She blushed furiously and then began to think…and think…and think. Her

lips parted in surprise. “New Year's.”

The doctor raised his eyebrows.

“What?” Christopher demanded, not following the conversation.

Dr. James ignored him. “When did you marry?”

“Mid-January.”

“Well that answers the question then, doesn't it?”

“Oh, it can't be!” Katerina cried. “I'm not ready.”

“What's happening?” Christopher asked, more insistently. The doctor's rapid,

expressionless questions and his wife's increasingly panicky answers made him

nervous.

“Your wife is with child, Mr. Bennett,” the doctor said mildly.

Christopher looked at Katerina, startled. “Is that true?”

“It must be,” she replied, and the corners of her eyes tightened. “Oh, Lord,

almost three months?”

“Yes.” The doctor replied.

“But… how?” Christopher asked.

“Mr. Bennett,” the doctor said dryly, “I assume you understand how the

process works?”

Christopher's cheeks warmed. “Of course.”

“Well then you know what happened,” Dr. James replied, talking as though

to a simpleton. “You married this lady, you took her to bed, and now she's pregnant. That's how this works. That's the purpose behind marriage.”

“Oh, Lord.”

Seeming to sense their distress, the doctor dropped his lecturing tone and attempted to reassure them. “It's no cause for concern. Married ladies are supposed to become with child.”

“I know,” Christopher replied, “but it seems too soon.”

“As long as the conception took place after the wedding, there's no such thing as too soon,” Dr. James pointed out.

“So perhaps my wife's seasickness…”

“Was exacerbated by the nausea of early pregnancy.”

“But I've not felt sick any other times. Only on the ship coming to Italy, and

now, heading home,” Katerina interjected, still seeming not to believe it.

“Well, if you only feel sick when at sea, your early pregnancy is going better

than some. Of course, as far along as you are, you are likely almost done with the unpleasant part anyway,” Dr. James informed her. “Around the fourth month,

most women begin to feel better. Now that I'm convinced you're healthy, I'll leave you in privacy. Be sure you keep eating and drinking normally. And congratulations.”

“Thank you, Dr. James,” Christopher said woodenly as the doctor let himself

out of their cabin.

Katerina looked at her husband in stunned horror. He looked back, his

expression mirroring hers. They leaned forward and hugged each other in fierce

silence. There was nothing to say, so they just held on tight while the whole world shifted and changed around them.

CHAPTER 19

T he voyage progressed more slowly this time, with less cooperative

winds, and the ship did not sail into Southampton until the end of the

first week of April.

After so many days of traveling, walking into the house felt like a dream come true.

Home, Katerina thought, admiring how it suddenly looked and felt perfect. In their absence, the furniture they'd ordered had arrived, and their employees had

placed it. The music room now contained two comfortable armchairs and a table.

Paintings hung from the walls, and scarlet curtains at the windows warmed the

space. Katerina smiled and sank onto the piano bench, warming up her rusty fingers on an instrument belonging to her alone.

Welcome home, the instrument's smiling curve seemed to say. I'm here for you.