Madness (42 page)

Simon sat bolt upright.

“What? What is it?” Gabrielle asked in alarm, for her sister had gone as white as a sheet.

“I think the baby’s coming!” she gasped.

“Oh no it’s far too early,” Gabrielle said mildly. “Eswara said another month.”

“It’s coming, believe me!”

As if to prove her words, a flood of water now gushed out from between her thighs and onto the carriage floor, filling the compartment with an unmistakable odor.

“Oh, good God!” Simon exclaimed with a shake of his head. “It really is on the way, and we’re bogged down by the weather!”

“It’ll be all right,” Gabrielle tried to reassure them both, though she was anything but calm herself. “Babies seldom come that quickly. We’ll get back the house soon, and everything will be fine.”

The coach jerked and shuddered, lashed by the wind and rain. Rivulets streamed down the inside of the windows, even though they were shut as tightly as possible.

Simon began to fear for the driver above, and moved to call up to him through the sliding door at the top of the coach which had been installed for just such a purpose.

As soon as he slid open the panel, the rain poured in like a tidal wave. Simon could see the coachman was just barely managing to hold his position on the box.

"Stop the carriage. Stop!"

"Aye, sir."

Simon slammed the panel shut against the elements and said,“Fenton is in trouble. I need your shawls, quickly.”

Gabrielle's eyes widened. “Simon, you can’t go-“

“It’ll be all right. Trust me.”

She stripped off her shawl and kissed him. “I do. Just be careful.”

“I shall.”

He took Lucinda's as well, and gave her a pat on the cheek and encouraging smile, which she answered with a wan one of her own.

"Dig through the parcels on the seat there to see what we can use to make her comfortable," he commanded as he yanked his collar up over his neck and throat, then tied them all in place with his scarf, which he wrapped around his head before bringing the ends together under his chin, then back behind him, and forward once more into a tight knot.
 
"Make sure you both stay warm and dry. I'll be back as soon as I can."

The carriage has slowed to a near halt by now, so he swung open the door and stepped out into the storm. He barely managed to hang onto the portal as the fierce wind tried to rip it out of his grasp. He clung on tightly and made his way hand over hand to the horses.

He threw the ladies’ shawls around the two horses' heads and tied them tightly. Already soaked to the skin, he signalled to the driver to order them to walk on. He grasped the tracer of the horse on the right and began to lead them forward slowly, ducking his head against the pelting rain.

Meanwhile, Gabrielle was addressing her sister inside. “Didn’t you think to say anything while we were still safely in Bath?” she asked in alarm as well as exasperation.

“It’s just come on now,” Lucinda wailed. “God, it hurts.”

Gabrielle flung open the shades and risked looking out to see where Simon had got to.

Their progress was painstakingly slow. Another sharp cry from her sister almost set her into a panic.

It was apparent as the moments ticked past and they inched along that they were never going to make it back to Barkston House in time. And with the way Lucinda was shrieking, they wouldn’t even be able to make it back to the Duke’s townhouse in Bath, even if they could manage to get the horses turned around.

She had to make a decision, but it was one which affected all their lives. She only wished she knew the road a bit better.

“Simon! Simon! Can you come back here a moment?”

Her voice caught on the wind, forcing her to shout even louder until eventually he turned around to look at her, concerned etched in every line of his face.

She waved encouragingly despite the fact that her head was now soaked, and the shoulders and bosom of her gown drenched as well.

He climbed back inside, setting the coach floor awash with the run-off from his saturated garments.
 

“We need to decide what to do. Go forward, or try to head back. If we go to Bath we could get a doctor, but with this storm I don’t think we’ll be able to travel so far. The roads are only getting worse. We can try to find a house to take shelter in, but the trouble is there won’t be a doctor. I might have to deliver the baby myself. I do have some experience, but--”

He was the soul of calm, pressing her hand in both of his own. Despite his soaked state, she was warmed by the contact instantly. “You can do this, love. Start to look through all the things we bought today for anything that will help us if she were to give birth right here and now.”

“Oh, surely not—”

He nodded. “We have to face facts. The roads are flooding. The rivers and streams are all rising and even breaking their banks by the sound of things. I’m going to try to lead the horses further on, but we need to be prepared for the worst, my love, even as we pray for the best.
 
Any shelter will be better than none, though it might be awfully primitive.”

“Well, we’ll just have to make the best of whatever befalls us,” she said, lifting her chin bravely.

