The Yuletide Child, Charlotte Lamb [best novels to read .TXT] 📗

always afraid of what you don’t know,’ said Henry. ‘Well, let’s see how your baby is doing.’ He smiled at Ruth. ‘Is that a hot water bottle in bed with her?’

‘It helped her backache, and I thought it might help the pain—wasn’t it the right thing to do?’

‘Of course it was. Don’t often see them in modern houses, with all this central heating, but they are a real boon. I can warm my stethoscope before I put it on her tummy. It can be quite a shock to the system, a chilly stethoscope, especially in this sort of weather.’

By the time Ross brought up a tray of tea Henry had finished his examination and was talking quietly to Ruth while Dylan lay back with closed eyes, resting after her latest contraction.

Ross’s hard grey eyes flashed to her, then moved on to Henry, his brows lifting anxiously.

‘Is she okay?’

‘She’s fine—she’s doing very well.’

Ross’s tension relaxed a little. ‘And the baby?’

‘Baby’s fine, too—positioned perfectly for a straightforward birth. Don’t worry. Dylan is a strong, fit girl, with excellent muscle tone. I gather she is a trained dancer, so she could cope very well with giving birth,’ Henry told him in a reassuring voice. ‘It won’t be long now—another hour or so, I’d say—and I don’t anticipate any serious problems at all.’

Ross gave a long, audible sigh of relief. Ruth poured the tea and handed Henry his cup.

‘Have you had lunch?’ she asked him, observing the tired lines around his pale eyes, the weary droop of his lips.

He shook his head. ‘Not yet, and I’m starving. I’ve been working flat out for most of the last couple of days; I’ve had very little sleep and not much to eat, either.’

‘I could heat up some soup and grill a steak for you.’

His face brightened. ‘Would you, Ruth? That sounds wonderful; I would love a steak. I don’t suppose you’ve got mushrooms and tomatoes to go with it?’

Her eyes amused and affectionate, she nodded. ‘Of course—and some chips?’

‘Marvellous. Yes, please!’ he said with enthusiasm.

Ruth raised her brows at Ross. ‘Does that suit you too? I have plenty of steak in the deep freeze and I’ve been thawing some of it, which should be ready to cook by now.’

‘Thanks, that would be terrific.’

Henry cheerfully told Dylan, ‘Afraid you can’t join us—eating interferes with the birth process. Can’t have food being digested while baby is trying to be born.’

‘I couldn’t eat anyway. I’m not hungry.’ Dylan looked across the bedroom at the window, where snow eddied in great white flakes against a sky which had suddenly turned bright blue. ‘Look, the sun has come out!’ she murmured, her mood lifting a little. Odd how much better you felt when the sun was shining. Why was that?

After Ross had finished his meal he went back upstairs to sit with Dylan while Henry and Ruth sat in the kitchen drinking coffee.

‘You’re looking a little better now. You obviouslyneeded blood sugar,’ Ruth said, watching the ruthless sunlight picking out deep-bitten lines in his face.

‘I’m old,’ he said without regret.

‘Nonsense! You’re nothing of the kind! Middle-aged, that’s all.’

He grinned at her. ‘What a nice woman you are! Why didn’t you ever marry when you were young, Ruth?’

She looked out of the window, a little sadness in her eyes. ‘Oh, there was this boy, when I was eighteen... He was called Joe; I’d known him most of my life. He lived at Oak Farm, we saw a lot of each other one summer, fell in love. We got engaged and planned to get married the following spring. His parents were pleased; they offered us one of the farm cottages. My mother started planning the wedding. We had a little holiday together, just a weekend, staying with his older sister at Scarborough. One morning he got up very early and went for a swim. The water was very cold. He drowned.’

‘How terrible,’ Henry said heavily. ‘What a waste of a life.’

Ruth sighed. ‘Yes, it was a waste, and so stupid. It need never have happened. He was never a strong swimmer. I don’t know what made him go to the beach on his own at that hour. It seems he got cramp—a local fisherman saw he was in trouble, and tried to save him, but Joe went under before the man got to him.’

Henry watched her, face thoughtful. ‘Have you been mourning him all this time?’

She started, looked at him with a wry little smile. ‘Oh, no. I was very unhappy for a few years, but time heals everything, doesn’t it? No, I haven’t thought of Joe for a long time. But somehow I never met anyone else I really cared about. I had the occasional boyfriend, but it never lasted. You see, I’d been so much in love with Joethat I wasn’t prepared to settle for anything less. Every time I met someone I suppose I unconsciously measured the way I felt for him against the way I had felt about Joe, and the new man always lost out. Then I was into my thirties, and too busy with my career to think about getting married. It was ironic, really—I had to give up my career anyway, to come back here and look after my mother.’

‘You’re a wonderful woman, Ruth,’ Henry said, and she flushed.

‘Oh, nonsense! I couldn’t just stick her into a home and let strangers take care of her. I don’t regret giving up my life in London and my job for her—although I have to admit I sometimes yearn for city life again. But I expect that at my age I’d hate it now. I shall stay here all my life, I suppose.’

Two hours later, Dylan’s baby came into the world. A little girl with a mop of fine, dark hair and a very loud voice. Dylan watched Ruth weigh her, naked and squirming, on kitchen scales covered in kitchen paper.

‘Five pounds two ounces!’

‘Surprisingly good weight.’ Henry had examined the child a few moments ago. ‘And she’s