Edith and Anthony were both very calm and relaxed, which seemed to have a nullifying effect on everyone else's worry. Anthony took Edith straight home, while the others arrived shortly after. Robert brought Mary and Cora, then Tom and Matthew brought Anna as Edith had requested. Lady Violet and Cousin Isobel had come as well, and brought with them some knitting and things. Mrs. Bass prepared for a long night for all, making up cold-cut sandwiches on fresh rolls and pots of tea and trays of cookies. The whole of Locksley was on high alert.
Edith had been almost comfortable until her waters broke, which happened just after Anna had brushed into her bedroom. Now the contractions were harder and longer and far more intense.
"Okay," Edith whispered, warning the other women and preparing herself. She was standing beside the bed, both fists buried into the mattress as she braced herself against the pain, rocking slightly. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to breathe, as her shoulders hunched in agony. Anna ran her palm in circles against Edith's lower back, murmuring little encouraging words. Cora and Mary made themselves useful, folding the freshly laundered linens Mrs. Watson had brought up.
When it was over, Edith let out a small groan of relief. "They're really coming fast now. How long did Dr. Clarkson say he'd be?"
"He promised he'd be here in time," Cora answered. "Mary, would you go and check?"
"No, no, it's alright," Edith said with a wave of her hand. "He'll get here when he gets here. Mama, could you please hand me that glass of water?"
The three women surrounding Edith exchanged a skeptical glance.
Edith, ever observant, asked, "What?"
"I'm no expert, but aren't you supposed to be crying and demanding and, I don't know, terrified?" Mary questioned.
"When has Lady Edith ever done as she's supposed to?" Anna asked quietly, offering Edith a proud smile.
"You're doing very well, my darling. But pace yourself, and don't be afraid to ask for help," Cora said softly.
"I'm alright. Women do this every day," Edith said, more for her own sake than anyone's. "Panicking certainly isn't going to do anyone any good. Speaking of which, would one of you go check on Anthony, please? I hate to think of him down there worrying."
"I'll go," Mary offered, turning quickly out of the room.
It all felt strangely familiar. Though the roles were slightly shifted, all the same players were in attendance; except, of course, for one. Please don't let it be like that awful night, Mary pleaded to no one as she reached the library. She closed her eyes and collected herself before entering.
All eyes snapped to her expectantly. There was an undeniable tension in the room, the memories of Sybil's death hanging over them like a damp fog. Everyone felt it but no one dared acknowledge it. Even Tom, whose sadness often read in his eyes like the morning's headlines, was putting up a brave front for Anthony.
"Edith wanted me to run down and tell you, everything is fine. It's almost eerie, actually. She hasn't made a peep and keeps telling us to calm down."
Anthony managed a fond smile. "That sounds like my Edith."
"Well she's doing beautifully. She thinks it might be close, though. Is Dr. Clarkson near?"
"I imagine he should be here any time," Robert assured.
"And you, Anthony? How are you holding up?"
Anthony gave a knowing grin. "Tell Edith I'm perfectly well and to stop worrying about me, please."
Mary smiled. They didn't need a messenger—the two Strallans could communicate perfectly well without her help.
"Very well, I'll be getting back," she muttered.
Matthew followed her to the hall. "How is she really?"
"I wasn't softening things. She really is handling it like a champion. I've never seen anything like it. And Anthony?"
"Quiet. Stoic, even. He hasn't taken his eyes off that door all night."
"Thank you," Mary said, kissing his cheek. "Do keep an eye on him."
"Careful, someone might think you care," Matthew teased, brushing her cheek before they parted.
Upstairs Mary sighed. "He's fine. Matthew said he's been very calm and stoic. He's watched the door all night."
"That's Anthony in a panic," Edith said without a hint of sarcasm. "Oh, I wish he wouldn't worry."
"I wish you wouldn't worry," Cora said sternly, brushing Edith's hair behind her ear.
"Everyone will feel better when Dr. Clarkson arrives, I'm sure," Mary said, trying to appease all.
