Mary Riddle turned at the manor's doorstep one more time.
"But what if it happens while we're at the Howards? Surely you don't want to be alone while having the baby."
Merope rolled her eyes at her mother-in-law's false sympathy. "I've got Anne and Mary with me, I'll be fine. And besides, I think I'd know if I was about to give birth." She allowed herself a conceived wince as the duchess turned her back on her. "Now go already, the girls are about to start pulling their hair out." Merope quickly hugged her daughters, whispering words of advice and warning into their ears. She left Ellie for the last.

"Don't panic. I am having the baby now, so try and keep your grandmother at the Howards as long as you can." She could see just how grown up her daughter has come to be when without any questioning, the nine year old looked right into her mother's eyes and without a flinch nervously rolled her eyes and proclaimed, "Of course I'll look after Maggie and Tillie mother, don't I always?", gave her a hidden wink and gracefully followed her sisters into the brand new Rolls Royce Tom just brought from London a week before.

They left for the Howard's summer house, leaving Merope alone with Anne and Mary. It was time for Merope to be quick and resourceful. "Anne, please help me to my bedroom. Mary, start boiling water and find some clean towels. And get me Annabelle Potter; she'll be in the shop now. There's some floo powder under the kitchen cupboard, the yellow one." They followed her instructions, and fifteen minutes later a slim red haired woman appeared on the bedroom's doorframe.

Annabelle Potter was a woman Merope mostly remembered as an example in her father's stories about the family's rare blood traitors. Merope's only blood traitor aunt was the one of the main reasons why she never stepped foot in Diagon Alley, at least until almost eleven years ago. When she first found out she was pregnant, her main worry was to secure that any magical sons she might have would be taken care of. It was then she first met her aunt, the current owner of Morgaine's magical booktique. At the moment, her aunt was yelling instructions at Anne and Mary, quickly progressing to Merope's bedside. "How are you feeling?"

"My back aches horribly, but I've got a feeling it's going to be a quick one." She stopped for a second, biting her lip. "Annabelle, I'm afraid it's going to be a boy."
The older woman smiled gently, wiping some hair her off her niece's forehead. "What did I promise you in the shop eleven years ago?"
"That you'd..." Merope stopped for a few seconds, trying her best to hold in a scream. "That you would take care of my son if I ever had one."
"And that promise still stands. Besides, you know how hard it is for Charlie and Grace since they haven't got any children, I'm sure they'll be delighted to have a little one running around the house."
Merope just gave her a quick smile before shutting her eyes and gritting her teeth as a response to a new labour.
"Now grab my hand and let's have this baby." Annabelle exclaimed as Anne and Mary returned to the room, each holding a stack of towels.

As it turned out, Merope Riddle was right in both of her presumptions. It indeed was a quick birth, and the baby did turn out to be a boy. She didn't give her son's name a second thought as she stared in awe at the perfect little replica of her husband's. "Tom. I want to name him Tom."
"Tom, as in the Tom that broke your heart, and is more or less keeping you hostage at this godforsaken place? Well, who am I to question your judgement?"
"But he's just like him, Belle. And Tom loves the girls, he really does. He'd love his son too, if only he knew him. I wouldn't even have to do this if it wasn't for that damn woman..."
Her aunt just directed an annoyed sigh in her direction. "Fine, he's a saint. And as for the duchess, she won't be around for much longer anyways." She smiled as she tapped her temple.
"Let me guess, you can't tell me more?" Her niece inquired.
"The Inner Eye..."
"...is not a toy." Merope finished the sentence with her aunt. Belle was predicting Mary Riddle's departure for as long as her niece knew her, and sadly, that day was yet to come. "I just can't stand her anymore, Belle. One of these days, she is going to drive me insane."
"I promise you won't have to stand her for much longer. Just give it a couple of more years. And I'm sorry, but they'll be back soon. I'll be outside."

Annabelle left the room, leaving Merope alone with her son. She lifted herself in an almost sitting position, holding Tom in a way that he was facing her. "I just want you to know that Mummy loves you, Tom. Daddy loves you too, although he doesn't know it. And you've got the best three older sisters that anyone could ever ask for. And Mummy and the girls will miss you every day that you're away. But we'll visit you as much as you can, and maybe one day you'll come back to us. But what is sure is that one day you will go to a magical place full of secrets and adventures. And it will be amazing. Just wait, Tom. You'll do great things, I know it." She gave her son a tearful kiss on his forehead as she called for Anne to take him to Annabelle. She was afraid it would be hard to pretend to cry when her family came back home, but she didn't have to pretend when seconds after she heard the familiar sound of an apparition outside her door, as her mother in law could be heard screaming at her youngest daughter.

"Throwing pudding at Amanda Wilkinson, Natalie? Now we'll have to invite the Wilkinsons to dinner, and you know that I don't like them!"
"I'm really sorry, grandmother, I promise I won't do it again!"
"Well it's late now, isn't it? Just go wash yourself and then go to bed."
"Without dinner?"
"Are you talking back at me, Natalie?"
Only crying could be heard as Tillie made way to the bedroom right next to her mother's. Merope couldn't hear exactly what was said by one of her companions in the next moment, but the next thing she heard was her mother screaming and a loud 'THUMP', followed by her husband's quick reaction.
"Maggie!"
"SHE WHAT?" The duchess didn't seem to acknowledge what Merope guessed was Maggie falling unconscious as she heard the lie Merope has come up with years ago.

