That earned Faylinn a sunny grin that caused her heart to skip a beat. "Well," Bridget cleared her throat, a little taken aback by Faylinn’s heartfelt declaration. "I love you too. Now that’s all settled," she teased, "are you ready to go? We’re nearly there, I swear it."
Faylinn nodded, and the women spent the next five minutes settling her on the back of her gentle butter-colored mare, who was aptly named Jezebel. They’d left the second mare, who was pregnant, at the Beynon’s homestead as a small token of gratitude for the kindness they’d been shown. Even now, Bridget and Faylinn harbored hopes that in time Katie would change her mind and that someday they would be able to resume their friendship.
Will had seen them off and whispered into Bridget’s ear as he gave her a parting hug that she should have in faith in the future. Faith that some day Katie would come around. Faith in them. And so she did.
They rode in companionable silence for the next three hours until the sun hung low in the sky, a wash of crimson, gold and light purple. Faylinn turned her head to see an enormous smile on Bridget’s face. "What is it?"
"You’ll see."
Their horses climbed the last few steps to the top of a small hill and stopped.
Faylinn could only stare in awe as Bridget watched her nervously. "By God," she whispered.
"Well?" the dark-haired woman finally prompted.
Faylinn shook her head a little. "It’s-it’s incredible."
Bridget let out a relieved breath.
Thank you.
"I hoped you’d like it. C’mon." She slid off Apollo’s back and yanked off the rough wool blanket she’d been sitting on. They only had one saddle and Faylinn was using it. She gave him a loving smack on the shoulders. "Go on, boy. Run around and get used your new home."
Not one to give up a chance to run unhindered, Apollo raced across the meadow, kicking up his heels wildly and swaying his head in delight. Bridget smiled at the beautiful beast. She turned to Faylinn’s horse and lifted a dark eyebrow at her. "See how magnificent he is? Why aren’t you pregnant yet?"
"Because she’s smart!" Faylinn laughed. She bent down and petted her mount approvingly. "She’s been carrying me and our saddle bags these past few days. She knows what extra weight really means. In fact…" With great effort, Faylinn threw one leg over the saddle.
"But—"
"She must be tired, Bridget. Let her play with Apollo for a while." Faylinn fell into Bridget’s arms as the tall woman tried to help her down. "Uff!" She pushed a hand against her lower back and groaned at a spasm of pain. "One cannot go from no riding at all to days in the saddle without paying a horrible price."
Bridget chuckled, knowing all too well what Faylinn meant.
Verdant eyes flicked to the partially completed cabin in the distance. It sat on a clearing’s edge, under a large, shady tree.
Too far? Nah.
"I can walk the rest of the way. I’ve been sitting far too long anyway and it’ll do me good," she pronounced, unwilling to hear any protests.
Faylinn drew in a deep breath of fresh air and nodded approvingly. She would, she admitted privately, miss the salty smell of the sea, but the scent of fresh blossoms, sweet grass and the tiny lake she could barely see in the distance more than made up for it. Not that any of that really mattered in the end. She turned her head and watched Bridget fondly, as the older woman stripped off Jezebel’s saddle, blanket, tack and heavy saddlebags. She set them on the carpet of soft grass at her feet.
The mare whinnied in appreciation then darted towards Apollo. When she reached the young stallion her gait changed and she strutted past him proudly, earning his full attention. Then she bolted across the field in a full gallop with the steed hot on her heels.
"Hussy!" Faylinn called as she felt Bridget’s warm fingers wrap around hers.
"C’mon. Let me show you the cabin. The inside and outside are finished. Only the roof remains to be done. I’m not sure what we’ll do for furniture."
"Are you as good a carpenter as I am?"
"Every bit," Bridget replied wryly.
"Uh oh." Faylinn covered her face with her hands and mumbled as she shook her head. "We’re in deep trouble."
"But at least you won’t be sleeping on the ground tonight. The last time Will and I were here we did some trapping, and I’ve some beautiful furs stored inside to keep you nice and warm." Bridget shortened her step to accommodate her lover’s humorous waddle.
