Marigold
Marigold had known since the nausea had set in. She just hadn’t been able to wrap her head around it.
So much had happened in her life lately. It was unbelievable that one night with Finn could have resulted in a baby.
And yet her feelings and bodily sensations were just the same as they had been when she first realized she was pregnant with Knightley and Nestor. It had taken many tries for her and Topaz to get pregnant–many friendly and sometimes pleasurable but frankly awkward tries. Because of that, Marigold hardly believed that she could get pregnant after one night of passion. And yet as time went on, she could not deny the signs. Through the nausea she could feel a glow and as the reason behind it came into her consciousness, she was thrilled. There were so many details to sort out, but she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this child would bring her happiness.
On her legendary walk back through the fire kingdom, she couldn’t help imagining raising her child in Finn’s family home–with all of those siblings amounting to the opposite of her lonely orphan life. She imagined living in the top floor of that home before something stopped her.
The engagement to Hestia.
Sure, Finn had shown love and desire for her, but that did not necessarily mean that he would be overjoyed at a certain end to his engagement. Marigold knew from experience that feelings do not always correlate to action. It was entirely possible that Finn was not ready to relinquish the idea of Hestia, no matter what his feelings for Marigold were.
She herself felt knitted to Topaz when she married him, even though she knew she did not love him. At that time, her instincts were suppressed and logic reigned. You do not act on whims, she thought. You do not create inconveniences. You do not say you are unable to love a man who is kind, handsome, and rich, simply because your body does not believe it.
It took her years to learn that she could not fight her contrary nature. And Finn was a little younger than her. He seemed to believe that he and Hestia made sense together. And Marigold did not want to waste time trying to change his mind.
When she told Finn the news, she was ready for the worst. Ready to be told she couldn’t return to his home, the place where she most wanted to live, maybe forever. She belonged there, was from there. No matter what, she planned to return to Melinda and get to know her mother better, to make paintings and bake bread and work hard every day until the baby arrived. She hoped to take Knightley and Nestor with her, at least for a time, now that Topaz was free to be with Helena.
Finn was certainly shocked, and Marigold herself was a little shocked, too, though she had known for longer than he. She hadn’t planned on telling him at that moment; it just felt right. She had the impulse to tell him, and so she did.
He didn’t say anything, but he pulled her close and held her tight.
“I’m so happy,” he said finally.
“You are?” Marigold asked, searching his face.
“I am…” he said. “It’s just, everything is going to change…and Hestia will be hurt, and we’ll have to marry.”
Marigold raised an eyebrow at him. The way he was talking about this, as if marriage was a chore, hurt her feelings.
“Who said anything about marriage?” she said.
Finn looked at her a little longer.
“You don’t want to get married?” he asked.
“Certainly not if it’s a chore for you.”
Finn laughed, held onto her, and put her hair behind her ears.
“It is anything but a chore. It is everything I want. It’s ridiculous, actually, to get something as glorious as what you’ve seen in your dreams.”
“It’s not ridiculous,” Marigold said. “Sometimes it’s necessary for survival.”
“And could I survive, knowing you were raising our child, or imagining you out in the world without me? No, I couldn’t survive at all,” he said. “Ineedto be with you.”
Marigold nodded.
“But do you also want to complicate that feeling with logic?”
“How on earth do you know what I’m thinking?” Finn asked. “All of those objections are on the edge of my thoughts, I won’t lie. But I’m going to keep them there. And I’m going to tell Hestia, and throw myself into the water just like we did that night we created something. That night in the pond. In the tree house.”
That night all of them found themselves in the kitchen at various times. Finn ran into Topaz and Helena eating cakes at midnight, laughing hard over something, and when they left, William, Freddie, and Rosemary crept in, their schedules messed up from the previous sleepless night. The cook left cold milk and graham crackers in addition to the cake, and Finn, ravenous after making love to Marigold several more times, ate three cakes in rapid succession.
Marigold had almost chosen to stay in bed, but Finn wouldn’t leave her, and yet he wanted to eat, so he carried her out of the room.
Marigold worried that, once out of the confines of their little world, the pressure of details, and the little confessions that were necessary, would weigh on him. Marigold only dreaded telling William, who had been so obviously courting her, that she had fallen for his brother. For Finn, the pressure would be much greater. He would have to tell Hestia swiftly; Marigold would not have it on her conscience much longer.
