George put his face right up next to his. “Do you believe you can remain archbishop by defying the Head of the Church of England? MOVE!”
The archbishop’s mouth slid into an upside-down arc that would not have looked out of place on a turtle. With a little mumble of assent, he stepped out of George’s way.
“This way, Your Majesty,” Lady Danbury said, leading him to Charlotte’s side.
“My darling,” he said, taking her hand. “I am here now.”
She managed the wobbliest of smiles. “I don’t want to do this.”
“Too late, I’m afraid.” He gave her a smile of his own, trying to offer strength through good cheer. “But I am with you. I would take the pain if I could.”
“Perhaps a new science experiment,” Charlotte said.
“I shall get on it right away,” George tried to joke, and they both had a little laugh, which was enough to hold them over until Charlotte was overcome by another contraction.
“Aaaaaaaahhhh!” she moaned.
“Is there nothing that can be done for her pain?” George demanded.
“I have already given her laudanum,” the doctor said. “But I dare not give more. The dosing must be precise.”
George turned to Lady Danbury. “Something she could bite on. Would that help? You have done this, have you not?”
“Four times, Your Majesty,” Lady Danbury confirmed.
“And? What are your thoughts?”
Lady Danbury shot a look at the doctor, then said to George, “She is losing blood.”
“Is that normal?”
“Yes,” Lady Danbury said hesitantly, “but this seems like a lot.”
“Doctor!” George barked. “What is happening? Why is there so much blood?”
“A woman must lose blood during the birth,” the doctor said condescendingly. “It is part of the lining of the—”
“I know anatomy,” George snapped. “I want to know why she is losing so much.”
The doctor moved back between Charlotte’s legs. He pressed on her belly, and then reached up inside her. George winced; every one of the doctor’s motions caused Charlotte to whimper with pain.
“The baby is breeched,” the doctor finally said. “We must await the natural evolution.”
“How long?” George demanded.
The doctor shrugged. “There is no way of knowing. It is different with every patient.”
George looked at Lady Danbury. She shook her head.
“This is all very natural,” the doctor said. “All normal.”
“Doctor,” George said, “were we to leave all decisions to nature—”
Charlotte cried out yet again. George rushed back to her side, dabbing at her neck and brow with a cool cloth.
“Charlotte, no,” he tried to tease. “This will not do. You shall wake the neighbors.”
“Of which we have so many,” she muttered.
“That’s my girl,” he said, squeezing her hand. That she could joke at such a time . . . She was magnificent. He’d known that from the first moment he’d seen her. But right now, she needed his help.
He turned back to the doctor. “I had a horse, my favorite as a boy. He was breeched in his mare. The stable hands, they . . . I’ve seen it too with sheep, with calves . . . There are ways to aid in this situation. To turn the baby? Are there not?”
The doctor was visibly horrified. “There are methods, yes. However, with a royal patient—”
“Prepare them!” George ordered. “Now!”
“Your Majesty, she is not a horse. Or a sheep.”
“We are all animals, doctor, and it is clear to me that this baby must come out. If we can do it with a calf or lamb, surely we can do it with a tiny human.”
“How may I help?” Lady Danbury asked.
“The two of us will need to hold her while the doctor works,” George said.
She nodded and moved quickly to his side.
“I believe we need you moved,” George said to Charlotte. “Just there to the edge. Put your arms around my neck.” To Lady Danbury, he said, “Hold her steady around her shoulders.”
“I am ready,” the doctor said.
“I’m not,” Charlotte cried.
“You are, my love,” George said. “Remember? Together. We can do anything together.”
“You are the strongest woman I know,” Lady Danbury said.
“And you could have made it over the wall if you hadn’t been wearing all those skirts,” George said. “Although I’m very glad you didn’t.”
“I need you to teach me to swear in German,” Lady Danbury said.
“What?” Charlotte asked.
Lady Danbury looked at George and shrugged. Together they were doing a fine job of distracting Charlotte while the doctor moved the baby.
“She likes to make up words,” George said to Lady Danbury. “Did you know that?”
“I did, actually. It’s a German thing.”
“It’s a German thing,” Charlotte managed to say.
“Yet another thing you can teach me,” Lady Danbury said.
“Why do you want to know—OW!—German?” Charlotte asked, panting through the pain.
“Oh, expanding my mind. Plus, we are friends. Would it not be fun to have a secret language?”
“Not so secret,” George said. “Half the palace speaks it.”
“Almost done,” the doctor said.
Thank God, George thought.
“Did you hear that?” Lady Danbury said. “He’s almost done, Your Majesty. Soon you will—”
“There,” the doctor announced. “The baby has been turned.”
Everyone sagged with relief.
“What now?” George asked.
“We wait for it to come like any other baby.”
“Are you serious?” George nearly yelled.
“I have every faith that it will not be long now,” the doctor said.
And indeed, it was not. Thirty minutes later, George held his newborn son in his arms. “He is perfect, Charlotte. Would you like to hold him?”
She nodded.
Carefully, George placed the babe in her arms. Once they were settled, he turned to Lady Danbury, who he frankly had more confidence in than the doctor. “Does all look well to you now?”
“Yes,” she said. “The afterbirth has been delivered, and the bleeding has stopped.” She glanced over at the doctor and then back at George. “If I might speak freely, Your Majesty.”
“Of course.”
She spoke quietly. “I believe Her Majesty—and his little Highness—might owe their lives to you. I am no expert on childbirth—”
“Other than having done it four times,” George interjected.
“Other than having done it four times,” she repeated with a smile, “but women talk. I hear stories. A woman cannot labor indefinitely with a breeched baby. It was time to take action.”
George swallowed. He was not sure if her words buoyed his confidence or filled him with terror. It could all have so easily gone wrong. “Thank you,” he finally said. “For being here. You were a tremendous support to the Queen. And to me.”
Her eyes widened at the compliment, which she accepted with a gracious nod. Then she motioned to the door. “I think there are a few people who would like to meet the new prince.”
George raised his brows.
“Your mother,” Lady Danbury clarified, “and Her Majesty’s brother.”
“Ah. I suppose I had better not keep them waiting.”
“No,” Lady Danbury said with a knowing little chuckle.
“That’s right,” George said. “You’ve grown acquainted with my mother.”
“She has invited me to tea on several occasions,” Lady Danbury confirmed.
“We won’t be rid of her until she sees the baby,” George said, “and I do not wish to invite her in. Charlotte needs to rest. Will you stay with her while I take the prince?”