The month of December faded out and the New Year took full force. Getting to know my new surroundings was difficult at first. I kept thinking that I had to run upstairs to get my stuff but couldn't find the stairs. And getting along with Andrew's mother wasn't the easiest task either.

Nora Fitzpatrick was a tough woman who didn't like her routine spoiled. She wore her almost white hair in a tight bun and refused to wear her cap unless she was going out in public. She wore a black wool dress in remembrance of her late husband and his untimely death and covered it with a crisp white apron. She squinted at letters because her blue eyes were old and she needed glasses but refused to get them. She was a woman with a strong personality and was very stuck in her ways.

So when she came back from her sister's house, Mother Fitzpatrick had nothing pleasant to say. She would complain that I wasn't washing the dishes right or that the water I used to wash that laundry needed to be warm, but then would yell if I attempted to boil the water. She would make me wash her apron and hang it by the fire each night so it was clean and fresh for the next morning. The only dirt that covered the apron was from the food that slipped from her shaky hands. She only recently let up when I started waking up extra early and making her tea and breakfast.

Married life didn't seem so difficult once you got used to it. My day started off with waking up making breakfast and tea. Andrew would kiss me goodbye before he went to work and I would clean the house while Mother Fitzpatrick did her knitting and talked of the old days. After making lunch I would get two free hours where Mother would take a nap. On those free hours I would do extra chores or visit friends and family. Andrew would finish in the fields just after the sun set and we would have dinner. After dinner we'd say prayers by the painting, which I now knew was the baby Jesus and then Mother would stay up for another hour lecturing Andrew on his hair or me on my physic. She would constantly say that I was too thin to carry a baby and that I needed to eat more. But the more I ate the skinnier I became, which probably was a result from the long nights with my husband.

This particular morning I awoke at normal time, just before the sun rose. I kissed Andrew's sleeping face and wrapped a shawl around my body as I went into the kitchen and started with my daily routine. Today I was planning on visiting my family and Andrew was going to come with me. Mother Fitzpatrick was not up for the "horribly long journey" so she would stay at home and wait for us to get back for dinner time. She lay in front of the fireplace wrapped in two wool blankets and an old quilt her mother had given her as a child. When she was asleep she looked peaceful and gentle but when she awoke her face was hard and cold to everyone apart from Andrew. I made sure to be extra careful in the mornings so that she would not wake. Normally she would lie on the floor and pretend to be sleeping as if afraid that I would ask her to help me.

Today was no different. She lay on the floor in front of the dim fire and her eyes twitched with alertness. I sighed as I put the kettle on the stove and slipped my feet into Andrew's winter shoes. The snow was blowing hard on this January day. The sky was a dull grey as the sun rose somewhere in the distance. The wind whistled against my ears as I walked through the snow to the chicken coop. I slid open the door and startled the warm birds awake. A couple squawked and ruffled their feathers, but I had to collect the eggs for breakfast so ruffled chickens was a good thing.

It took me 10 minutes and three cuts from chicken beaks to obtain 6 eggs. I started back to the house and shivered as the warm air of the house touched my skin.

"Shut the door. Lord almighty it's freezing." Mother snapped wrapping the blankets tighter around her plump body.

"Sorry Mother." I said and shut the door. I slipped out of Andrew's boots and placed the basket of eggs on the table. I grabbed a clay bowl and cracked the eggs on the corner of the bowl. I whisked them up to a yellow paste and lit the stove. Subconsciously I started humming a tune that my mother used to hum while cooking, it was a habit I had recently started doing.

"Well there's no point in trying to sleep when someone's singing in the background." She snapped and sat up.

"Sorry Mother." I said, my back towards her. I smiled as she grumbled. She got up and waddled past me into her cold bedroom to change. She slammed the wooden door and I could hear her mumbling to herself about how ungrateful I was. I shook my head and slipped 6 pieces of old bread onto a pan and placed them on the fire grate. I went back to the eggs and started scrambling them.

As I started humming again I felt two large hands touch my waist and rested on my lower stomach. He kissed my neck and goose bumps broke out over my skin.

"Good morning wife." He said, as he did every morning.

"Good morning." I said and smiled at him. "Breakfast is almost ready." I said and he kissed me again before he let me go.

"I guess I better feed the horses then." He said wrapping his large wool coat around his body.