He bent his head to give her a rain-soaked kiss. "It’ll be all right. But we need to get moving. We can’t afford to get bogged down here. As soon as I find a place that looks even the least bit likely, we’ll stop.”

She cupped his cheek and smiled at him in sheer relief. “I love you.”

“And I you. You know what to do for her. Antony taught you well. And I’ll help. I’m not afraid. I’ve seen it before during the war. We’re a family. We can all do this together. All right?”

She nodded. “Thank you. That’s just what I needed to hear.”

He kissed her again, only this time it felt as though he was doing it with his whole heart and soul and soul in his lips, and she responded in kind. Then he gave Lucinda’s hand a pat.
 

"Don't worry, dear, you'll be fine."

"I believe you," she gritted out. "But hurry. And be careful. I need us all to be fine too."

 
Simon grinned and nodded, then went back out into the raging storm to guide the horses forward once more.

After another ten minutes, Simon saw a long drive off to the left, sheltered by trees. He moved over to the horse on the left and grabbed the traces.

He waved to Gabrielle and pointed. She waved back and he trudged on.

The trees sheltered Simon and the carriage from the wind and rain now, so that not every step was a struggle. Though it was still raining, it wasn’t coming down in torrential sheets, and the tumultuous wind was broken by the thick broad oaks, and had also subsided somewhat.

The storm was easing, it was true, but Simon felt as though a bolt of lightning had shot through him. They could try to head back to Bath, but something about the place seemed so familiar, his feet seemed to have a mind of their own as he plodded onwards.

After what seemed an interminably long time, they came within sight of a huge castle, which Gabrielle had to guess from the battlements had been built in the fourteenth century.

She could see from the remants of some scaffolding that it had been modernised and added to relatively recently.

It was magnificent, with three huge wings east, west and north. She lapsed back into her seat with a sigh. There would be people, servants, and plenty of help soon, she was sure.

Yet when they neared the ancient castle, there was no sign of life apart from a single candle burning in one of the front windows. Gabrielle pressed her face to the glass of the carriage door eagerly, looking
 
for any sign of life.

But as they pulled up, all was still and silent apart from the sussuration of the falling rain and the groan and wail of the wind.

Gabrielle shivered with cold, fear and a nameless unease, a strange tingling sensation down along her spine. Yet the house seemed so welcoming, despite the lonely setting and the gloom rapidly setting in now that night was falling.

Simon had brought the vehicle to a halt at the foot of the ornate marble staircase and now rapped and rapped at the large door knocker.

But after standing in the rain for several minutes getting more and more drenched, he finally attempted the door. It pushed open with a creak, and he called, “Hello? Is anyone here?”

There was no sound except the whisper of the wind. He looked to Gabrielle in an agony of indecision.

On the one hand he didn’t wish to be accused of breaking and entering someone’s private home. On the other hand, Lucinda was in trouble.

Another labor pang and scream from Lucinda decided him in an instant. He pushed the door open wide and entered. He stepped through the hallway to the room lit by the single candle, and found a splendid fire burning in a large stone hearth.

The chamber was beautifully furnished, but not completely carpeted. The original flagstone floors had been scrubbed clean, and he could see a large kettle of hot water suspended over the fire, and another sitting on a tripod.

Even more curious was the aroma of freshly made tea, despite the apparent emptiness of the house. A beautiful porcelain tea set sat on a low table by a fine pair of sofas, which were exquisitely upholstered in a navy, wine and gold pattern. The wallpaper was a burgundy garland pattern in silk. The Turkey carpets were burgundy and blue floral. The whole was genteel, elegant and pleasing to the eye.

Simon decided that whoever lived here, they could not possibly be so heartless as to turn them away in these circumstances. He didn’t dare bring Lucinda up to one of the bedrooms-that would indeed be far too presumptuous. But this room would not be ruined in any way by them using it for Lucinda’s lying in if they put her on the bare stone in front of the fire, and they would gladly pay them for their trouble if they minded.

He would send the coach driver on to Barkston House on one of the horses with a message as to what had happened. Then he could see if the driver could fetch Eswara or Blake just in case the labour proved longer than Gabrielle feared.

She had already come up the stairs with some supplies and skirted the small carpet to drip all over the stone floor as she set down the sewing basket. She handed him a pile of linens while she tried to balance the basket of food she had in her other hand.

“There’s no one here, but I’m not going any further on a night like this. They must all be away. I’m guessing the servants minding the house have gone to Bath or somewhere, and got caught by the really bad weather. It’ll be all right.” He smiled at her reassuringly.