Page 119 of The English Queen

It was painful. Robbie winced. However, he did not tear up. It was as if he was incapable. Elliot was tearful but it was Duncan who blubbered. Robbie wasn’t surprised by his twin’s reaction. Duncan was always Maggie’s favourite and the eternal mama’s boy.

“Beth?” Maggie said to Keir, only half there.

“Hen, she’s on her way,” Keir choked out, tears in his eyes. “Just rest. She is going to be here. She had to go home so she could take care of the baby.”

Robbie checked his watch and prayed Maggie held a bit longer. She was holding out for her youngest child. And once Beth was there, she would pass. She had the best few days in ages with Beth. She was no doubt tired. She’d not held back a moment. Sabine brushed her sister’s face, lovingly and squeezed her hand. Everyone was silent until the door flung open, and Beth rushed in, looking frightened.

“Mummy, Mummy!” she pushed to the bed next to Keir, climbed onto it, and leaned over Maggie. “I’m here, Mummy. It’s Bethy.”

“Bug?” Maggie said, quietly.

“Yes, Mummy. It’s me.”

Maggie smiled, “I love… you all.”

“We know, Mummy,” Robbie confirmed as Beth hugged her.

“Mummy, you don’t need to be brave,” Elliot insisted. “We’re all here with you. We all love you so much. We want you to be at peace.”

“I have to go. I will,” her breathing was so laboured and her normally booming voice was so quiet, “I will… I will say hello to Mum, Sab.”

“Do. And Papa. Give them the biggest hug and kiss. Say hello to them all and be in peace, darling,” Sabine’s voice trembled, and she kissed her sister’s hand.

Beth wailed and threw herself down next to her mother on the bed. Robbie’s first reaction was to remove her and try to comfort her elsewhere as you might a child, but Duncan shook his head. It was as if he knew it would only upset Beth. They coped in their own way. However, seeing Beth losing her mind over this was difficult. Beth was usually so stoic. She had not been the past few days. Vanna said something changed when you became a mother. Maybe motherhood made Beth a bit more sympathetic to some of the misguided things their mother said. They connected on another level late in life. And, with all the hormones, Beth struggled.

It was a couple more hours. Maggie breathed slower and slower. She rasped painfully. She never returned to consciousness. The nurse gave her another dose of medication and assured them it wouldn’t be long. She encouraged them to talk to Maggie if they wanted. It did no harm, and she was at peace. Around six, there was a knock at the door. Robbie answered it to find Vanna there with Kiersten at her feet and Margie in her arms.

“Louis came up here with the baby. He topped her off at four but he’s wondering if Beth wants to feed her?”

“I can ask. She’s pretty broken up,” Robbie said as Kiersten expressed her jealous malcontent to Vanna. He pulled the door shut to find Beth.

“Bethy, Louis came, and he brought the baby. She needs a feed. You don’t have to do it, but he wants to know if you would like to feed her?”

Beth sat up, eyes red from crying, “Yes, I should.”

Robbie collected Margie and brought her to the bed where Beth sat, cross legged. Duncan hopped to grab a pillow from a sofa in the corner to help Beth support the baby. The room was silent apart from the sound of the baby eating and Maggie’s occasional rattle. When the baby was done, Robbie walked the room until a footman brought Vanna for the handoff.

Then, it stopped.

Robbie was not sure if someone audibly announced that his mother had passed or if they all just knew.

Somehow, Beth knew. It hit her surprisingly hard.

“Mummy! Mummy! Mummy! No,” Beth sobbed, gripping onto Maggie as if holding on would bring her back. It wouldn’t.

It was painful to listen. After some time, it took both Duncan and Elliot to pull her off Maggie, leaving Keir beside the bed and Beth sobbing on the floor. Sabine attempted to comfort her niece and it was clear Keir wanted a moment alone with his wife. Robbie gave his mother one last kiss on the cheek and physically picked up her youngest child and carried her into the hall, not sure what else to do. Beth sobbed until he found where everyone else gathered in a drawing room.

Robbie handed her to Louis, who deposited Beth on the couch. Nira stepped in to take her newborn cousin in her arms so that Louis could comfort his wife.

“Why is Auntie so sad?” Natalie asked Robbie.

“Granny is gone. Aunt Beth is dreadfully sad. We are all hurting. But, kids, your grandmother is no longer in pain. She loved you most of all. Up to the end.”

“May her life be a blessing,” Vanna said. “As the Jews say. Her memory was a blessing. We should remember that always.”

“Indeed,” Robbie was unable to cry.

“I am sorry. We have all lost her,” Rita hugged Robbie. “It was hard. Her life was complicated, yes, but she just wanted us to continue what she started. We will do just that, Robert.”

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