Mirror Image, page 41
"I do wish you'd leave, " he snapped at Charles. And Charles snapped right back at him, much to everyone's surprise. "I'm not going.
She's my wife, and I'm staying right here, " and despite the pain, her spirits seemed to rise, having him near her. He held her hand, and told her to push when the others did, but still nothing happened. And finally, after forcing his hand into her, the doctor announced that the baby was in the wrong position.
"I'm going to have to turn it, " he said, and Charles almost cried as she screamed this time, but slowly, slowly, the baby began moving.
But it had been just as Charles had feared. The baby must have been too large. It was easy enough to see that. He didn't know why they hadn't made her go to the hospital, or at least warned them. But the doctor had been so intent on pacifying her all these months, telling her it would be easy.
"I can't do this anymore, " she said miserably to Charles, between pains, and then she threw up, and cried more. He wanted to take her in his arms, and run away from there. He was sorry he had ever made love to her, and then suddenly, as they both cried, she made a terrible face and pushed again, and this time there was a small wailing sound, and out of the huge ball that had been her belly for the past several months came the tiniest of babies. She was small and sweet and pink, and a perfectly formed little girl as the doctor held her up and they both looked at her in astonishment. "Oh she's so beautiful, " Olivia said as Bertie held her.
"Now, that wasn't so bad, " the doctor said, and Olivia made a terrible face, and then looked at Charles with a smile, but the smile turned instantly to pain, as he watched her in horror.
"What's happening? " he asked, suddenly frightened, she was convulsed with pains again and she had already had the baby.
"That happens sometimes, " the doctor explained, "it's the afterbirth, sometimes it can be even more painful, " he said in an undervoice as Olivia started screaming again, and Bertie watched her.
"Not again .. . please .. ." Olivia begged, "no more .
.." She looked at Charles again as though she were being swept away from him on merciless tides, and all he could think of was no more children, this was awful.
"I don't think, " Bertie started to say knowingly, but the doctor cut her off.
"In a minute, she'll deliver the placenta, " but she suddenly began bleeding very heavily instead, and she was racked with pain, and without anyone telling her to, she began pushing as Charles held her.
"Doctor, is this normal? " Charles asked in a strangled voice, as suddenly a small head appeared where the first one had been, this one even a little larger, and a small face was suddenly looking at all of them and waiting, as Charles looked down again between her legs in complete amazement. "Victoria, " he said, she was lying on the bed, with her eyes closed, clutching at him, and gasping for air, as he smiled at her. "Come on, sweetheart, push, we're having another baby.
" He was laughing and crying at the same time and so was Bertie.
"what? Oh my God .. ." she said, and then understood and pushed harder, and a second baby girl came out, and a moment after her, a single placenta. They were identical, just as she and Victoria were.
Olivia stared at the baby in disbelief and then at Charles, and then started to laugh. It was just after ten o'clock in the morning.
"I don't believe this. Not again." They were all laughing suddenly, and even Olivia didn't feel so bad. The bleeding had almost stopped and she was holding both babies in her arms, as Bertie draped her in clean sheets and towels. She was more than a little shocked that Charles had been there, but in fact she had found him a greater help than the doctor.
"I love you so much, " Charles whispered to her, as he bent over her, and then with both their babies in his arms, he took them to see Geoff, who couldn't believe them either. They were so perfect and so beautiful, and there were two of them. And in their bedroom the doctor was explaining why he had thought he had heard a single heartbeat.
He stitched Olivia up a little bit, and Bertie bathe her body and her face in cool scented water. And when the doctor left, and they were alone again, she looked at Olivia and smiled at her.
"What have you done, you foolish girl? " she said, and Olivia knew exactly what she meant. She was surprised she had gotten away with it for so long. It was almost a year now.
"She made me do it." Bertie nodded and laughed. What, this too? "
"Well, not exactly, " she laughed, happy, even after so much pain.
