I never intended to post this story. It was a middle of the night 'I have this idea but no idea how to make proper fic out of it' situation. However, it started to take form and I rather liked what was coming out. I will give a fair warning that due to my lack of planning for this story and the initial decision to keep it as my own entertainment, I haven't researched certain elements. I usually pride myself on making my writing as historically accurate as possible, but I have not done so here and I don't necessarily want to go back now and rework it. Forgive my laziness for that's plainly what it is. I give you permission to call me out on it. I wanted to focus on Cedric and Evangeline rather than the technicalities as they would change the tone quite a bit.

With all of that out of the way, I want to dedicate this story to naybaybay. Without her help, I never would have had the courage to write anything for these characters. Thank you again for reminding me how much I love this movie.

Evangeline sat with her eyes fixated on the calendar. There had to be a mistake. Her counting wasn't as good as it could be, but she thought she'd done well when it came to her book. Lily had been a tremendous help with both numbers and letters. She could read well now, though some credit had to go to Aunt Adelaide, but arithmetic wasn't as simple as putting words together. Nevertheless, twenty-eight was a number she'd become well acquainted with — even factoring in the addition or subtraction of a day or two. But what she was reading now was cause for concern.

She didn't feel ill but almost wished she did. It would have been the easier course. Poor Cedric was working himself to an ulcer trying to keep food on the table for the family. Aunt Adelaide certainly wasn't about to offer more help after discovering the trick they pulled. They'd agreed early on that an eighth child must be avoided if possible — at least until Simon was old enough to find work and eventually see Tora married off. In the seven months since their wedding, they'd come up with a routine to minimize the chances.

If a missed monthly was any indication, she hadn't done as good a job as she'd thought.

"Hello, darling," Cedric said as he came in from work.

Evangeline jumped, shoving the calendar book into her drawer in the desk. "Cedric! I didn't hear you come in."

He glanced at the clock. "I'm a bit late, actually. Did I miss dinner?"

Standing up, she pecked his lips before answering. "No. No, I don't believe so. Cook… I think she's held it."

Cedric's brow furrowed. "Is something the matter?"

"No," she said through a nervous giggle. "Of course not."

"You look awfully pale."

She brought her hand to her cheek. "Do I? Well, I haven't gotten much out today. Dastardly cold winter we're having, yeah?"

"Yes," he agreed, though not without suspicion.

"I'll fetch the children. Sit and relax for a few minutes."

Evangeline started past him, but Cedric trailed his fingers down her arm as she moved, eventually catching her hand and tugged her to a halt. "Checking the days, hmm?"

"What?" Her breath caught, but the suggestion in his tone eased the momentary fear that she'd been caught. "Oh… ah, yes. I didn't realize you'd noticed."

Pulling her into his arms, he settled around her waist. "It's been a while, hasn't it now?"

"A couple of weeks. It's been hectic around here, hasn't it?"

"That's certainly the trouble of being newlyweds with a house full of children." He bent down and kissed her softly, lingering there a moment before standing upright again. "At this rate our honeymoon phase will last until Aggie gets married herself."

She wanted to smile but feared showing any kind of emotion would cause her to dissolve into tears. Instead, she cooly responded, "Least we'll never be bored of each other."

Cedric's face fell. "Are you sure you're all right, Evangeline?"

"Quite right." She patted his cheek and stepped away. "Hungry, is all. I'm sure the children are, too. I'll call 'em down."

"Very well," he conceded. When she was nearly at the door, he added almost shyly, "If you're feeling better later, perhaps…?"

For the first time in their marriage, she gave her answer without elation. "We'll see."

. . .

Evangeline was silent and distracted through dinner. Even the children noticed, directing their questions to their father when Evangeline failed to acknowledge them. It was though she was staring through her plate, her food nearly untouched.

"Papa, what's happened with Evangeline?" Tora asked.

"I was hoping you'd know," Cedric replied. "She's been like this since I got home. Did something happen?"

Sebastian jumped in. "Chrissie and me had a fight and knocked over one of the lamps, but it didn't break and we said we were sorry."

"Is that it, Evangeline?" Cedric asked in her direction.

