Chapter One
Rain lashed at the window, the gale rattled the shutters and marbled the candle light against the wall. Maeva grimaced as she lay in the bed, she was tired, so tired. How much longer must she wait and struggle? How long could it possib–
"Aaagh!" Maeva clenched her fists and stared at the wooden door. Where had that woman got to?
Footsteps echoed along the stone corridor outside, the steady stride of the midwife, and the lighter patter of her assistant's tread. Maeva had learned to distinguish the two over the past day and night. Had it really only been twenty four hours or so since she arrived? It seemed to her like a life time. Her baby seemed to be fretting, restless. She rubbed her swollen belly, and adjusted the wool blanket, it kept entangling around her bare feet. If only she were at home, she mused. If she were in her own room, with her mother at her side, then maybe this would be easier. But that was not to be, for her journey had to be postponed until the storm ceased its fury. The roads would be flooded, or at the very least too muddy and treacherous to allow passage for a horse and carriage.
“Here we are my dear, now don’t you fret, Nanna’s here!” The midwife bustled into the room, a pail of steaming water in her dumpy hands. Nanna was the head midwife at the town infirmary, she had been for years. Everyone called her ‘Nanna’, at sixty four years of age she still had the zest of life about her, but it was warmed by a grand-mothers heart. She set the pail down gently, adjusted her spectacles and lay a hand on Maeva’s forehead, and smiled.
“Now then, seems your fever has started to fade, let’s have a look at the babby”.
“How are we doing, Nanna?” panted Maeva, laying against the cushions. “How much longer?”
“Well” replied Nanna, looking thoughtful, her deep grey eyes flicking to her assistant, then nodding. “I think your little one will be here before dawn”. She wet a towel and wiped Maeva’s brow. “And when your baby does arrive, it will all be worth it. I’ve delivered hundreds of children, you know. I’ve seen all walks of life my girl, but the day I first helped a mother give birth, well, that day I realised…”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaah!” Maeva squealed as another contraction ripped through her.
“Nanna, please save the sentiment until afterwards! Please… Just tell me what to do!”
“All right, child. You are doing just fine, trust me. Everything is as it should be, and I have told you all you need to know, I will be here every step of the way”. She pushed some grey hair out of her eyes, and went to re-light a lamp that had been blown out by the loose shutters.
