A/N: See Chapter 1 for Disclaimer.
Chapter 2: Trying
The moment Mrs. Councilor Nugent said that, a lot of strange looks started flying around between Hyacinth, Richard, and Daisy, and for whatever reason, from that point on, Hyacinth just completely checked out, both mentally and emotionally, and she just staggered out of the lounge in a pure daze. And after she had left, Emmet and Daisy helped Elizabeth into the master bedroom, and then Emmet came back into the lounge to give his sister a little privacy. Meanwhile, Daisy helped Elizabeth get cleaned up a little, and then she helped her change into one of Violet's larger silk nightgowns so she could be at least a little more comfortable.
While all that was going on, Mrs. Councilor Nugent got on the phone and rang for an ambulance, but they informed her that they would not be able to get there for at least several more hours because of all the bad weather. It was still storming outside, and the bridge near the cottage was still washed out, and to make matters even worse, due to the severe drop in temperatures that was expected that night, they were also expecting there to be ice on the roads. It was far more likely, in fact, that the ambulance wouldn't even be able to get there until sometime the next morning. As soon as Mrs. Councilor Nugent got off the phone, she informed Emmet, Richard, and Onslow of the situation.
"So basically, what you're saying is, we're probably going to have to deliver the baby here, right here, in Violet's cottage. Without a doctor or a nurse or a midwife, or anyone who knows the first thing about obstetrics," Onslow observed.
"Lord God help us and have mercy on us," Emmet gasped. "This is a disaster, a complete and utter disaster. As my sister has said herself, she's over fifty, and now, she has to give birth to a baby that she didn't even know she was carrying ten minutes ago, without any professional medical help whatsoever, and without any form of pain relief. Given Elizabeth's age, something could go wrong, terribly wrong, very easily. Dear Lord, we could lose them both."
Onslow then gave Emmet a kind and friendly slap on the back and told him, "Relax, mate. Relax. Women have been giving birth to babies since the beginning of time. Liz is going to be fine, just fine, and so is the baby. You'll see."
In the next moment, Daisy came out of the master bedroom looking a bit flustered, and she looked at Richard and asked him, "Richard, do you know where Hyacinth is?"
Richard shook his head and answered, "No, I'm not sure where she went."
Daisy then came up to him and grabbed him by the arm and told him, "Well wherever she is, you and I have got to find her and have a talk with her right now. Come on."
"What in the world do you need Hyacinth for? She's great at arranging tables for candlelight suppers, but she doesn't know the first thing about delivering a baby!" Onslow said aloud.
In that instant, Daisy quickly turned her gaze to her husband and said, "Oh, yes she does, Onslow."
"No, she doesn't!" Onslow argued.
Richard then his head towards Onslow and told him, "She knows far more about it than the rest of us ever will; that's for sure!"
"And that's precisely why we need to find her as quickly as we can, Richard," said Daisy. "Come on."
"Coming," said Richard.
"Hold on a minute, Daisy, Richard. I don't know why you two are so certain that Hyacinth can help my sister, but if you're right and she does know how to help Liz somehow, then I should come along and help you find her."
"I'll come along, too," said Onslow, and with that, the four of them left Mrs. Councilor Nugent behind in the lounge and began searching for Hyacinth.
Two short minutes later, they found Hyacinth sitting alone in the conservatory as still as a statue, just watching the rain pummel the glass. Then the instant she heard them all come inside, she visibly stiffened.
"Richard, Daisy, I know why you've come here. I know what it is you want to ask of me."
"You always did have good instincts, Hyacinth," Daisy said gently as she sat down on the bench in the middle of the conservatory beside her older sister. "And you're right about what your instincts are telling you now. Mrs. Councilor Nugent rang for an ambulance, but with the weather being like it is and with the bridge being washed out, they say that they probably won't be able to get here until tomorrow morning."
Richard then came around and sat down on the opposite side of Hyacinth, and he gently told her, "Daisy and I know what it is that we're asking you to do, Hyacinth. We know that this is opening up your very deepest wound. And I know that if things were reversed and you were the one coming to me, asking me to do what Daisy and I are asking you to do tonight, I'd never be able to work up the courage. Believe me, Hyacinth, if there were any other way, Daisy and I would not be coming to you right now. But we're coming to you right now precisely because there is no other way. There is literally no other human being inside this cottage tonight who knows how to help Elizabeth and her baby other than you."
