She waited for him to understand. He didn't say anything until they reached their bedchamber.
'Did you hear what I just said? I'm not,' she repeated.
'You're not what?'
'I'm not barren.'
He opened the door but hesitated at the threshold. His gaze was fully directed on his wife. He slowly lowered her to the floor. 'Do you honestly believe it matters to me? You and Alex are all the family I want. I don't need another child. Damn it, woman, haven't you realized yet how much I… you mean more to…'
Hell, he was rambling like an old woman. He motioned for her to go inside. 'Warriors do not concern themselves with matters of love,' he muttered.
He looked miserable. She didn't smile. She knew he didn't like telling her what he was feeling.
It was a trait they both shared, she realized.
'Gabriel…'
'I don't ever want you to bring up the fact that you're barren, Johanna. Now quit fretting.'
She strolled into their chamber. 'You may not need another child, m'lord, but I do declare in six or seven months you're going to be getting one.'
He didn't understand. He shook his head. She nodded. 'We're going to have a baby.'
For the first time in his life, Gabriel MacBain was rendered speechless. His wife believed that was a most appropriate reaction.
They had, after all, just been given a miracle.
Chapter 16
'You're certain?'
Gabriel whispered his question so his son wouldn't wake up. Alex was sleeping on a mat across the chamber. Only the top of his head was visible above the mound of covers Johanna felt he needed to stay warm.
She and her husband were in bed. Gabriel held Johanna in his arms. She was so relieved he was finally reacting, she let out a little sigh. She'd given Gabriel her good news over an hour ago, then waited for him to tell her how happy she'd made him. He hadn't said a word until now.
'I have all the symptoms,' she whispered back. 'I was disbelieving at first, of course, because I thought I was barren for a very long while. Are you happy about the baby, Gabriel?'
'Yes.'
She sighed again. It was too dark in the chamber to see his face, but she guessed he was smiling.
'Glynis told me a woman can be barren with one man and fertile with another. Do you know what that means?'
'What?'
'Men can be barren, too.'
He laughed. She hushed him so he wouldn't wake Alex. 'Your first husband obviously was,' he said.
'Why does that please you?'
'He was a bastard.'
She couldn't fault his reasoning. 'Why don't men acknowledge that they could be the barren ones in a marriage?'
'Such an admission would wound their pride, I suppose. It's easier to blame the women. It isn't right, just easier.'
She let out a loud, lusty yawn. Gabriel was stroking her back. The caress made her sleepy. He asked her something, but she was too tired to answer him. She closed her eyes and was dead to the world a minute later.
Gabriel didn't fall asleep for another hour. He held Johanna close and thought about the baby. He should have wanted a boy as his first choice, for a man couldn't have enough sons to help with the building of an empire, but he really hoped for a baby girl. She would have blue eyes and yellow hair, like her mother, and if God was willing to recreate perfection, his daughter would be every bit as sassy.
He fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Laird MacBain told his clan about the baby the following morning. Johanna stood next to her husband on the top step outside the doors. Alex stood next to her. Both the Maclaurins and the MacBains cheered the news. Johanna and Gabriel had already told Alex. The little boy didn't seem overly interested about a new brother or sister, and his lack of interest convinced his parents he was feeling secure.
He could barely stand still during the announcement. His father had promised to take him riding, and to a four-year-old, a minute of waiting seemed to feel as long as an hour.
After Gabriel dismissed the well-wishers, Johanna turned to Calum and Keith.
'I've come up with several names I'd like to…'
'Good God, lass, you can't tell us the baby's name,' Keith blurted out.
The Maclaurin soldier was horrified by her ignorance. Didn't she realize the bairn's name should never, ever be told to another person before the baptism? As soon as he was able to stop sputtering, he asked her just that question. She told him she guessed she didn't realize.
'I was never concerned about the traditions regarding babies,' she explained.
'What is that, m'lady?' Calum asked. 'Most married women are careful to follow every tradition.'
'I thought I was barren.'
'You're not,' Keith remarked.
She smiled. 'No, I'm not,' she agreed.
'We'll have to do our best to instruct you, then, on the importance of the name you select.'
'A man's name is far more important than just a name,' Calum announced.
Before she could ask what in heaven's name he meant by that statement, Keith turned her attention. 'If another person has knowledge of the name before the christening, he could use it to work magic on the babe.'
Calum nodded agreement.
Johanna could tell from their serious expressions they weren't jesting with her. They really believed their nonsense. 'Is this tradition or superstition you're giving me?' she asked.
Glynis stepped forward to join the conversation. She wanted to add a few important reminders of her own.
'If the babe cries during the christening, then it is sufficient proof the devil's been driven out, m'lady. Did you already know that truth?'
Johanna shook her head. She had never heard of anything so preposterous. She didn't want to injure Glynis's feelings, however, and for that reason she didn't smile.
'Then I shall hope the baby cries,' she said.
'You might also give the wee one a tiny pinch to ensure he does cry out,' Glynis suggested.
'Some mothers probably do,' Keith speculated.
'If your baby's born at midnight or at the twilight hour, he'll have the gift of second sight, of course. Heaven help the babe if he comes during the chime hours, for then he'll have the ability to see ghosts and spirits hidden from the rest of us.'
'Papa, aren't you ready to leave yet?' Alex asked.
Gabriel nodded. He leaned down, ordered Johanna not to exhaust herself, and then lifted his son on his shoulder and started for the stables.
Leila walked across the courtyard, bowed her head to her laird when she passed him, and then hurried over to Johanna to offer her congratulations.
'It's joyful news,' she said.
'Aye, it is,' Glynis agreed. 'I was just giving m'lady a few suggestions,' she told Leila.
'And I shall try to remember every one of them,' Johanna promised.
