The Midwife: The Pocket Watch Chronicles

by Ceci Giltenan

  “Then maybe ye shouldn’t have suggested I was being impertinent.”

  That comment had put a fairly quick end to anymore conversation. Perhaps it too was impolite, but having remembered the cabbie, she had wanted to figure out what she might have said to him. His wife had had a baby and he asked a lot of questions about labor and delivery, but the last question she remembered answering was: “Hey, what does the ‘C’ in C-section stand for?” The word might be Caesarian, but she thought more was said.

  Now, hours later, she had been unable to remember any additional details and her head hurt from trying.

  The wind was picking up sharply and it started to snow. She closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest.

  “Are ye sleepy, lass?”

  “Not exactly. Just a bit travel weary I guess.”

  “Well, ye’ll be glad to know, Carraigile lies just ahead of us.” Elizabeth opened her eyes and through the swirling snow, she could just make out the shape of a castle in the distance. It stood on a hill, on the opposite bank of a small loch. It took nearly an hour to reach the castle after they had spotted it. Elizabeth guessed that was probably a good thing from a defensive standpoint. The inhabitants of the castle could see invaders well in advance of their arrival.

  When they finally rode into the inner bailey, Elizabeth just stared in wonder. It appeared to be considerably larger than either the Macrae keep or Brathanead

  Cade said, “Welcome to Carraigile.” He dismounted, then lifted Elizabeth down. Giving his mount to a waiting stable hand, he led her to the hall, followed by the men who had accompanied them. Before entering he said, “While I have found yer bold manner amusing, my father will not. Hold yer tongue lass. Only speak if ye are spoken to. Do ye understand me?”

  Elizabeth couldn’t hold in the exasperated huff. “Aye. I understand.”

  They entered the hall to find the evening meal well underway. Sully and Stephan took seats at the trestle tables but Cade led Elizabeth to the laird’s table, followed by Eric.

  The man who sat at the head of the table was an older, more somber version of Cade. As soon as he saw Elizabeth, he frowned. “Son, welcome home. When ye hadn’t returned earlier today, I began to worry.”

  “All is well Da. The weather slowed us a bit but we were successful. Laird Macrae allowed Elsie, here, to return with us.”

  Elizabeth bobbed a curtsy instinctively. She kind of hated that she did that, but she supposed it was expected and she’d be considered “bold” if she didn’t.

  “That…that…lass, is the famed Macrae midwife? What is Macrae trying to put over on us?”

  Here we go again.

  “I had the same doubts about her, but both she and Laird Macrae assured me there was no one better able to help Lady Wynda.”

  “He lied to ye.”

  “Ye might think so, but she has already demonstrated remarkable healing skills. We stopped at Brathanead to shelter from the storm two nights ago. Young Kelvin MacLennan was dreadfully ill.”

  A very slender, dark-haired woman, sitting on Laird MacKenzie’s left appeared instantly concerned. “Oh, no. They’ve lost so many bairns. Maeve must have been beside herself with worry.”

  “They both were, my lady, but Elsie spent the night caring for the lad and turned things around. He is expected to fully recover. Laird MacLennan said to tell ye he is in yer debt, Da.”

  “This child saved young Kelvin’s life?”

  I am not a child, was on the tip of her tongue. Cade gave her a quelling look before answering, “Aye, Da.”

  Laird MacKenzie turned his attention to Elizabeth. “Ye’re Macrae’s famous midwife?”

  Technically, no. “I have been training for over eight years in my profession.”

  “Ye didn’t answer my question.”

  “Laird MacKenzie, it’s clear ye won’t believe me regardless of my answer. The truth is, there’s no one in Scotland who is better able to attend Lady MacKenzie than I am, but ye’ve already judged me unworthy simply because of my age. Nothing I can say is likely to convince ye otherwise.”

  Laird MacKenzie’s eyes narrowed with anger.

  Cade scowled. “Elsie, I warned ye—”

  “Ye warned me not to speak unless I was spoken to, and yer father spoke to me.” Elizabeth turned to Lady MacKenzie, ignoring the two men. “My lady, I believe I might know what the problem is and how to manage it. I can stand here and waste my breath trying unsuccessfully to convince yer husband that I know what I’m doing, or ye can let me examine ye and draw yer own conclusions.”