With silent tears streaming down her cheeks, Hyacinth shook her head and told them, "You two don't understand. That young girl you two used to know, that young girl who always dreamed of becoming the best midwife on the planet, who loved to help bring little babies into the world more than anything else…that young girl, that young midwife that I used to be, she doesn't exist anymore. She was an entirely different person. A person I haven't been in well over three decades."
"You were actually a midwife, Hyacinth?" Onslow asked in pure disbelief.
"Yes, she was. She worked her butt off at two different jobs to put herself through college, and when she graduated at age twenty-one, she became a midwife. And for the next four years, she was the best midwife on the planet," Daisy said as she looked into her sister's eyes with obvious admiration.
"She certainly was," Richard agreed.
"Forgive me for getting personal, Hyacinth, but…why did you give it up?" asked Emmet.
"Hyacinth, may I explain?" Daisy asked softly, and after a moment of hesitation, Hyacinth nodded. "It all happened just a couple of months before we met for the first time, Onslow. Hyacinth and Richard had just celebrated their second wedding anniversary, and Hyacinth was nine months pregnant with their first child."
"But wasn't Sheridan your first child?" Onslow asked.
Richard shook his head soberly and replied, "No. Sheridan wasn't our first."
"When her labor started, she had a good friend of hers, another midwife, with her at first. But then, there were complications, and Hyacinth had to be transferred to the nearest hospital, where she was placed under the care of a very cruel nurse who was terribly cold to her and even insulted her as she was crying and screaming in agony. The delivery was hell. Pure hell. And when the baby was finally born, a little girl, she was stillborn. According to the doctor, she'd already been dead for several hours before she was delivered."
"Dear Lord," Emmet gasped.
"I don't know what to say," Onslow gasped. "I'm sorry, Hyacinth. I'm so very sorry."
"So am I, Hyacinth. I am so, so sorry," Emmet whispered.
"She named her baby girl Angela," said Daisy. "And we had a funeral for her at our church. And after she was cremated, Hyacinth made up her mind that she was never going to have anything to do with midwifery or delivering babies ever again. For understandable reasons, it was simply too painful for her. So she closed that part of her life off completely, and instead, she poured everything she had into being the perfect homemaker and the perfect hostess."
"And by us coming in here and asking Hyacinth to be a midwife again tonight, we're basically asking her to relive the most painful chapter of her whole life," Richard said truthfully.
"I can't imagine it," Onslow gasped.
"I can't either," Emmet said quietly.
Daisy then took Hyacinth's hand, looked straight into her eyes, and told her, "Hyacinth, you're my big sister, and despite your disdain for Onslow and me because of all our sloppiness, you are still my closest friend. You always have been. You know how much I've looked up to you all my life, and you know how very much I love you. I am not saying what I'm about to say to you out of any desire to be cruel. But two lives are stake right now, and I've got to tell you the truth. I've got to tell you like it is. Right now, you have two options. You can either choose to put yourself and your broken heart first and protect yourself from experiencing more pain, or you can choose to put Elizabeth and her baby ahead of your feelings. But if you choose to protect yourself from further pain, if you choose to put yourself first, and abandon Elizabeth and her baby tonight without lifting a finger to try and help them, they could both die, just like your Angela did. And if, God forbid, that actually happens, it's you who's going to have to live with two deaths on your conscience every single day for the rest of your life. That evil nurse you had with you during your first labor cruelly abandoned you emotionally when you needed and deserved emotional support the most. Are you really prepared to put Elizabeth through the same thing?"
Hyacinth tearfully shook her head and said to them, "You all don't understand. None of you do. All those years that I was a midwife, all those babies I delivered during my early twenties, it's all nothing but a blur to me now. I literally do not remember anything about being a midwife. I've blocked everything out. If I go into that bedroom now and try to remember all the skills I used to have, and I try to be a midwife once again, I could – and probably will – make a mistake, a terrible mistake that could cost Elizabeth and her baby their lives. Trust me when I tell you all that I am the very last person you want to try to help Elizabeth now."
