Tora was the last of the children to ever dream of entering her parents' room without knocking. It has been the same when Agatha was alive, though she'd been one of those children who liked to sneak into Mama and Papa's bed in the middle of the night. Agatha trained her quickly to remain in the nursery overnight, and normally, there wasn't a problem she couldn't handle on her own in the middle of the night. Tonight, she felt differently.

Tears pour from her eyes as she said in a loud whisper, "Evangeline… Evangeline, I need you."

She turned over instantly.

"What's happened?" Cedric questioned, sitting up in a panic. For the typically stoic Tora to be showing this kind of emotion, he suspected the worst.

"I'm sorry," she wept. "I'm so sorry… I need Evangeline."

Noticing the way her stepdaughter was holding her arms over her lower stomach, Evangeline didn't have to ask further questions. Throwing off the covers, she was on her feet and at Tora's side in seconds.

This only concerned Cedric more. "What's the matter? What's going on?"

"Everything's fine," Evangeline said calmly, pausing to tell Tora to run along. "I've got it. Try and sleep."

"Sleep? My daughter comes in here sobbing in the middle of the night and you tell me to go back to sleep?"

He started to get up as well, but Evangeline stopped him. "Everything's perfectly all right, Cedric. You stay put."

"Not until I know what's going on!"

In a low voice, she said, "I suspect this is a female problem."

"… you mean…?"

She nodded.

"But Tora… she's a little girl."

With a chuckle, she touched his cheek. "Little girls have to grow up sometime."

Taking advantage of his stunned silence, Evangeline hurried out of the room.

. . .

"I'm sorry, Evangeline. I'm really sorry!"

Evangeline wrapped her arms around the still weepy Tora a little while later. "Sweetheart, you don't need to apologize."

"I hate this."

Stroking her hair, Evangeline said, "I know, sweetheart. It will get easier with time."

"I don't want everyone to know."

"You don't have to say anything."

"Not even to Papa?"

Evangeline bit her lip. "I had to tell him. He was thinking the worst."

Embarrassed, Tora muttered, "Oh."

"I'm sorry."

"I didn't expect him to be awake," she said.

Trying to keep the tone light, Evangeline said, "The poor man hasn't slept through a night since this bought of morning sickness began."

Still clutching her stomach, Tora said, "I knew this would happen someday, but not in the middle of the night."

"So, your mother went through this with you then?"

She nodded. "A little bit."

"That's good, at least."

After a pause, Tora said with another sniff, "I don't know why I came and got you. I know there's nothing you can do. I just… got scared."

Hugging her again, she replied, "That's what I'm here for, pet. Being scared is reason enough. We'll sit up a while. We don't have to talk anymore about it if you don't want to."

"You wouldn't mind?"

"Not a bit."

They went down to the kitchen where Evangeline put on the kettle. She prepared the peppermint leaves for herself as well as Tora, figuring it might settle her stomach as well though she hadn't complained. Tora was quiet as Evangeline expected her to be. Part of her was grateful Agatha had taken care of most of the discussion surrounding this. It never crossed her mind to be prepared for the girls or even discuss certain matters. She hadn't had anyone herself which she knew was no excuse. It simply hadn't been in her realm of thought. It startled her. If she was this underprepared and oblivious regarding the older children, where would she go wrong with her baby?

"… Can I ask you something?" Tora asked after a while.

"Anything."

"How do you… You share a bed with Papa. Do you ever… I mean, sharing a room with everyone, what if they find out because I didn't wake up in time or something?"

"Well," she started, praying not to say the wrong thing, "I won't lie to you and say it doesn't happen now and again. I'm afraid when you live with people these things eventually come to light."

Tora's lip trembled at this, but she didn't cry. "How do you survive the embarrassment?"

"Believe me, I was a blubbering mess the first time it happened to me after getting married. Your poor father didn't know what was wrong with me because I'd tried to hide what'd happened."

"Was he angry when he found out?"

"No, thankfully. Men don't like to discuss these things if they can help it, but I'm blessed that he's a sympathetic kind of person. It's gotten easier having to acknowledge it with him as time has gone on given all the count—"Hearing herself, she had to stop. The late hour was making her speak without first thinking.

"Given what?" Tora questioned.

"Never mind."

"What is it?" she insisted.

Evangeline bit her lip. "It's not anything you'll have to trouble yourself with for a while."

Unsettled and thinking the worst, Tora replied, "Is it terrible?"

Softening, she answered, "No, it's nothing bad. It's only when you're married… Well, you may want to know when you're most likely to have a child. Don't trouble yourself with it now, although you might want to keep track of the start of it so you know to prepare yourself."

Hugging her arms and looking away, Tora said, "I didn't realize you and Papa were trying to have a baby."

"We weren't," Evangeline admitted as she touched her belly. "My arithmetic needs work."

"Then you didn't want a baby?"

"It's not so much a matter of not wanting a baby rather than wanting to wait until a better time. We know it'll be cramped with one more bed in the nursery, then of course it means a tighter budget. We didn't want to bring on more change than we needed to. You kids have gone through so much of it."

"It's not going to end for me, apparently."

With a sympathetic smile, Evangeline reached over and touched her cheek. "You'll get used to it."

Tora nodded, though she was unconvinced.

. . .

After they drank their tea they moved to the drawing room. Tora's nerves became more evident as the night turned to early morning. Though didn't appear to be in great pain, she was clearly uncomfortable, opting to sit on the floor most of the time as stiff as the floorboards beneath her. Evangeline sat with her, her arm draped around her stepdaughter as they both tried to rest.

