Page 246 of Storm over the Caribbean
“Mrs Ambrose?”
She blinked up at me owlishly, as if only just now reminded that I existed. Then her eyes drifted to my left, as if seeing another person there.
“Mrs Ambrose?”
In answer, her legs gave way.
Son of a…!
“Mrs Ambrose!”
In a blink, I was beside her, catching her in my arms and—
“Ng! How are you this heavy?!”
“W…what?” she mumbled.
Thinking about what I had said just now, I was suddenly very glad she was not entirely conscious.
Still, this state of affairs could not continue. I had to get her to talk to me! To keep her awake!
“Mrs Ambrose? Mrs Ambrose, Answer me!”
No answer. Why did I ever think that silence was a good thing? Inwardly, I cursed my foolish past self.
“Lillian! Lillian, are you…?”
“It’s…it’s nothing,” she murmured, grabbing a nearby tree to try and pull herself upright. “I’m all right. We can go on.”
At which point she swayed like a reed in the wind, nearly toppling over again. My eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “Yes, and my name is Kickhard Slamnose!”
“It is?” she blinked up at me. “I’ll ’ave to remember that.”
Now her speech was slurred. This was getting worse and worse.
“This isnotthe time for levity, Mrs Ambrose.”
“You’re right.” Once again, her hand came to rest on my belly. I nearly missed how it trembled ever so slightly. “It really isn’t. It’s time to move.” She pushed her way out of my arms—or rather, she tried to, and I let her go. I knew my wife. If I let her go, she might fall and hurt herself. But if I tried to restrain her, she woulddefinitelyhurt herself.
Still, I made sure to remain close behind her.
“We have…to go on. We have…to…”
And well I did. When she stumbled and fell, I was right there to catch her. She tried to move forward again and once more nearly fell, only barely managing to steady herself by grabbing onto a tree.
Enough.
“Stop!”
“I…can’t stop. Water, I—”
“That is what I’m talking about, Mrs Ambrose! Stop! I…I…” My eyes flicked from left to right, finally landing on a small reddish-green fruit hanging from a bush not far away. One that I had never seen before and did not know the name of. Taking a deep breath, I came to a decision. “I found water!”
“What?” She whirled around, gaze scouring the surroundings. Her eyes were frantic and slightly glassy. It seemed as if she weren’t quite here anymore, and she would keel over any moment. “Where? Where is it?”
All right, that’s it!
There was no time to waste. The moment to act had come.
