been married to Seth for four months, and during that time I’ve ceased having my monthly times. That’s never happened before.”
“A wedding night baby.” Faith couldn’t conceal her joy. “Why don’t you let me check for sure? By now I can probably tell from the feel of things.”
Nancy abandoned the dishes. “Right now?”
“Sure, why not? Let’s go to your room. Lie down and loosen your waistband. You certainly aren’t showing much, but I’ve seen women carry very low and hardly show at all their entire term.”
Nancy wiped her hands on her apron and then pulled the strings. “I would feel better knowing for sure. I thought about making a trip home to see Mother, but I knew if I mentioned it out of the blue, Seth would worry about what was wrong. Besides, we’re already planning the trip home for Christmas.”
Faith followed Nancy down the hall to her room. “Well, your mother is much better at just knowing than I am. I swear she can look at a woman and tell if she’s with child.”
“Mother is gifted, but so are you. I hope you know how proud we all are of you.”
Nancy undid the buttons on her skirt and climbed onto the bed. Faith pulled the front of Nancy’s blouse from the waistband and reached for her abdomen. “My hands are probably cold.” Faith paused and rubbed her hands on her wool skirt, hoping to warm them.
“I am sure I won’t care.” Nancy’s grin went from ear to ear. “I’m just so happy. I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up, but I can’t help it.”
Faith felt her cousin’s abdomen. It was immediately apparent that Nancy was pregnant. “You are definitely with child. I can feel the top of your uterus just here.” She pressed and smiled. “There are measurements that can be done, but from my experience, I would say you are as you thought, about four months along.”
“Oh, I can hardly contain my joy. This is more than I ever dreamed possible.”
“What’s going on?”
The two women turned toward the door to find Seth. Nancy blushed. “What are you doing here? I thought you were long gone. Didn’t you have some sort of client meeting?”
Seth was too concerned to answer his wife’s question. “Are you ill?” He looked to Faith.
“I’m not sick at all,” Nancy declared before Faith could even speak. “Faith was just confirming my suspicions. We’re going to have a baby!”
Seth paled. “A . . . baby?”
“Yes.” Nancy sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She hurriedly tucked her blouse into the waistband of her skirt, then fastened the buttons. “And Faith just confirmed my calculations. This is a honeymoon baby, and we should expect this little one in . . .” She looked to Faith.
“About five months. So sometime in May.”
The news began to make sense to Seth, and he started to smile. “A baby. In May. Well, I’ll be.”
Nancy crossed the room and threw herself into his arms. “I’ve been fairly certain for a while, but I wanted to make sure before I said anything to get your hopes up. I’m so happy. I’ve wanted a child for so long.”
“My dear wife, I couldn’t be more pleased.” He kissed her with the utmost of tender affection.
Faith looked away and smiled to herself. A baby in the house would be wonderful. No doubt all of the boarders would find the addition a blessing.
Of course, if things went as planned, Faith would graduate in late April and already be thinking of her next move. For now, however, she needed to focus on her studies and classes. She needed to complete her thesis paper as well. At least she was in the final stages of that obligation.
The Friday before Christmas, Faith stepped in front of Mrs. Lakewood’s gathering of friends and smiled. She had dressed in her finest wool suit—a dark green trimmed in black piping. She wore a high-necked lacy blouse and knew she looked acceptable. But still, in the back of her mind, she could hear that voice reminding her that she was a half-breed. These women would never have been so accepting and generous had they known the truth, and that bothered Faith a great deal. More and more she wrestled with whether she was doing wrong by claiming her white heritage.
“First, I want to thank you for your kind invitation to come here today, Mrs. Lakewood. It is an honor.”
Lakewood’s wife nodded and gave a hint of a smile.