle midwife was wrong about my cousin’s delivery date?” Eleanor walked over to the bed.
“Nay, not really. She was right. Mainly.”
“Oh, Maggie, I don’t understand and cannot take the suspense anymore.” Martine grabbed Maggie’s arm and pulled her closer. “Please, tell me everything.”
“All right,” said Maggie, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “You really are only eight months pregnant, that part is true. However, you will be giving birth most likely within the next week.”
“That makes no sense,” snapped Eleanor. “If that is so, then something must be wrong. No baby is born that early.”
“If we’re talking about just one baby, you’re right,” explained Maggie, taking Martine’s hand in hers. “But Lady Martine is not having just one baby. She is going to be birthing two.”
“Twins?” Martine shot up to a sitting position, then grabbed her belly and moaned.
“You need to lie back down and rest,” said Maggie, helping Martine get settled with her back against the pillows.
“I am going to have two babies? Really?” she gushed.
“Yes. I’ve seen this before and I am sure of it,” Maggie answered. “That is why you feel so heavy. The weight of two babies, plus the fact they are running out of room to grow, will cause them to be born early.”
“Is that dangerous?” asked Eleanor, taking Martine’s other hand in hers.
“I am not going to lie. Birth is always dangerous. No matter if it is one, two, or three babies at a time,” Maggie told them in a serious voice. “However, from my exam I am fairly certain that both of your babies, Lady Martine, are alive and healthy.”
“I’m going to have twins,” said Martine, lying back down, looking as if she were in shock. “Just like my brother Robin’s wife, Sage. But her twins will be born after mine. This is unbelievable.”
“I’ll say. Two sets of twins in the same family?” asked Maggie, surprised at hearing this news.
“Lady Martine’s father, Lord Madoc, is a twin to my mother, Lady Echo,” Eleanor relayed the information.
“Well, then that explains it.” Maggie released Martine’s hand and stood up. “Good luck with the babies. I wish you the best.”
“I have to send a pigeon right away to tell David,” mumbled Martine from the bed, speaking about her husband.
“A pigeon?” Maggie smiled, since it sounded so odd.
“Our entire family communicates from one part of the land to the other by sending messages with carrier pigeons from castle to castle,” Eleanor explained.
“Yes. My father used to raise and race pigeons all his life,” Martine told her. “It was his idea to construct a dovecote at each of our family’s castles.”
“What a great idea!” Maggie went over to her bag and opened it, digging inside. There was a knock at the door.
“See who it is,” Eleanor told the handmaid.
When the handmaid opened the door, Maggie heard a man’s voice from out in the corridor.
“Let me in,” said Evan, pushing his way into the chamber with Daegel following on his heels.
“Brother! You shouldn’t be in here,” scolded Eleanor.
“I don’t care,” grumbled Evan. “You’ve all been in here so long that the meal is nearly over. Is everything all right?”
“Yes, tell us. What is going on?” asked Daegel. “Aunt Echo is really worried about Martine.”
“Everything is fine,” Maggie assured them, finding what she was looking for and pulling it out of her bag. “Martine, however is confined to bed rest until she gives birth. It is for her own safety, as well as for the benefit of the babies.”
“Babies? Did you say babies?” asked Evan. “As in more than one?” He raised a craggy brow.
Martine smiled from her prone position on the bed. “Yes, Cousin. I am having twins, just like my brother, Robin, and Sage. Isn’t that wonderful?”
“Yes. Wonderful,” said Evan, saying the words but not showing the emotion on his face.
“I thought twins were considered a bad thing.” Daegel plopped down in a chair and rested one leg over the arm of the chair. “I always heard that giving birth to more than one baby at a time meant the children were spawned by the devil.”
“What?” Martine looked as if she were going to cry.
Evan elbowed Daegel in the ribs and glowered at him. “Shut up, you fool,” he said from the side of his mouth. Then walking over to the bed he tried to calm down his cousin. “Daegel doesn’t know what he’s saying. Twins just means you’ll be blessed twice. Right, Maggie?” He looked over to her, hoping to hell she’d support him. The last thing they needed was a terrified, panicky, pregnant woman on their hands.
