Page 97 of The Moonstone Major
“No, my love. Never as bright as tonight.”
“Does it have a significance?”
She nodded. “Yes, it means we are going to have a very good marriage.”
Chapter Nineteen
One year later
Moonstone Landing, Cornwall
Fionn raced backto Moonstone Cottage, spurring Sophocles to eat up the ground beneath his hooves on this blustery afternoon. He dismounted as soon as he reached the courtyard and tossed the reins to Mr. Hawke. “Has the midwife been summoned?”
“Yes, m’lord. She is here already. So are Lady Chloe’s sisters. I don’t think they will let you into your bedchamber.”
He frowned. “But it is mine, and Chloe is my wife.”
“Aye, and a lovely wife she is, too. But that chamber is not yours today. It’s a birthing room now, and you had better stay out if you know what’s good for you. Those Killigrew sisters may be little things, but they will run you off quite handily. They don’t care that you are now a viscount. They still outrank you, and are not going to let you interfere.”
Perhaps this was how it was with other husbands, but Fionn had to let Chloe know he was here.
Lord, did all husbands go through this torment? His heart was in his throat. His lungs felt ready to burst.
Only Chloe could order him out of their bedchamber. If she wanted him to leave, then he would. It would devastate him, but he would do anything she asked. Anything to keep her safe and make her happy.
He heard her cry out.
He tore upstairs.
Blessed saints, he did not want her to suffer. “Keep her safe,” he prayed, for nothing else mattered. He burst into their chamber and saw her doubled over on the bed, her sisters and the midwife beside her. “Chloe.”
He could hardly speak her name, for his heart was tearing to pieces. She was in pain, and there was nothing he could do to relieve it other than pray harder than he had ever prayed in his life.
“Fionn…our babe is coming.”
He knelt by her side and gently stroked her sweaty face. “I know, my love. What can I do for you?”
“Nothing, I’m afraid. This is one time I must be in complete charge and do this on my own. They’ll chase you out in a moment, and I won’t stop them. I…” She winced as another contraction overwhelmed her. “I am in good hands. I don’t want you to see me like this.”
“You are beautiful, Chloe. I will never see you as anything less than perfect.”
She laughed through another contraction. “I love you, Fionn. I want you to know this no matter what happens.”
His heart was in tatters, and even those tatters now shredded some more. “Nothing will happen to you. I won’t let it.”
“You know it is out of both of our hands, my love.”
“Go downstairs, Fionn,” Phoebe said, taking his arm and gently urging him away. “Stay close by, but you cannot remain in here. Chloe needs to be able to push her hardest and cry out in pain if she must. She won’t do that while you are watching her.”
“Our husbands have been through this before,” Hen said. “They’ll come over soon to keep you company. Just wait downstairs and grab yourself a stiff drink. It will be hours yet.”
Fionn obeyed for Chloe’s sake. He did not want her holding back in any way. But the wait was unbearable.
Hours?
Pain tore through him every time Chloe cried out. More pain tore through him every time there was ominous silence.
When he could take no more, he strode out of the house and made his way to the beach stairs. He settled on the top stair and lost himself in worry while gazing at the fathomless sea. Nothing mattered but Chloe. Not the new hospital that had taken up these past few years of his life in the planning and construction. It would have its official opening next month, and he needed Chloe to be there with him, to see the hospital garden designed by her and her ladies’ village beautification club in full bloom.
