The doctor said something in Arabic that suddenly had Rashid’s fingers tightening even more. The wand stopped moving and the doctor stared at the screen.
“Twins,” she said after a long moment. She turned to look at Sheridan. “You are having twins, Your Highness.”
Rashid stood looking at the screen, his body as rigid as a board. “Twins? You are certain?”
The doctor smiled. “Yes, Your Majesty. There are two heartbeats.” She turned the sound on again. And Sheridan could hear it, the faint beat of another heart beneath the pounding of the first.
“They’re so fast,” Sheridan said, worried at the quick tempo.
“This is perfectly normal,” the doctor replied.
She finished up the exam and then they discussed things like vitamins, exercise and birthing classes. It all seemed so surreal to Sheridan. When it was finally over, the staff made another appointment for her and then she and Rashid were back in the car and returning to the palace.
The silence between them was uncomfortably thick. Sheridan searched for things to say, but discarded most of them. What did you say to a man who was staring out the window and ignoring you after hearing the heartbeats of his children? If he was any other man, she might ask him what was wrong.
But she knew, didn’t she? It was the ones who didn’t make it, the ones he’d loved and lost that were on his mind.
“Are you all right?” she finally asked when the silence stretched too thin. Outside the car, life went on as usual, but inside it was quiet and strained.
He turned to look at her. His eyes were bleak. “I’m fine.”
“You shouldn’t have come.”
He was polite and distant at once. “You shouldn’t have to go through this alone. I wanted to be there.”
“But it causes you pain.”
“I’ve been through this before, Sheridan. I knew what to expect when I went with you.”
“You haven’t said anything since we heard the heartbeats.”
His jaw flexed. “It was a shock. I didn’t expect two babies. I don’t think you did, either.”
“No. But twins run in my family, though in my aunts and cousins, not my mother. I didn’t even consider it would happen to me.”
His gaze raked her. “You are so slight. Are the other women in your family as small?”
“My Aunt Liz is, yes, and she had twins. No problems other than a bit of preeclampsia at the end.” She sighed. “It will be fine, Rashid. What happened to your wife—well, it was uncommon. Tragic and terrible, but uncommon.”
He seemed so detached and cold. “I am aware of this.”
They reached the palace then and the doors swung open. Rashid helped her out of the car and led her inside while the palace guards saluted and other servants bowed as they passed. Her heart pounded as they walked through the ornate and beautiful corridors. She wanted to rewind the clock, to go back to the way things were before they’d gone to the hospital, but that was impossible now. She simply had to deal with the aloof man at her side and wait for him to thaw again.
When they reached the private wing, he stopped before the door. He looked as if he’d like nothing better than to escape. “The doctor said you should rest.”