“Of course it does.” Maggie unwound what looked like a long belt made out of silk. It seemed to have words and sentences written all over it.
“What in the name of the devil is that?” asked Evan, thinking it was the silliest thing he’d ever seen.
“Don’t say devil ,” she mumbled, glaring at him from the side of her eyes and pointing out that wasn’t the best thing to say right now. “It is a birthing girdle.” Maggie brought it over to the bed and started wrapping it around Martine’s waist.
“A what?” asked Daegel, making a face like he’d smelled the garderobes on a hot summer day.
“It looks like someone wrote all over that belt,” remarked Evan.
“That’s true,” answered Maggie. “It is inscribed with prayers and invocations.” She looked back over her shoulder as she helped Martine secure it around her waist, tying a knot in front.
“I don’t understand this at all,” admitted Evan.
“It’s for protection,” continued Maggie. “To ensure safe delivery for the babies. There you are.” She finished tying it and stood up.
“That sure sounds like the works of the devil to me,” mumbled Daegel, once again getting a look that could kill from both Evan and Maggie this time.
“So, it’s for good luck?” asked Eleanor.
“Exactly,” Maggie answered with a smile.
“Did you wear one of those birthing girdles when you gave birth to your daughter?” Evan asked her curiously.
“Nay.” Maggie’s smile quickly turned into a frown. Her hand went to her chest and she caressed the crystal pendant hanging from the cord around her neck. “I had another good luck charm instead.”
“Is that a crystal pendant?” Evan walked over and picked up the crystal in his hand to inspect it. The long shard was pointed at the tip and was so clear that he could see right through it.
“It is,” said Maggie. “My mother gave it to me when I was pregnant with Emma.
“And you somehow believe this crystal brought you good luck? Really?” Evan didn’t believe in charms and such nonsense.
“Yes, I do believe it,” she told him.
“It is just a bunch of silly superstition.” Evan often scoffed at people who were superstitious and did addled things to supposedly protect themselves. He believed a person brought on their own luck by their thoughts.
“The crystal pendant used to be my mother’s,” Maggie spoke softly. She sounded so sad that it took Evan’s attention. He looked down at her, staring into her bright blue eyes. There he witnessed deep grief and what he believed to be pain that she tried to hide. He wanted to ask her about it, but decided to do it later in private. Somehow he didn’t think she’d tell him much with the others listening. Maggie seemed to be a private kind of girl.
“You look tired,” he told her, releasing her crystal pendant and letting it settle again against her chest.
“It’s been a long day,” she admitted, directing her gaze in the opposite direction instead of looking directly at him.
“You must be hungry,” he said. “All of you.” He looked over to the other women in the room. “I’ve already instructed a kitchen maid to bring food to you here in the bedchamber since you missed the meal.”
“Good,” said Maggie. “That will be perfect for Martine, since she really needs to stay in bed. If she doesn’t, she’ll risk having the twins even earlier, which might not be good.” Maggie packed up her things, and picked up her bag as well as her midwife basket that was filled with her tools and ointments. “Lady Martine, I am leaving this herbal cream here for your handmaid to apply to your belly twice a day.” She put the jar on the bedside table. “It will aid in making your skin more flexible to help with the stretch marks and to keep you from scarring.”
“Thank you, Maggie,” said Martine, with tears of joy in her eyes. “You have made me very happy. It is a blessing that you showed up in my life. I feel much better now, knowing why I was feeling so odd. I am so excited to be carrying twins. Maggie, I want you here by my side until after I give birth. That would put my mind at ease.”
“I will only stay until the castle midwife returns,” Maggie told her, looking down at her bag rather than to look at Martine. “I never intended to steal anyone’s job.”
“You’re planning on leaving?” asked Evan in surprise, this being the last thing he expected to hear.
“Yes,” she told him. “We both know that this is only a temporary job. I need a permanent one in order to support my daughter and brother.” Maggie sighed. “I will go to town first thing in the morning to see if my services are needed there.”
“Oh, Maggie, I want you for my midwife,” cried Martine as Maggie headed for the door.