"I was thinking that we would leave a little earlier." I said side glancing him. "Only because the weather is really bad and it will take us longer to get there."

"What about Mother?" Andrew asked placing a fur hat on his head.

"Oh don't worry about poor old Mother, she can take care of herself." Mother Fitzpatrick said appearing in the kitchen. She added an extra limp to her walk today. I took a deep breath and let it out before I smiled at her.

"Good morning Mother." I said, before kissing the cheek that she held out towards me. "Did you sleep well?"

"Once I finally fell asleep." She eyed me and then Andrew. "It will be so much nicer, and quieter once you've built your own house." She said. Andrew's eyes flicked to mine and I looked away fighting a smile but allowing my face to heat up.

"Sorry Mother." Andrew said and kissed her cheek. She grumbled something and sat in her chair by the fire. She picked up her knitting and continued the project that she was working on. "I'll be 10 minutes." He said to me.

"Make it five. These eggs are almost done." I said with a smile.

"Scrambled eggs again!" Mother groaned. "Don't you know how to make anything else."

"Susanna made us fried eggs yesterday." Andrew defended.

"We eat eggs every day." She grumbled. "One day it's scrambled eggs, the next it's fried. When we're really lucky we get raw eggs." She said reminding me of the breakfast I made when I had first moved in. I had been so eager to please her that I rushed making her fried eggs and they drooped and ran when she ate it. I looked at Andrew.

"Five minutes!" I mumbled and he grinned and nodded before disappearing into the cold.

"I hope you know how lucky you are." She said to me, starting the same rant that happened every other day. I could predict the next words out of her mouth. "He loves you a lot, more than you can even imagine. My husband, god bless his soul, was just like Andrew. He loved me like crazy and I never thought any thing of it until…until he passed and there was no one to love me anymore."

"Oh Mother. You know that we love you very much." I said and she rolled her eyes.

"It's different silly girl."

"Love is love no matter what type it is. Some people just take longer to figure that out." I added and watched her fidget from the corner of my eye.

"Yes well… it still is not the same." She said turning her nose up at me. All that was heard was the crackle of the fire and the clicking of her knitting needles. I started humming again and flipped the pieces of bread to the other side.

Breakfast passed in its usual dull lull, with Mother giving me peculiar glances every now and again. When we finished our meal Andrew went out and took care of the animals before we would leave for my father's house. Mother was going to stay home and take a nap. It was more important to get sleep than visit family apparently.

I dressed in my usual brown wool dress and tied a white apron over my dress. I put my warm stockings on and my clean crisp cap that was almost frozen solid. I made our bed, neatly tucking the clean sheets down the side of the wooden frame. I sighed as I looked around the small dark room. The bed took up three quarters of the room and the only other thing in the room was a window at the top of the wall, opposite of the bed. There was a piece of wood that covered the window and stopped the snow from getting in, but did nothing for the cold. I shook my head and grabbed a white shawl that I had gotten as a wedding present and wrapped it around my shoulders.

I went back into the kitchen and Mother jumped, stuffing something underneath her knitting. I squinted my eyes at her and she pretended like nothing happened.

"What are you making mother?"

"It's a sweater, for Andrew." She said looking at it proudly. So far it was just half of a grey square.

"It's nice. I'm sure he'll love it."

"It probably wont be ready until the summer." She said sadly. "My fingers are just not as fast as they used to be."

"He'll still wear it mother." I said smiling at her. "It gets cool in the summer sometimes." She nodded and looked away from me into the fire.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright here by yourself?" I asked her as I slipped my traveling cloak over my head.

"Of course."

"We will be home before supper time." I said and she nodded. I went to her and kissed her cheek, as she expected me too. I grabbed the cherry pie that I had made and wrapped a tea towel over it before leaving the house. Andrew was tying the horse up to the wagon. There was snow piled on top of his winter hat and on the shoulders of his coat.

"Are you sure she's going to be alright?" I asked, looking back at the house. He smiled at me.

"She'll be fine. Don't worry about her." He said and helped me into the wagon. I shivered as we started moving and the wind blew against us. I snuggled up close to him and he smiled. I felt excitement because for the first time in a month I was going to see my family.

"Aunt Susanna! Aunt Susanna!" Samuel shouted from the front of the house.