"You're wrong, Hyacinth. You're so wrong," Richard said gently. "Daisy was right when she said that back when you were a midwife, you were the best, the very best. Nothing, absolutely nothing, ever got by you. You never let anything slip, not even the tiniest, most remote detail. I know because that's what Mrs. Crewe, that old, retired midwife who taught you everything you knew, told me time and time again back when we were dating. Oh, Hyacinth, you have no idea how proud I always was of you. And I know that this is a part of yourself that you've shut off for a very long time. I know this won't be easy. But I know you, Hyacinth. I know the strong, powerful woman that you are, that you've always been all these years, and so does Daisy, and believe me, Daisy and I would not be here right now asking you to do this if we didn't believe in you."
"That's right," Daisy agreed.
"And I believe in you as well, Hyacinth," said Emmet. "I know that you and I haven't always been the closest of friends, but if there's any one thing I know about you, Hyacinth, it's that whenever something is really important to you, whether it's a piano recital or a candlelight supper or anything under the sun, even delivering a baby, you will always, always, give it everything you've got. And yes, it has been a very long time since you've been a midwife, and it is entirely possible that if you were to try to help Liz tonight, you could end up making a mistake. But I, for one, am convinced that if you at least try to help Liz and the baby now, their chances of coming through the labor and delivery safely will be much greater than if you don't try to help them." Emmet then walked up closer to the bench where Hyacinth was sitting, squatted down before her to get at eye level with her, and told her, "I know I don't have any right to ask this of you now, Hyacinth. I can't even begin to imagine how painful this has got to be for you. But my sister's life is at stake, and so is the life of her baby. So from one human being to another, I'm asking you, please, please try to help them. Just try. For Elizabeth's sake and for her baby's sake and for my sake, too. Please, Hyacinth. Please."
Although Hyacinth was typically a very intimidating force of nature that one didn't dare contend with, like a hurricane, she actually did have a very big and tender heart buried underneath, and in those moments, Hyacinth's tough exterior just melted away, and all that remained was that big and tender heart of hers. And now, she couldn't help but reach out and give Emmet the biggest hug.
Then, as soon as the embrace ended, Hyacinth rose from her seat, and Richard, Daisy and Emmet rose as well, and they all left the conservatory together.
As soon as the fivesome entered the lounge, Daisy and all the men asked Hyacinth if they could do anything. Knowing that they all needed to feel like they were helping in some kind of way, Hyacinth told Daisy to go and look for some upholstery cleaner and do whatever she could to try to save their sister Violet's settee. She also told the men to watch their local TV station closely for any weather updates, and to call the emergency services every hour, on the hour, to see if the weather conditions had improved enough for them to send an ambulance out there. She also told them to come and give her hourly updates on the situation. And finally, she gave them the most important instruction of all, and that was to pray for Elizabeth and her baby with all they had in them.
And they weren't the only ones praying. As soon as Hyacinth came into the master bedroom of the cottage, she saw that Mrs. Councilor Nugent was standing over Elizabeth, cruelly berating her as she was lying on the bed moaning from the horrific pain and crying tears of agony. Understandably, Liz was praying in those moments that that insufferable woman would just go away and leave her alone.
"For heaven's sake, Mrs. Warden, stop making all this noise. It's an embarrassment to you and to all of us. Things like this are the reason why people need to stop allowing themselves to be ruled by sex. Just look at you. You're over fifty years-old. This child won't be grown until you're in your seventies, if it even survives the birth at all. You've gotten yourself and this baby in the worst predicament, and all because you couldn't control yourself in the bedroom."
In that instant, Hyacinth walked up to Mrs. Councilor Nugent and slapped her with all the strength she could muster.
"Have you lost your mind, Mrs. Bucket?!" Mrs. Councilor Nugent shouted.
"No, I have not lost my mind!" Hyacinth shouted back. "I've only just now begun to find my mind! And my heart. Which is far more than can be said for the likes of you! What's the matter with you?! Standing over a woman in labor, a woman who's in agony and afraid and vulnerable, just yelling at her and insulting her and frightening her! You ought to be ashamed of yourself! What kind of a cold-hearted monster are you?! I was such a fool to ever even think of trying to impress a person as cruel and heartless as you are! Get out!"
"I beg your pardon, Mrs. Bucket!"
"You've got functioning ears! You heard me! Get out! GET OUT RIGHT NOW AND DON'T EVEN THINK OF COMING BACK INTO THIS BEDROOM!"
At that point, there was obviously nothing more that that old bully could do except leave, and leave she did, slamming the bedroom door behind her.
"Obnoxious biddy!" Hyacinth muttered right after the door slam.