  Laird MacKenzie looked stunned.

  Cade looked irritated.

  Lady MacKenzie canted her head and considered Elizabeth for a moment. “Come with me. Lilliana would ye come with us too? Angus, my love, please send someone for Morag.”

  “Wynda, this lass—”

  “—may be dissembling. I know, and ye’re right. But, so is she. Her assertions will not be enough to convince ye. The only way to know for sure is to let her prove it.”

  Laird MacKenzie scowled at Elizabeth and then looked into his wife’s eyes. The love and concern Elizabeth saw in his gaze was unlike anything she had ever witnessed. What must it be like to be adored? In a gentler tone she asked, “Laird MacKenzie, please let me help yer wife.”

  He softened a little. “Wynda, if this is what ye wish, I will allow it.”

  Lady MacKenzie gave him a heart-melting smile.

  “But, lass, be warned, if I find out this has all been a ruse, ye’ll regret it. And there isn’t a deep enough pit in hell to hide Laird Macrae from my wrath.”

  Lady MacKenzie shook her head as she stood. “Angus, cool yer temper until we know more.” Another woman stood too and together they guided Elizabeth out of the hall and up the stairs.

  “Elsie, this is Lady Lilliana, my sister by marriage. Her husband, Sir Hamish, is Laird MacKenzie’s younger brother.”

  “Good evening, my lady. Are ye Sir Eric’s mother then?”

  The lady smiled. “Aye, Elsie, I am.”

  “It’s lovely to meet ye both.”

  “I trust Eric and Cade behaved themselves on the journey?” Lilliana’s eyes danced with mirth, suggesting that she suspected the contrary.

  Elizabeth smiled. “Sir Eric was a perfect gentleman.”

  Amused, Lady MacKenzie added, “And Cade was a bit of a rogue.”

  “A bit. But I’ve handled worse.”

  Both women laughed.

  When they reached the bedchamber, Lilliana lit candles. Lady MacKenzie asked, “How would ye like to proceed, Elsie?”

  “First, I’d just like to ask ye some questions.” She motioned towards a table and chairs near the hearth. “Shall we sit?”

  Lady MacKenzie nodded, taking one of the chairs. Elsie too sat and Lilliana joined them once the room was sufficiently well lit.

  “My lady, when did yer courses come last?”

  “The middle of November. But they don’t always come as they should, thus I didn’t think anything about missing them in December. But when I realized I was more tired than usual and they didn’t come in January, I suspected I was carrying. Morag confirmed it.”

  Elizabeth asked her about her other pregnancies and although she knew generally what had happened, Lady MacKenzie told her the sad story. Elizabeth probed for details as sensitively as she could. Learning that Wyna had carried the first baby into the seventh month and that he lived for a few hours was heartbreaking. With twenty-first century technology, it was highly likely that son would be alive today.

  By the time Elizabeth had learned Wynda MacKenzie’s full history, Morag, the midwife, had arrived. Elizabeth had been a bit worried. She had feared that Morag might see her as a threat, but she was pleasantly surprised. Morag was a sturdy, no-nonsense, older woman who only wanted the best for her lady. She seemed fully prepared to give Elizabeth an opportunity to prove herself.

  “Thank ye for answering my questions, my lady. It is important for me to know all
that has happened so far.”

  “I understand,” said Lady Wynda.

  “I promise ye, I’ll do everything possible to keep it from happening again. May I examine ye?”

  “Aye, lass.” Lady MacKenzie gave her a small sad smile. “That is why we’ve brought ye here is it not?”

  Elizabeth smiled. “Aye, it is.”

  Elizabeth helped her onto the bed and examined her gently. When she was through she sat beside her. “My lady, just as ye suspect, ye are about three months pregnant and I expect the baby is due near the end of August. I think I know what the problem in the past might have been.” How was she going to explain an incompetent cervix to three medieval women?

  “The problem?”

  “Aye. The opening to a woman’s womb usually remains firm and closed until the baby is ready. Then it softens and opens, allowing the baby to be born. But sometimes this softening happens early. Then the weight of the developing baby pushes on it, forcing it open too early.”

  “And this is what’s wrong?”