"Momma! Aunt Susanna's here!" Aggie said excitedly. The two of them jumped up and down as our wagon pulled up to the front of the house. David came running out of the barn, with Bradley following slowly behind. David helped me down and I was pummeled with little arms wrapped around my body. I smiled and kissed each one, before passing Aggie the pie. I turned to my baby brother and felt sadness in my heart.

"Baby brother. Look at you!" I said touching the red stubble that was forming on his pale face. He no longer looked like that little boy that used to pull my hair. He looked like a young man, tall and skinny with bright eyes.

"Hello sister. I've missed you." He said and wrapped his arms around me. I could see just over top of his shoulder and noticed that Jacob and Papa were standing around too. Papa looked the same, thick wool hat covering long white hair and a grey beard. I noticed that his back bent slightly. He smiled at me and I let go of David and raced to him.

"Oh Papa! I missed you." I said taking in the familiar scents of pipe tobacco and hay. He smiled and kissed my cheek.

"You look well. Are you?" His eyes flicked with worry and I smiled.

"I'm wonderful Papa." I said and he nodded. He kissed my cheek and I moved on to Jacob who stood next to him. In the month that I had been gone Jacob had not changed at all. It was like I just left home the day before. He smiled down at me and kissed my cheek.

"How is our baby doing?" I asked him.

"He's very big now and getting bigger everyday." He said.

"And your wife?"

"She's inside, attempting to clean the house to perfection."

"She made us put down fresh hay in the kitchen this morning." Bradley added. He stood behind Jacob leaning against the house. I smiled at him and he nodded. He still looked miserable, but today he looked worse. His hair was matted and wild and his beard was long and untrimmed. He was not happy to see me, whom I had expected but what I hadn't expected was how cold his eyes were when they met with mine. It sent shivers down my spine.

"I'm going to go in and see Debbie." I said before going into the house and leaving the men to put the horses away. The house was warm and smelt of fresh bread. It was so nice being in a familiar place and nothing had changed. The only big change I noticed was the little baby who lay in his basket sucking on his fist.

"Susanna!" Debbie said walking around the stove as fast as possible. She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. "It feels like it's been years." She said and I agreed with her, holding her tightly. "How has married life treated you? Well?" She said giving me a wink. I looked at Aggie and Samuel who were sitting on the floor playing with the wooden figurines that they had gotten for Christmas.

"It's very good." I said smiling and trying to fight back the blush that was forming on my face. She grinned at me and looked at the kids.

"Why don't you go and play outside for a bit?" it was more of an order than a question.

"But Momma it's freezing." Aggie complained.

"Excuse me miss. Put on your mittens and coats and play outside for a bit before your lunch is ready." They both stood up with sad faces and put on their winter wear before going out into the cold.

"They didn't have to leave." I said picking up the chubby baby. He studied my face carefully before breaking into a grin.

"I need a break sometimes." She said going back to the meal she was preparing. "So tell me."

"Tell you what?" I said touching the baby's soft blonde hair.

"Tell me all about being married." She said.

"Well, it's not much different from being here. Although Mother Fitzpatrick can be very difficult sometimes."

"Susanna, I meant being married." She winked at me and I shook my head at her.

"That's private."

"So its good then?" She said.

"I already told you it was."

"Are you pregnant?" She asked and I blanked.

"I…I don't know. I never thought about it." I said looking at the baby in my arms.

"Do you have sex often?" She asked, courteously looking at the food on the counter.

"I…I…"She looked at me as I stuttered and I grinned. "Yes."

"How often? From your grin its more than once a week."

"Once a week?" I frowned. "Is that how its supposed to be?"

"Honey, you're newly married. A man of his age, who waited this long to have sex. He's got to get it out of his system." She chuckled. "I remember what it was like the first two months after marrying your brother." I cringed and shook my head.

"That is not something I would like to hear."

"You're pregnant." She said with a nod and I laughed.

"How do you know that?" I felt nervous now, and scared.

"Because you've got to be. I mean having sex that many times always brings a baby." She smiled and looked at the baby in my arms.

"Then you get two almost 10 years of marriage and your all you want to say is stay away from me. Three children are enough." She said and I laughed.

"Does that work?"

