"Cassie, you shouldn't really. I'm pregnant, not dying." Lavinia laughed softly. Her face was still pale and drawn, and she was a great deal thinner than she had been a few months before. Her large, dark eyes looked out of place on her face.

"Yes, I should." Cassandra said firmly, sticking her needle back into the worn fabric with a determined jab. The shirt was already riddled with patches and mends, and she was half a mind to throw it out. "You need rest." She raised a wry brow as the needle pricked the flesh of her finger.

"But my hands are perfectly capable!" Lavinia protested.

"I don't care. I thought for a moment that you weren't going to live, and there was nothing I could do about it. I'm not going to let your health fail any more if I can help it!" Lavinia's face turned suddenly serious.

"In truth, I'm more worried about the child than myself." She drew a deep breath and turned her gaze toward the rolling moors as a faint breeze toyed with a lock of her hair.

Cassandra looked at her sister's wan features and sighed. Turning her eyes back to her sewing, she wet her lips, unable to continue. The sudden sorrow in Lavinia's tone left her at a loss for words. She was only glad that the day was fair enough for them to sit outdoors. Lavinia was in desperate need of fresh air.

"There were others." Lavinia's voice was barely above a whisper. "Other babies." Tears pooled in her eyes. "But I lost them."

Cassandra turned sharply to face her sister. "Why did you never tell me?"

"I knew you would worry." Lavinia sniffed, wiping her eyes with a slender hand. "And you would've blamed Ethan. Don't try to deny it. I know you too well. True, you would've regretted it as soon as the thought entered your head, but once it was there, it would always sit at the back of your mind. I couldn't have you disliking him. Not when he's worked so hard since we came here."

"You're telling me now." Cassandra said softly, her own eyes filling with tears.

"You're here now. You see that there's nothing more he could do." Lavinia placed a hand on Cassandra's shoulder. "And there's nothing you could do either. You can't always shield me, Cassie. Not anymore. I've seen hell more times than I care to count, and you can't change that." A tear slid slowly down the white cheek.

Cassandra shuddered slightly. She had seen Ethan slaving over his work tirelessly, never pausing to rest. How could she have ever thought he wasn't doing his best to take care of Lavinia?

"I should have been here for you." Cassandra struggled to reign in her emotions, drawing a shaky breath. "I should have come here a long time ago."

"I wouldn't have had that! You had to let go of London fully on your own, or you would have spent the rest of your life wondering if that was where you truly belonged. Though you may not want to admit it, London was still the place that held your heart and interest until recently." Lavinia smiled sadly.

"Maybe so," Cassandra admitted. "but that doesn't change the fact that I wasn't here when you needed me most."

"You wouldn't have liked to be here." Lavinia turned away suddenly. "You said yourself that it was difficult to sit here and know that there was nothing you could do to help. It was worse those times."

"Those?" Cassandra was almost terrified to hear the answer to the question.

"Three." Lavinia's whisper was hardly audible, and her eyes closed against the onslaught of tears.

Cassandra looked at her sister and saw the effort it had taken to utter the single word. She understood through it the hope and then devastating pain of loss for the three children that would never be. After what Lavinia had already faced, why did her life have to proceed in such misery? It simply wasn't fair.

Wordless, Cassandra wrapped an arm around her sister, pulling her close. There had been terror in Lavinia's voice along with sorrow, and Cassandra knew that she was desperately afraid that she would lose her child again. No words could comfort that feeling, so Cassandra held her without speaking, aware of a cold feeling of guilt growing in her heart.

"The physician told us that it wasn't anything I had done necessarily. Sometimes the body does strange things for seemingly no reason." Lavinia sniffed after several moments. "He said it may have had something to do with the scar tissue that formed after my injury.

I thought for a long time that I would never be able to bear children, and the thought almost killed me. I'm sure you remember that I always wanted children, but added onto that was Ethan's joy when he discovered that I was expecting the first time. I felt as though I had let him down somehow, and I can't tell you how many sleepless nights I suffered after that." Lavinia bit her lip, her eyes tightly closed against the world.

"Ethan would never—he could never—stop loving you over something like that." Cassandra frowned slightly. "He would far rather have you without children than not have you at all. The very mention of your name puts an inextinguishable light in his eyes and a smile on his lips. He loves you more than life itself."

"I know." Lavinia smiled suddenly. "I really do know that, but I knew that it would make him sad even with me at his side. It would make me sad, and that alone would cause him grief." Wiping away her tears, Lavinia straightened slightly, and there was a noticeable lift in her spirits. "He's so wonderful, Cassie. I wish you and Papa could see how good he is. I never want for anything when he's by my side. It's not that the thing I desire is suddenly made complete in him; it just doesn't seem to matter so much anymore."

"I don't know how you can be so good." Cassandra snorted softly, shaking her head. "When God saw fit to made you so perfect, I doubt even He could have known how much jealousy it would create." She rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"I'm anything but perfect, Cassie." Lavinia said wryly.