Edith frowned again, blowing heavily through the contraction. "Is he coming by boat for God's sake?" Edith managed, clutching the bed post with white knuckles.
"No, by train, from London," Clarkson corrected gently, ducking into the room. "But I wouldn't have missed this for anything."
A tangible relief settled in the room.
"And how are we doing?" he asked, rolling his sleeves and washing his hands at the basin.
"Oh, just a typical night in for me," Edith huffed, straightening after the strain of her contraction. She even smiled a little at her joke.
"Don't be so impressed with your own cleverness," Mary teased, running a cold cloth over Edith's neck.
"Let's see how far we've come, hmm?" Dr. Clarkson asked.
Downstairs, the gentlemen waited quietly, only the sound of the great clock to fill the silence.
"She's much stronger than any of us gave her credit for, Anthony," Robert suddenly said. Anthony turned, totally unaware his father-in-law had been watching him.
"Stronger than I'll ever be, I dare say," he agreed, forcing a limp smile. Robert recognized the worried expression, but had no words of comfort.
An hour passed, and then another. Anthony was in agony, longing to speak with Edith, to know she was alright. He knew she would be, but he didn't like not being with her. It felt unsettling, after being so very much together for the last year. Her absence unnerved him and made him restless. He sighed and ran his hand over his face, but didn't sit. Instead he paced a few times, then turned back to that damned door between his library and the hall and waited.
It was well after two in the morning when Clarkson finally said Edith could begin pushing. Edith was lying in the middle of the bed, Mary at one side and Anna at the other, while Cora kneeled beside her, trying to help her focus.
"Alright," Clarkson said gently, "With your next contraction I'd like you to try-"
"No," Edith suddenly said, propping herself up with one hand as the other cradled her stomach. "No, I can't do this."
"Edith, you've done beautifully, my darling girl. You're nearly there now," Cora cooed.
"No, I mean, I can't do it alone. I need Anthony."
Cora laughed lightly at her daughter, giving her knee a patronizing pat. "Edith, you don't know what you're saying."
"I do, in fact. Please will you go get him?"
"Edith, think of what you're asking. It simply isn't done," Cora said firmly.
Edith turned to Anna, who was holding her hand. "We do everything together, he's my best friend, and I can't do this without him. Please, please get him."
Anna looked to Cora and said quietly, "All due respect, Milady, I think we should give her what she wants right now."
"You can't really want him to see you like this," Cora scoffed.
Mary threw her hands in the air and growled in frustration. "Oh Mama, enough! I'll go get him," Mary said, ignoring Cora's protests. "Really, how you can be so conventional tonight after everything we've been through is beyond me," she grumbled, storming out of the room.
When Mary entered the library, she was surprised to see that everyone was still awake, and Anthony looked quite alive.
"Well it's not as though I was going to get any sleep anyway," Violet said in response to Mary's expression.
"What is it, has the baby come?" Isobel asked eagerly.
Mary turned to Anthony, who was waiting on tenterhooks for Mary to speak.
"No, not yet. She's asked for you, Anthony."
"Surely you can't mean she wants him to go up there now?" Robert asked incredulously, but Anthony was already out the door. Mary followed, though she had trouble keeping up as Anthony calmly but swiftly took the stairs.
Anthony rushed into their room without hesitation and went directly to his wife. Edith, red-faced and breathing heavily, was visibly relieved. Anthony sat on the edge of the bed, facing Edith and giving her his left hand. The others in the room reverently backed away, trying not to listen as Anthony and Edith spoke in hushed voices.
"Hello, wife," he said, offering her a tender smile.
"Hello, husband," she muttered. Her great brown eyes were filled with gratitude as they stared at each other.
"Mary mentioned you wanted to see me?" he said casually. Edith nodded, gripping his arm and sweater tightly as though he might disappear. Anthony, knowing she needed a moment to tell him what was troubling her, tried to soothe her nerves. "You should see all the people downstairs, darling, and the spread Mrs. Bass made. Edwards brought blankets. Our library looks like a refugee camp for the upper class."
