Chapter thirty-nine: Strange phenomena


"Doctor Blake is here." Elton announces.

"Thank goodness!" Kate says. "I can't wait for him to clear me so all of you can stop hovering over me!"

"Hello Mrs. Shelby." Kate moves to stand up, but Thomas forces her to lay back down. "I should almost move my residency out here. This whole family has been very beneficial in helping me pay off my mortgage."

"There is nothing wrong with me." Kate insists. "All three of them are getting all worked up over nothing."

"She's been vomiting for three days." Thomas states.

"It's been a stressful week." Kate states. "There's been a ton of Christmas preparation to be done. I did just pull off our Thanksgiving party as well!"

"Then as a Christmas present for me, let the doctor examine you." Thomas stands up and looks towards the doctor. "I want a full report on her health."

Doctor Blake nods. "Of course Mr. Shelby. Now, if everyone could clear the room, I'd like to examine her now." Everyone grumbles and files out of the room. "Well," he smiles at her as he sits down opposite her and opens his bag. "you're lucky to have a family that cares for you."

She nods. "Indeed I am, it is rather aggravation upon occasion. I'm used to being left alone, not having family and staff hovering over me."

"So, how has your husband been? He able to kick the opium?"

"He appears to have kicked it. However, it's the nightmares that are hard for him. Is there anything to help him with that?"

"I can recommend a few natural herbal remedies to help him sleep. But for now, let's focus on you for the moment." Kate nods as she allows the doctor to check her pulse, temperature and ask her several questions. Some of them were rather personal, so she was glad no one else was in the room. Thomas probably would have had a fit at some of the questions. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her, but nothing had prepared her for Doctor Blake's diagnosis. "Well, the good news is you appear to be pregnant."

Kate blinks before laughing. "No. No, that's not likely."

"All, the signs point to it."

"No, no, no." She grins. "It's really not possible. Mr. Shelby and I have a celibate marriage at this time."

Doctor Blake frowns. "I'm sorry to ask this question, but, were you intimate with anyone at least seven weeks ago?"

"No, I've not had relations with anyone other than my husband."

"I thought you two have a celibate marriage? When did you two have relations?" Kate freezes as the thought hits her like a ton of bricks. She covers her mouth as she counts back the weeks. He smiles as he asks smugly. "Remembering something?"

She would have smacked him, were her blood not running ice cold through her veins right now. "We… consummated our marriage." He continues to smile at her and she speaks desperately. "But you can't get pregnant from doing it once!"

"Well, not usually, but in your case," he sighs. "it appears that the two of you did manage to create a child. Congratulations."

And those were the last words she said before she passed out cold!


"In all my twenty years of doctoring," Kate moans as the world swirls back into color. "I've never had a woman faint on me just because she's pregnant."

Kate groans. "I can't…believe I actually fainted. I didn't even vomit when I was a nurse in Verdun."

"Well surely," he grips her arms and helps her into a sitting position on the couch. "you must have suspected you were pregnant."

She shook her head. "No. How…is it even possible?"

"Well, to put it delicately, were you on your monthly cycle when you two consummated your relationship?" she nodded, still too shocked to be anything be embarrassed. "You've not had it since?"

"No." Kate croaks, shocked to realize that she hadn't even noticed when her periods had stopped. But then, it has been a very, very busy time. The influenza chose a hell of a time to distract her. Then there was a bunch of parties and Thomas had been allowing her remodeling, so, she had a lot to focus on.

"I would assume that the consummation was enjoyable for both partners?" She just leans forward, she's stunned. "Well…did you feel this intense feeling inside you before he-

Kate cuts him off. "I'm not an idiot! I was a nurse! I know how you get pregnant and yes, I did orgasm several times!" She inhales sharply as she shakes her head. "It's just…a baby. I wasn't expecting a baby."

"Forgive me, I'm used to dealing with women who are less knowledgeable than you regarding sex. And, no one ever is expecting a baby." He grins. "That's why it's always a pleasant surprise."

She places her hand on her stomach. "We…haven't even discussed having relations...we're not there yet." She shakes her head before admitting. "I don't know how he'll take this."

Doctor Blake is silent for a moment before saying. "You can't get rid of it, because of who you're married to. There's no one within this country who'd risk Thomas Shelby coming after them."

"I couldn't get rid of the baby. It's just…now's not the right time. We're working through some things." She sighs and looks at him. "Can I rely on your discretion that you won't tell him until I feel it's the right time?"

"Of course, but I can't keep it from him long. You will need to tell him before he calls me back to check on you again. And believe me; he will when he notices you're not getting better and the morning sickness will become more frequent." The doctor puts his equipment back in his black bag. "And not to mention, he will notice your increasing waistline."

Kate groans and lies back on the couch. "Oh, that man! This is all his fault." She blinks a moment. "Actually, it's my fault! He didn't want to consummate the marriage, I made him! I did this to myself! Oh, why am I even telling you all of this?"