  “Aye, my lady. The opening to your womb isn’t strong enough to hold the baby under normal circumstances.”

  “How do ye know that?” asked Morag, appearing truly interested.

  “The number of miscarriages she’s had and the fact that they have occurred well into each pregnancy is the most telling. However, even now the opening to her womb is beginning to shorten.”

  Tears filled Wynda’s eyes. “So there is nothing ye can do?”

  There were lots of things Elizabeth could do in the twenty-first century. However even if she had the proper equipment, they were not without risk. But thankfully there was something very basic they could try. “Actually, we can do something. It’s simple really. It’s the pressure of the baby as it grows that opens the womb. If we put ye on strict bedrest—I mean lying in bed, flat or on yer left side, not even sitting up—the pressure is removed.”

  “Lie in bed? For six months?”

  “My lady, if ye had carried all of yer pregnancies into the fifth month or later, I might be comfortable waiting a bit, but ye lost the last one at barely four months. If ye go into labor, there is nothing I can do, so we must do everything possible to delay labor as long as we can.”

  “What do ye think Morag?” Lady Wynda asked.

  “I’ve never heard anything like this. But it makes a certain kind of sense.”

  “So, Elsie, if I stay in bed, the bairn will be all right?”

  “If ye stay in bed, there is a chance, a good chance that ye can carry the babe long enough. Mind ye, ye can only get up to use the chamber pot. Also, ye must not…uh…have marital relations. And when the babe is bigger we may need to put blocks under the foot of the bed. That will take more of the baby’s weight off of the opening to yer womb.”

  “That’s all?”

  “Aye, my lady, I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry? Why? Ye have given me hope and I agree with Morag, what ye say makes sense.”

  “It still may not be enough, but I know it can work.”

  Lady Wynda’s gaze locked with hers. “Elsie, I would do nearly anything to keep from losing this bairn. I have prayed constantly to the Blessed Virgin since the first moment I suspected I was carrying. I am willing to believe ye are the answer to my prayers.”

  That statement nearly took Elizabeth’s breath away. No one had ever said anything like that to her.

  Turning to her sister-in-law Wynda said, “Lilliana, would ye help manage the running of this household for the next six months?”

  “Wynda, ye needn’t even ask. Of course I will.”

  “Would ye start by seeing that Elsie is given a chamber?”

  Before Lilliana could answer, Morag said, “My lady, she is welcome to stay with me in my cottage.”

  “That is kind of ye Morag. And I am happy for her to help ye in yer work, but I’d prefer if she stayed within the keep. Honestly, Lilliana, I would like her given a room on this floor.”

  Lilliana nodded her head. “If that would give ye peace of mind, I’ll see it done.”

  “Now, lass, ye were barely through the door and we brought ye up before ye could eat even a morsel of supper. Lilliana will see that ye’re fed and I expect after three days on the road, ye might like a bath.”

  “Aye, my lady, I would. Thank ye.” Elizabeth was sure she had never needed a bath more in her life.

  “I’ll see to it, Wynda,”

  “One more thing,” added Elizabeth, “since Lady MacKenzie must stay flat I would be more comfortable if someone is always with her.”

  “Aye, that’s wise. I’ll send Alice up to help ye.”

  “Thank ye, Lilliana. I too think I would feel better if I wasn’t alone and if Elsie wants me to lie down, I may as well start now.”

  Lilliana reached out and squeezed Wynda’s hand. “By the Grace of God, these months will fly and come harvest time we will celebrate a new life.”

  Wynda nodded, holding onto Lilliana’s hand as if it were a life-line.

  Elizabeth was awed by the love and friendship between the two women. She couldn’t think of anyone in her life with whom she felt that kind of closeness. She was suddenly struck with the single-minded desire to bring this baby into the world. Get that thought out of your head, Elizabeth. You will return to the twenty-first century long before then.

  ~ * ~

  “Cade, by all that’s good and holy, how could ye possibly believe that lass was a midwife?” his father asked.

  “Da, ye saw her. Have ye ever encountered a young common lass who would speak to a nobleman as she just did? With the impunity of a peer? She firmly believes she can assist Wynda. And she was able to help Kelvin MacLennan.”

  “But she’s a child.”