Edith laughed thinly, closing her eyes and holding him tighter as another contraction came and went.
"I'm sorry," Edith finally whispered, tears welling in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I wanted to be brave. I just…needed you. It seems silly now that you're here. If you're uncomfortable please don't feel like you have to stay."
"Have to stay? Where else would I be?"
"Really? You don't mind?"
"Of course not, darling," he said, kissing her clammy forehead.
"I don't know why I ever thought I could do this without you."
"We'll learn eventually," he said sincerely.
Edith looked up at him then, tears spilling over her eyes. "I'm not ready, Anthony," she cried. "I'm not ready to do this yet."
"It seems someone's forgotten to tell the baby. She's ready now."
"I'm scared."
Anthony sighed, placing his hand on Edith's neck and pressing his forehead to hers. "I know you are, darling. But I'm here, and I've no doubt in my mind you're ready for this."
"Really?"
"Really. Oh, my dearest, we're going to be wonderful parents. We love each other so well, there's no earthly way we couldn't be," Anthony said with a smile. Kissing her lightly and brushing away her tears, he straightened. "Now, may I please meet my child?" Anthony asked with a grin.
Edith nodded with a relieved smile, sitting up with a deep and affirming breath.
"I'm here, just hold onto me. We do it together, right?" Anthony asked.
"We do it together," she agreed. All the fear was gone from her face now, and it was replaced with the signature Edith determination.
The Strallans had been oblivious to the four other people in the room, who had been watching the unusually frank display in awe. Now that Edith had been bolstered, and had Anthony's left arm in both her hands as she propped against the pillows, she nodded to them.
Dr. Clarkson approached the bed again, as did the others.
"Alright Lady Edith," Clarkson said kindly, "with your next contraction I want you to hold your breath, put your chin to your chest, and push down with all your strength."
Edith did as she was told, never making a sound and never once taking her eyes from Anthony's. He murmured encouraging words to her, breathing with her between pushes and holding his breath with her during her contractions. "That's it, my love, that's it. You're doing it," he muttered as Dr. Clarkson announced the baby's head was out.
With one final push and a single grunt of exertion, Edith finally brought Baby Strallan into the world. She laughed once, almost giddy with relief, and fell into Anthony's chest.
Dr. Clarkson took the baby to the table, cleaning it off and checking for issues.
"Well done, you," Anthony laughed, holding Edith close against him. "Very well done."
Cora, Anna, and Mary offered their own emotional congratulations as the baby began to wail and Edith's red cheeks glowed with pride. An overwhelming sense of release filled the room as the tension and fear drifted away and the joy of a new life warmed them all.
Dr. Clarkson handed the baby to Cora as Edith and Anthony watched and waited in anticipation. Cora approached the bed, bobbing her swaddled grandchild gently in her arms, and said, "Edith, Anthony, meet your daughter."
As Cora laid the little pink-faced thing in her daughter's arms, Edith looked down at her in wonder. "Oh," she managed. "Oh my."
Anthony shifted behind Edith, allowing her to lean against his chest as he peered down at their child. "I have a daughter," he mumbled, absolutely in awe of the tiny creature. As it sank in, he and Edith began to laugh. "We have a daughter," he repeated more ardently with a wide grin. He kissed Edith's temple as they laughed and cried, looking down at their child. "Oh look at her, she's beautiful."
"She's perfect," Anna said.
"Another girl," Mary added, wiping her own surprising tears from her eyes.
"And what is my third granddaughter to be called?" Cora asked.
Edith looked up at all of them, absolutely glowing with pride, unable to dim her giddiness. "I'd like to call her Violet Mae," she said, looking up at Anthony for approval.
Edith glanced to Anna, whose lip began to quiver despite herself. Edith wasn't sure if anyone besides Anthony knew the Mae was for Anna, but her friend knew, and that's what mattered to the new mother.
"I couldn't have chosen better myself," Anthony whispered, running his hand over Violet Mae Strallan's head.