"I really am sorry, Evangeline," Tora whispered, her head on Evangeline's shoulder. "You don't need to lose any more sleep over me."

"Don't be silly. I'm not going to leave you to sit in the dark all on your own. I know this can be a difficult thing to go through."

Tora nodded. "I'm glad Papa married you. I can't imagine what I'd do if I had to go to him. Or that awful Mrs. Quickly. I'd have to go to cook or would have tried to deal with it myself."

"Cook can be warm when she wants to be. She's been a lot of help to me. She knew I was pregnant without my needing to tell her."

"Really?"

"I suppose she got used to the signs from your mum."

"That makes sense."

Feeling her stiffen even more, Evangeline kissed her head. "I'm sorry she isn't here for you right now."

"I wish she were… not that I'm not glad to have you."

"I know. You don't need to say so."

"Mama might've made a big deal of it, though," Tora added after a moment of consideration. "I remember how whenever any of us started losing teeth or reached double digits she'd gush about how grown up we've become. I don't want everyone to know. Not yet."

"I wish I could promise such a thing," Evangeline said with a sigh.

"It's mostly the boys I don't want to know. They'll make a joke of it."

"If they do you send them to me."

"Sometimes – a lot of time – I wish we all didn't have to share the nursery. It wouldn't be so bad with just Lily, Chrissie, and Aggie."

"I know. I wish we had the space to have two rooms for you lot. It's awfully crowded. I'm going to keep the baby with me as long as I can."

Picking her head up, Tora managed a grin. "That means you'll have Lily with you as well."

"Oh?"

"She's dreadfully excited. I think she expects it to be like it was with Aggie. I mean, not the losing you part, but having to do a lot to take care of her ourselves."

"I certainly hope not. That was quite a burden on you."

"I didn't mind so much. It gave me something to keep my mind off everything else. But I don't think I'm eager to have a baby myself."

Evangeline chuckled. "You may feel differently once you're grown."

Tora shook her head lightly. "I think that's what's got me most upset about this. I don't want this to mean I have to get married soon. Some girls do, you know. They get married as young as fourteen. That's only two years off."

"That's certainly not the expectation in this family, Aunt Adelaide aside, maybe."

"You won't tell her, will you?"

"She doesn't need to know. I doubt she could so much as say your name, never mind your age."

"Good…"

"Between you and me, I'm terrified about simply telling her I'm pregnant. I haven't even wanted to mention it to your father."

"I can't see him wanting to tell her, either. She was so angry at him after your wedding."

"I can't say I blame her. We made a fool out of her."

"It was her own fault trying to take one of us."

"I agree." Evangeline winked.

"What do you think she'll say about the baby?"

"I'm not sure. She won't be pleased. I don't suspect she'll offer any help or congratulations."

"She'll probably lecture Papa again about having too many children," Tora said with a huff.

"I'm sure she will along with some choice comments about me."

"It's not right of her. Just because she has money doesn't mean she can insult everyone else."

"I'm afraid so long as we are in need of her help we aren't at liberty to go against her."

"I know," she sighed.

Evangeline yawned. "It's not a worry for tonight."

"You're tired, Evangeline. Please, I'll be all right. I don't want to be the reason something happens to you."

Taking her hand and squeezing it, she replied, "That's not your worry. I'll rest later. I hope you will, too."

"I'm awfully tired," Tora confessed.

"All anyone needs to know is that you're not feeling well."

"They won't believe me. Or they will pay me too much attention."

Before Evangeline could offer another suggestion, they heard footsteps.

"Evangeline?" Cedric asked from the doorway. "Are you in here?"

"Over here," she answered.

Walking over to them against the wall, he questioned, "On the floor?"

"My back's aching a bit," Evangeline fibbed to Tora's relief. "This is more comfortable."

"I started to worry when you didn't come back to bed."

"It's morning. We figured we'd stay up."

Cedric nodded slowly, shifting his gaze to Tora. "Are you all right, darling?"

The girl's eyes suddenly filled with tears. "I'm sorry, Papa!"

"Oh, my dear girl," he said, dropping down to sit at her other side and wrapping his arms around her. "You've nothing to apologize for."

Tora buried her face in her father's chest and started to wail as she had earlier.

Hugging her tightly, Cedric looked to Evangeline with concern. She mouthed assurance that Tora was all right as she scooted closer to the both of them.

"Really, Tora," he tried to soothe, "everything is all right."

Picking her head up only slightly, she asked, "You're not angry with me?"

"Absolutely not."

"Not even for going into your room without knocking?"

"We want you to come and get us when you need us," he said. "All of you."

She swiped at her tears. "It's just that you got mad the last time when Simon barged in."

Cedric sighed. "I apologize. I shouldn't have."

Tora rested against him again.

"Are you all right… otherwise?"

Stiffly, she nodded.

"Take it easy today, will you?"

"We both will," Evangeline said, feeling the discomfort radiating from Tora.

"Good."

"And this is to be kept discreet," she said, eyeing him sternly.

"I don't want to keep talking about it," Tora sniveled.

Tugging on Evangeline's sleeve, he said, "Then we can just sit here a while if you'd like."

Tora relaxed a bit, Cedric welcoming Evangeline into the embrace. None of them said anything more despite the swelling of emotion she was feeling herself as she realized for the first time that she felt like she belonged in this picture, even if she knew it should have been Agatha in her place.

I apologize for such a long delay. I've been hesitant about this chapter because I'm not an authority on how these subjects were dealt with at this point in time, but I felt it added a lot to not only Evangeline's doubts about her ability to parent but also her realizing her place in this family.