(Still told from William's point of view)
I carefully wiped the blood from a cut on the left side of Mary's head. Then I placed my right fore and middle fingers on her throat and felt for a pulse. She was still breathing but her pulse was very faint. I moved my hands up and down Mary's body, assessing it for injury. As I slid my hand over her stomach and lower body, I inhaled sharply, trying to contain myself; something was wrong. As I continued to assess Mary for injury, I began to fear the worst.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up. A pair of brown eyes stared down at me.
"Captain, what are you doing here?" I managed.
"I just got back from camp..what the hell happened!"
"I don't bloody know!" I answered frantically. "All I know is that it involved O'Hara!"
"Is she alive?"
"Yes but the pulse is faint."
Suddenly, Cornwallis burst through the doors of the estate, followed by two doctors, who carefully picked Mary up and carried her into one of the vacant rooms on the first floor. There, the doctors laid her down on the bed and began to strip her of her clothing.
"What is going on!" I asked, my voice rising in anger and fear.
"It's alright Colonel; just step out of the room and we'll give you the results when we're finished."
"Are you mad!" I cried. "My wife is unconscious and bleeding, not to mention, she's pregnant, and you want me to step out of the room and leave her with two men I don't know, and stripped at that! You have got to be thick to think that what you just asked me to do is going to sit well with me!"
"Sir, it only for procedures. We won't harm her in any way." Said one of the doctors.
I stared hard at the doctor who spoke to me.
"Alright, I'll leave, but if she dies, I'll kill you."
I paced outside the room, every muscle in my body tense. One hour passed, then two; I was going completely mad inside. What was taking so long!
I paced outside for another hour. Then, one of the doctors called me in. My eyes grew wide upon seeing the room. Blood was everywhere, on the walls, on the bed sheets, and even the doctors were coloured crimson.
"What happened in here?" I asked.
"I'll explain from the beginning." Said the doctor who had ushered me into the room. "I heard from Cornwallis that Mary was found unconscious and bleeding at the bottom of the stairs; at the same time, O'Hara was standing at the top of the stairs, so, considering the relationship between O'Hara and you and your wife, as well as the amount of injury sustained by Mary, we believe she was pushed down the stairs by the general."
"How badly was she injured?" I asked, not entirely sure if I wanted to know the answer.
"Well, her breathing has improved but she sustained a slight concussion, and a sprained wrist; she's also got some bruises but the real damage is…. is…."
"Is what?" I asked fearfully.
The doctor inhaled sharply and said, "Her stomach hit the stairs more than once, and hard at that; your baby daughter did not survive."
The doctor's words sounded louder than a cannon, exploding in my ears.
"No… it can't be…no!" I cried.
My composure was quickly unraveling and I had not a prayer of regaining it.
"Are you finished here?" I asked the doctors.
"Yes."
"Then leave me, that I may be alone with Mary."
"But Sir, the room is still bloody…"
"I don't bloody care!" I yelled. "I'll have it cleaned later!"
The doctors quickly left the room.
I walked over to where Mary lay, still unconscious, and knelt down beside the bed, resting my right hand on her head. Tears fell from my eyes and for the first time in years, I allowed them to fall freely. I felt what I feared to feel for so long; I felt weak and helpless. And it didn't make matters any better that I would have to explain the situation to Mary when she regained consciousness. How was I to tell her that our child, our daughter, was dead?