Christmas with Her Ex(26)

Not that she minded being on her own for Christmas, as she usually worked and the thought of wandering around the deserted streets of London on Christmas morning had been part of the plan.

They hadn’t actually spoken about what would happen when they arrived in London but they had hours of travel to go. It was perfect that she was leaving the next day because the tiny voice that wanted to start planning a life with Connor didn’t have a chance. That was good. She enjoyed her independence too much to be answerable to any man. Even Connor Black. Especially Connor Black.

For the rest of the night she was actually quite looking forward to some cheeky dreams in her rocking bed. She switched off the light above her bed and let the dimness soak into her. Despite her solitude, her cabin still seemed to hold the essence of Connor and she closed her eyes dreamily.

The crying started just as Kelsie’s head sank deeper into the pillow. The darkness carried the soft weeping that came every few minutes and rose and fell like a tiny wave.

Her eyes opened again and Kelsie glanced at the luminous hands of her watch. The sound went away and she closed her eyes.

It came again. Three minutes since the last.

She knew about those tiny waves. Sat up and stared at the wall opposite.

The noise returned, intensified, and she tracked it to the wall behind her head—from the compartment that held the girl in the oversized coat.

She climbed out of bed and pulled on the blue silk robe and her soft Orient Express bedroom slippers and sighed. Though not sure of her reception when the girl had tried so hard to remain out of sight, Kelsie couldn’t leave her to weep alone.

Especially when she had her suspicions as to why a woman might be crying like that.

Kelsie unlocked her compartment door and peered out into the corridor. Apart from the clatter of the wheels on the rails beneath them, the corridor was silent—until the girl began to weep again.

All of the hallway doors she could see were shut and she suspected that nobody else wanted to investigate. It had to be well after midnight but the sound floated in tendrils down the corridor.

Kelsie tapped gently on the door next to her. The crying stopped and there was a shuffling noise and then the door opened a crack.

‘Are you okay?’ Kelsie whispered through the crack, and the door opened a fraction more.

A shaky whisper came back, ‘No. I am afraid.’

Afraid wasn’t good, Kelsie thought, and hardened her resolve to intrude. ‘Can I come in? I’m alone.’

No answer for a long pause and then the door opened enough to allow entry and Kelsie slipped around the door and then pulled it shut quietly behind her.

The girl climbed back into bed and curled into the foetal position as if she could keep away the pains. Kelsie couldn’t really do anything except stand over against the door or sit next to her on the rumpled bed.

She was young, dressed in a thin white nightgown, and when Kelsie looked down the obviousness of the pregnant belly confirmed her suspicions.

‘I’m Kelsie. Can I sit for a minute?’

The slim shoulders shrugged and the woman sniffed, but she shifted her bottom further back into the bed so there was room for two. ‘I am Anna.’

‘Hello, Anna.’ Kelsie peered into her face. ‘Are you in labour, Anna?’

Anna shook her head in the negative, rapidly, and then sighed. ‘I don’t know.’

‘How long have the pains been coming?’

Huge dark eyes stared solemnly back as the girl pushed her thick long black ponytail off her neck. ‘Since we left Venice.’

‘Are they regular?’ The girl blinked and didn’t answer. Kelsie tried again. ‘Do they come the same distance apart? Every few minutes.’

‘I think so.’ Her eyes screwed up and her hand flew to her belly. ‘Another comes.’

The young woman began to whimper and Kelsie put her hand on her shoulder. ‘It’s okay. Just let it happen. Don’t be scared. If you’re scared then you feel more pain. Keeping calm means less pain.’

Kelsie listened to her automatic midwifery patter and mocked herself. Or you could be scared because you’re in a train in the middle of the Swiss Alps and there’s snow outside. If something goes wrong, we’re all in trouble.

Instead she said, ‘Just let it go. Let it wash over you like a big wave. Ride it up one side of the wave and down the other and let it go. Everything is fine. You’re doing beautifully.’

She could feel the tension ebb away under her fingers as she squeezed the woman’s shoulder gently and hoped to goodness this baby was a decent size because the tummy beside her didn’t look that big.

‘When is your baby due?’

‘I don’t know.’