The Strallan family—for they were a family now—sat quietly on the bed together for a long while, Edith and Anthony admiring their little accomplishment. After a time, Edith took a deep breath and said, "Alright. Anthony, why don't you take Violet Mae to meet her family, and we'll finish up here? Then everyone can finally turn in and get some rest."
She transfered the baby into the crook of Anthony's left arm with a ease that doesn't often come to new parents. But Anthony had been right. Together he and Edith could do anything, and so had very little to worry about. Before he stood, Anthony looked from his daughter to his wife, unabashed tears rolling down his cheeks.
"Thank you, my sweet one. Thank you for giving me my life. I'm very proud of you. And I love you so very much. Both of my girls."
"I love you," she smiled, kissing Baby Violet's head, and then Anthony. "Now go. Our child has quite the crowd waiting for her downstairs."
As Anthony carried his daughter down the grand staircase at Locksley, he tore his eyes away from her for a moment to look around. It was the same house he'd haunted, alone, for most of his life. The furnishings were largely the same, the walls were certainly the same, the great paneled windows and the large wood doors. But every centimeter had changed. Upstairs his wife was resting in their room, in the library a rather large and, despite the past, loyal family was waiting, and in his arm the single most perfect thing he'd ever done was gurgling and kicking and looking up at her papa with his own big eyes.
He'd thanked Edith for giving him his life, and as he stepped into the library to a roar of cheers and congratulations, he repeated the words to himself. Edith, the woman he'd walked away from not once but twice, had given him his life; passionate love, a home, a family, and a child. As Anthony passed her off to Isobel to be admired, he felt drunk with gratification and adoration. Of one thing he was certain: Anthony Strallan would spend every minute of every day he had left in his life as the happiest and most grateful man on the planet.
Edith opened her eyes, the blur of sleeplessness fading quickly with the realization that it was the sounds of her daughter that woke her. She sat up, grinning despite her exhaustion as she thought I have a daughter, and she needs me. The knowledge, too, that the rest of her family was sleeping peacefully in various guest rooms down the hall, and that soon Violet Mae would see her first ever sunrise, filled Edith with a miraculous sense of joy.
She leaned over the bassinet beside the bed, but found Violet was not in it. Frowning, Edith looked behind her. Standing at the window on the far end of the room, Anthony had Violet against his chest as he rocked slowly from foot to foot. Sensing Edith's gaze, he glanced over.
"I'm so sorry, did we wake you?"
"No," Edith yawned, standing gingerly and walking to her husband and daughter.
"She was awake, and I thought I'd show her the view of the orchards at sunrise," Anthony whispered. Edith took his bad arm and put it around her neck so she might settle against his chest, level with the baby. Anthony laid his cheek against her hair, resuming the swaying.
"She'll be hungry soon."
"Yes, I was going to let you rest as long as possible. You've had quite a night."
"We all have," Edith said with a laugh, running her hand across Violet's little back.
Standing there, wrapped in Anthony's arms with their daughter, watching the sun come up over Locksley, Edith realized she'd found it. Years of feeling out of synch, of feeling misunderstood and awkward and alone, she'd finally found the place where she belonged, where she fit and was safe. And she did fit, tucked under Anthony's chin as she was, with their daughter.
"Ah," Anthony whispered as the sun cleared the far hills. "Welcome to your first morning, my little one. And good morning to you, my dearest Edith."
"Good morning, my Anthony," Edith muttered with a smile. "Your first as Papa."
"Our first as a family, I suppose," he mused, a bemused laugh in his voice.
"I've never seen a sunrise look so perfect," Edith added, pulling tighter against her husband and watching the warm pinks and oranges from daybreak reflect on her daughter's tiny round face.
A/N: Sorry for the length between updates! I sincerely hope I didn't disappoint your expectations and that I did justice to the happy family's arrival. :) As always, thank you for following and your reviews are greatly appreciated.
I think we're winding down here, maybe just a chapter or two left of epilogue. Thanks again to all you lovely readers for making my little endeavor worthwhile!