“I will fill in for now, but it is not an ideal situation for me to stay when the castle already has a midwife. I wouldn’t like someone pushing me out of a job. I am sorry but I won’t do it to anyone else.”
“We understand,” said Eleanor.
Maggie opened the door to find a kitchen maid standing there with a tray of food. The servant looked into the room but did not enter. “Sir Evan, I’ve brought the food and drink as instructed,” said the girl.
“Thank you. Bring it over to the bed for the ladies.” Evan walked to the door and took Maggie’s arm as the kitchen wench entered with the tray of food. “Maggie, wait. Are you sure you won’t stay for something to eat? I know you must be starving.”
“It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to eat with nobles,” she told him. “Besides, Charles has been watching Emma for me and he tends to let her wander off. It is time I put her to bed.”
“Then at least let me escort you to your room.” Evan stepped out into the corridor and closed the door behind him. They walked in silence down the hall, taking the back stairway that led to the servants’ quarters off the kitchen. “You were wonderful in there, Maggie. Martine already looks and is acting so much better. It is all because of you.”
“I was just doing my job,” she said over her shoulder, leading the way down the stairs. They entered the kitchen and when the servants saw Evan, they all stopped what they were doing to bow or curtsy as he passed through.
“Mama!” cried Emma, climbing down from atop a stool and running over to hug Maggie. There was flour all over her hands and face.
“What have you been doing?” Maggie scolded, picking up her daughter and brushing her off. “And why isn’t Charles watching you like he’s supposed to be doing?”
“Charlie is eating pie with the pretty lady,” said the little girl, pointing a dirty finger across the room. Sure enough, Charles had his back to them, not even watching Emma. He was by the hearth, flirting with one of the kitchen maids. In his hands were the remnants of what looked like an apple pie. He clutched a spoon and shoveled the food into his mouth, his gaze fastened on the pretty servant the entire time.
Maggie let out a deep sigh. “God help me,” she said under her breath. “Charles, come here!”
Charles spun around so fast that he almost dropped the plate from the pie. He shoved it into the kitchen maid’s hands and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
“Maggie,” he said, running over to her. “You’ve got to taste the pie. It is better than any I have ever had.”
“You were supposed to be watching Emma,” she reprimanded him. “She could have wandered off or disappeared.”
“I was watching her.” Charles looked over at the little girl and started laughing. “Oh, it seems she was trying to make a pie of her own.”
“Take her to our room and clean her up and get her to bed,” Maggie instructed, pushing Emma into the boy’s arms.
“Fine,” said Charles with a sigh. “Are you coming too, Maggie?”
“I’ll be there as soon as I have a word with Sir Evan.”
“All right,” said the boy, leaving for their room with Emma in his arms.
“Sir Evan, I’d like to take a trip into town tomorrow to look for a job, and I was wondering if you knew of any vendors that might be going that way. Mayhap they’d be kind enough to give me a ride.”
“I’ll take you,” he offered. “I have to go to town to collect the rents anyway. We’ll leave right after the swordfight that is scheduled in the morning between me and Sir Daegel.”
“Swordfight?” Her head snapped up. That undeniable look of disapproval washed over her face again.
“Yes. It’s just sparring, really,” he told her. “It’s expected as a form of entertainment for the other soldiers, nothing else.”
“You seem to engage in a lot of dangerous forms of entertainment.” She yawned.
“I am a knight, Maggie. Danger is part of my life.”
“Well, I don’t like my daughter seeing so much violence. That is another reason why I don’t think we’ll be staying at the castle. But thank you for your offer.”
“I see.” Evan didn’t know what to say to that. He’d never heard of anyone in their right mind giving up a job, free meals, and a home at a castle just because they thought things were too violent there.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to check on my daughter.”
“Wait,” said Evan, grabbing a platter of fruit, bread, and sweetmeats from a passing serving wench and handing it to Maggie. “You need to eat as well.”
Maggie looked down to the food in her hands and nodded. “Thank you, and good night,” she said with another yawn, turning to leave.
