In the end, the small room was too tight for all the volunteers. Mr. Cabot took over the boiling on the stove when Atalanta curled up on the floor in exhaustion. Poll carried her off to the sofa in the study and Mr. Button begin washing the cleansing cloths in the kitchen and scalding them before running them back to Gemma. Poll went to the well for pail after pail of water.

Lysander never left Gemma's side, not for a moment, not for breath of air. Every single second she felt him near her, following her commands without question or debate. He learned so quickly that eventually she only needed to nod at him, and he would place his hands on either side of Jennie's swollen belly and push the baby carefully but forcefully toward safety. Gemma began to believe it might actually work.

Then Jennie lost consciousness.

Shepard Gosling cried out an alarm. "Jen? Jen!"

Gemma could've wept. It wasn't a good sign, not at all, but there was no time to spare upon it. Without even Jennie's weakened semi conscious pushing, it was up to Gemma to do it all, with Lysander's help.

Up to me? I haven't the foggiest notion of what to do! I only read the bloody book! Childbirth and the Practices of Midwifery by bloody Dr. Algernon bloody Lumley!

Still, she'd read it repeatedly. Knowing she would be helping Jennie, Gemma had memorized the book. She could pull the pages up in her memory and read from them when she closed her eyes.

Jennie's body would still continue to work, the contractions would happen with or without Jennie awake. But Jennie was slipping away, she could feel it.

God, there was no time! It'd had already been hours. For the first time Gemma began to doubt she could save either one of them, let alone both!

Dying, they're dying. I'm doing everything the book said, and it isn't working! She'd attended births. She'd seen healthy women bring out child after child.

"Why can't I find the solution?" She pressed hard fingertips to her temples.

Lysander took her hands away from attempting to gouge some missed knowledge from the depths of her memory. He held them in his warm hands until she looked up to meet his dark gaze.

"Can we try harder?"

She shook her head. "I don't know!" Her wail of despair was only whispered. She couldn't bear for Shepherd Gosling to know how tragically she was failing his family. "I've done everything in the book!"

"Why slant the bed?"

She blinked. "To help Jennie bear down. It's easier to push something downhill than over level ground."

"From the book?"

"What?" She shook her head. "No, it was just a notion I had."

"Will higher help more?"

"No. Perhaps. Yes, I think so, a little."

"You'll help her. Trust yourself."

Gemma gulped. "Lysander, I think … I think they're both going to —"