"It would if he wasn't so cute." She said looking out the window. I studied the love in her face and thought if I would ever truly love Andrew like that. I knew that I loved him in a way, but not the way that Debbie loved Jacob. Their love was real.

"I…I don't think I'm ready for a baby yet." I said. "I mean I don't even know my own husband."

"It's a baby that will help you get to know him better." She smiled at me. "Trust me. Its amazing to see a man transform when he has his own baby in his arms." I nodded and looked at Nathaniel.

The front door opened and I wrapped the blanket around the baby tighter to shield him from the cold air.

"Lunch ready yet?" Jacob asked as they all trooped inside.

"Yes, sit down and try not to get snow everywhere please." Debbie said and she placed seven plates on the table. The kids shivered as they sat on the floor next to the fire. Debbie gave them each a plate and we sat around the table as a hot lunch of stew and fresh bread was being served. Andrew sat next to me and placed his finger into the palm Nathaniel's outstretched hand. He would be a good father; I knew that, yet the thought of having a baby terrified me. If I didn't love my husband, how could I love a baby?

"Are you alright Susanna?" Papa asked tearing me away from my thoughts. I looked around at all the worried faces and smiled.

"Yes Papa, just thinking."

"Very dangerous thing to do for women." Papa said and then men laughed as Debbie and I scowled.

"I'll have you know that it's women her are a lot smarter than you men!" She snapped at them and Jacob smiled, where as the rest of them shut up. "Don't make me remind you about the saddle incident." She said and their faces went red.

"What saddle incident?" I asked.

"Momma had to show them how to put the new saddle on Joe." Aggie said proudly.

"Joe?"

"He's our new horse." Debbie explained.

"Interesting that a dumb woman like you knew how to put a saddle on a horse. Isn't a big, strong, smart man supposed to know how to do that?"

"Alright, if you two have had enough." Papa said with a sigh and Debbie and I burst into laughter.

Lunch plates were cleared and dessert was served. Before I knew it the sun was fading and darkness filled the sky. Andrew and I said our goodbyes and promised the children that they would be allowed to visit us for the night when our house was finished.

The trip home was long and quiet but it was comfortable and soothing. I sighed as I touched my stomach and wondered if it was possible that I was pregnant. I knew it was possible but I always imagined that if I were pregnant I would know it.

The house was quiet and a very dim light came through the window from the kitchen. I looked at Andrew with a worried expression and smirked.

"I would've never thought that you would worry about her this much." He said as he helped me down from the wagon.

"Do you think she is alright?"

"She's probably still napping." As he said this I realized that he was probably right. He led the horses into the barn and I pushed open the wooden door.

I was surprised to see Mother Fitzpatrick sitting at the table. She was staring at a piece of paper and her head was in her hands, as if something was troubling her.

"Mother? Are you feeling ill?" I said rushing to her side. I knelt down in front of her and she looked at me with a stern expression and when she saw my concern it softened. She touched my cheek gently and shook her head. "What is it?" I asked and she sighed and handed me the paper. It had the royal crest on it and was written in fine hand writing. I looked at her and she nodded.

The letter said,

Addressed to Mrs. Susanna Fitzpatrick

Your work is requested at the castle in Windsor for when the King makes his yearly visits. It is your civic duty to serve the King. When he returns on the 4th of February you are required to be there to greet him with at least a months worth of training. He will be staying at Windsor castle for approximately three months. When he is gone you will be allowed to return home to your family until he returns again.

Sincerely

Lord Paul McTavish, Master of arms.

I read the letter three times before I looked back up at her. We sat staring at each other and I was at a complete loss for words.

"I…But this means that…"

"You have to leave tomorrow." She whispered. I felt tears in my eyes and stared at her old tired face.

"What's going on?" Andrew said as he came in the door. With me sitting on the ground by Mother's feet he would naturally assume something was wrong. Especially since both of us were on the verge of tears. I stood up and smiled.

"Nothing dear."

"Don't lie to me Susanna. Your horrible at it." He said grinning at me. "What is it?" I sighed and looked at the letter. I handed it to him and he looked at me curiously. As his eyes took in the words his face changed from a gentle peace to a fierce anger.

"No! You wont go."

"She has to son."

"They've called upon my civic duty."

"I wont let you. You are my wife for God's sake!" His face was dark red.

