Chapter Forty-Eight

And Baby Makes Seven

"Oh, it all looks so wonderful," Carolyn enthused, smiling at her children's hard work with the Christmas tree. "You two have been busy."

"We wanted it to be special for all of us," Candy said proudly. "It's going to be a great winter because we're all here together." She got to her feet to hug her mother carefully.

"And as soon as Christmas is over…" Martha looked significantly at Carolyn's abdomen as she placed a tray holding a pot of hot chocolate and cups on the coffee table. "The timing couldn't be more perfect."

"And once our brother is born, we all get to go back to sea with the Captain in the spring," Jonathan declared proudly as he knelt on the floor studying all the presents. "Right, Captain?" he asked, turning to look up at Daniel who had followed his wife into the living room.

"That's for your mother to say," his stepfather replied.

"Anyway…" Candy joined her brother beside the tree, giving him a sideways glare. "When our sister is born then we can all go back to sea. You don't need another brother. You've already got Henry." They started to argue the merits of their two options, neither prepared to back down.

Carolyn shook her head as she sat down on the couch. "I will be very happy when I know that our baby has all their ten fingers and toes," she confided to Daniel as he sat down beside her.

"All ship shape and Bristol fashion?" he teased gently, taking her hand between his own.

"Something like that…" Carolyn laughed softly as she studied the impressive tree in the corner. "And you say Claymore gave you this tree. For nothing? I still cannot believe it."

"Not a groat, a sou or a single red cent did he ask for," Daniel confirmed. "He is quite the changed man. I was very pleasantly surprised. And he drove us out to cut it down and then brought it home, tied atop his carriage."

"Yes, I see. But that's what we thought about him last time," Carolyn replied doubtfully. "Turner may have taken him over, but at some level, Claymore must have been willing."

She shook her head, tightening her grip on his fingers. "But I do miss going to sea with you. It was such an adventure. It's no fun at all being stuck here alone and waiting for your return."

She sighed. "Though I think we could do without being attacked and nearly sunk by a giant grey whale." Her breathing hitched with deep and ongoing concern.

"Please don't worry," Daniel tried to reassure her. He kissed her cheek. "Turner has learned his lesson. He will not trouble us again for a goodly while. He will need time to recover. Even a demon can be wounded if he is in his physical form."

"Yes, a well-placed harpoon in the eye would make anyone pause." Carolyn sighed. "But I still don't like it." She leaned back on the couch, trying to get comfortable. "Anyway, I have written a long letter to Mary Kearnes thanking her for her most wonderful gift. And I wrote it on the typewriter."

"Your skills are improving daily," Daniel approved. "Soon you will have no need of me."

"I will always need you," she replied shaking her head. "If only for moral support. You know I cannot be without you."

"As I cannot live without you, my love…" Daniel kissed the backs of her fingers lovingly.

Carolyn smiled mistily at him as she accepted the cup of hot chocolate Martha handed to her and their talk turned to the festive season and their children's growing excitement over the piles of gifts and what they might contain.

※※※※※

Christmas Night:

"Well, thank heavens that's all over for another year…" Carolyn remarked as the four adults sat around in the living room that was littered with scattered piles of torn Christmas paper and slashed gift ribbons.

The three exhausted but very happy Gull Cottage children had long since been put to bed. The time was now slowly approaching ten o'clock. But none of the adults seemed inclined to move since the meal had been delicious and the desserts very filling. A round or two of fortifying wine was called for to settle the food before bedtime.

"I do thank you for inviting me," Claymore said, as he sat with the third glass of Madeira his cousin had just poured for him. "I have found that a man cannot live by gruel alone."

He saluted his host and hostess with his glass. "Here's to our bright new future together." He smiled. "May it always be profitable. I am sure I will be able to find suitable cargoes for you in the spring."

Martha raised her glass of sherry in reply. "Just don't go doing anything like you did when we were away in London the last time. This house and everything in it is off-limits to anyone, strangers or family. And that's forever."

"Amen to that," Daniel concurred, frowning at his cousin. "You said the other day that this Christmas Claymore of yours is here to stay. Did you really mean that? Or is there a catch? There usually is. You have always wanted your pound of flesh."

"Oh, no, no, no…" Claymore waved his free hand airily. "You will soon find I am quite the reformed character. No more of your Mr Dickens' Scrooge from now on, I can tell you. Bah humbug is no more."

