Page 47 of A Very Bookish Murder
At that moment, the first heir to the earldom of Locharran for more than seventy years slid into the world with a lusty yell.
‘Och, you’re managing just fine,’ said Ross, looking from Magda to Ally. ‘Now, let’s see what the other wee chap’s doing in there.’
Ally had wrapped the firstborn in a towel and laid the baby on Magda’s breast. She wondered if Hamish was up for cutting the umbilical cord. He was staring in awe at his tiny son, and then appeared horrified as Ross handed him the scissors. ‘Come on, Hamish – it’s your son!’
Hamish suddenly awoke from his stupor. He picked up the scissors and did as he was told. There was a further shout from Magda, and the second baby boy entered the world.
They both seemed perfectly healthy and extremely noisy. It was at that moment that they heard the ambulance arrive, and shortly, two paramedics came rushing into the room.
Ross, who fortunately thought about such things, had noted the time of their births as 12.31 and 12.48 a.m. and given the information to the paramedics.
Mrs Fraser was in tears, and Ally realised she was crying too. There was something about the miracle of birth that was so emotive. Hamish was fussing around Magda who, sitting up with a towel-wrapped baby in each arm, was now looking ecstatic.
Hamish had found his voice again after being rendered speechless by the whole experience.
‘We must give them names!’ he exclaimed. ‘Ross, you helped to deliver my first son, so you must choose a name.’
Ross shrugged. ‘I think you and Magda must choose, Hamish. They are the heirs, after all, so a suitable name has to be found.’
‘No, Ross, and you too, Ally,’ Magda said, never taking her eyes off her two babies. ‘You helped me so much, and I would like you to choose a name each, please.’
‘Whew! I don’t know…’ Ross said.
‘What’s the name of your late son?’ Hamish asked.
Ally realised that Ross, too, suddenly appeared to be on the verge of tears. He seemed to be finding it hard to speak. ‘Alan,’ he whispered.
‘That’s a lovely idea, Ross,’ Ally said. ‘Alan would be a good name.’
Ross nodded wordlessly.
‘That’s decided then; and, Ally, what was the name of your husband? Or your son?’ Hamish asked.
‘Well, my husband was Ken, and my son is James,’ Ally replied.
‘Kenneth! That’s a grand Scottish name!’ said Hamish. ‘Kenneth James Sinclair!’
‘And I like William because it was my grandfather’s name,’ said Magda, ‘and I would like the second one to be William Alan.’
The midwife arrived, smiling and declaring, ‘Hello, I’m Katy. Looks like you’ve done just fine without me though.’ With that, she withdrew some scales from her bag. ‘Let’s see what these handsome wee boys weigh.’
The babies, yelling at being exposed to the elements, were weighed. Kenneth James Sinclair weighed exactly six pounds and four ounces, and his brother, William Alan, was just one pound less. Both were pronounced healthy and to be an excellent size for twins, despite their early arrival.
Ally didn’t sleep a wink. The enormity of what she’d witnessed – the birth of two healthy babies who were heirs to the earldom, after all these years! Hamish’s banker cousin in London who, until now, had been the only heir, would be feeling pretty choked when he found out, and his wife even more so. Ally hadn’t likedeither of them when she’d met them in the past, and, more importantly, the earl didn’t like them much either.
And what would Ken, her late husband, and James, her son, think about having the Honourable Kenneth James Sinclair named after them? Ally’s thoughts turned to Ross, who was doing a fair amount of tossing and turning, probably thinking about Alan, the son he’d lost years ago, now remembered forever in the middle name of the Honourable William Alan Sinclair.
Katy, the midwife, had dealt with everything promptly and efficiently and promised to come back in the morning. Goodness only knew how Magda would cope overnight – or what was left of it. When Ally had last seen her, she was sitting up, her eyes shining as she fed both babies at once. Hamish, meanwhile, had seemed absolutely stunned by the whole procedure.
At five o’clock, Ally gave up on the idea of sleep and decided she might as well get up. To her surprise, Ross got up too.
‘I think I dozed off a couple of times,’ he said, yawning, ‘but that was all.’
‘I didn’t even manage that,’ Ally said, ‘because my mind kept buzzing.’
‘It was quite a night,’ Ross agreed.
‘A moment in history!’ Ally exclaimed. ‘And you were fantastic.’
