Bronwyn leaned back against the stone wall of the stables. The quarrel was upsetting her stomach. The thought of food nauseated her. “No,” she whispered, her hand to her stomach.
“Bronwyn, what is it?” Judith asked, setting the basket down. “Aren’t you feeling well?” She put her hand on her sister-in-law’s forehead. “Here, sit down.” She urged her to a barrel set by the wall. “Breathe deeply and it will pass.”
“What will?” Bronwyn asked sharply.
“The nausea.”
“The what?” Bronwyn gasped. “What are you talking about?”
Judith paused. “Unless I miss my guess, you’re going to have a baby.” She smiled broadly at Bronwyn’s look. “It is rather startling when you first realize it.” She caressed her own stomach. “We’ll deliver close together,” she said proudly.
“You! You’re going to have a baby too?”
Judith had a faraway smile on her face. “Yes. I…lost my first one, a miscarriage, so for this one I’m being so careful I’m not even telling anyone. Except Gavin, of course.”
“Of course,” Bronwyn said and looked away, then back again. “When is your baby due?”
“In seven months.” She chuckled.
“What are you laughing at?” Bronwyn asked. “I need some humor right now.”
“I was just thinking that my mother will be able to come to my lying-in.” She paused, then began to explain. “I thought she would not be able to come, as she was to deliver at the same time.”
“Your mother! How fortunate you are to have your parents alive.”
“No,” Judith smiled. “My father died several months ago.”
“And the child is not his?” Bronwyn asked quietly.
“Oh, no, and I am pleased by that. My father often beat my mother. She was held captive by a young man, and her guard was Gavin’s best man, John Bassett. I’m afraid my mother and he found an extraordinary means of entertainment.”
Bronwyn laughed.
“Yes,” Judith continued. “When Gavin found out there was to be a child, he allowed John and my mother to marry.”
“And she’s had her own babe now?”
“It’s due in a couple of months, so she should be well enough to travel to me when I am due. I must get back to work now. Why don’t you just sit there and rest?”
“Judith, you said your mother was being held captive. How did she escape?”
Judith’s golden eyes darkened with memory. “I killed her captor, and Stephen’s men brought down the wall of the old keep.”
Bronwyn could see the pain in Judith’s eyes. She asked no more questions before Judith turned away toward the gate that separated the two parts of the castle complex.
Bronwyn sat still for quite some time. A baby! she thought. A soft, sweet thing like Kirsty’s baby. Her mind seemed to leave her, and she hardly noticed when she stood and began to walk. She thought of Tam and how proud he’d be of her. She smiled dreamily when she thought of Stephen’s reaction to the news. He’d be so happy! He’d grab her and toss her above his head and laugh with pleasure. Then they’d argue over whether the child would be named MacArran or Montgomery. There was no doubt, of course, that he’d be a MacArran.
She kept walking in a dreamlike trance, never noticing when she reached the open gate. The men on the wall guarding the entrance didn’t challenge her or hinder her movements in any way.
What would she name her child? she thought. James for her father, and perhaps another name for Stephen’s family. What if the babe was a girl? she thought and smiled warmly. Clan MacArran would have two female lairds in a row. She must teach her daughter all the things she’d need to know to be laird.
“My lady,” someone said.
Bronwyn hardly heard the voice. She was in a trance, and very little penetrated it. In fact, she was hardly aware that she’d walked for quite some time and was now out of sight of the castle guards.
“My lady,” the voice repeated. “Are you well?”
Bronwyn looked up at the man with an angelic smile of great warmth. “I am well,” she said in a vague manner. “I am more than well.”