He puffed out his chest. "I am planning on building a whole new orphanage for the poor wee mites under my care. I now see it as my duty, being the town's father and all. I will be housing them quite like kings. And I will be employing teachers to make sure they gain both good grades and suitable trades."

"Have you been into the kitchen and nipping at the brandy bottle behind my back?" Martha asked suspiciously, looking him up and down with lively disbelief. "Or the whisky? You're truly not yourself."

"You're all a doubting lot, aren't you?" Claymore complained good-naturedly, looking from one to the other with a pained expression. "I tell you I am quite reformed. Ask anyone in town. The children all follow me everywhere I go."

"Ah, but they did that before you were reformed. Usually, to throw mud at you or stones." Daniel shook his head. "For now, we had better let that particular dog lie until you've proven your worth with a whole year of good works. Then we shall see how your new-found resolution holds."

"Fair enough…" Claymore shrugged. "But I will prove my word, see if I don't."

He frowned at Daniel. "I hear from some of your crew that Captain Beaumont saw fit to carry that confounded Countess Beauvoir home to Boston with him. Her dubious business I can certainly do without. That woman was dangerous to my very life and limb. And she stole from me."

Carolyn gasped, looking at her husband over the rim of her glass of fruit juice. "You didn't tell me that Vanessa was on the voyage home with you."

"I didn't wish to burden you with any reservations you may harbour about that woman's intentions," Daniel replied evenly, with a nod of apology. "But she sailed on the Rebecca, not our ship. I point-blank refused to take her and her goods aboard."

He raised his shoulders. "Lucius took her coin and the consequences. He has sworn he will not do so again. He was on the point of leaving her behind in the Azores but thought better of it at the last minute."

"I can see his point." Carolyn nodded. "I shall have a few choice words for that man the next time I see him."

"Beaumont would have been better off throwing her overboard to that whale," Claymore inserted. "I would have bet good money that she was in league with Turner. She would be his type."

"Oh, Lucius did think of that." Daniel chuckled, happy to see his wife relax again. "But he was of the opinion not even a demon like Turner could stomach her and her demanding ways for too long. He was sure she would be thrown back. But she paid well for the voyage and Lucius made the best of it."

He shook his head. "But now she has her sights set on using another shipping company. She said she will no longer sail with us."

"Good to know," Carolyn asserted. "That blasted woman is just too much trouble."

Daniel saluted her with his glass. "I could not have put it any better myself, my love."

He turned to Claymore. "The night is closing in and it seems fair to be snowing again soon. You will stay with us tonight, as our guest?"

Claymore's pale cheeks reddened with pleasure as he held out his glass for another refill. "I would like that very much, Cousin. Very much, indeed. I never expected or looked for such largess. You humble me."

Martha got slowly to her feet. "Then I guess I'd better go and make up the spare room, light the fire there and put a warming pan in the bed for good measure."

"Thank you, Martha," Carolyn called after her as the housekeeper left the room.

"Well, isn't this cosy?" Claymore settled deeper into his chair. "The family Gregg, all gathered convivially beneath one roof. What could be more perfect?"

He stretched out his booted feet toward the blazing fire. "My good carriage horse is stabled and fed and my own stomach is full to bursting with Martha's excellent meal. I don't think I could move for quite a bit yet."

He snuggled deeper. "Maybe I might even sleep here." He blinked rather owlishly at the dancing firelight. "This is as a Christmas night should be. Peace on earth and goodwill to all men…" He nodded to Carolyn. "And women…"

When she didn't reply to Claymore's light-hearted comment, Daniel turned to his wife with frowning concern. "What is it, my dear?" He felt her suddenly stiffen next to him.

Carolyn shook her head as she pressed one hand to the side of her belly. "It's nothing, I'm sure," she replied absently, her gaze turning inwards. "Just a bit of a pain. As Claymore said, I'm full almost to bursting with Martha's good food. I'm sure it will soon pass."

"You don't think it's anything more?" Daniel asked worriedly as the two men exchanged concerned glances. "I mean, do you need the doctor to be summoned?"

"Oh no…" Carolyn waved a dismissive hand. "When Dr Ferguson came out to attend to me last week, he was quite sure I had at least two more weeks to go. You were there."

"Yes, I was. And that young whippersnapper is still wet behind his ears," Daniel replied hardly. "He doesn't know everything. I've said before we should call for Dr Feeney. A man with a vast experience in these feminine matters."

