As soon as she left the doctor's office, Evangeline made up her mind to tell Cedric. She couldn't carry on for another month this way. Even distraction tactics could only go on for another day or two before he caught on.

While she'd planned on telling him today, she hadn't planned on her feet bringing her to the mortuary. This wasn't the right time or place to tell him, though she wasn't sure when and where would be much better. She felt so bogged down by it all. The last thing she wanted to do was upset him, but as she knocked on the door, she decided it was better to tell him somewhere he could have some space before having to face her again. At least, that's what she settled on telling herself.

"Evangeline!" Mr. Jowels greeted. "What a pleasant surprise."

She nodded, mumbling her hellos to him and Mr. Wheen as she walked in. "Is Cedric busy?"

"Not for you I imagine," Mr. Wheen said with a wink. "He's right back there."

"Thank you…"

She kept her eyes on the curtain, a bit unsettled by the stuffed bear and the coffin Mr. Jowels and Mr. Wheen were preparing. Once she'd reached it, she pulled it back quickly and walked in, somehow anticipating her husband's office to be more pleasant.

"Darling," Cedric said, looking up from the body he was embalming and then smiling. "Didn't expect any visitors today."

Evangeline winced at the sight of the dead man lying out on the table. She'd never been to Cedric's work beyond dropping off messages at the front door. She'd neglected to consider this. A moment later, the smell of formaldehyde hit her nose, causing her to cough.

Wiping his hands on a rag, Cedric hurried over and touched her back. "Perhaps we should step into the other room. I'm afraid you've caught me at a bad time."

When she could breathe again, she found herself surrounded by all three men now. "I'm sorry to have interrupted."

"It's no bother," Cedric said genuinely. "Nothing's the matter, is it?"

"Oh, no," she said, certainly not about to tell him her real reason for coming in front of an audience. "I was out and about and thought I'd pop in on my way home."

"Errand day already?" he questioned.

Evangeline shook her head. "No, just a walk. I've felt a bit cooped up in the house. I'll let you be now. The children will start to wonder where I've gone off to."

To her relief, he accepted her answer. "Very well. I'll be home shortly after I'm through here." He pecked her lips, causing an eruption of 'ooos' from Mr. Wheen and Mr. Jowels.

. . .

Evangeline walked home more conflicted than she had been before. What if this had been a sign not to tell him? Some gruesome signs like in those fairytales the children loved so much. She couldn't have told him about a potential new life with a dead man before them. It had been foolish to imagine him sitting at work like he did his desk at home. She really knew so little about his life. It was always about the children or the house. Seldom did they get a moment where it was only the two of them. When they did, the time was typically spent doing something other than talking.

New fears entered her mind. Things she hadn't had the time to consider. What was a baby going to do to their relationship? Certainly Cedric was no stranger to fatherhood, but she was to motherhood. As his children's stepmother, she'd become more acquainted with motherly duties, though thanks to Nanny McPhee, the worst of them had been made easy. And while she'd tended to Aggie as an infant, not nearly in the same capacity as a mother would have. Tora had borne the brunt of it and oh how it had changed her. Was she ready for that kind of maturing herself – especially when there were times she felt as though she didn't belong with Cedric at all?

Of course, she'd never tell Cedric as much. They'd had those conversations in the beginning, mostly laughing through the realization they'd both been carrying a torch for one another. But, it had been more complicated on Cedric's part, still grieving the loss of his wife yet feeling so drawn to Evangeline. Meanwhile, Evangeline had to confess the guilt she felt having always admired him. Not that she ever intended to come between him and Mrs. Brown. Her crush only turned to love in the months following her death.

He swore he never saw her as beneath him, even when he was married and didn't have an eye for anyone other than his wife. He'd always cared deeply for her even if not in a romantic capacity. She'd been so bad off when she joined their household. And when Mrs. Brown died, Evangeline was the only person who had been capable of getting him through it. Those long nights without sleep, pathetically blubbering, and being as unprofessional as could be. Those things stopped mattering. In turn, he fell in love with her as well.

But their marriage still came with some strain, magical as it had been. For as much as she believed Cedric loved her, she wasn't oblivious to those nights when he so very much missed Agatha. She could never admit to it, but she still heard him talking to her in his study now and then. Sometimes it made her feel sad. She loved him so very much and it hurt knowing there would forever be a part of him that couldn't love her in the same capacity — nor did she expect him to. She'd seen him and Mrs. Brown together. They loved each other as much as two people ever could. For that reason alone, she'd never tell him how she felt on her darkest days. She never wanted him to feel like he couldn't miss his first wife.

There was too much to consider. Perhaps Cedric's reaction was the least of her concerns. What about the children? How would they take to a half-sibling? They were loyal to one another. Would they welcome someone not entirely their own? Would there be resentment or jealousy? She never wanted them to think that she didn't love them, but of course, there would be no denying a special love for the one she bore. It couldn't be helped. Would they resent her in turn? Would all that talk of wicked stepmothers come to fruition?

It was enough to bring tears to her eyes for she had to keep every question inside. Suddenly she missed Nanny McPhee who seemed to know absolutely everything there was to know – even those unspoken things that she couldn't quite put into words. She'd know the right things to say and the right course of action. But she'd vanished without a trace. The kids seemed less surprised by this than she and Cedric. She could only wish they'd kept in touch. She wanted to thank her times over for the joy she brought to their family.

Instead, she was walking home alone, hiding her tears from passersby. She knew she needed to tell Cedric lest she suffocate under the strain. She could only pray he would find it in himself to be at peace with the news.