It seemed such a small thing now.
'there is she? " Bertie whispered softly.
"In Europe." But before she could say anything else, Charles came into the room with Geoff, who wanted to see her.
"They're so cute, Aunt .. . Victoria .. ." He had almost slipped and looked at her in panic, but she was smiling when she kissed him.
"They look just like you when you were little, your dad said, " Olivia said gently. Geoff looked embarrassed then, and left the room to go and tell their neighbors. And finally, Charles was alone with her again, Bertie had taken the babies to the next room to bathe them.
"I'm sorry I put you through all that, " he said, looking proud, but guilty.
"I'd do it all again, " she said honestly, "it wasn't so bad." He looked at her in utter amazement.
"How can you say that? " he said, kissing her, remembering just how bad it had been, better than she did.
"It was worth it, " she said softly, kissing him, and thinking of the two little girls that had been born, just like her and her sister.
"I'm not sure I'll survive all their tricks, " Charles said warmly as he sat beside her on the bed, thinking about how confusing it had been to be around her and her sister. "Your father said he could never tell you two apart."
"I'll teach you, " she said and kissed him. And a few minutes later, Bertie came in with both their babies, and as she settled them into their mother's arms, she couldn't help wondering what Olivia was going to do when Victoria returned from Europe.
In Chalons-sur-Marne that night, Victoria had been sleeping peacefully, when she felt Edouard stab her with what felt like a hot knife, over and over again until she screamed, and then as she began to wake from the ugly dream she realized that it was Olivia that they were stabbing and she was screaming. She kept screaming over and over again, and never stopped, until Victoria put her hands over her ears, but then she felt the pains herself again, and she was writhing on their bed, confused, and wet and in agony, crying for her sister, as Edouard woke her.
"Eh .. . petite .. . .. . It's a nightmare .
.. ce n'est qu'un cauchemar, ma che'the." But it was so real she couldn't stop dreaming, and as she clung to him, gasping for air, she realized their bed was wet and the pains were real. She could hardly catch her breath, as she felt a huge pain bearing down on her, pressure that seemed to press right through her.
"I don't know what's happening .. ." she whispered in the dark, as he turned on the light, still confused himself, and then he saw her.
She was lying in a pool of water and blood, and she was holding her belly as he watched her.
"(Wa vient maintenant? .. . Is it coming now? " When he was half asleep, he often spoke to her in French, but now she could understand it. She nodded, looking terrified, and he got out of bed quickly and grabbed his trousers. "I'll get the doctor."
"No .. . don't .. .
don't leave me, " she begged, she was in too much pain and far too frightened. Unlike Olivia, Victoria was deathly afraid of childbirth, and all she wanted now was Edouard beside her.
"I have to get him, Olivia .. . I have no idea how to deliver a baby.
I've only seen horses."
"Please don't go, " she cried, and then gasped horribly as she felt another pain and clutched her belly. "It's coming now .. . I know it is .. . Edouard, don't go .. ." She was in total panic, and her eyes were wild as he watched her.
"Please darling, let me go and get someone to help you .. .
Chouinard, " their best surgeon at the field hospital, "will come back with me, and I'll bring one of the nurses."
"I don't want them, " she gasped, clutching at him again. Her fingers were like claws as she grabbed him. "I want you .. ." And then as she caught her breath for a moment between pains, "I was dreaming that Olivia was having the baby." He smiled this time at the convenient transference of her dream.
"This is one thing she can't do for you, my love. Nor can I, " he said gently. "I wish I could take all the pain from you, " he said, as he knelt beside her and held her. She was obviously in agony, but he knew it could go on for hours, and he was determined to get someone to help her. He tried to put his shirt on then, but she wouldn't let him.
"It's coming now, Edouard .. . I can feel it .. . it's coming .
.." She felt terrible pressure and pain, and he was frightened when he saw the blood all around her, but in a moment she screamed, and unluckily, there was no one in the house with them all night. The others were all on duty. And he couldn't use his field telephone to call the doctor.
