Page 60 of A Husband for Esyllt
Blood. Unmistakable. And now he knew where it came from.
In three strides, he had reached her. Cursing his earlier intransigeance, he swept her into his arms and carried her to the nearest bed, his own, in the chamber just behind. Against him he could feel her tremble, and heard her murmur to herself incessantly, as if by doing so she could to stave off tears. ‘My baby’ was all he could hear.
His baby, too.
Conceived that night he had thought they might be able to come up with an understanding, the only night they had made love. His baby, the baby he had fathered onto his wife, the woman he loved. And now he had endangered it by forcing its mother to come and find him hundreds of miles away from her home because he had been too proud, too stupid to relent and listen to her in three long months. No wonder she’d given up hope of a reconciliation. No wonder she had undertaken the dangerous journey. He should never have left her alone for so long, whatever his recriminations, he should have written at the very least, he should not have let her believe he cared nothing for her.
Well, now was not the time to think about all that. Now was the time to do what had to be done. He could drown in self-loathing later, once Esyllt had had the help she needed. He would not fail her a second time.
“Matthew!” he bellowed, feeling like a murderer. His brother appeared at the end of the corridor a mere moment later. “Go and get Mistress Annie in the village. Now!”
The woman had attended to his late wife and baby daughter the previous year. She would know what to do. He, by contrast, had never felt more powerless. Esyllt was lying on the bed, curled up in a ball, eyes closed. He came to lie beside her and took her into his arms, rocking her, murmuring soothing words into her ear.
“I don’t want to lose my baby,” was all she repeated, tears streaming down her cheeks. No other words passed her lips, and he was sure that no other thought crossed her mind. It was the same with him.
“I don’t want you to lose this baby, either,” he said, speaking against her temple. “I’m so sorry.”
His hands landed on top of hers, cradling her stomach, which still felt flat. He guessed she would have set off from Esgyrn Castle as soon as she had missed her courses, intent on telling him about it. In any case, he knew exactly when the babe had been conceived. No more than three months ago, in his bed. Not for a moment did he think to doubt her and attribute the paternity to an elusive lover.
At long length there was a knock and the door opened. Connor raised his head. Matthew was staring at him with a creased brow.
“Mistress Annie has arrived,” he announced cautiously.
His brother would be wondering why a midwife had been summoned. Then his eyes darted to Esyllt’s bloodied hand still cradling her stomach. He blanched when he realized what was going on.
“Let her in,” Connor said, standing up.
A plump woman wearing a crisp linen dress entered. She was smiling, which seemed almost sacrilegious to Connor. How could anyone smile right now?
“My lord, how can I help?”
Instead of answering, he turned to look at Esyllt, who had barely stirred. “Please, my wife,” was all he said.
The smile disappeared, replaced by a very welcome sense of focus. “I need a moment with her ladyship.”
Connor would have stayed but Matthew pulled him to the door. “Your wife will not thank you for it if you stay now,” he said gently. “This is woman’s work.”
“I have to stay. You don’t understand, it’s?—”
“It’s not your fault,” Matthew cut in immediately. “Come. Let the woman do what she does best. You can come back to see your wife afterward.”
He led him to the great hall and proceeded to pour him a glass of ale, then another when the first one was emptied in one gulp. Mercifully, he stayed silent all the while. There was nothing to say, nothing to soften the horror of what was happening. Then Jane burst into the room.
“Guess what. I’ve just shown Siân our bed and she immediately fell asleep on it. The travel was rather tiring for her, I suppose.”
Yes. It had been. For her and her mother. And now Esyllt might be paying for it with their baby’s life.
“Come here, sweetheart. I’ve missed you so much!” He almost crushed her in his arms, needing the comfort of her small body now more than ever.
“I’ve missed you, too. I’m sorry I wanted to stay at Castell Esgyrn instead of coming here with you. But you see, I did not know you would be gone for so long and Siân needed me. I could not leave her, not after what had happened to her.”
“What was that?” He frowned. What had happened to her? He’d not been told anything.
“She was taken by that horrid man Gruffydd to spend the night at his place and was left almost on her own. She’d thought Mother would be there at first, but there was only his niece, who was nowhere near as nice.” The little girl leaned in to whisper into his ear. “Do not tell her I told you as much, but she said she’d been rather afraid.”
Connor stole a glance at Matthew. The expression of horror on his face mirrored what he felt. Because now he understood everything. Esyllt had been blackmailed, and that was why she had handed him over to the Welsh rebels. Before abductinghim, Gruffydd had abducted Siân, thereby forcing her to obey his instructions for fear she would never see her daughter again. Her betrayal had not been motivated by anything other than the need to save her child from harm, something any mother would do.
“Jesus,” Connor mouthed.
