Andrew was sitting in the kitchen – a place most masters would not go. But no one in his household looked strangely at it. In fact, they found it normal that Andrew would sometimes enter the room to watch his wife bake.

She had started the odd custom before they were married, for she had always been friends with the staff. And when he learned of it, he could not deny he liked it. She was very good at baking, and she enjoyed it even more.

Melany, the cook, was watching Vicky and Alice's movement closely, for she did not want her kitchen to burn down. Though Vicky knew well what she was doing, Alice did not quite. She liked baking as much as her mother, and Melany loved the girl, but she was not as talented as them.

Andrew believed she could learn, and Alice was convinced of it. That is why no one forbade her to bake and why she offered to help Vicky whenever she could.

Louis did not have the love for it, just like Andrew. However – just like Andrew – he did enjoy spending time with them. And there was no denying that the time spent in the kitchen, was always a good time. All rules were thrown out the door, and cleanliness was not required.

"How much sugar does it need?" Alice asked, holding a big bag filled with sugar, ready to pour it into a bowl.

"You have already added the sugar, sweetheart," Vicky told her.

"No, I have only added salt."

Vicky turned to her, her eyes wide. "You added salt? I thought you were adding sugar!" She put a finger in the bowl and tasted the white substance in it. "Yes," she said, while making a face, "that is salt indeed."

"Is it wrong?" Louis asked, always entertained when mistakes were made.

"Very much so," Vicky said. "A cake barely needs salt – if it needs any at all."

"Can I eat it?" Louis asked excitingly, probably hoping for delicious dough.

"Of course you can," Andrew said, trying not to smile too hard or his son would realize it was not delicious at all. Vicky shot him a look, but allowed Louis to take the bowl and dip his finger in the substance. Quickly he spit it back out and said: "bleh! That is disgusting!"

Andrew, Vicky and Alice laughed, and though Louis still had the disgusting flavour in his mouth, he too laughed at the situation.

After everyone was ready laughing, Melany walked to them with a new bowl and placed it on the table.

"Thank you," Vicky kindly told her, before taking the right bags again and filling the bowl with the right amounts – and the right things.

Twas Andrew's birthday today, and this afternoon, their family was coming to celebrate it with him. Vicky would often make cakes and biscuit – almost every day – but today she was attempting a big cake for everyone to be able to enjoy.

It took them a few hours to finish the baking and start decorating the cake. Vicky allowed Alice and Louis to do so, then she walked to Andrew. He wrapped his arms around her, but she pushed him away and whispered: "I will go up the stairs and lay down on the bed for a while."

She rubbed her belly, and Andrew understood she was feeling the pain come up again. Though she would not often tell him she was in pain, she hated breaking down in front of the children. Those were the only moments she told him, but she did not want to say more than necessary.

So with a nod, Andrew allowed her to go up the stairs and motioned for her lady's maid, Sophie, to walk with her. He could not ignore the uneasy feeling he had in his belly. In a few weeks, she was about to give birth, and the pain only came more frequent – as did his worrying.

Though she did not say anything of it, he knew she was frightened. He could see it in her eyes.

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Malcolm Blackburn, the lord of Blackburn and Vicky's brother, was the first to arrive at their house and wish Andrew a happy birthday. While Thomas, Madilyn and their children arrived, Malcolm made his way to his sister's bedroom with the help of four servants. After Elizabeth and - surprisingly - Hawthorne and the children arrived, and Mary, Eli and their children were saying their hello's, brother and sister came down the stairs to greet the guests.

She looked gorgeous, though not at ease. She was wearing the brown, high collared gown Andrew loved because of the memory attached to it - their very first kiss, though they were drunk and could not recollect every moment.

He smiled at the sight of her, and when she saw him looking, she looked down at the ground, her teeth biting her lower lip to hide the smile that was clearly on her face. Then she turned to Elizabeth, her eyes widening at the sight of Hawthorne.

Suddenly there was a loud shriek, startling everyone. All eyes turned to the source of the sound: Gwendolyn and Hazel, finally seeing Alice and Francis. The four children ran to each other with big smiles on their faces and hugged until neither of them could breathe. The adults chuckled, then let the children have their way in the garden.

The rest of the day went by quickly and smoothly. Yes, some pieces of clothing became dirty, and indeed, some children ate too much. But when the sun started to set and everyone took a seat to watch the spectacular moment, there was not one face without a smile.

When the sun was completely set and the dark garden was lit up by candles, the youngest children were sent to a bed in the house.

Happy with the great day, Andrew took his wife's hand in his and kissed it, before holding it on his lap. She smiled at him, but it did not reach her eyes. And when she leaned closer and whispered: "I shall go to bed early," he knew the reason why. Quietly, she stood up, knowing she could not tell everyone goodbye before the pain came and she fell to the floor.

He kept his eyes on her, too worried that she had prolonged leaving the guests because she did not like the pitied looks she might receive. She suddenly stopped walking and leaned on the nearest table, one hand on her belly. Andrew stood up and walked toward her, but before he could reach her, she fell down on the ground, both arms wrapped around her belly.

"Vicky!" he shouted worried, while his heart broke at the sight of her in pain contorted face. He ran toward her and took her in his arms. He knew the act would not stop the pain, but it might make her feel more comfortable. And if that was all he could do, then he would do it again and again.

