“Push one more time,”Lily urged, her voice steady even as her heart continued to pound in her chest.
Clara bit hard on the folded towel, her body straining. Her muffled groan filled the small room, sharp and pained. Brigid rubbed her palms gently over her shoulders in an attempt to soothe her.
Then, at last, the baby slid into Lily’s waiting hands.
Relief washed over her.
“Ye did it,” Lily breathed. “Ye did so good, holding back yer screams like I asked.”
Clara threw her head back, the exhaustion in her breathing clearer than anything.
Lily looked at the baby and then back up at Brigid. “It looks healthy.”
“Do ye hear that?” Brigid asked, squeezing Clara’s hands gently.
Clara raised her head to respond, but before she could, the baby’s cry pierced the air, loud and shrill.
The women froze in shock as the sound echoed off the thin walls. Lily felt her stomach twist. There was no way the man at the door did not hear.
“What is that?” she heard him ask almost immediately.
Timothy’s voice followed quickly. “‘Tis nothing.”
The man did not believe him. “Are ye hiding them here?”
Fear gripped Lily, and she shoved the baby into Brigid’s arms. “Hold the bairn. Cover its mouth if ye must.”
Brigid nodded and cradled the child, pressing a towel against its tiny lips.
The man’s voice grew harsher. “Get out of me way, ye cripple.”
Lily stiffened.
Then, Timothy’s voice dropped, low and cold. “Ye shouldnae have said that.”
A harsh sound split the air, like steel driving into flesh.
Clara whimpered on the bed, but Lily was already moving. She rushed to the door and pulled it open slowly. Then, she stepped into the corridor and down to the entrance just as the man collapsed. Blood spilled across the floorboards. Timothy stood above him, breathing hard, a bloodied blade in his hand.
He looked up at Lily, the smile on his face growing. “That was close, was it nae?” he muttered.
Lily nodded.
“Laird MacKane is outside, taking care of the others this one brought with him. But…I heard the cries of the bairn,” Timothy added.
“Aye, ye have a healthy baby. Clara is all right too, although she is quite tired.”
Timothy’s smile grew even wider, and a victorious chuckle escaped his lips. “I’m a faither.”
“That ye are.”
Timothy laughed again. “Is it a lass or a lad?”
Lily opened her mouth to respond when movement flashed behind him. “Timothy!” she screamed.
He didn’t turn fast enough. Lily watched in horror as a sword punched straight through his chest.
His eyes widened in shock as he looked down at the blade, then back at Lily. The attacker yanked the blade free, and Timothy crumpled to the ground, coughing out blood.
