Disclaimer: I do not own anything Peaky Blinder related, that belongs to the series creator Steven Knight.
Face Claim for Rosemary Parker: Celina Sinden.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Martha Shelby.
The sound of someone pounding on her front door made Rosemary frown, she peered over her shoulder to the empty space beside her before she moved to get out of bed; she was not even surprised to see that Thomas was not next to her. Shaking her head, Rosemary climbed out of bed and reached for her dressing gown; she pulled it around her as she headed out of her room and down the stairs. The noise at the door was only getting louder as she approached it, she was almost surprised when she opened the door to find Ada standing there in her night clothes and little else in the pouring down rain.
"Ada?" Rosemary asked confused, she had no idea what had happened and why her sister-in-law was here at such a late hour; it was not safe to be walking the streets at this hour of the night. The look on Ada's face made Rosemary's stomach turn, Ada's face was wet with tears and she was shaking making Rosemary fear what had happened; things had been going so well for them as of late.
"You have to come quick. It's Martha," Ada explained, she had come as quickly as she could when Polly had sent her to get Rosemary; she hadn't been allowed inside but she knew it was bad from the look on her aunt's face. Rosemary did not hesitate for a moment, she moved to pull on her shoes as Ada stepped into the house; she was not going to be much help and she would remain here to watch Kathleen.
Hurrying out the door in no more than her night clothes, dressing down and shoes; Rosemary did not look back as she hurried in the direction of John and Martha's home fearing what she might find. It had only been the other day that she had seen the other woman and she knew how excited she had been about the impending birth of her fourth child.
They had talked names and Martha had seemed a little tired but with three other children to manage she was pushing through it; Rosemary had not been surprised and had done her best to help in any way that she could. Arriving at the house, Rosemary did not stop as she spotted John standing on the door step; he looked pale and he only nodded in greeting, he allowed her to pass as he continued to wait for his brothers to arrive.
The birth of the newest Shelby was something to be celebrated and it was the first time since they had returned from war that something good had happened. They would likely disappear down to the pub to wet the baby's head as they waited for the news that the baby had been born and it was safe for them to come home.
Rosemary did not pay him much attention, she headed up the stairs to where she could hear the sounds that reminded her much of the day that Kathleen had been born. Stepping inside the room, Rosemary came to a complete stop at the sight that greeted her; she closed the door firmly behind her knowing that this could not end well, this was not what she had been expecting when Ada had come to get her.
Polly was trying to comfort Martha, who looked extremely pale while the bed beneath her was covered in blood; she hesitated for a moment not sure what to do to help. Taking a deep breath, Rosemary moved further into the room not sure if she had ever seen so much blood in her life; she doubted that John was aware of just what was happening in here. This was no place for a man, although Rosemary was certain that the younger man would like to know that his wife was in danger; it would not do for him to wander to far now.
"Rose?" Martha whispered turning her head to smile weakly at her friend, she weakly reached out to her knowing that this was her end; she did not see how she could survive birthing her child but she would do it. She would do it for John, she knew that he would not be able to handle the three that they had and a newborn would be just too much for his plate. Taking Martha's hand, Rosemary gave it a squeeze to let her know that she was not alone; she did not look at Polly who moved to try and find something clean to try and fix the mess that was the bed.
"It's going to be okay," Rosemary whispered back, she glanced around the room as the midwife whispered to Polly away from the two; she did not have to guess to know what was being said. She instead focused on her friend, who was barely clinging onto life and she feared what the future held for them.
Polly was quickly back at Martha's side, she wiped a wet cloth across Martha's forehead as she shared a look with Rosemary; they had to act fast if they wanted a chance to save them both before it was too late. Trying to rally the last of her strength, Martha pushed with all her might already accepting that she was not going to make it; she was not going to allow her baby to die with her.
"Come on Martha," Rosemary encouraged, she allowed her friend to squeeze her hand as hard as she wanted; she remembered doing the same to her when Kathleen had been born and it was only fair that she returned the favour. The next few moments seemed to drag on as Martha continued to struggle with birthing her child; the baby did not seem to be moving and the midwife looked worried.
"Please… save my… baby," Martha pleaded struggling to catch her breath, her vision swimming as she looked at the woman charged with delivering her child. It was break her family if they were to lose not just her but the baby as well, there had to be some way to save at least her baby and Martha did not care how the midwife did it.
The midwife stared at Martha for a moment before she nodded her head, she picked up an object that the women could not see and got to work doing what she could to save at least one life this night. They did not have to wait long before cries filled the air and the midwife passed off the baby to Rosemary who quickly wrapped them up in clean towels; she stared down at her new niece in awe, so glad that she had come here to help.
"It's a little girl Martha, look," Rosemary said approaching the top of the bed so that Martha could see her daughter; she carefully handled the tot over to her mother while she tried to hold back tears. Martha looked so weak and there was so much blood around her, Rosemary had barely noticed that Polly had left the room to inform John of what was happening.
"Katherine," Martha whispered her voice barely being heard before John burst into the room with Polly lingering by the door; he hurried to her side and took her hand as tears filled his eyes and started to fall. Taking a step back, Rosemary felt like sound had been sucked from the world as she headed out into the hallway; she felt dizzy as she moved and was relieved to be outside for a moment in the cool hallway.
Her eyes locked on Thomas as he appeared at the top of the stairs, he seemed to hesitate for a moment unsure what to do before he approached her and wrapped her in his arms. It was only then that Rosemary broke down crying, she clutched at his shirt as she cried; this was not how this was meant to end and she could not imagine what John was feeling right now.
The baby was supposed to bring more joy to John and Martha's family, they were meant to grow old together and have many more children. Slowly the sound of John's pleas for Martha to come back, to not leave him or their children reached the small gathering in the hallway. His heartbroken screams shaking them all to the core and Polly squeezed her eyes closed for a moment before she pulled herself away tend to the older children.
Thomas closed his eyes, he had never wished this on anyone especially after nearly losing Rosemary a few months ago; he would never want anything to happen to her. He held onto Rosemary as she wept as Arthur came up the stairs, both of them knowing that John was going to need to take time away from the business and then there was the fact that there would need to be a funeral planned.
The man had a newborn to look after now as well as three other young children, it was not going to be easy and they were going to need time and a lot of help to recover from the loss of their mother. The news would spread quickly and there would be many that would wish to say their farewells to Martha; her parents would have to be informed but Thomas wasn't sure that they would attend.
Martha had been their only daughter, they had never quite forgiven her for eloping with John rather than the gentlemen of good breeding that they had chosen for her. Rosemary squeezed her eyes shut, she had lost her friend and confidante in a way that she had never imagined; it made Rosemary fear for the future, who would she turn to now with Martha gone.
The last thing that she wanted to do was leave Kathleen without a mother like Martha had done to her children, she could only imagine just what would happen if she did so; she did not know what might become of her daughter should Thomas remarry one day.
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