Once everything had calmed down and the afterbirth had come Joseph gave the midwife a ride back into town. He told the maid to keep an eye on Lady Defaria and the infants, but to leave them with her for the time being. She did as she was told and when he got back he found her dutifully watching over her mistress. As he entered the room she stood up straight and faced him as if waiting for instruction.
“Thank you for all your help today, Helen. You may retire for the night. I wish to be with my wife and children alone,” he said.
“Yes sir,” she replied and left the room.
When she had gone Joseph closed the door and turned to face his wife. Martha gave him a tired smile at first, but the smile faded as she noticed the dour look on his face. Instinctively she clutched the babies closer to her.
“What is that face for? Why do you look so worried?” she asked.
Joseph sighed.
“I’m not sure how to say this, but...” he paused and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Our second child is a boy.”
“But earlier you said–”
“I didn’t want Helen or the midwife to know,” he said, moving to sit on the bed next to her. “This is not their business. I wanted us to be able to decide how best to handle this in private.”
“That was wise of you.”
“I know you care little for the superstition this country has concerning this matter as you are not a native however society will thus we must be discrete.”
The superstition of which he spoke was one that had been popular in Aefril, the country in which they lived, for a long time. No one knew where it came from or when it started, but it was still believed by the majority and acted upon. The way it was known was that the birth of twins was always an important occasion though whether it was a time for the parents to celebrate or mourn was entirely up to the genders of the twins.
It was considered a good omen, a blessing, if a pair of same gendered twins were born to you. Your family would be gifted with good fortune for years to come, double luck. And if the twins were of the opposite gender your luck would be of an entirely different sort. They were thought to be a bad omen of such magnitude that only one child was allowed to live. If the other was spared it was said that they would grow up to be twisted and evil and bring misfortune wherever they went. Very few people ignored this warning and those who did were looked down upon in society. Sometimes even if the parents refused to dispose of one of their children then the members of their community would.
“You’re right. I’ve always thought the lot of you Aefrili were ridiculous for believing such an absurd superstition, but I can’t say I ever imagined it would ever apply to me.” She breathed in a deep breath and began to cry. “Joseph, what are we going to do? Why do you people believe this? You, you kill children for, for nothing! You, you, you—”
“Shhhh calm down, darling. I don’t want you going into hysterics.” He brought his hand up behind her back and rubbed in slow circles. “I’m not going to try to defend what we do here. It’s an absolutely barbaric custom and as a man of higher learning I can’t condone something so cruel and irrational. Nevertheless we must make a decision or one will be made for us.”
Martha took in a large gulp of air and let it back out slowly. Tears still streamed down her face, but she felt a little more fortified. “We’re not killing one of our children” she said sternly.
“Of course not, but we need to do something. I’ve heard tales of people who have given away one of their twins to another family that way they can live out a happy life with them.”
“No. We’re not doing that. How am I supposed to give away either of my children? How am I supposed to decide which of my children to give away? I love both of them more than my own life already.” Martha had started crying again, but now she was angry. “And what if we can’t find a family to take them? Are we just supposed to condemn them to a life of misery in an orphanage? I am not giving either of them up.”
“Then I’m not sure what you want me to do. I don’t want to give one of them up either but, we can’t just keep both children as they are. They won’t survive.”
“Figure something out,” she demanded, her distress making her tone sharp.
She looked down at the twins in her arms. The two of them slept peacefully, unaware of how much danger they were in just for existing. As she stared down at their sleeping faces she realized with them all swaddled up, only their faces showing, she had no idea which one was which. Of course she could always unwrap the blankets and find out, but all covered up like this she couldn’t tell. The more she thought about it the clearer an idea began to form in her mind.
“What if,” she began, pausing a moment to compose herself. “What if we tell people they’re the same gender?”
“What?”
“They’re only in danger if people know they’re different genders, but if they thought they were both the same gender then they wouldn’t be in danger, in fact they’d be the opposite. They’d think we were fortunate and blessed for all that’s worth.”
“Darling, that’s insane.” Joseph’s brow furrowed further and he ran his hand through his hair. “But maybe, maybe it might work.”
“It has to work. It’s the only plan we have. We have to make it work.” She looked at him with wide, forlorn eyes.
“We will make it work,” Joseph assured her gently, pulling his wife closer to him. “If you think we can do it I will try my hardest to make it work.” They sat in silence for a few moments, finding comfort in each other’s presence. “Which of our children will have to live as something they’re not?”
“I didn’t think that far. Which one do you think would be easier to hide?”
“I honestly have no idea, but Helen and the midwife already think they are both girls and it’ll be easier if we don’t have to convince them otherwise.”
“That’s true,” she agreed. “We can raise our son as a woman and he’ll be safe. Or I guess she’ll be safe. The more confident we are about what we say the more other people will believe it.”
“Yes, of course,” he replied. “Have you thought of what we should name them?”
“I was thinking Samantha,” she smiled at her sleeping baby girl before turning her loving gaze at her baby boy, “and Erin.”
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