"I'll be back soon, " he tried telling her again, but she wouldn't let him go. She was frantic and too frightened for him to leave her.
All he could do was sit there with her and hold her. And at that exact moment, in New York, Olivia began having pains again, only mild ones this time, she said something to Charles and he pretended to look faint, and said please, not triplets. But when Bertie came into the room, she said having pains afterwards was normal. Olivia lay her head back against the pillows then, and slept for a little while. But when she slept, she dreamt only of her sister.
"Edouard, please .. ." It was another pitiful scream, and she sat up suddenly and moved to the edge of the bed. He had no idea what she was doing. "I have to push, " she said, panting as she clung to him. She didn't know what to do, or where to go, but she was driven by a force she couldn't stop now.
"Hold on to me, " he said, and she clung to his hands, as she pushed against the force she felt, sitting there, and then fell back against the bed. She didn't know what to do to get it out of her, but still she could feel it coming. He got the idea then to push against her legs, and told her to lie back and push against him. And when she tried it, although she made terrible sounds, she felt better. She did it again, and then fell back against the bed again, and the next time she pushed he could see a little tuft of blonde hair appearing.
"Oh my God, " he said, utterly amazed by what he saw. "Oh my God ... Victoria, it's coming .. . keep pushing." She did it again and again and again, and he kept holding her legs and letting her brace herself against him, and in a matter of minutes, there was a little face between her legs, squalling mightily at his mother. "Victoria! " he said, almost shouting at her as they both laughed and cried and she pushed, and two pushes later, their son squirmed out of Victoria's soul and lay on the bed crying. Edouard picked him up as carefully as he could, and held him up so he could see his mother.
"Oh .. . look at him .. ." Victoria cried, unable to believe what had happened to them, and so quickly. He was so perfect, and he looked just like his father. "He's so beautiful .. . oh I love you, " she said and kissed Edouard. There were tears rolling down his cheeks.
They had truly been blessed. In this place of anguish and death, they had been visited by an angel.
"He is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, " he said to her in French, crying with unabashed tears of joy, "except for his mother.
Victoria, more than you'll ever know." He lay the baby gently on her chest then, and went to get towels and water to clean them.
It was the most extraordinary thing he'd ever seen. And the little boy had been born in less than an hour from the moment his mother had woken.
"What do we name him? " he asked, after he had ministered to both of them. He was proving to be an excellent amateur doctor, and midwife.
"You did that very well, " she smiled, and then she looked somewhat embarrassed. "I'm sorry I got so scared .. . I was so surprised and it went so fast, " and quick as it had been, it had been very painful.
He was a very big baby, but even she had to admit, it had been much easier than she'd expected. She'd been afraid of a long agonizing delivery, like their mother's, that may have ended in tragedy. "Thank God we didn't have twins, " Victoria said, looking relieved.
"I think I'd like that, " he said, looking very much the proud father, as he lit a cigarette and offered her one, but for once she didn't want it. She was feeling a little shaken up still, and more than a little queasy. But the baby was already nursing. And looking at her, Edouard was reminded again that she should go home soon. This was no place for a baby. And then he smiled at her again, and smoothed the long dark hair back from her face, as she lay there naked, with their son, covered only by an army blanket. "And the future baron's name? " he asked formally and she looked from her son to his father with a thoughtful expression.
"How about Olivia Edouard, after my sister, and you and my father?
That seems to wrap it up. The only one it leaves out is Charles, " she grinned, "and under the circumstances, I don't think he'll mind that."
"Are we sending him an announcement, or are you going to write to the poor man one of these days? " They had finally decided that that would be the best way to do it, otherwise Charles might not know for years, and Olivia would be trapped forever playing the role of her sister.