Anne or Mary gave her another quiet answer, followed by a few seconds of silence.
"Just tell me was it a boy or a girl."
The woman who Merope now recognised to be Mary finally spoke up just enough so Merope could hear her.
"It was a boy, your Grace."

Loud footsteps could be heard just before the Dowager Duchess of Hereford angrily slammed doors of Merope's bedroom open.
"This is entirely your fault, you stupid little bint! You always have to ruin it, don't you?"
"Yes, because my goal in life is to disappoint you, Mary! That's the real reason I miscarried today! Actually, I've been having girls for the past nine years just because I couldn't bear the thought of you being happy!"
The older woman ignored her, slamming the doors behind her and getting closer towards Merope's bed, her face getting redder with each step.
"I told you to come with us! You could've asked for Tom to stay here! You could've called the midwife! No, you put my grandson's life in the hands of two girls who can't make a bed without breaking something!"
"I had Doctor Potter with me, Mary!" She used the title that Mary knew Belle under, as Merope wasn't actually allowed to socialise with people who weren't in one way or under of noble descent.

"What, the village witch doctor? I don't trust that woman and you know that! She probably gave you some tonic that made you lose the baby! Our boy, Merope!"
Merope struggled to get up, tears streaming down her face. She pointed her finger at Mary Riddle, holding on to the bed's headboard as she was slowly beginning to get angry.
"Don't you dare say that! Don't you dare claim any of my children yours, Mary! If it was a girl, you wouldn't even blink and you know it! How many times have you had a normal talk with the girls? How many times have you called Ellie by her real name? My son wouldn't be yours any more than my daughters are."

The duchess didn't even flinch as she slowly regained herself and started to leave the room. "You know, sometimes I wonder why we even keep you."
"You know perfectly well why, Mary." Merope smiled as she carefully lay down. "He still loves me. Even though I've only had girls, even though we barely talk, even though you probably try to turn him against me every time you talk. Your son still loves me, and that's the reason you still keep me. And one of these days, it's going to be the reason behind your downfall. Because you can't hold him as your pawn forever, Mary. One of these days Tom is going to remember that he loves me and you won't stand a chance."

The older woman left the room without uttering a word, leaving Merope alone in her bed, now crying even more than she was minutes ago. The minute she passed the doorstep, Anne ran in, quickly jumping to Merope's side.
"It's her, isn't it? What did she say?"
"She called Tom our boy. As in partially hers. No child of mine will ever be hers. And she had the nerve to say it was my fault I lost him! If it wasn't for her he would be still here, and it doesn't matter if she's aware of that or not."
Anne got closer to Merope as she put her arms around her in a comforting hug. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have let her in. I swear, if I wasn't taking care of Maggie..." She was interrupted by a knock followed by Tom' appearance at the doorstep. She quickly got up, fixing her skirt. "I'm sorry, your Grace, but Lady Merope needs to get some rest."

Merope wiped her tears away with a monogrammed handkerchief while waving her other hand. "It's fine, Anne. My husband can come in if he wishes."
Anne nodded before giving Tom a very shallow curtsey and an angry look under her eyebrows. The air suddenly became a lot more awkward as she left and Tom approached his wife.
"So...Maggie fainted, but she's better now. Mary swears that this potion of hers can help."
Merope stayed quiet, fixating her eyes on the elaborate carpet.
"I'm sorry for what happened. I know it's hard to believe, but I really cared about this baby, and not just because it was a boy. I do love our girls very much." He was once again greeted by silence.

"And I promise I'll love any other children we might still have."
"We won't have any other children, Tom! I don't want to go through this again, and I won't have your mother frowning and sulking if I have another girl.
"But we need an heir to..."
"You have an heir, Tom! And I bet you Ellie is going to be a damn good one. I told you when she was born that you had to start being a man. You didn't listen to me then, but maybe you will this time. And maybe now is finally the time for the Duke of Hereford to stand up to his mother. Because I have my ways to stop a pregnancy, Tom, and I will use them if it comes to that."

Tom just gave her a held back nod and gently touched her hand before heading to the hallway and yelling, "Mother, I need to talk to you!"
Things were about to change for the better, and Merope knew it. She remembered a glorious week when her husband really loved her, and she had a feeling that time would come again. And perhaps then she could even get her son back. But until then, she just had to be patient and simply keep him in her mind.

A/N: Hey, you guys! I'm sorry I didn't upload this sooner, but school's been keeping me quite busy lately. So, we're in August of 1935 now, and baby Tom's finally here! If you were confused, Annabelle is supposed to be Marvolo's blood traitor sister, making her Merope's paternal aunt. Her son Charlie is Merope's age and he and his wife Grace can't have any children, as is said in this chapter. They will have a child eventually, and I don't think it's hard to guess who that child is going to be ;) I hope I can get the next chapter up sooner, and you should get ready for some Isobel butt kicking, just saying.
Don't forget, reviews are love!