Robert shook his head as he struggled to grasp what was going on. “No,” he said, forcing himself to breathe, “that’s impossible. She lost the baby two months ago.”

“I’ve been doing this for over fifty years, young man, and I can tell you without any doubt that your wife is indeed pregnant.”

“She bled,” Robert said, moving to sit up, but a fresh wave of dizziness had him dropping his head right back where it was.

“Mmmhmm, some women do that early on. It doesn’t mean that she lost the baby. Has she bled since?”

“No,” he said numbly as he did his best to wrap his mind around what the doctor was saying.

“What was the reason the doctor gave for the lack of bleeding?” the doctor asked, thankfully giving him something else to focus on.

“He said that it took months for a woman’s natural rhythm to return.”

The doctor released a snort of amusement. “That’s a first.”

“I should bring her back to London,” he said numbly even as he realized that he couldn’t afford the passage back for both of them.

Well, that wasn’t completely true. He could afford third class passenger tickets, but he didn’t like the idea of his wife being forced to share a room with strangers. He also didn’t like the idea of his wife being forced to rest on those hard cots that the third class accommodations were famous for. There was no way in hell that he was sending his pregnant wife back to London by herself.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the doctor said even though it hadn’t been a real possibility for them. “She’s obviously having a tough time with this pregnancy. I also wouldn’t recommend placing her on a ship where the passengers could carry God only knows what diseases. It’s not good for her or the baby.”

“Oh my God,” he muttered as dread crawled up his spine when he realized that he’d done just that.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about her being sick,” the doctor said, obviously reading his mind. “She looks very healthy to me, just tired. Make sure she gets plenty of rest.”

“I will,” Robert promised, turning his head so that he could look at his minx. “I’ll take good care of her.”

Chapter 32

Bridgewater, Massachusetts

“So, what do you think?”

“What do I think?” Elizabeth repeated numbly as she slowly turned around, taking in the large room covered in dust, cobwebs, the peeling wallpaper, dull floorboards, covered furniture and ruined rugs.

“I know it’s not much,” Robert began, but she didn’t let him get far before she was throwing herself in his arms.

“I love it!” she said, giggling excitedly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and covered his face in kisses.

“Are you sure?” he asked, sounding pleased as he wrapped his arms around her and stopped her kissing assault by pressing a swift kiss against her lips.

“I’m sure,” she said, grinning hugely as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

“It’s going to take a lot of work.”

“I know,” she said, sighing with pleasure as she looked around the large sitting room, already running ideas through her head.

“We’re going to have to do most of the work ourselves,” he explained, giving her an apologetic look.

“Can I be in charge?” she asked teasingly. She truly didn’t mind getting her hands dirty, especially if it meant that they had a home of their own, but also because she knew that he was embarrassed that he couldn’t afford a houseful of servants.

“Yes, minx,” he said, pressing a quick kiss against her lips as he turned them around and headed through the open door that led to the dinning room that needed just as much work, if not more, as the sitting room.

“I asked Higgings this morning if he could find us a live-in maid,” he announced, surprising her as he walked over to the windows that were covered in ratty old curtains that were definitely going to have to go.

“Can we afford that?” she asked, nibbling on her bottom lip as guilt once again surfaced.

Thanks to her, Robert was forced to support two extra people on a limited income. If her father had given her a dowry, things wouldn’t be so bad, but he hadn’t. They were left completely dependent on the money Robert had raised from selling all of his investments before they’d left London and the money he had left over after buying this house and fixing it.

For a moment she thought about writing her father for help, but then she remembered the morning when they’d left. He’d pleaded with her not to leave, begged her, offered her anything and everything that she could ever want and when none of that had worked, he’d yelled at her. He told her that if she left that she was on her own. He wouldn’t help her.

Robert’s parents had pretty much said the same thing as they’d tried to talk him out of leaving. He tried to explain things to them, but they wouldn’t listen. They didn’t seem to realize how unhappy Robert was living in England, something that she had understood since that night in the orangery. All they saw was their youngest son leaving everything behind and taking a woman with him that they believed would destroy his life.

Everyone in their family was terrified that this marriage was going to ruin their lives and, no matter what they said or did, they couldn’t convince them otherwise. So Robert and Elizabeth had stopped trying and instead made the best of their goodbyes. She’d squeezed her father tightly, kissed her mother’s pale cheek, hugged the life out of Mary and Anthony and chased down her nephews for enough kisses to last a lifetime. She’d even had a chance to say to goodbye to Heather.

Unfortunately.

Just as they’d been preparing to leave, Heather arrived home in an extravagant coach, the first of many purchases that Heather had made with her newfound inheritance. When she’d stepped out of her coach, covered from head to toe in silk and jewels with James by her side, Elizabeth realized that her sister had made another major change in her life.

She’d married James.

Apparently the will had been more lenient for Heather. As long as she married a respectable man, the inheritance was hers. There was no request for a title, for Heather to remain chaste before the wedding, or a proper wedding. James apparently had discovered that the morning that he’d waited in her father’s office for her marriage to Robert to be annulled. Once he realized that he would only get the inheritance if he married Heather, he did everything he could to make that happen.

Not that she suspected Heather had put up much of a fight. James was handsome and titled. They were married by special license and after a very short honeymoon, they decided to come home and announce their good news, which coincided with her and Robert’s goodbyes. Even though it had turned her stomach to see Heather enjoying the inheritance that should have done some good in this world, she was happy that Robert had a chance to say goodbye to his brother.

Unfortunately, James hadn’t felt the same way. He’d walked right past Robert as though he hadn’t seen or heard him. He did stop to give her a brief hug and wish her luck, but then he was back by his wife’s side and that was it. Seeing the hurt expression on Robert’s face had nearly destroyed her. She tried to call James back, but Robert simply shook his head and helped her into the carriage that took them to the ship.

“Yes, minx,” he said, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose as he turned to survey the rest of the room, “we can afford a live-in maid.”

“And the baby?” she asked, voicing the fears that had taken root as soon as Robert had told her the wonderful news.

“Will no doubt be spoiled,” he said with a smile as he carried her towards what appeared to be the kitchen door, but a loud knock from the front door had him pausing mid-step.

With a frown, he carefully placed her on her feet, took her hand in his and led her towards the front entrance where a formidable looking woman in her fifties stood waiting, looking around the foyer with a look of determination that actually frightened her a little. She reminded Elizabeth of her old nanny, Mrs. Mathers, who had run the nursery like a general.

“Can I help you?” Robert asked as they stepped into the small foyer.