Victoria had been planning to write to Olivia and tell her. She was sure it would be a relief to her, although Charles was undoubtedly going to be very angry. She hated leaving Olivia to face the music alone, but she just couldn't see herself going back to the States now.
But as always, whenever she thought about her, Olivia was heavy on her mind for the next few days, and she wished more than anything that she could show her the baby. She would have given anything to put her arms around her just then and hold her. She actually lay in bed and cried for two days, in spite of her joy over little Olivier, but for the first time in ten months, Victoria was deathly homesick.
Chapter 31.
The solution Edouard and Victoria came to eventually was to leave the baby with the chatelaine, the countess Victoria had met months before, who was now the mistress of the general. But her house was safe, it was well back from the front lines, and she lived there under the protection of the Allies. Although Edouard said he would have been happier knowing that Victoria and the baby were safe in Switzerland, he was willing to agree to leave them there, at least for a few months, while she was nursing. Victoria stayed home with her son for several weeks, until she got on her feet again, but she felt surprisingly well very quickly.
Several of the nurses came to visit her, and Olivier became the mascot of the camp, even to those who didn't know him. The soldiers sent presents for him, and carved little toys. Dither knitted him a tiny pair of socks, and from God only knew where one of the men found him a stuffed bear, that someone else had gotten from their girlfriend.
And as he lay on his mother's breast, with his adoring father watching him, Olivier Edouard de Bonneville looked like a very happy baby. For all of them, he was the flower of life in the midst of a field of death and ashes.
By June, Victoria was herself again. She had regained her figure, much to her husband's delight, and was driving Edouard's jeep again, only nursing the baby now at night and in the morning. They left him with the countess when they were gone, and Victoria would pick him up on the way home, anxious to see him, and sometimes dripping with milk as she waited to nurse him. But he was very good-natured, and made do with goat's milk whenever he had to, particularly if they ventured too far away, or Edouard had to go somewhere overnight and took Victoria with him. For them, it was the perfect arrangement. And given the demands of the war, it was amazing they pulled it off. But fortunately for Edouard, the general liked him.
Edouard had recently been making runs to rendezvous with the Escadrille Americain, a flying force with seven U. S. volunteers, and he had taken Victoria with him to meet them. It had been exciting for her, and they were thrilled to see another Yankee. Two of them were from New York, so they had that in common too, but the war was enough bond for all.
They were all in it together.
And in June, while Victoria was driving for Edouard, the Dawsons were christening their babies. Olivia had insisted on naming them Elizabeth and Victoria for her mother and her sister. The Victoria had been harder to explain to Charles, but he had thought she wanted a namesake.
But Elizabeth's middle name was Charlotte, for her father. Victoria's was Susan.
Geoff was enchanted with both of them, and Bertie had her hands full, dressing and feeding and washing, and changing, there were never enough hands to help her. Olivia had tried nursing them, but they had been too much for her, and after the difficult delivery she'd had, the doctor thought she was too weak to continue, so they'd switched them to bottles, and now everyone could help feed them.
But by June, Olivia was feeling wonderful. It was as though nothing had ever happened. And as they stood in Saint Thomas Church, the day before their second anniversary, Olivia felt like the luckiest woman alive, except for the knowledge that she had borrowed it all from her sister.
She had no idea what they would do when Victoria returned. Maybe they'd have to continue the masquerade forever. She just hoped that Victoria hadn't decided that she was madly in love with Charles, but nothing in her letters to Olivia had indicated that, or mentioned anyone else for that matter. Olivia had the impression that something was going on, but she had never figured out what. Victoria mostly confined herself to war news, to the extent that the censors would let her, but at least Olivia knew her sister was happy.
In June, during the Battle of Verdun, after Fort Vaux fell, Edouard and Victoria were coming home from a top secret meeting with the Allies in Anscourt. All of the high-ranking officers had been there, including Churchill, representing his new battalion. Every one had been depressed about how the Battle of Verdun was going, the carnage seemed endless.