"Well, you know we can't and so that's the end of the matter," Carolyn replied shaking her head. "Dr Ferguson is now our doctor whether you like it or not."

"Should I harness up my horse just in case?" Claymore asked worriedly, sitting up in his chair with alarm. "Do you need a tonic or something stronger for the pain? I know the apothecary will open up once he knows it's me. I can be in town in a jiffy."

"No, but thank you…" Carolyn denied again as she pressed one hand more firmly against her side. "Ohhh…" She bent forward again in pain as she sucked in her breath with a groan.

"Indigestion or dyspepsia?" Claymore asked in a faintly hopeful tone, beads of sweat beginning to stand out on his forehead. "You know, I get those all the time. Surely, it's just too much good food…" He waved a dismissive hand.

"Ahhh…" Carolyn breathed out gratefully as the pain in her mid-section eased.

"What's happening in here?" Martha questioned from the open doorway. "What have I missed?"

"I'm rather afraid this baby seems suddenly impatient to be born," Carolyn murmured through clenched teeth. She turned to smile tremulously at Daniel who was watching her closely. "I'm afraid it's not indigestion…"

"Then bed it is for you, my darling…" he replied immediately, getting to his feet and bending to gather her easily into his strong arms.

"You!" Martha rounded on a badly startled Claymore. "Can you stand? Are you fit to drive back to town?"

"Like the wind," Claymore asserted, getting to his feet a little unsteadily. "You can rely on me. Um, what do you need? A tonic? A sedative? I did offer, you know."

"I don't like it, but you'll have to do…" Martha shook her head. "You'll go out to the stable and harness your beast. Then you're to drive to town and fetch out the doctor to attend us. Can you do that and not run yourself off into a ditch somewhere in between?"

"Not me!" Claymore squared his shoulders as he left the room to grab his hat and greatcoat from the wooden stand in the foyer. "Besides, my horse knows the way back to town even if I was passed out drunk. I'll fetch the doctor in a trice." He shrugged into his coat, swaying slightly from the sudden exertion.

"You'd better come along with me. Before you leave, I'll pour some black coffee into you to sober you up a bit first," Martha replied, taking his arm to shepherd him into the kitchen ahead of her as Daniel carried Carolyn up the stairs.

The master of Gull Cottage shouldered the bedroom door open. "There you are…" He placed his wife carefully on the end of the bed before he quickly folded the covers back.

"You can do without these…" He knelt at her feet to remove her shoes. He heard her breath hitch with pain as he assisted her to stand and move to lie in the bed.

"Ah, that's better…" Carolyn lay back with a grateful sigh. "It seems this baby isn't going to wait for another two weeks."

She rolled her head on the pillow to frown at the bedside clock. It was half past the hour of ten o'clock. "A last Christmas gift…" she mused before her breath hissed between her teeth as the rolling pain rose again.

"I love you…" Daniel stood by the bed feeling the helplessness of a man faced with one of the most fundamental of life's facts and knowing he was unable to assist beyond holding his wife's hand and praying the doctor would arrive sooner rather than later.

He breathed deeply, absorbing the shaft of agony that shot up his arm as his wife clenched her small hand around his in a vice-like grip as she rode out a new contraction. He heard Claymore clattering his way out of the house and he glared at the bedroom door, wondering how long it would take for that blasted Dr Ferguson to arrive…

※※※※※

Dr Ferguson drew his smart new buggy to a halt beside the front gate of Gull Cottage. He'd finally found the time and money to replace the old tatty one that Dr Feeney had left behind with the practice. He was very pleased with his purchase, even if some of his patients thought they were paying too much for his services.

He'd followed the ruts through the snow that Claymore Gregg's carriage had made. The doctor was grateful that the promised fall of snow had been blown away. The night was bright with a full moon and a sky full of stars.

"A wonderous night to be born," he mused as he pushed aside the thick rug covering him from the cold and got down from his vehicle to pick up his bag.

Claymore Gregg came running up to him, blowing on his gloved fingers and swaying slightly. "This way, Doctor…" He turned to indicate the house with a broad sweep of his hand.

"I think I know that way by now," Ferguson replied repressively, eyeing the man with disfavour. "Perhaps you're already given a few too many Christmas toasts tonight?"

"Oh, just one or two for the season…" Claymore chuckled as he opened the gate and ushered him through. "But I'm still as sober as a judge. You see before you a changed man. Yes, Sir, a changed man…"

"I somehow doubt that," the good doctor replied as he followed his companion into the house.