"Because you need someone to confide in as you absorb this news and I'm bound by confidentiality." He studies her. "I'm sure things will be alright when the baby arrives. I've seen my share of unhappy couples, you two are not. He is very concerned for you and he's quite in love with you." Kate's cheeks heated at his observation. "Judging by your reaction, you love him too. When the time comes, this child will grow up in a happy home, with two loving parents."

"I hope you're right."

"I'm never wrong in cases like these." He stands up and helps her to her feet. "Shall we go?"

Kate nods and they head out of the parlor, her mind spinning like crazy. As they walk down the hall to the entrance, Kate's not surprised to see Thomas is sitting on the lower steps of the stairs, smoking a cigarette. He jumps up from his spot. "What's wrong with her doc?" he asked striding towards them. The concern on his face is rather touching.

"Nothing to be concerned about." Doctor Blake says smoothly. "She's simply vitamin deficient. She needs to eat more greens and food with iron." That's such a flimsy excuse, she's not sure Thomas is going to buy it. "She's also been overworking herself, which is upsetting her stomach. Try to get her to eat something to help her stomach. Ginger or lemon tea and crackers should help."

Thomas nods. "Send me a list and I'll make sure she has everything she needs."

"Also, see to it that she eats at least one meal a day and has a few snacks." Thomas nods while she glowers at the doctor. "Some cheese or something light to help her."

"Yes. I'll make sure of it."

"I'm going upstairs," she muttered. "for a bit and relax while the two of you plan what it is I need to do."

"Hang on to those stairs tightly." The doctor advised. "With those headaches you've been having, you could fall. She should rest today."

Kate shakes her head. "I'll take a nap, but, I've got work to do. My decorator is coming today."

"Send him away and ask him to reschedule." Thomas grips the banister. "Please, take the day off."

She nodded before saying. "I promise. I'll go call him right now."

Thomas studied her closely and exhaled. "Alright. I'll show the doc out then."

"Alright." Kate smiled at the doctor as Thomas turned back towards him. "Thank you for coming over on such short notice."

"My pleasure, Mrs. Shelby."

And with that, she walked up the stairs, clutching onto the rail tightly for her mind was in a daze. She still couldn't believe she was pregnant. How was she ever going to tell him?


The moment Thomas steps out of the house with the doctor, he asks. " Are you sure she's ok? That woman has never readily agreed to resting, no matter how much I insist that she take time off. Is there anything else that I need to know?"

Doctor Blake studies him for a moment. "Might I suggest that you take her away after the holidays? She needs time away from this house and people. I'm sure she loves everyone here, but remember, she was a solitary person. Now, she's back under the scrutiny of the public, so, that can be very stressful."

"That's a good idea."

The Doctor hesitated again. "Also, Mr. Shelby, from what I've gathered, your wedding was rushed and there was no honeymoon. Now, a honeymoon is essential for couples to get to know each other. You two just moved in and started a life together. I strongly suspect that, spending some time together, would probably help her. I can see she trusts you, but there's something that is worrying her. And I feel that perhaps the two of you could benefit from some time together."

"So, there is something wrong with her?" he asked, folding his arms. "What is it?"

"I believe that Mrs. Shelby is dealing with some depression." That wasn't something Thomas ever expected to hear. Kate was always smiling and laughing. "It's normal, holidays tend to do that to people. I'm just assuming that the only reason why she hasn't come to you, is because she feels that she can't. Some time together, might make her open up. I can see that she wants to confide in someone, but doesn't know who."

Thomas nods as he hand the doctor an envelope of money. "I'll see if I can find some time after the holiday's. Thank you for coming Doctor."

Doctor Blake nods his head, Thomas turns, and heads back inside. He exhales deeply as he looks up the stairs; Kate probably really did need some time away from this house. It would explain why she'd been down these last few days. Then, a guilty realization hits him.

He didn't know anything about his wife. He didn't know when she was born and she probably didn't know his either. He didn't know a lot of her favorite things and while it seemed like they were learning things about each other daily, his schedule didn't permit much time for bonding. Kate was tired in the nights and the most they did was discuss what they'd done that day. It seemed like their not being physically intimate hadn't stopped there. They also weren't emotionally close, they had feelings for each other, but they didn't know each other.

Thomas saw his last marriage with Lizzie flashing before his eyes. He didn't want things with Kate to end the way they had with Lizzie. Neither he and Lizzie had been close, it had been physical. Kate and him, while they weren't physical, there was desire there and Kate had been right at holding off with sex. He didn't know his wife as he knew Grace. But he loved Kate, with every fiber of his being.

He looked towards the stairs, seeing the portrait of Grace staring back at him. He studied her silently for a moment. He studied it for a moment before calling for Elton, who came running. Thomas ordered him to remove the portrait and carefully store it in the attic. He wasn't going to let Grace's ghost destroy another marriage. Thomas then climbed the stairs and headed towards his wife's room for a much needed talk.