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She left me. And the realization was like a punch to the gut.

He walked further into the room and sat on her bed, then lay down, hugging the pillow that still smelled like her.

There. A piece of her was still present in the house. She was still here.

He took a deep breath, inhaling her wonderful scent. This couldn’t possibly be his life. This house did not feel like home without her.

He sat up. What in the world was he doing sniffing the pillow and walking around the house all maudlin?

She couldn’t have gone far. He needed to find her and bring her back. If not for his sake, then for the sake of his daughter.

With this resolution in mind, he hurried down the stairs only to be greeted by a huge gust of wind. The cloaked figure entered the house and closed the door behind him. He took off his hat and shook the rainwater off it before raising his head.

Rhys immediately recognized their groom, George. What was he doing here?

George looked up, an expression of fear shining in his eyes.

“My lord!” he yelled. “Lady Isabel’s horse just returned… Without her.”

* * *

That day was quite possibly the longest in Isabel’s life. She could not even imagine how it felt to Lilian.

When Isabel arrived at Lilian’s house, it turned out that Lilian had already spent a few hours in painful labor. Mary had said that something was wrong, and the babe was coming out upside down.

Isabel had no earthly idea what that could have possibly meant. But Lilian’s husband had rushed to a nearby village to look for an experienced midwife who could help.

When Lilian had been extremely tired and ready to give up, an old, weathered woman came into the house and did something miraculous. She put her hands on Lilian’s stomach and turned the babe.

And soon after that, the babe appeared into the world.

Well, not everything was as easy as that.

Isabel learned one crucial fact during that day.

She realized why nobody ever taught ladies anything about their marital duty. Because if they knew how the birthing process took place, they would never agree to marry in their entire lives. They’d rather be a spinster than go through such a horrific experience.

Isabel doubted she would ever be able to withstand such torture and deliver a child into this world. How had Lilian done it six blasted times?

If Isabel had been split apart like this, with blood and other liquids shooting out of her, she was certain she would never be put back together. She was horrified.

Isabel had been certain she would never think of the birthing process as a miracle… until she took the babe into her arms and looked into her scrunched-up, wrinkly, pink face.

The babe was absolutely beautiful.

And perhaps it was worth reliving that pain and terror just to be able to hold her own babe in her arms.

Isabel looked at Lilian, still lying on the floor, now covered with blankets, looking tired but blissful. Her eyes were closing as she fought to stay awake.

“How does it feel?” Isabel asked, referring to the process of childbirth.

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Lilian answered.

Isabel doubted Lilian had been frank with her when she had answered, but she didn’t persist. Perhaps Lilian needed to believe that for the moment before all the pain left her body, which probably would take weeks or months.

Isabel glanced back at the little babe in her arms. The babe gurgled and shifted, and Isabel smiled.

Yes, she definitely wanted one of these for herself.