Harry St Clair: Rogue or Doctor? by Fiona McArthur Read Free Book Online Page B

lone tear slid down Mardi’s cheek. ‘I don’t want to go to the hospital without my husband. I will wait for him.’
    ‘Hospitals cost a lot,’ Bonnie murmured quietly, as if mentioning a common fact, and Harry looked at her and nodded but he wasn’t happy.
    He rubbed his neck. ‘But will that baby wait for you both?’ Harry said what Bonnie was thinking. Mardi bit back a moan and Harry looked at Bonnie.
    A glance akin to horror lurked in his eyes, again totally unexpected. But she guessed laypeople were often fazed by the myths and misconceptions surrounding childbirth.
    ‘Birth’s a normal event,’ she couldn’t help saying. ‘Could you get Mardi’s sister-in-law, please? And a doctor, if you can find one.’ Bonnie rested her hand on Mardi’s arm. ‘Perhaps we could go to your house and you could collect what you would need to take with you, for when your husband arrives?’
    In fact, Bonnie wanted to see where they could have this baby if it came more quickly than any of them anticipated.
    ‘We could do that,’ Mardi whispered, and she stood gingerly when the next contraction had passed. Bonniementally rifled through the belongings she had on her that could be helpful, but she’d only carried a waist pack that held very little.
    She gave herself a mental shake. Harry would sort something out if she asked him. The important thing was to get Mardi comfortable and semiprepared for her baby’s possibly precipitous arrival.
    This wasn’t an unusual scenario in Outback Australia if a baby arrived early and one that didn’t faze Bonnie too much. Though it would’ve been nice if there was a doctor around to share the load, in case of an emergency. She doubted she’d be legal to practise in a foreign country.
    Harry strode off to search out Mardi’s sister-in-law and as he walked he fumed at the cruelty of fate.
    Why now, why here, why him? It was all very well for Bonnie to be blasé about birth, typical midwife, but she hadn’t seen what he had. The last thing he wanted was a medical catastrophe in a Third World village. He’d have to be the doctor, get involved, and probably still not be able to improve the outcome.
    He should never have come here with her. It was his own stupid fault. He’d known women were trouble he needed to avoid.
    He caught sight of his quarry, Mardi’s sister-in-law, and hastened his footsteps. Maybe if they found Mardi’s husband quickly they could still get to the hospital in time. But if he’d interpreted Bonnie’s face correctly, she had her doubts. He had his own.
    Bonnie and Mardi had left the industrious centre of the village and moved into the narrow street of the family dwellings. Bonnie counted four buildings in asmaller compound and one stood higher than the rest, with steep steps leading up to the small veranda.
    Mardi intercepted Bonnie’s glance. ‘My husband’s grandparents’ house. The grandparent house is higher than others as a mark of respect. As it should be.’
    Mardi gestured down at a round shiny river rock to the left of the grandparent’s steep steps. ‘There lies the placenta of my husband’s nephew. It is my husband’s task to clean and bury our child’s placenta below these steps.’
    ‘So one stone, one grandchild?’
    ‘That is correct. And should I have a girl it would be buried on the right side of the step.’
    Bonnie grinned. She loved it. This was delicious food for a midwife’s soul. Fabulous information, and she wondered if Harry was aware of it.
    The next building they passed contained two sparse kitchens, side by side, and Mardi glanced inside. Despite her worries, Mardi smiled. ‘This kitchen is mine, and the other belongs to my husband’s brother’s wife, Nyomen. It is said peace cannot exist if two women have to share a kitchen.’
    ‘What a sensible arrangement.’ Bonnie smiled with her. ‘I can see that everyone lives very close together here.’
    ‘Family is very important in Bali.’ They both slipped off