He heard the footsteps of his siblings coming closer, but he shut them out as he moved her hair out of her face. She groaned softly, but Andrew knew she was keeping most of the pain inside. He pulled her onto his lap, and whispered she must calm down, that the pain would leave and all would be well.

She buried her head in his chest, her tears making his shirt wet. Her hands grabbed the fabric of her gown and crumbled it, but it did not relief her of the pain.

"Mama!" Alice suddenly shouted, and Andrew heard multiple footsteps running closer.

"Alice, come here," he heard Madilyn say. She knew how Alice reacted when Vicky fell on the ground, for the lady had been there during her pregnancy of Louis. If anything, Alice's panic had only grown as she became older.

Andrew saw his son run past, and not much later, he returned with the small bottle of laudanum and a glass of water. Andrew took it with a grateful smile, then heard Elizabeth say she would fetch a spoon.

When she returned, Thomas and Mary had chased all the children outside, leaving only Malcolm, Hawthorne and Elizabeth with Andrew and Vicky. They could not hide the worry on their faces, but Andrew ignored it and gave his wife a big dose of laudanum - anything to take the pain away from her.

With the help of Elizabeth, he brought her to the bedroom and laid her down on the bed. Then he laid next to her and pulled her closer to him. She let her head rest on his shoulders, while her hand took hold of his.

"You will be alright," Andrew whispered to her. She nodded, but he was certain she did not believe it.

Then she moved her head to look at him. "I love you," she told him.

"I love you too," he responded with a smile on his face, before giving her a quick kiss. "But now you must rest."

"Will you stay?" she asked hopeful.

"Of course. Your brother shall be our host."

She smiled at those words, then nodded and moved her head to lay comfortable in his hold. Not much later, her breathing slowed - a sign that she had fallen asleep.

As if she knew it, Elizabeth quietly opened the door and entered the room, closing the door behind her again.

"How is she?" she asked, while taking a chair and placing it on the side of the bed.

"Peacefully sleeping," he responded, not wanting to say out loud that it was only the laudanum that could take away her discomfort, and that she was afraid every moment of the day.

"And how are you?" Elizabeth asked to his surprise.

He shrugged, and told her: "I am not in pain."

"Not physically."

He looked at his sister, but he could not deny her words. "Tis difficult."

"I am listening, if you wish to talk about it."

He had been holding back his own thoughts, not wanting to make Vicky more frightful than she already was. But as he looked down at her, he knew she was too deep asleep to hear his words.

"Tis difficult," he said, "to tell her she will be alright, when I do not believe it. But if I tell her how I truly fear her condition, she will fear it even more than she already does. So I tell her she will be alright, but..." He could not finish the sentence, and a tear rolled down his cheek.

Elizabeth nodded, then told him: "she needs your support. But Andrew, you also need support. Victoria should not know it, if that is what you wish. But you cannot pretend to be happy and never tell anyone that you are not."

Andrew shook his head. "I have enough worries as it is. I cannot talk to someone while hiding the truth from my wife."

"But you are already hiding your true feelings of fear. As to the worrying, stop thinking of Arthur. Let Thomas handle it. He is more than capable of it."

He shook his head again. "I cannot forget Arthur when he sends me a threating letter every week, reminding me of my fear for Vicky's life."

Elizabeth's eyes widened in surprise. "Every week?"

Andrew nodded, but did not say anything as he thought of the many letters he had burnt so that Vicky would not know of them.

Elizabeth sighed. "Forget bloody Arthur. He is not worth the added amount of panic. You must only think of your family and yourself. You need a sane mind, and they need all the courage they can get."

Andrew nodded. He indeed needed a sane mind, for an insane mind could not convince his wife all would be alright.

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When the morning sun peeked through the curtains for the first time the next day, Andrew was already awake. He had watched his wife fall asleep last night, and now he was watching her wake up.

He eyelids fluttered open and gorgeous grey eyes looked up at him.

"Good morning," she said with a smile.

"Good morning," he responded, then planted a kiss on her lips.

Suddenly her smile disappeared. "Did you take off my dress?" she asked.

Andrew chuckled, the nodded, thinking back of doing just that last night.

"Am I wearing any clothing at all?"

He chuckled harder, then shook his head, thinking back of how he had slept next to his unclothed wife.

Before she could respond, he leaned over her and kissed her lips. Her arms went around his neck as she deepened the kiss. After a few minutes, he pushed away from her and pulled the blankets off her. His hand found its way to her belly, which he rubbed, before telling her: "this is my favourite part of you."

Vicky gave him a short smile that did not reach her eyes, before turning her head away from him.

She did not like being reminded of the baby growing inside her, for it was killing her. But Andrew wanted to give her the best possible life with hope and the belief of a future.

So he leaned over her belly and kissed it, until she squirmed. Then he look up at her and said: "he is our third miracle."

A shy smile played her lips, but she asked: "he?"

Andrew nodded. "I want another boy."

While biting her lower lip, she shyly shook her head.

"No?" Andrew asked. "It will not be a boy?"

"I do not think so," she said with a shrug.

He leaned over her belly again and kissed it. "Then she will be our third miracle."

Vicky chuckled, then nodded and whispered: "Sophia."

A smile appeared on Andrew's face at the knowledge of having a daughter. Then rewarded his wife with a kiss, which lasted for quite a while.