The Illegitimate Claim (54 page)

hard labor. “Meah doesn’t seem to be able to push the baby out of her. If we leave him

where he is he could die and so could she. I’m going to conduct some minor surgery

that will allow me to pull the baby from her.”

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“Will Meah make it through this?” Andru sounded drained.

Dr. Digo studied the young man before him and then his sister standing by his side.

“At this point, I won’t make any promises.”

Andru placed Meah’s head gently on the pillows and then walked over to the

doctor. “Let me make you a promise, doctor. If she dies, then so do you.”

The doctor sighed. “Your threats aren’t going to make this process any easier.”

Andru’s body tensed. He clenched his fists and moved in on the doctor. He wasn’t

thinking clearly—the entire day taking its toll on him and the guilt he was allowing

himself to bear over Meah’s condition all but consumed his rational thought.

The doctor moved over to the bedroom door and opened it. “I think you should

follow your sister’s advice. I’ll give your claim the best care I know how to give.” The

doctor spoke quietly.

“Andru.” Ana took his arm and then looked at the doctor. “I know my brother will

want to be here when the baby arrives. You won’t let him miss that, will you?”

“How dare you attempt to speak for me,” Andru hissed and threw his sister out the

door. Her body made a crashing sound when she hit the wall on the other side of the

hallway.

Instantly, there were the sounds of men running up the stairs as first Gilroy, then

Torgo, appeared at the top of the stairs.

“Get him out of there.” Ana pointed to her brother, and the men moved in on

Andru. They almost dragged him from the bedroom.

“Let go of me.” Andru shrugged their hands from him once they were in the

hallway, and the bedroom door closed behind them. The two men remained around

him though, all of them ready to pounce, until Andru breathed deeply and then gently

pushed Torgo to the side and reached to help his sister off the floor.

“I’m sorry, my lady,” he said as he kissed her forehead. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Andru. I’ve been through worse than that before.” She put her hands on

his chest and looked up at him. “And so has Meah. There is only one baby. The doctor

has confirmed that. You’ve got to believe she will live through this.”

Gilroy and Torgo began whispering their questions, and Ana scooted them all back

down the stairs, and ordered her brother to eat and drink some wine to calm his nerves

before returning. She then turned and went back into the bedroom.

* * * * *

It was the middle of the night when the silence of the house was interrupted by the

shrill crying of a baby. The men had collapsed on the divans in the throne room but

Andru was the first to stir when Ana appeared in the entryway with the bundled child

in her arms.

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Her hair fell in sweat-soaked ringlets precariously falling over her shoulders and

there were bloodstains on the back of her hands. But all Andru noticed as he forced his

stiff body to stand was the scruff of black hair sticking out of the blanket. He walked to

her and she handed him his son.

“Is he okay?” Andru whispered, as he quickly unwrapped the newborn to check for

himself. He then looked toward the stairs. “And Meah?”

“He’s perfect and your claim is resting.” Ana looked exhausted and collapsed

willingly against Gilroy’s chest when he moved to her side. “What will you call him?”

“Meah has asked to call him Redo, after her Runner papa who didn’t turn her away

because she wasn’t his.” Andru looked down at the tiny infant. “You’re the will of

Crator, my boy. Just look how perfect you are.”

“Welcome to the family, Redo.” Ana smiled and then looked up at Andru. “Why

don’t you take him back upstairs? Gilroy, would you take me home now? I don’t think I

can stand a minute longer.”

* * * * *

Two weeks passed before Meah was able to get out of bed for any length of time.

Dr. Digo found that when she birthed her twins, her body was torn and didn’t mend

properly, making it impossible for Redo to pass through her birth canal successfully.

He’d pulled the child from her in the knick of time. While he had her open during his

surgery, he did some reconstructive surgery. As far as Meah was concerned, that made

the entire venture she’d been through worth it.

“You’ve been working yourself to the bone lately, haven’t you?” Meah smiled as

she watched Paleah bring a basket of clean diapers over to Tia’s bed.

The young Neurian didn’t say anything, but simply glanced up at her lady and

smiled timidly, barely moving her lips, her eyes as listless as they’d been a minute

before.

“You’re exhausted,” Meah continued. “I can see it in your eyes. I want you to take

the rest of the day off. I’m sure Beel will be glad to spoil you for a while.”

A tear came to Paleah’s eye and she batted it away with annoyance. “I can’t leave.