"There! My duty is done!" Claymore collapsed gratefully into the foyer chair. "Martha! The doctor's here!"

The housekeeper appeared in the kitchen doorway, waving her hands in agitation. "Shhhh… You'll wake up the children."

She turned to Ferguson. "Good evening, Doctor. Mrs Gregg is upstairs in her bedroom, and I have clean towels set aside and the hot water is on the boil. I'll come up in a minute or two to help you."

"Thank you…" Ferguson shrugged off his thick coat and hung it on the coat rack alongside his hat.

"A good tonic is what Mrs Gregg needs…" Claymore opined from his chair. "That'll set her up right as rain, you'll see. Baby ain't due just yet. You said so."

He sighed gustily as he looked all around him. "Now, just where did I leave that last glass of wine…" He licked his lips. "I just know it's here somewhere…"

"Don't worry, Doctor…" Martha shook her head. "I'll take care of him first. He's done for the night. I'll put him to bed in the living room where he'll be out of the way. You go on up now. You know the way. By my reckoning, I'd say St Nicholas is not quite done with us yet. But all the babies I've ever taken care of have arrived in their own good time."

She smiled. "Not a single one of them was wearing a watch."

"Yes, it would seem so…" Ferguson looked up the stairs as he put his foot on the bottom step. "It's all guesswork until they make up their minds it's the right time."

He shook his head as he ascended the stairs and walked down the wide hallway. Light spilt from the open door to the master bedroom. He walked in softly, looking around the lamplit room.

"Captain…" He nodded to the tall, imposing figure standing next to the bed and holding his wife's hand.

"Doctor…" Daniel acknowledged grimly, his complexion beneath the depth of his tan already pale as his wife continued to cling to his hand with a tightly clenched grip.

"Sorry about that…" Ferguson tried not to smile at his discomfort. "Might you be better to wait outside? This may take some time. I'll call for you when the child is born."

"No…" Carolyn murmured as her pains eased once more. "I want him here with me. He needs to stay with me…"

Ferguson rubbed the side of his nose. "Ah, in my experience, husbands can often be a hindrance rather than an asset," the good doctor replied as he opened his bag and readied the contents on the end of the bed. "A goodly number of them have fainted dead away at the first sign of distress." He didn't even try to keep the satisfaction from his tone.

"I'm staying," Daniel replied grimly. "This is also my battle to fight."

"Very well…" Ferguson regarded him levelly. "I can't say I would be better off without you to hold her hand. But if you feel faint at any point, then be pleased to go and sit down. I don't have time to attend both of you."

"I think you will find I'm made of sterner stuff than you seem to think…" Daniel replied, his already numb hand becoming mangled again as a new, more insistent, contraction snatched Carolyn's breath away once more.

Ferguson turned to the open doorway. "I'll just go down the hall and wash up. Your housekeeper said she'd come up once she's settled Claymore Gregg. Then we shall see just how far along your wife is…"

※※※※※

"Well, I'll be…" Ferguson breathed quietly as the latest addition to the Gregg family slipped quickly into the world and his waiting hands.

The baby gave a soft wail of complaint and waved one tiny fist in the air. The wee one's dark blue eyes seemed to be full of censure.

"What is the babe?" Daniel asked as he sat beside Carolyn bathing her forehead with a cool flannel wrung out in the basin of cold water Martha had just placed on the nightstand beside the bed. "A boy or a girl?"

"It's a small Christmas miracle," the doctor replied softly. He nodded toward the bedside clock. "A perfectly formed and tiny miracle. It's my pleasure to tell you that your daughter was born at exactly one minute to midnight. I have rarely seen an easier birth."

He worked to clamp off the cord and then cut it deftly. "There…" He turned to hand the wriggling infant to Martha who was waiting behind him to wrap the wee mite in clean linen. She carried her precious bundle away to be warmed by the fire while Ferguson went back to attending to his patient, concentrating on his next task of completing the birth.

"Daughter?" Daniel sat stunned for a moment, absorbing the incredible news. "A daughter…" He shook his head. "I never thought… I never expected…"

"How are you feeling?" Carolyn asked in a tired whisper, looking up at him. "What are you feeling right now?"

"Blessed," he replied immediately bending down to kiss her lingeringly. "Infinitely blessed and very, very humble…"

"I know…" She nodded and smiled, cupping his bearded cheek in the palm of her hand. "Me too. A very merry Christmas, my love…"

※※※※※