Faylinn stopped walking and stretched her back. "Soft furs sound wonderful. I—" Her eyes went round as twin moons then her face twisted in disgust.
"What?" Bridget searched Faylinn’s eyes nervously and clutched her shoulders.
"Ewwww! Ewwww! Ewwww! It was more disgusting than I remembered!" she complained loudly. Her fists clenched and unclenched rhythmically.
"What?" Bridget was at a loss until her gaze tracked Faylinn’s. "You wet yourself?" Her voice conveyed her surprise and her brows drew together in puzzlement. "You’ve gone to the bushes every ten minutes. How is that even possible? Even with as much as you drink, you should be empty."
Faylinn rolled her eyes and squirmed wildly at the nasty feeling of drenched legs and boots full of warm, sticky liquid. "By God, have you lost your mind? I didn’t wet my pants!"
Bridget snorted rudely. "You don’t have to be embarrassed but it’s clear—" Her jaw dropped and the blood drained from her face. "You’re having the baby? Now?"
"Not at this
very
moment," Faylinn assured her, but she could see by the look on Bridget’s face that her words weren’t registering.
"Your water broke," Bridget told her needlessly.
"Really? And to think I thought I’d merely wet myself like a one-year-old."
"This is no time for jokes!" Bridget spun in a circle and with outstretched arms indicated her surroundings. "You’re having it here? In the middle of a field?"
With no physician or mid-wife. No one to help. No medicines. Nothing!
"How thoughtless of me," Faylinn deadpanned, an eyebrow lifting sassily.
"Faylinn," Bridget warned in a deep voice. "I’m serious."
"So am I, honey."
"But it’s not time! Katie said we have at least two weeks, maybe three"
Faylinn rolled her eyes again. "Katie is not the one having… Ooooo," she hissed as a contraction rolled through her.
Bridget’s hands shot out to steady her. "Are you all right?" She pushed down her impending panic.
Judith and Elizabeth’s mother died in childbirth. And her screams… God.
She swallowed back the taste of bile, her body trembling.
"Bridget? Sweetheart?"
Faylinn’s low, concerned voice and a warm palm cupping her cheeks cut through her mounting dread.
"Yes?" Bridget replied quickly. "We’ve got to get you to the cabin. We—"
"We do need that. But I need you to be with me, not passed out." Faylinn grabbed Bridget’s hands and gripped them tightly. "Breathe," she reminded her. "Now, Henry was born fairly quickly. Or so that hag mid-wife kept telling me," she remembered wryly. "But it still took hours." She was about to tell Bridget to ‘relax’ when another contraction tightened her belly, causing her eyes to widen in surprise then pain. "Yeow!"
"Oh, God. Oh, God." Bridget’s eyes darted around wildly, looking for the horses. The cabin was at the opposite end of the long, sloping clearing and she decided instantly that it was too far for Faylinn to walk. "Let me fetch a horse."
Faylinn nodded and awkwardly sat down. "You’d better make it Apollo. Jezebel will follow him anywhere but doesn’t listen well on her own yet."
"Apollo!" Bridget gave a sharp whistle and across the field the steed’s snowy white head popped up. She turned back to Faylinn, expecting her horse to join her at her side. A few moments passed, while she continually asked how Faylinn was and her friend continually assured her she was fine, before Bridget impatiently glanced over to find Apollo. When she spied her horse her eyes narrowed to slits.
The smitten steed was still at the opposite end of the clearing, rubbing his nose against Jezebel’s shoulder, his mistress’ command completely forgotten.
"Dammit, Apollo." She whistled again and once again his head popped up and he slowly turned to find Bridget. "Get over here and leave that mare alone!" she called angrily.
"Ohhh." Faylinn’s eyes clamped shut and she hissed loudly as another contraction with even more force worked its way through her, the pain beginning in her lower back and settling tightly in her lower belly. "Damn." Her hands automatically went to her back and she realized with a start that what she had thought were aches and pains caused by riding for days were actually labor pains. And she’d been having those for hours. "Bridget?" She glanced up at her warily. "I think perhaps we should hurry."
