Felicity and Heinrich continued to share her bed most nights, more for comfort than sex, though the later still occurred with an agreeable frequency. The expressed themselves physically, though always in silence, always fearing the creaking of her bed might alert her maid. Despite their efforts, the Baron's relationship with Mrs. Dorr became the worst kept secret at Sous les Chênes; it was common knowledge that the two would companionably sit together in the evenings by the fire. That alone served to arouse suspicions of staff and soldiers alike.

The fall of 1940 segued into winter 1941, and when Felicity and Heinrich were fortunate to have a day of comparatively mild weather, the two still met in the orchard. One such evening, Heinrich pulled Felicity into a tight kiss that she continued to deepen. Desperately groping at each other under their warm outer wear, Felicity whispered, "Heinrich, should we repair to the greenhouse?"

He was surprised by the suggestion, but she did her best to convince him of their shared urgency. "Shouldn't I go back to the house for a French letter at least?"

"Don't go; I doubt it even makes a difference. I tried for years to conceive after Phil with no luck, and that chance gets less and less likely every year. Don't you dare ask how old I really am, Heinrich."

"An ageless beauty." He relented with a grin. She had prepared a camping bed- where Phil had once slept- and blankets, though they were hardly comfortable for it was a tumultuous night. At last, they unbridled their passion, the expression of their love silent no more. It was a release for both of them.

It was that night that Felicity conceived a child by Heinrich.

She was in denial for some time, though eventually she knew that she could not blame the dizziness and her heart's frantic beat at the slightest exertion on the stress of the war. Heinrich noticed that she was withdrawn, like a phantom in the same room. "Are you unwell?" He asked one night in by the fire in the drawing room.

"I'm fine." She responded without lifting her eyes from her embroidery.

"Then you are upset about something?"

She demurred. "I think I need some fresh air. I am going to the garden."

"It's past curfew, Felicity." She shot him a dirty look that said, 'I don't give a toss about curfew.' He tried to appeal to her reason. "Furthermore, the weather is inclement."

Clemency, she thought. That is what I need, but I will need to ask it of my husband. She got up to leave.

Heinrich found her on their favourite bench in the garden despite the chill of an early spring night. She was puffing on a cigarette. It was her third; he noticed two other stubs still glowing in the ashtray.

"What is troubling you, Felicity?"

"I am expecting." She said matter-of-factly and took another drag from her cigarette.

"What is it that you are expecting? A letter from the senator?" He said, naively.

"Hardly. How do you say 'baby' in German? I believe it is a word we have in common." The Baron, unflappable even in the heat of military combat, was suddenly shaking his head at a loss. They sat in silence for some time before he muttered, "scheisse." She offered him her cigarette which he accepted.

After the cigarette had calmed his nerves, he spoke. "I will make arrangements. It will be taken care of discretely so that no one need know."

"No." She said. "I will have the baby."

"That is not an option. You will destroy us both. And the senator."

"I may never see my Philip again. And think of your Manfred. We both know that Phil might share his fate as a casualty of war. This is my last chance to be someone's mother."

"I cannot be a father to this child. You know that."

"Of course I do. You will have to leave Sous les Chênes when James comes back."

Heinrich began to understand. Felicity was pulling away from him… and he could not abide that.

"What makes you think that Senator Dorr will forgive you?"

"He suspected me of infidelity before," she said, thinking of her friend Urban Mahy. "It wasn't true, of course- I never betrayed him before you. But he lived for years assuming that it was. James is quite good at keeping up appearances."

Heinrich struggled to keep his fury in check. He wanted to grab her and shake the sense into her. No baby, Felicity. End it now. He searched her eyes and found her firm look of determination. He was used to having his way and meting out punishments when he didn't. His impulse was to throttle her into submission. But he had seen soldiers beat women whom they had already misused, and it disgusted him. He would never become that.

Instead Heinrich walked away.

Felicity and Heinrich avoided each other for several days. He busied himself overseeing the construction of new fortifications, though Felicity's condition was never far from his mind. He needed her and found that he could abstain no longer from her bedroom. He crept up the stairs as he had so many nights before and prayed that her room would not be locked. He was relieved to find that the knob turned and the door swung open. Felicity was asleep, or rather faking sleep, he correctly surmised. She lay still wondering what he would do- beg her for forgiveness or smother her with a pillow? She'd sensed his anger the other day as he walked away from her. Heinrich stood over her a while watching until she stirred, giving herself away.

"Am I still welcome here?" He finally asked. She was relieved but muttered a non-committal 'yes.' Heinrich hastily stripped to his underclothes. He joined her in bed but she rolled the other way. It may have been a bit passive-aggressive on her part, but he took it as an invitation to spoon himself against her back. She sighed and responded by pulling his arm tighter around her.

"I was going to kill myself, you know, on the day that you found me in the rain coming back from la Roche Noire."

"I had no idea."

"I felt that I had nothing more to lose, so I decided that I would make love to you before I died. That was meant to be the end, yet you sparked something inside of me, Heinrich. Now there is a baby, and that brings a new reason to live even if we can't be together. I don't know what will happen, but I will keep going forward. All I can do is pray for James and Phil to come home- as I will pray for you when you will have left Sous les Chênes. I will pray for you and your last son to return safely to your wife because I have come to love you very much- even though it defies reason."

"And I you. I have missed sleeping at your side these last nights. As I will miss you terribly once our paths may no longer cross. Let's get some sleep now, liebe Felicity."

When morning came, Heinrich and Felicity were still intertwined. "Heinrich," she tried to rouse him. "You must go before someone sees you."

"Mmm, yes. I must go. One day, I will leave you for good, Felicity. I cannot abide watching another man raise my child. So I will leave Sous les Chênes full of regret- but not yet. Until that day comes, I have something to ask of you. I want to be with you, and we shall be happy together. We will enjoy our brief happiness until the senator returns. For now, let us pretend that this baby is meant to bring us together rather than drive us apart." He rubbed her stomach affectionately.

"Our baby, Heinrich," she corrected him as she drew him into a kiss. "Yes, we will be happy for whatever time we have together."