"Oh, please. I would never have been able to put up with all this." Cassandra motioned toward the cottage. "Don't get me wrong, it's lovely, but not that lovely. The moors have a certain draw, but the life you live here isn't what I see for myself."

Lavinia laughed suddenly, and the sound held a certain measure of comfort. "I know you think that way now, but if you ever feel as I do about someone, it won't matter what sort of house you inhabit. Love has a strange way of. . .erasing the bad and drawing out the good. You're are far more than superficial shopping trips and fine luncheons. I can see it."

"Well, of course!" Cassandra smiled. "Those things have lost their charms in my eyes, but I don't think I could live the way you do. I'm accustomed to a certain way of life, and while society bores me, I doubt I'd survive for long without someone making the tea and scrubbing the dishes and doing the mending." She motioned to the forgotten sewing in her lap. "Call me spoiled, but I enjoy a higher way of living. I like being a lady with clean hands."

Lavinia chuckled. "You always did, but I'm not so sure that is as true as it used to be. You've changed a great deal."

"You only say that, because you refuse to see the faults in anyone. You think we all are as good as you." Cassandra raised a brow.

Lavinia shook her head. "You are as stubborn as ever. I can see that well enough, and it's your stubbornness, I think, that would make you survive—and even thrive—in any situation, because you refuse to fail."

Cassandra raised an imperious brow, sniffing in feigned snobbery as she returned to her sewing. Oh, yes, Lavinia was right. More right than she knew. Cassandra ground her teeth together. London society wanted to watch her crumble and fall, but she would see them all burn in hell before that happened.

"Hello?" A gentle, feminine voice interrupted her thoughts. "Do forgive the intrusion, Lavinia. I was passing by and decided to stop in to see how you were doing. I hope I'm not interrupting something." A young woman moved toward them, a smile on her delicate features.

"Irene!" Lavinia smiled brightly. "Not at all! I've been wishing you would come out and see us sometime soon. This is my sister, Cassandra."

"Oh!" The girl turned to Cassandra with a wide, joyful smile. "It is such a pleasure to finally meet you, Cassandra! I've heard so much about you I feel as though I already know you! I'm Irene Fergus." Irene's smile was infectious, and Cassandra couldn't help but return it.

"Why don't you join us?" Lavinia motioned to a chair.

"I wouldn't dream of it!" Irene laughed, her eyes dancing with happiness. "I only came by to check on things, and if I sit down, you know I will stay far longer than I'm welcome, and Charlie will have to come after me."

Lavinia chuckled, too. "How is Charlie? I feel as though I've fallen desperately out of step with the world, and now it's insanity trying to find my bearings again!"

"I'm sure you've had plenty of help." Irene smiled at Cassandra again. "Charlie is the same as ever. In fact, I came by to see if the three of you might want to join us for dinner on Saturday?" She turned to Cassandra with a questioning look. "It would be nothing fancy, just the six of us."

"Is Lord Donahaven still staying with you?" Lavinia drew her shawl a little tighter around her shoulders, and Cassandra felt suddenly remiss for not taking her sister inside before the air started to grow chilly.

"Yes, Charlie insists that he stay to help with. . .whatever it is these men get up to." Irene rolled her eyes, flinging her hands into the air carelessly. "I thought it would be nice to eat together. It would give all of you a break, and Charlie would send the carriage, so there needn't be any worries about how to transport you."

"I'll tell Ethan, and I suppose they'll say we should see how I'm feeling by then, but of course, I'm perfectly fine." Lavinia motioned toward Cassandra.

A wrinkle of concern formed at the corner of Irene's eyes. "But you weren't, and they have every cause to worry." Her voice was suddenly quiet, and she twirled a loose strand of her chestnut hair around a finger.

Cassandra shuddered, biting her lip. She didn't need anyone to tell her how close her sister had come to Death's doors. The reminder made her want to hide Lavinia away and protect her from further danger.

"Well, I really should be going." Irene was suddenly bright again, and she seemed to bring a renewal of peace with her. "I'm leaving Rolf so you can send an answer to the house whenever you want." She smiled. "It was so nice to meet you, Cassandra. I can't wait until we get to know each other better. I have a feeling we're going to be rather good friends."

Cassandra watched the young woman go with a sigh. It had been a long while since she'd had a true friend. Scotland was shaping up to be far more than she'd imagined.



All righty then. I hope you guys enjoyed this! I'm working on the next part should have it up by the end of the week. This is a filler chapter and may be sorta boring, so I'm sorry for that. It may change or be cut out when I edit this book, but I'm not sure yet. What do you think? The next chapter will start to move more into the story, so I hope y'all are ready for that. :D

What do you think of Irene? The picture is of her. Feel free to ignore it! ;)

What do you think will happen next?