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“It is, indeed! You know how we all talk.”

“And in this talk, was there any clue as to who it might be?” Charlotte asked.

“We wouldn’t know that. We’re not mystics,” Miss Barrow chided. “But my personal feeling is that it will be a girl.”

“A girl?” Henry gaped. “Miss Barrow!”

“Maybe,” Miss Barrow said, still smiling.

Charlotte didn’t know what to say. “Miss Barrow, that is entirely inappropriate. And ridiculous, to say the least.”

Miss Barrow’s eyes widened. “Oh, silly me. I am sorry. Sometimes I speak without thinking—it’s next to impossible to tell, anyhow. And I am sure that if you wish it, it will be a boy.” Then she grinned. “Maybe it will even be twins.”

To this, Charlotte and Henry looked at one another, both frowning because they were clearly beyond confused. What on earth was Miss Barrow talking about?

“Miss Barrow…” Charlotte started slowly. “I think you need to explain yourself.”

Miss Barrow frowned. “Lucy,” she said, “the girl who changes your chamber pots, told me about it. And well, I’ve been around long enough to know what’s what.”

Now it was Henry’s turn to ask, “So, you’re not talking about Lady Beatrice’s mystery suitor?”

“What? No. Why would I be talking about that?”

“Then what?!” Charlotte cried, unable to help herself.

“Forgive me for saying, Your Grace, but you have spent this morning vomiting, yes?”

“Yes.”

“And yesterday morning also?” Miss Barrow raised an eyebrow at her, a knowing look in her eyes. “And by the looks of things, you look perfectly well now. That is to say, it’s only morning sickness.”

It took Charlotte a moment. She studied the excitable maid, looked at her husband’s confused expression, considered the meaning and what it implied…

Her eyes widened. “You don’t think…?”

“I do.”

“Will one of you please tell me what is going on?” Henry groaned and rubbed his eyes. “I feel as if I’m losing my mind.”

Now, it was Charlotte’s turn to beam. She stepped around Miss Barrow and took her husband’s hand. Then, still beaming, she pressed his hand to her stomach. He eyed her curiously, then his hand, and then she saw it dawn on him.

“No?” he gasped.

“I think so.”

“You’re… you are… are you sure?”

“We’re going to have a baby,” Charlotte said, barely able to hold back her excitement. Although she did a better job of it than Henry.

He cried with delight and threw his arms around her. And then, simply because he could not contain himself, he pulled Miss Barrow into a hug also. “I don’t believe it!” he exclaimed. “I can’t…”

“So, I take it this is good news?” Charlotte asked him, pulling back and looking up into his eyes.

There were tears in them, which told her all she needed to know. The two had spoken of starting a family, but it hadn’t been confirmed. They’d been busy these last six months, enjoying their life together, thinking it perfect, not wanting to jinx anything because when life was this good, why take that risk?

But from the way her husband held her, the tears streaming down his face, there was no doubt that as good as their life had been lately, it was about to get a whole lot better. A baby. A family is what it symbolized. To think, just six months ago, Charlotte was ready to leave Henry behind for good, and now she couldn’t imagine her life without him.

“A boy, a girl, it matters not,” Henry cried joyously, even giving Miss Barrow a kiss on the head.

“And twins?” Miss Barrow giggled.

“Even better!”

When Charlotte first met Henry, she didn’t know what to think of him. Once she had gotten to know him a little better, she’d thought him mean and spiteful and not very nice. But then she got to know him properly, understanding that beneath his hard, outer shell was a gentle, kind soul who was as loving as he was wonderful as he was a perfect match for her.

She didn’t know what kind of mother she would be, but she knew what kind of father he would be, and for that reason alone, she didn’t feel an ounce of worry or fear.

Charlotte was as happy as she had ever been, even happier because she knew this right now was only the beginning. From here on out, every day was sure to be better than the next.

The End?