J. Blair - The Pendragon Murders

“But we are avoiding the real issue. What I want to talk to you about is what you may have seen and heard while you were there. From the other servants. You know very well that they have a different reaction to persons and events than those of us who are higher up.”

“We saw nothing,” said one of the twins. “We heard even less.”

“Come now.” Merlin did his best to sound cordial and conciliatory. “Lord Darrowfield’s staff must at least have expressed sympathy for either him or his wife.”

“We don’t know a thing about that.”

The interview was not going at all the way Merlin had hoped. He found the boys’ attitude difficult to comprehend. He made a mental note to discuss it with Nimue; she so often had an insight into people that was beyond him, especially when it came to the lower orders. And she was a shrewd judge of character.

Suddenly Simon of York rushed into the room. “Merlin! So this is where you’ve been.” His tone was vaguely accu satory. “We’ve scoured the castle looking for you.”

Mildly baffled by Simon’s urgent tone, Merlin told him, “The four of us have been getting better acquainted, that is all. Is something wrong?”

“There is an emergency. A medical emergency. Fedora wants you.”

It caught him quite off guard. He got to his feet. “Fedora, the old midwife? She must be ninety-a walking medical emergency herself. What on earth can she want me for?”

An expression of concern crossed Marian’s face. “Fedora the midwife?”

Simon ignored her. “Come along. Hurry. Sir Dinadan’s wife is giving birth. It is not going well.”

“Oh. I see.” To Marian and the boys he said, “Thank you for meeting with me. We must continue this at a more opportune moment.”

One of the twins smiled; the other did not. Marian stood and caught at Merlin’s sleeve. “You will not forget to write to the sheriff about us?”

“I will do it the moment I am free. You have my word.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Merlin followed Simon to the wing of the castle where most of the knights resided. Before very long they had reached Sir Dinadan’s rooms. The knight was standing in the hallway, pacing, looking more than mildly alarmed. “Merlin. Thank God you’ve come.”

“What is happening?”

“They are inside.”

“I would have assumed. But what-”

Suddenly the air was cut by a low, piercing wail. A woman, presumably Lady Dinadan, was in severe pain. The sound actually made Merlin shudder.

Dinadan grabbed him by the arm. “For God’s sake, you have to save my son. And my wife.”

“Son? How do you know it is a boy?”

“My family always produces boys. I wouldn’t have it otherwise.”

“Of course.”

Simon interrupted this. “Perhaps you should step inside, Merlin, to evaluate the situation for yourself.”

“Yes, you are right. There may be little time to spare. Step in with me; I will need an assistant.”

“Me? Merlin. This is childbirth.” Simon was flabbergasted at the suggestion. “I don’t know a thing about women. Or about delivering babies. I would be worse than useless.”

Merlin glared at him, snorted and rushed inside the chamber.

Lady Dinadan was on her bed, undressed. Her body was shuddering; it was clear she was in pain. The top of the infant’s head showed. The woman moaned again; she seemed not to recognize Merlin.

Bending over her was an elderly woman, stoop-backed, dressed in black, incredibly wrinkled. She was telling the lady, “Push. Push. You must keep pushing.”

“Fedora.” Merlin kept his voice hushed. “What is the problem?”

The old woman looked up at him. “Thank the goddess you’ve come, sir. The baby’s head is too large for the birth canal. It is stuck there and won’t come out.”

“I see.” He bent down to examine the woman on the bed. Softly he said to her, “Do not keep pushing. It will not come out, and you will only cause yourself more suffering. The infant, too, most likely.”

“I am not pushing.” The woman’s face was wet with tears. “The contractions-” She let out a low, horrible shriek.

Merlin rushed back out to the hallway. “Simon, go and find my assistant Petronus. He will likely be in the classroom at this time. Tell him to bring my surgical tools. As quickly as he can. If you cannot find him, get Colin.”

Simon looked on the verge of panic. He trembled, and he seemed rooted to the floor.

“Go!” Merlin bellowed. “Waste no time!”

Simon finally found his legs and ran off down the corridor. Merlin turned to Sir Dinadan and explained what was happening. “The situation could not be more grave.”

“Merlin, you have to save them.”

“I will do everything I can, believe me.”

“But-but what can you do?”

“Difficult childbirth is so-There are several-” He paused and took a deep breath. “When a child’s head is too large, sometimes we can pull it out with forceps. But the child is often damaged in the process. Mentally, I mean, if not physically. If it is too large for even that to work, the usual procedure is to use a speculum to shatter its skull. Once the infant’s skull has been reduced to fragments, it will emerge from the birth canal easily. It will die, of course. But the mother’s life will be preserved.”

“That cannot happen. This is my son.”

“Or daughter.”

“Son.” He said it with force. “What about-There must be another way.”

Merlin sighed deeply. “In rare cases it is possible to cut open the womb and bring the child out that way. It is an extreme procedure, and there are grave risks. For both mother and child.”

“Then do not do that.”

“It may be our only hope. If you are so determined to have the child survive, that is. And it can be an effective procedure. It is the way Julius Caesar was born.”

For the first time Dinadan’s expression changed. “Caesar? Julius Caesar?” He seemed to derive pleasure from saying the name. “My son could be born the same way as Julius Caesar?”

“It is a medical procedure, Dinadan. It confers no pedigree.”

But Dinadan was lost in reverie. “Julius Caesar. My son.”

“Dinadan!” He caught the knight by the shoulders and shook him.

This snapped him out of it. “Yes, yes, you must do that. Do whatever you can to preserve both their lives.”

Relief showed in Merlin’s features. He had brought the man to reality, at least for the moment. He forced himself not to wonder what kind of life the child might face if its mind and character turned out less than imperial. Or if it was female.

An instant later Simon returned with Nimue in tow; she was carrying Merlin’s surgical kit.

“You could not find Petronus?”

“He was nowhere to be found.”

“Well, Colin is more than able. It is time he learned the facts about human reproduction and women’s anatomy.” He smiled at Nimue, and she returned it. Merlin never missed an opportunity to promote “Colin’s” cover.

He took her aside and quickly explained what was happening. “Dinadan wants me to cut open the womb and deliver the child in that unnatural way.”

“But what does she-?”

“It is our only hope for delivering the child whole and healthy.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Dinadan wants it to be male, and to be another Caesar.”

“And if it isn’t?”

“Let us concentrate on saving it, for the moment, and worry about that later.”

The two of them went back into the birth room. Fedora was there, on her knees beside Lady Dinadan’s bed. She looked up at them. “Thank the goddess you’re back.”

“You must stay here to assist us if we need you, Fedora.”

She showed him a scrap of cloth she had been holding to her chest. “I tied a strip of cloth into tight knots. It delayed the contractions.”