  “I know, and I can’t explain it, but I’m certain she’s telling us the truth. Still, we’ll know more after Morag and Aunt Lilliana have taken the measure of her.”

  Nearly three quarters of an hour later, when the meal had been cleared and only his father, Eric and Uncle Hamish remained at the table, Lilliana and Morag returned to the hall with Elsie.

  “Well?” demanded Angus.

  “Elsie thinks she knows what the problem is and she has told us what to do about it,” answered Aunt Lilliana.

  “Do ye believe her?”

  “Aye, Angus, I do.”

  “Morag, do ye?”

  “Aye, Laird. Elsie, perhaps ye should explain it to the Laird.”

  Elsie frowned and hesitated. “I would prefer not to talk about Lady MacKenzie’s condition to others without her being present.”

  “Nonsense,” roared Laird MacKenzie. “I’m her husband and her laird. Not to mention that for the time being I’m yer laird as well and ye’re trying my patience. Tell me now.”

  Elsie sighed. “All right, if ye insist.” She proceeded to tell them about the problem.

  Angus frowned. “The opening of her womb is weak? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

  Morag jumped to her aid. “I’ve never heard it explained as she did. But it makes sense and I have known other women, seemingly healthy women, who couldn’t ever carry a bairn past the sixth or seventh month. And just like it has been with Lady Wynda, the babes seemed to be perfectly normal too, just too small to live.”

  “All she has to do is stay in bed?”

  Elsie nodded. “Aye. Flat in bed, and…”

  “And what?”

  “Now that I think on it, perhaps it would be better if Lady MacKenzie tells ye.”

  His father practically growled. “I asked ye to tell me and ye will answer me. Now.”

  Elsie cocked her head to one side putting her hands on her hips and fixing him with a stern look. “Well, if ye insist. Ye and Lady MacKenzie must not engage in…marital relations.”

  Cade could barely keep from laughing at the shocked expression on his father’s face. That slip of a lass had left him speechless. Uncle Hamish looked equally as shocked. Cade suspected that his father and step-mother’s mari
tal relations had never been so publically addressed. Still, his father had asked for it.

  Aunt Lilliana looked as if she was having trouble containing her own mirth. It was Morag who stepped in. “Well now, Elsie hasn’t eaten and would like a bath. I’ll just show her to the kitchen on my way out.” She took Elsie’s elbow, guiding her quickly out the back of the hall.

  They were barely out the door when his father finally found his voice. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  Cade grinned. “Nay, Da, ye won’t be damned, just sorely vexed by a cheeky, young, midwife.”

  His Aunt Lilliana frowned, “Why is it if a young warrior arrived full of bold confidence and proved himself to be worthy, yer description of him would glow with praise, but when a lass demonstrates equally admirable skills, she’s ‘cheeky’?”

  Her husband, Hamish, barked a laugh. “That’s a silly question, it’s because she’s a lass not a warrior.”

  She just shook her head, saying under her breath, “Grant me strength,” before adding, “Pardon me, please, I must see that a chamber is readied for her.”

  “A chamber?” Angus asked.

  Cade too was a bit surprised at that. He expected that she would sleep in the great hall as many of the people who worked in the keep did.

  “Aye, Angus. Wynda wants her close.”

  That was all it took to stop any argument. Cade knew his father would grant Wynda anything that was within his power.

  Chapter 8

  “Did ye do that a’purpose, Elsie?” Morag asked, after they were out of earshot.

  “What?”

  “Embarrass Laird MacKenzie.”

  “Oh, I didn’t do that. He managed it all on his own. I tried to keep it all private and he pushed for details.”

  Morag stifled a chuckle. “Perhaps so, but ye might want to avoid giving him those opportunities in the future. He is a good man and a good laird, but I suspect ye might not see much of that side of him if ye goad him like that.”

  “Then I suspect he should be careful pushing me for details he might not want to hear in front of others.”

  She did chuckle at that. “Ye are an odd lass, Elsie. But ye’ve given Lady MacKenzie some much needed hope.”

  Like Brathanead, the kitchen at Carraigile was a separate building outside the keep. Morag introduced her to Ellen, the head cook before saying, “I’ll leave ye now. Ellen will see ye fed and show ye to the bathing room.”