Bridget paled and stood stock-still, staring at Faylinn.
Faylinn shook her head, suddenly glad that Cyril had gone to a local pub with his business partners and gotten drunk while she was in labor with Henry. He would have undoubtedly annoyed her even more than Bridget was right now, and she considered killing her just because she could. She started to get up.
"Wh—what are you doing?" Bridget screeched, easing Faylinn back onto the grass.
"What does it look like? I don’t want to have this child in the middle of a field, Bridget, I’m going to the cabin."
"You can’t walk that far." Bridget’s face suddenly reddened. "And I don’t think I can carry you with my arm. Let me get Apollo."
"I can—"
"No."
Faylinn sighed.
Be patient. Bridget’s only trying to help. She’s just afraid.
The blonde woman was well aware of how dangerous childbirth was and she felt a pang deep in her chest at the possibility of leaving Bridget and the life they’d barely started together.
I won’t.
The muscles in Faylinn’s abdomen tensed to what felt like breaking point and she moaned long and hard. "Ugh!" When the contraction was over she was seeing tiny stars and she reminded herself to breathe or she’d be the one passing out.
The two horses were speeding through the grass, playing and stamping their hooves. Knowing she’d never catch him if he didn’t want to be caught, Bridget didn’t bother trying to chase him down. She took several long strides away from Faylinn, then stopped and roared at the top of her lungs, "Apollo, get over here now! Or I will run you through and turn you into a saddle for that slut Jezebel!"
Faylinn stifled a slightly hysterical giggle with the back of her hand.
Bridget whirled around and narrowed her eyes at the now openly laughing Faylinn. "You are not helping! He was trained by my own hand and has never done this before," she insisted indignantly.
"I think at the moment Jezebel can offer him something you can’t, Bridget."
Bridget turned back around. Her voice was every bit as loud as before, but this time it held a note of menace that made even Faylinn blink. "Don’t make me call you again, horse!"
Hearing the unmistakable threat in his mistress’ voice, Apollo regretfully moved away from Jezebel and began trotting over.
"About time," Bridget mumbled as she bent to retrieve the saddle. Long fingers and strong hands got a good grip on the well cared for leather and she hefted it up, deciding it would be a good idea to give Faylinn something to hold onto as she led the horse to the cabin. Or maybe they’d go bareback. It would be quicker. She was spared the burden of deciding when Apollo galloped right by her at full speed, following Jezebel, who had decided she wasn’t done with her play.
Violently Bridget threw down the heavy saddle and it made a loud thumping sound at her feet. "I’m going to kill you, horse!" She took off running after them, leaving Faylinn to stare in wonder at her lover, who had clearly snapped.
Faylinn leaned forward onto all fours then pushed herself to her feet, determined not to have the child right here in the grass when the cabin was close enough that she could see it. Her legs felt a little wobbly and when she straightened she could feel that the baby had dropped, its weight pressing down between her legs.
The horses darted sideways and thundered past Faylinn at a dead run.
Bridget, who had nearly caught up to them, wasn’t quite as adept at changing directions while running at full speed, and her feet flew out from under her. But that was all Faylinn saw as her eyes clamped shut with the force of her next contraction. They were coming quicker now and her breathing was growing faster as she had less and less time to recover between pains. When she opened her eyes again, Bridget was at her side, covered in dirt, and grass staining the entire side of her body. "Are you all right?" Faylinn reached out and plucked a twig off Bridget’s shirt.
"Never mind about me," came the terse answer.
Bridget’s breathing was rough and Faylinn caught a whiff of skin, rich soil, and perspiration and for a long moment she drank it in with idle pleasure, forgetting about the pain.
"Faylinn?" Bridget’s eyes flicked to her partner’s bulging belly. "The baby?"
"We’re fine." Faylinn’s eyes tracked Bridget’s and she grabbed Bridget’s hand and pressed it to her own stomach. "It’s getting close." Her body instinctively bent over as another contraction tore through her making her knees shake. "Arhh… hurts."