She continued to push the peas around her plate with her fork.

Louder, he repeated, "Evangeline."

She looked up to see that everyone's eyes were on here. "I'm sorry… I didn't realize you were speaking to me."

Letting out a breath, Cedric took his napkin from his lap and set it on the table. "If you're finished with your suppers, children, I'd like a moment to speak to Evangeline alone."

"But Papa," Chrissie whined, "you promised you'd read my new book."

"And we will," he promised. "I'd just like to know what's going on with Evangeline first. Then we'll all read it together, all right?"

Satisfied with this plan, Chrissie smiled and hopped down from her seat, the other children following after.

Evangeline's face had turned red from the attention. When the children had gone, she turned back to her husband with a look of remorse. "I'm sorry, Cedric. I have a lot on my mind."

"Care to share what?"

"Not particularly."

"Have I done something to upset you? The children?"

"No, not at all."

"Then I don't understand the trouble. You were perfectly fine when I left this morning."

"I promise that I'm fine. I'm just tired."

"You said before you were just hungry. You've had what, one, maybe two bites?"

"I'm a little queasy."

"Perhaps you've caught a bug or something. I can have the doctor come around in the morning."

"No!" she said too quickly and too loudly. "Not yet I mean."

"Yet?" he questioned. "Something is wrong then."

"No, it's not like that."

Not listening, he shook his head. "I should have known it back in the study when you said…" he looked over his shoulder and decided not to voice the rest of his sentence aloud. In all likelihood, the children were listening just behind the threshold.

"Please, Cedric," Evangeline said with frustration as she stood. "Let's not make a deal of this. A person is allowed to have an off day without it meaning catastrophe."

"I'm just saying if you're unwell you should take care of yourself. Go upstairs to bed and I'll have cook bring you a cup of tea."

Willing to do anything to get away from him and this conversation, she agreed.

. . .

She was grateful that Cedric had promised to spend the evening with the children. The quiet was a relief. Being caught off guard by him in the study hadn't given her any time to process what was coming to light. Chances were that she was pregnant and Cedric's over-concern over her off mood is the real reason she was so terrified. Hiding behind the excuse that an eighth child would be too much of a financial burden was easier than speaking the truth aloud. He'd mentioned his biggest fear only once and mostly in passing, an elephant in the room the rest of the time.

Cedric couldn't bear the thought of losing another wife to childbirth.

Provisions could be found and sacrifices could be made for another baby. For that she was certain. But what control did she have over whether she lived or died? Naturally, her well-being was a concern for her as well, but she could also consider that she was a good deal younger than Mrs. Brown had been when she had Aggie and less fatigued. She got the sense that Cedric would insist on waiting on her hand and foot once he heard. With Mrs. Brown bearing so many children, her pregnancies seemed to be commonplace for everyone.

How was she going to tell him? After several agonizing months of planning, waiting, and abstaining and all the embarrassment that'd come with these conversations those first couple of months, it felt like it had been for nothing now. All of those nights when she'd wanted nothing but to be in her new husband's arms had been wasted. Worst of all was that she wanted this baby more than anything else yet she felt like she was in mourning.

She took a breath. She was getting ahead of herself, wasn't she? She didn't know for sure. Three weeks wasn't a huge difference... though nothing like this had happened since she was a teenager and undernourished. A visit with the doctor was needed before she told Cedric. There was no need to alarm him if she was wrong. After all, weren't there supposed to be other symptoms of pregnancy? The uneasiness of her stomach had only come after facing Cedric. She wasn't unusually tired, either. All these thoughts and questions coming at once were enough to make her choke out a cry.

Having lost both of her parents at a young age, she was accustomed to navigating the world on her own. Now? She longed for her mother more than she ever had — someone to ease her worries and doubts. Mrs. Blatherwick was as close as she had, but even telling her felt like too much to bear. She'd known Mrs. Brown longer than she had. That, and she wasn't sure she'd be too keen on another mouth to feed and another child to bar from the kitchen. Nanny McPhee had done wonders for the Brown children, however, that didn't mean they were perfect angels all of the time.

For now, Evangeline had to face this alone.

So alone she wept.