You can’t take care of the children by yourself.”

“Nonsense. I have a houseful of servants if I need help…not to mention Dr. Digo

has me on medication to ease the pain. It’s nothing more than a dull ache now.” Meah

put her hands on her hips showing her determination. “I insist. Go. You need a break.”

Paleah shrugged and looked around the room. “Well, you’ve got clean diapers and

I guess Fulga will see to their meals.” She walked over to the crib where Magi slept and

lifted her gently into her arms. “I can take her with me.”

“Paleah,” Meah said with exasperation. “I can handle all four of them. I’ll call one of

the servant girls up here to lift either baby if they wake up. You need to rest. When

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Magi wakes up, she’ll want to take on the task of walking she’s just mastered. You

won’t get any rest. Leave her. Now, go.”

Meah pointed to the door and smiled at the concerned look on Paleah’s face.

Reluctantly, the young Neurian placed the sleeping toddler back on her blankets after

kissing her forehead lovingly. Again, a tear raced down her cheek. She left the room

without another word.

By the time Paleah was on her glider and flying away from the Bryon house, tears

fell freely down her cheeks. Now what? She had no place to go and no one to go to. She

knew Meah was trying to be nice, and so she couldn’t bear to tell her. And if Meah

hadn’t mentioned Beel’s name, Paleah was certain she never would have started crying.

What was wrong with her? Beel was a man. He’d kept her with him for almost a full

winter, much longer than any other man had bothered with her. But nonetheless, he

was just a man.

His roguish smile came to mind, those soft curls tickling her cheek and neck when

he whispered seductive promises in her ear, the feel of his fingers brushing across her

skin. Her heart begged to implode, anything to stop the endless waves of pain it

submitted with each beat. She couldn’t stand the sensation. Nothing anyone had done

to her ever hurt this bad.

Stop it, she ordered herself. He was just a man. And there were more like him out

there. It was simply time to find another one.

Paleah flew over Bryton, and then leaned toward the east side of the growing town.

Beel had been gone three days, three days that felt like three winters. Why couldn’t she

have left well enough alone? She still remembered the chiseled expression he wore

when she suggested telling people that Magi was their baby. Oh, how quickly she’d

gone on to add that she could never have any children of her own, not after that butcher

job of an abortion she’d had as a child. Magi had been handed to her and no one else

ever gave her a second thought.

Beel simply listened to her before dropping the bomb that ended the first bit of

happiness she’d ever experienced. He’d accused her of trying to trap him, tie him

down. He spat venomous words at her, accusing her of telling him she never wanted to

be claimed simply as a ruse, a ruse to lower his guard so she could snare him in her

trap. He’d dragged her out the door then, thrown her on his glider, and then promptly

dropped her off behind the Bryon house. She hadn’t seen him since.

And she had searched for him. Yes, she forgot all about the shield of pride she wore

for all her winters, and she’d looked everywhere for him. He wasn’t at his house, his

friends hadn’t seen him, he was at none of his local hangouts. Beel was gone.

Paleah parked her glider outside the brothel and studied the structure for a minute.

It was built out of the white stone that so many of the large houses were designed from

in the area. The yard looked well maintained. And for the middle of the afternoon, there

were a fair amount of gliders parked out front.

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She sighed in resolution. This is your life, she scolded herself. You need a new

protector, and you need a place to live. If Meah was feeling better, they wouldn’t expect

her to be spending her nights at the Bryon house any longer, and Paleah wasn’t going to

lower herself to sleeping in the streets. She straightened her hair, and ran a hand down

the Gothman dress she wore. Then clearing her head, she marched right up to the front

door, and walked inside the notorious whorehouse.

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Chapter Twenty-Eight

“What the hell is this?”

Andru gasped the words as he and Gilroy sat on gliders off to the side of the

renowned brothel. The two men prepared to send several of their men into the

establishment to take down a well-known criminal they’d discovered had made his

appearance there earlier that day. One of their men just came out confirming he was

still there. Andru knew it would more than likely be quite the scene when they took the

notorious thief down. They had the place surrounded, and were just about ready to

signal for their men to go in when Paleah strolled in the front door of the place.

Andru scowled. It was one thing for a reformed whore being their nanny, but there

was no way he could allow the woman to watch his children if she was working here

too.

“Do you know anything about this?” He raised a gloved finger and pointed to the