“Thank you for everything today,” he called after her, not wanting her to leave.
“What?” she asked, turning back once more.
“I mean, thanks for helping Lady Martine and all.”
“I told you, it is my job.”
“You need something to drink as well.” Evan looked back and saw a bottle of wine on the table. He snatched it up and handed it to Maggie. He was quickly running out of ideas to get her to stay. “It’ll help you relax so you can get some sleep.”
“Her hands were filled with the food, wine, and her basket. “Believe me, I’ll have no trouble sleeping tonight. I imagine I’ll be asleep before my head hits the pillow. Good night, then.” She turned her back to him and headed to her room.
Maggie stopped outside the door to her tiny room and looked back across the kitchen. Evan left, heading back out to the great hall to be with the other nobles. With him went that feeling of excitement inside her whenever he was near. Her heart swelled, looking at the food and wine he’d made sure she had since she’d missed the meal. Evan seemed to care about her, even though he didn’t even know her. When he’d touched her crystal earlier, it almost seemed like an intimate act to her. He’d been standing so close to her that she could actually feel his body heat encompass her. He’d smelled like woodsmoke and leather, mixed with pine and fresh air from the outdoors. Never had those scents affected her in such a positive manner like they did today.
She shouldn’t like being around him, but she did. Maggie usually despised nobles, ever since what happened to her mother. But something about Evan made her question her choices. Something almost seemed to be changing within her since she realized she liked this man called Sir Evan. Part of her wanted more than anything to take up his offer to stay here at the castle. However, if she did that, she felt it would be a mistake. It would be like betraying her departed mother to side with nobles. True, these nobles weren’t the same as the ones she’d left behind, but it didn’t matter. They were all the same. Arrogant, rude, haughty, and quick to blame a commoner for all their woes. Aiding Lady Martine until the castle midwife returned would be as far as this would go, she decided. To stay here forever was something that would only bring her sorrow, and she knew it.
Sooner or later someone here at Saltwood Castle would most likely figure out what had happened with her mother. Nobles talked and gossiped mayhap even more than nosey alewives. Honestly, she was surprised that word from Ashenden hadn’t already reached here by now. After all, it had been four years! When these nobles finally did find out, Maggie’s reputation would be ruined for sure. If so, she might never get a job again, no matter what town she stopped in. That’s why she was better off always being on the move. The devil was on her heels, and she wouldn’t let him ever catch her and her family.
A new job in town or the village wouldn’t make her much money, but it was safer for now for her to be a midwife to the merchants or tradespeople instead of for the nobles. If commoners knew the truth, they wouldn’t care.
Nobles were always blaming their misfortunes on those below the salt. She’d seen that the day her daughter was born. The day her mother lost everything because of a noble’s misfortune. Maggie had left Ashenden that day with her brother and daughter, just like her mother had told her to do, and she’d never returned. She’d heard the bells ringing the warning when the noblewoman and her baby died. It was to let everyone know there would be an execution. That is, the killing of a poor midwife who had done nothing wrong. She was sure the nobles had no regrets taking her mother’s life, even though her mother was the same midwife who had brought so many babies safely into this world without a problem. Her mother had helped so many mothers heal and go on to live and take care of those same children.
Life was hard, cruel, and unfair, and Maggie didn’t expect it ever to get any better. She would be on the run until the day she died, but she had to do it. Her only concern was not for herself, but only for Charles and Emma. She was their provider. Their protector. They counted on her to survive. The last thing Maggie ever wanted was to be taken away from Charles and Emma the way her mother had been ripped away from them.
Nay, Maggie decided, she wouldn’t stay at Saltwood Castle, even if it was very tempting to do so. Because she knew anything that seemed too good to be true usually was, and this time would be no different. She’d pushed down her attraction to Sir Evan, even though the man had done nothing wrong. But to stay here, to accept Sir Evan’s offer, would feel like she’d be hurting her fond memories of her dear mother. Nobles were no good, and she wanted nothing to do with them. Maggie swore she would never trust another one as long as she lived. Nay, not even the handsome knight, Sir Evan Blackmore of Saltwood Castle.