Page 94 of Wild Hearts

"What is wrong?" she asked, alarmed.

"Oh, Tabrizia, 'Tis your father. He has had some sort of bad attack. I don't think there is any hope; he is dying, and he has been asking for you over and over."

"Come inside, Margaret. I'll change into my boots and get my warm cloak."

Margaret's eyes slid to her swollen belly, and she said slyly, "Oh, I don't think you should come when your time is so near. I told Magnus you had more important things to think of than him at the moment."

"Of course I shall come," insisted Tabrizia. "Just let me change into warmer clothes. We can take it in easy stages. I feel fine. What sort of an attack was it? Is he suffering greatly?"

"Hurry, we can talk on the ride up to TantalIon," urged Margaret.

Tabrizia came hurrying back, wrapped in her fur cloak. "I'll just tell Alexandria I'm going to Tantallon."

"I just told her," lied Margaret quickly, "and she told me to tell you Paris would forbid you to go

"Yes, I know he would," agreed Tabrizia softly, "but I must. You understand, don't you, Margaret?"

"I'll look after you. You can rely on me," stated Margaret briskly.

.Only one young stable hand was there as she took her mare from its stall. He quickly saddled up for her and assisted her to mount. He wanted to say something, but her condition made him tongue-tied, and the moment was lost as the two young women briskly cantered from the stables.

Paris went straight to the jeweler's to pick up the ring he had had especially designed for his wife. He had not given Tabrizia a ring of her own when they wed, and she had made do with his huge emerald. Now he had bought her an emerald of her own, surrounded by exquisitely pale amethysts. As he left the jeweler's, an uneasiness crept upon him. As he looked homeward to the northeast, great snow clouds had gathered, and he knew from experience that they were in for a heavy storm. When he reflected for a moment, he remembered the dawn sky had been blood red when he arose, a sure sign that bad weather would descend before sunset. He had been given the address of a competent midwife, and he hurried there now. She was about to depart on another case. Quickly, he made a decision. He pressed money into her hand and arranged for her to follow on the morrow, assuring her he would send a carriage; then, without even stopping to water his horse, he headed back to Cockburnspath.

Before Margaret and Tabrizia reached the peak of the first summit, the snowstorm hit. One moment it was gentle, drifting snowflakes, the next it was driving; swirling, white blindness.

"Margaret, we must go back," shouted Tabrizia.

"No, no. I know a shortcut. Follow me and keep close," ordered Margaret in a determined voice.

"What the hell is Margaret trying to do?" she muttered to herself. Then her attention focused on her body as it was gripped with a spasm of pain, and she knew her labor had. begun.

She lifted her head sideways to keep the driving snow from her eyes, and began to panic when she realized the horse ahead of her had disappeared. "Margaret, Margaret!" she cried, "I cannot see you!"

Margaret slowed down, and once again Tabrizia could make out the dark shape through the blinding whiteness. There it was again! This time the pain seared down her back, knocking the wind from her completely. "Margaret! My pains have started," she shouted helplessly.

Margaret rode up alongside her mare. "Oh, my dear; dismount, and we will rest a moment and decide what to do. Give me your reins, and I will hold her steady," she instructed.

Tabrizia, her thoughts in disarray, handed over the reins and slid to the ground. Margaret did not dismount but paused to look at her for a long moment. "You stupid bitch! You are just as your mother was." She dug in her spurs and vanished in a cloud of snow taking Tabrizia's horse with her.

It took Tabrizia a few moments to realize that Margaret would not come back. This was deliberate. Margaret was insane. She walked a few feet; by now the snow was halfway up to her knees. She seemed to be on top of a ridge; if her bearings were correct. She followed it until the strength of the wind made her realize she would be better off if she started down from the ridge a little way. The swirling snow was blowing into drifts, some reaching up to her thighs by the time she sank down in agony with another contraction.

She started to talk to her baby calmly. "'Tis all right. We will be all right. I won't let anything happen to you." Then she prayed silently to her mother, "Please, show me which way to go." Over there! What was that in the fold of the hill? She had seen something. She set off in that direction, but once again the pain was bringing her to her knees. She closed her eyes while her midsection went rigid, totally oblivious to the bone-chilling, cold snow in which she was half-buried.

The pain eased until she was again able to breathe and open her eyes. From her kneeling position she could see the entrance to a shieling, one of those cave-like shelters that shepherds used in just such storms as this. Tabrizia crawled inside the darkened lair, deeply thankful for the dry little haven that blocked the bitter wind and driving snow so effectively. She offered a prayer of thanks immediately, knowing she would need further divine intervention before long. As she rested, Paris's words came to her clearly. He had tried to impress upon her how sudden these snowstorms could blow up in the Borders. She must keep thinking of him, sending out signals from her heart. He would be determined enough to find her. How angry he would be at her foolishness!

At the noon meal Mrs. Hall asked Alexandria where Tabrizia was.

"I haven't laid eyes on her today," mentioned the younger woman.

"You dinna think his lordship took her wi' him to Edinburgh, do you?" asked Mrs. Hall anxiously.

"Lord, I wouldn't think so, when it is this close to her time, but you never know. My brother is like a dog with a bone when it comes to his lady love. I think we'd better make sure. Troy, as soon as you have finished eating, you had better go and search the stables and the outbuildings. If she has started in labor, she could be stuck somewhere and desperately in need of help."

Adam Gordon looked worried. "It is snowing heavily out there. You don't think she could have fallen in the snow, do you?"

Troy said, "Let's go. We'll get a search party together. You had better go over the castle room by room."

As Tabrizia rested between the pains, she considered Margaret's words about her mother. Indeed, there were glaring similarities between them. They had both been loved by great lords, but when they had tried to give their men a child, fate had stepped in to ensure their destruction.

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