Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 242: History Repeats

William remained at Camilla’s side and stroked her hand, squeezing it so that she knew he was still next to her. She squeezed back, looked at him and gave him a wan smile. Although she looked exhausted, her ability to still smile after hours of agony reassured him.

All he wanted to do was curl up against her and weep with relief and fear, to beg her to recover soon so they could raise these children together. He managed, however, to keep himself in check. He told himself sternly that the last thing his wife needed was to see him breaking down in weakness, when she’d had to be so strong already.

He kissed the back of her hand and then her forehead, before Mistress Guelders gestured he should stand up from the bed. As soon as he did, the elder midwife pulled up the layers of bloodstained linen from one side of the bed, then gently moved Camilla over on the mattress so she could do the same on the other side of the bed. "You’ll feel so much better being on clean sheets again, my lady."

After the linen had been removed and set aside for discarding, Mistress Guelders returned to carefully smooth Camilla’s loose hair back and wipe her flushed face with a damp cloth. She dipped the cloth in cool water again, wrung out the excess water and left it folded on Camilla’s forehead. "Rest now, my lady, while we care for you. You’ve more than earned it. You have just given your husband a son and a daughter, both strong and healthy. What a clever girl you are!"

Camilla smiled again and nodded weakly. William could see her eyes starting to drift closed, though she was clearly trying to fight her exhaustion.

Mistress Guelders gestured for her own daughters to bring the infants closer to Camilla so that she could see them. Bridget and Darla both stepped forward, each with a child in their arms. Camilla looked up and touched both of their little heads in blessing.

"Sleep now while we wash you, dear girl." Mistress Guelders said softly. "We’ll bring the little ones back and place them in your arms as soon you awaken."

William could’ve hugged the older woman for her simple kindness. He decided he’d pay her three times the already generous amount of gold he’d originally planned. Mistress Guelders and her daughters would no longer be poor peasants.

The older midwife gently led William away and gestured for him to sit in a chair near the unlit fireplace. "Please sit down awhile, my lord. You were such a help to your wife but you look tired as well."

William sank down into the chair, suddenly feeling a little faint. He rubbed his aching head, gratefully accepting the mug of sweet ale that Mistress Guelders offered him. He took a gulp, noticing that the two younger women had taken the newborns out of the bedchamber. "Where...?" he tried to ask.

The older woman understood and patiently explained. "They’re just washing and swaddling the babes. We have set up everything for that in the presence chamber, my lord. I prefer not to have everything crammed into one room as it can be quite overwhelming for the mother, especially once she’s resting. I prefer the bedchamber to remain as peaceful and as uncluttered as possible."

"That makes sense." he muttered drowsily. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Mistress Guelders patted him on the shoulder and went to check on Camilla, who was finally asleep. She put her fingertips against her throat for a moment, then smiled reassuringly at William. "She doesn’t feel feverish and her pulse is strong. She also didn’t lose much blood, especially for twins, which is a very good sign. I don’t doubt your wife will feel much better after a few hours of sleep. We’ll change her into clean garments then as well."

He smiled, feeling his limbs go weak with relief.

Some moments later, the two younger midwives returned to the bedchamber. William tried to stand on his shaky legs but Darla gestured he should remain sitting and the children would be brought to him.

He was handed his new son first by Bridget, a warm little bundle with a pink face peeking out from the pale linen. As he looked down at the sleeping boy, William smiled proudly, taking in the little button nose and pouting lips.

He was glad for Malcolm to have a younger brother. He hoped the two would be good to each other as they grew up side by side, and they would form the ties between them that all brothers should have. The ties he’d shared all his life with Prince Thomas. The same ties the Stephenson princes had once shared.

Malcolm and William Devon. He liked the sound of it. Of course, William thought with a rueful smile as he eventually handed the little boy back to Bridget, he knew of the tumbles and mischief and fistfights that were unavoidable between brothers. He knew he’d have to be prepared to step in and separate his boys briefly when they became too competitive, or when things got too heated.

What William wasn’t prepared for at all were the feelings that shot through him when his daughter was placed in his arms by Darla. Unlike her brother, the tiny girl was wide awake and stared back at William with what seemed like frightening clarity. Her doe eyes were dark, framed by sweeps of thick black lashes.

A fierce, protective joy rushed through him, quite unlike anything he’d ever experienced. He stared down at the baby, stunned silent.

Mistress Guelders saw his reaction and frowned a little, clearly misunderstanding William’s lack of comment for his disappointment. "Did your preference run to twin sons, Your Grace?"

William shook his head but continued to gaze at the baby. "No, not at all. I already have two healthy boys. To have a girl is perfection. Especially when she’s the prettiest, daintiest little girl ever born." He brushed a wisp of dark hair from the baby’s forehead and rocked her gently, blinking over and over in an effort to hold back his tears.

He realised with a touch of panic that he was utterly lost - mind and soul - over this child. Lord help him.

- - -

Camilla slowly opened her heavy eyelids, trying to get her bearings. She had no idea how much time had passed but as she took in her surroundings, she remembered all that had just taken place. She was in her own bed, in her bedchamber.

Her babies had been born and she had heard their strong, insistent cries. How the hell had she never realised that she was carrying two of them, she asked herself? Why had it never occurred to her that the relentless kicks and prods and pokes had been created by two little bodies, not one?

The muscles in Camilla’s belly and back ached with a familiar exhaustion but the rush of joy that flowed through her was undeniable. She was about to open her mouth to ask one of the kindly midwives to bring the children to her, when her ears perked up at a nearby murmur of sound. Slowly turning her groggy head, she found herself looking at an unexpected sight.

A drowsy but content looking William was sprawled in an armchair he’d obviously dragged to be near the bed, his long legs stretched out in front of him.

Camilla was reminded of when she first saw him at Magdaline Castle, sprawled asleep in a chair next to the bed that he’d placed her on. He had just rescued her from the sacking of Arlen Castle. He had risked his own king’s wrath to save her life and yet, she had viewed him as her enemy for a long time.

Only four years and yet so many lifetimes ago, she realised.

Instead of being half clad in armour as he had been back then, William was now in a simple shirt as he held a swaddled infant in his arms. With one of his legs, he gently rocked the cradle at his feet, where the second infant lay sleeping.

He hadn’t noticed his wife was awake yet and Camilla didn’t want to interrupt such a perfect moment between him and his children. She just watched the three of them in quiet awe.

Camilla wondered idly which twin William was holding. The question was answered when he bowed his head to kiss the cheeks of the baby in his arms. She heard him speak softly, in a voice she barely recognised.

"For you, my precious little darling, I will scour the continent so that you only marry a man who’ll treat you like a queen every day. You will be the most beautiful girl in the world. No other will ever compare to you, except for your mother."

Camilla was dumbstruck. They were almost the exact words her own father, Duke Robert, had said to her throughout her childhood.

So history repeats, she mused and smiled as she closed her sleepy eyes again. She knew she was the very luckiest and most blessed of women.

- - - END - - -