"You don't have any say when it comes to the King Andrew." Mother said to him. She remained in her seat and studied the wood of the table. Andrew looked at his mother and frowned at her.

"How long have you had this for?" he asked her. She tensed but didn't look at him. "How long?" He shouted and caused us both to jump. She looked up at him with a horrified look.

"I…I just…three weeks." She admitted and I blanked. She had this letter for three weeks and never told us. Andrew looked at me and shook his head.

"Why didn't you tell me you had this letter?" I asked moving towards her.

"I…I thought that this would be the…I'm ashamed Susanna. I've been stupid."

"She thought that this would break us up." Andrew spat.

"But we're married. How could we break up?" I asked.

"With the new church laws marriage annulments are allowed." He scowled. "She can't stand having anything taken away from her. Which is why she never married after my father died, which is why she hated the idea of me getting married, which is why she was so cruel to you when you moved in. She did this on purpose." He spat again and Mother let out a quiet sob. I went to her and knelt down in front of her.

"Andrew there is no need to be so harsh. I dislike change as well." I said wiping her tears with my shawl. The old woman's fragility made me sympathize with her more than I should have. Andrew let out a frustrated sigh and grabbed at his head.

"What are you going to do?" She asked me. I sighed and shook my head.

"How can we fight this?" He said shaking the letter at us.

"We can't." I said. His face was furious.

"He did this!" He said looking at me.

"Who did what?" Mother asked but I knew whom he meant. He meant Jesse.

"Don't be ridiculous. He would never…"

"Oh no? A spoiled rich kid wouldn't do anything he could to get what he wanted?" He said looking at me angrily.

"Andrew, please. He knows I'm married."

"That didn't stop him on our Wedding day!"

"What is going on?" Mother said.

"Can you excuse us please mother? I need to talk to my wife." He grabbed my arm tightly and led me out to the barn.

"He did this one purpose Susanna. He wants to take you away from me."

"Andrew nothing is going to happen."

"Four months is a very long time Susanna."

"Andrew please believe me." Tears filled my eyes and I tried to think of some way to get him to stop shouting at me.

"The nerve of him. A week after we're married and he sends this!" He took the paper and ripped it. "See what I think of our King."

"Andrew, nothing will happen."

"You can not be sure of that."

"I'm pregnant." I blurted out and then looked at him shocked. He stopped pacing and stared at me. His eyes studied my face and then flicked to my stomach.

"Are you sure?" His voice was quiet and I nodded my head. I don't know where the lying came from, but all I needed was for him to not be so angry. His anger faded and a smile broke over his face. He cupped my face and kissed me.

"A baby!" he said and I smiled. "A baby!" He picked me up and twirled me around. "That is wonderful news."

"In four months I'll be fat and grumpy." I said when he put me down. "You wont even want to be near me."

"That's highly unlikely." He said kissing me again. "Besides your too skinny anyways, remember." He said smirking and I hit him playfully in the stomach.

We stopped laughing and we stared at each other.

"Tomorrow will be a busy day."

"It will be the worst day ever." He said touching my cheek gently.

"We can get through this." I said and smiled at him. He nodded and grabbed my hand.

"Lets tell Mother about the baby."

"Do you think we should?" I asked, panic rising in my chest. He looked at me concerned.

"Why wouldn't we?"

"I…I don't know. I guess I'm just a little scared." I looked down.

"Don't be scared darling. It will be alright." He kissed my hand as we walked towards the house. "By the time the baby comes the house will be done and we'll be in our own place." I smiled at him but still couldn't help the feeling that I had just told the biggest lie of my life.

The next day was a blur. A carriage arrived to pick me up right before lunch. I had barely finished packing my things when mother burst into the room and told me that a man was waiting for me. When I went out to the yard the servant from the King's Coronation smiled at me. Andrew kissed me sadly and mother cried.

The young man sat tall in the carriage and Andrew helped me into the compartment. There were two benches covered in soft purple fabric with glass windows on each side and a glass window at the back of the black canvas.

"I'll miss you." He said and I smiled and touched his cheek.

"Remember me this way, because four months from now I will be fat and grumpy." I said with a smile and kissed him again before the carriage pulled away. I looked out the back window and my family stood staring at me with pure sadness. I watched as Mother tried to comfort Andrew and he pulled away from her and marched into the barn. I sighed and said a silent prayer that everything would work out.