Revolution (Chronicles of Charanthe #2)
Page 60
*
The only thing keeping Eleanor in Almont had been her plan to rescue Lucille, so there was suddenly no reason to stay. Once she’d provided Lauren with new instructions, she made her way slowly back to Woolport on a succession of borrowed horses. There were fewer carts running between towns these days, with every journey at risk of being waylaid by rebel supporters or opportunist highwaymen, so her only choice was to ride. Even sitting sidesaddle and maintaining a very gentle pace, it was an uncomfortable journey.
She wanted nothing more than to go to sleep as soon as she arrived back at the Association, but Daniel had moved into her room, and with him had moved heaps of debris that now cluttered the room.
“Are you going to tidy up in here?” she asked as she undressed ready for bed.
He rolled towards her, yawned, and brushed the hair from his face. “Hnmmh?”
“You’ve turned my room into an outpost of your lab,” she said, waving towards a precarious stack of books and bottles. “It’s clutter and it’s dangerous. When are you going to clear up?”
“Welcome back.” He reached out and took her hand to pull her into bed. “I missed you, too.”
“I’m serious, it’s a real mess in here.”
“When did you start worrying about a few stray papers?”
She frowned. “We’re having a baby. This is his home too, you know.”
“I will clear it all before the baby arrives.”
“Tomorrow,” she said. “Promise me you’ll do it tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
She smiled and allowed herself to relax back into his arms, and then she was asleep before he’d even finished rearranging the blankets around her shoulders.
She got up the next morning with every intention of calling a council meeting straight after breakfast, but she’d barely started her morning stretches whe the stomach cramps began in earnest. She climbed back into bed, sent Daniel to fetch her some breakfast from the dining hall, and curled up under the covers to wait for him to return.
As well as bread and meat, he brought her a hot compress and a mug of herbal tea that wouldn’t have been her first choice for flavour but which – he promised – would help to ease the pain.
“I think I’m going to have the baby today,” she said as she propped herself up on pillows and sipped at the drink. “This is his way of telling me he wants to come out.”
“What?”
“I can feel it. He’s ready.”
“By my calculation–” Daniel began, but she cut him off.
“Your calculations were wrong! He’s ready to come out now.”
“How do you know?”
“He moved while I was riding home. It’s like he was working his way down inside me, getting ready to escape. I just know.”
He shook his head, readjusting the compress he’d positioned around her waist. “We are not ready for this. Not yet. It is too soon.”
“It’s not like I can stop it, Daniel, do you think I have a choice? It’s his decision.”
“But we are not ready.”
“Just find me a woman who’s done this before, please. I don’t know how this is supposed to work.”
“As soon as night falls,” he promised.
“He might be born by nightfall.”
“Then all will be well. You know we cannot sail to the mainland in daylight. Now, what news can I take to the council?”
She gave him a very quick recap of events with Lucille, though she missed out Lauren’s part of the story. The girl would be safer if no-one knew what she was doing.
Daniel left her alone and Eleanor tried to force herself back to sleep, but the cramping pains were too much. In an attempt to distract herself she shuffled Daniel’s materials outside into the corridor, swept the floor, and changed the sheets on her bed. By the time he came back to bring her lunch and check on her progress, she was ready to demand a sleeping potion.
“Not a good idea,” he said. “I think it would make you both sleep.”
“Would that be so bad? He’s not moving much at the moment.”
“Better not to risk it.”
“But I’m so tired, and I just can’t get comfortable.” She shuffled in the bed as if to prove her point, turning onto her side and then onto her back again.
“Try walking a little,” he said. “I shall go to Woolport soon.”