All the Sweet Tomorrows

chere Skye, this is no child of Henri of Navarre. This child is of our blood, and I can prove it to you. Ma soeur,' she said to Eibhlin, 'take your niece a moment.' She handed the baby to the nun and then Gaby bent down, lifted her skirts, and drew her undergarments down to bare her hip. 'Do you see it?' she said. 'Do you see the small mole in the shape of a heart, Skye?'

'Yes.' Skye was puzzled.

Gaby dropped her skirts. 'That birthmark is the mark of the St. Denis women. Only women of our own blood have that mark. Isabeau, Clarice, show Skye your birthmarks.'

The two sisters undid their gowns and, raising their nightdresses, each revealed a tiny dark heart upon the left hip just atop the bone. The mark was identical to that of their mother's. 'All our daughters bear the same mark, Skye,' Isabeau said.

'Before I married I was Mademoiselle St. Denis,' Gaby explained. 'That particular birthmark has shown up on the women in my family for at least ten generations. Musette also bears the mark, as does her little daughter, Aimee. I did not call Musette, however, since she does not know her brother's difficulty. Nonetheless, ma chere Skye, this baby you have just borne is my own true granddaughter, the child of my son, Adam.' She turned to Eibhlin. 'Unwrap the infant, ma soeur,' and when the nun had done so, she handed the baby to Gaby. 'Look, Skye! On the little one's left hip just atop the bone! The birthmark of the St. Denis women! There has been a miracle, ma fille! This is Adam's child, and no one else's!'

Skye looked at her daughter, and then she looked to Eibhlin, her voice confused. 'Eibhlin, you are a physician. Can this be? Is it true? Is it even possible? Can this baby be Adam's daughter?'

Eibhlin looked closely at the newborn infant. The tiny dark heart atop the left hipbone was quite plain. There was no mistake about it. She took the baby, rewrapped her in the blanket, and handed her to her mother. Then, turning to Adam, she said, 'Who told you that you could not have children, Adam?'

''Twas an old herb woman,' Adam said. 'I had been ill with a very high fever, and she claimed that the fever had burnt all the life from my seed.'

Eibhlin nodded. 'An only half-accurate diagnosis, my lord. What I suspect is really the truth is that for a time your seed was lifeless, but nature sometimes has a way of reversing itself, and it is very possible that now, many years later, you have perhaps a small amount of life to your seed. I have heard of cases like yours.' She looked down at the baby, and smiled. 'She has your mama's nose. There is no doubt this child is of your flesh, my lord, but do not get your hopes high, for there is very little chance of your siring another child. You have been fortunate, and God has heard my sister's prayers, but, as your mother has said, this is a miracle!'

Adam de Marisco moved to Skye's side, and together they gazed wonderingly upon their daughter. 'How do I thank you, sweetheart?' he said, and she heard the catch in his voice.

She shook her head, her eyes filling with happy tears, her own voice catching in her throat. 'I… I can't believe it, Adam.' Then she looked about the room and saw that both her sister and the others had tears in their eyes.

Finally Eibhlin managed to regain her equilibrium, and taking the baby from its parents, she said, 'It is time that everyone went to bed. Is the cradle in the bedchamber?'

'Yes, ma soeur,' Gaby said corning to herself. 'Give me my newest granddaughter, and I shall put her in her cradle while you and Adam help Skye.' She turned to her daughters. 'Well, don't just stand there, you two! Go and open Skye's bed for her! Must I tell you everything?'

Isabeau and Clarice giggled, not one bit put out to be scolded by their maman. They felt giddy with happiness at the wonderful good fortune that had befallen their beloved brother and his beautiful wife. Hurrying into the bedchamber, they drew back the coverlet of the freshly made bed with its lavender-scented sheets.

Carefully Adam de Marisco lifted his wife up and carried her to their bed. Gently he set her in it and drew the covers over her. Skye's eyes were beginning to close as all the tension of the last months and the lengthy labor she had just endured caught up with her. She was asleep even as his lips softly brushed her mouth.

'Is she all right?' he asked Eibhlin.

'Yes,' Eibhlin nodded with a kindly smile, 'but she is very, very tired. Had this kind of a labor come when she