"Hyacinth?" Elizabeth called.
Hyacinth then came up to her bedside and sat down on the bed and said, "I'm here, love. I'm right here." Elizabeth, now wearing one of Violet's white nightgowns, had some pillows propped up behind her, and was under the covers.
"You shouldn't have slapped Mrs. Councilor Nugent like that, Hyacinth. She'll never let you on her charity committee now."
"My dear girl, if I have done anything that will forever prevent me from joining that terrible woman's committee, then I will have done myself a great service. I always knew she was cold and snobby and irritating, but I had no idea she could be this cruel."
"She was very cruel in what she said to me just now, but God help me, she was at least partially right. I mean, look at me. I can't have a baby at my age. I'm not even remotely prepared. It'll be a disaster for this poor child, having a mother like me. I don't know what I'm doing."
"Nonsense! You know exactly what you're doing, Elizabeth. This isn't your first time being a mother. And this isn't your first labor and delivery. You've done all of this before. And so have I."
"You mean with Sheridan?"
Hyacinth shook her head then and told Elizabeth, "No. I wasn't talking about Sheridan. I know you're going to find this very difficult to believe, Elizabeth, but when I was in my early twenties, and during my first two years of marriage, I actually worked as a midwife."
"A midwife?" said Liz in disbelief.
"Yes. When I was a lot younger, I was actually a completely different person. As hard as it might be to imagine, there actually was a time in my life when my whole world did not revolve around being the perfect hostess."
"I must say, I find it very hard to imagine you of all women being a midwife and delivering babies. Birth is such a messy event, and it's always been so important to you to keep everything around you perfectly clean and spotless. If you don't mind my asking, how could someone as devoted to cleanliness as you ever tolerate a birth?"
"You're right, Elizabeth. Cleanliness has always been terribly important to me. But even though I've always highly valued cleanliness and order, back in my twenties, I valued being a midwife – a highly capable midwife, that is – even more. Back in those days, helping women in labor, being there for them in the most vulnerable time of their lives, giving them everything they needed when they were hurting and frightened, and seeing to it that their precious babies were born into the world safely…back then, that was my greatest passion, not candlelight suppers. But then one day, something happened to Richard and me, something horrific that I will not speak about, and I had to close the door to being a midwife, and I had to close it forever, in order to survive on the inside.
"However, given the situation we're facing tonight, I can try my best to open that door up again to help you deliver your baby if you want me to. But I must warn you, Elizabeth. I haven't done this in decades, and if you decide that you want me to help you deliver your baby tonight, there could be consequences for both of you. I might not remember everything I need to know. I could make a mistake, a terrible mistake even, and if I do, you and your baby could really suffer. But I will try if you want me to, Elizabeth, if you think that that's what's best for you and your baby. But the decision has to come from you, and I cannot make it for you."
"I understand, Hyacinth, and I do want you to try. You are, quite literally, the most meticulous and thorough human being I have ever known, and I'm not the least bit worried about you forgetting anything and making a mistake. As a matter of fact, I don't think my baby and I could be in better hands right now than yours."
A tear escaped Hyacinth's eye in that moment, and she took Elizabeth's hand and kissed it. Before she could say anything to Elizabeth, though, another contraction began, and Elizabeth tensed up and squeezed Hyacinth's hand.
"Don't tense up, darling. I know it's very hard not to tense up, but try not to. That'll only make it worse. Try to shut everything out of your mind now except for your breathing. Just focus on your breathing and try to relax as much as you can. Just breathe through it, love. Breathe through it and try to relax," Hyacinth instructed Elizabeth in the warmest, gentlest tone of voice. And thanks to Hyacinth, Elizabeth was able to relax a little more in those moments. "That's it, Liz. That's it. You're doing great, love. You're doing great," Hyacinth reassured her.
And then, Elizabeth's whole body relaxed completely, and she whispered, "It's over now."
"Good job, Elizabeth."
"Thank you so much for being here now, Hyacinth. I don't think I could bear to be alone right now."
"We'll get through this, Elizabeth. It won't be easy, but we will get through this. And I'll do everything in my power to help you."
"Oh, Hyacinth," said Liz as tears came to her eyes. And although Hyacinth the Hostess did not like to give hugs or display affection openly, Hyacinth the Midwife had no problem wrapping her arms around Elizabeth and allowing her to hug her and hold onto her for as long as she needed to.