-was going to be sick.
“W-What?’ Robert asked, trying to make sense of what he’d just heard as his head began to spin and his legs stopped working.
With a chuckle, the doctor helped him sit down in the chair next to the bed. Then without a word, he gave Robert’s shoulders a gentle push that had him bending forward as he struggled to take his next breath.
“If I had to guess, I would say that your wife is around four months along,” the doctor calmly explained.
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,” Robert 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 alone.
“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 difficult 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,” Robert 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, furniture covered with stained sheets, 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!” Elizabeth said, smiling as she wrapped her arms around his neck and covered his face in kisses.
“Are you sure?” Robert 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,” Elizabeth 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?” Elizabeth 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.
