The rose gardens were fully in bloom and the scent was causing Emmeline’s gut to flip.

“Are you well, Emmy? You look the color of fresh milk.”

She looked at her mother and tried to smile but the expression escaped in a waver.

“I believe I should lie down for a while,” she said, rising from the wicker chair and fanning herself as a rush of hot stained her face.

Anne snapped her fingers and Cora appeared.

“Cora, see Mrs. Compton to her room and send for the surgeon.”

“There is no need for a doctor, Mother,” Emmeline muttered but the words were hard to say against the bile forming in her mouth. Quickly, she clamped her mouth closed and swallowed, warding off the sick which threatened to consume her.

“Oh, I daresay there is,” Anne replied slyly, reaching for her glass of port. Her eyes were bloodshot and bleary but glimmering with profound knowledge. Emmeline did not bother to question her and instead stumbled out of the lush garden toward the back entrance of the hotel.

“There is no need to call Dr. Forrester,” Emmeline told Cora as the made their way up the stairs slowly.

Why must the family take the fifth floor? She bemoaned silently but it had never troubled her until that moment.

“Shall I call on the waiters to carry you up?” Cora asked with concern. Emmeline’s face flushed with embarrassment.

“Certainly not!” She could not fathom a more humiliating idea.

“Mrs. Compton, you are white as a sheet,” Cora whispered. “Please, remain on the landing. I will call for you husband.”

Cora hurried away and Emmeline scowled.

I must have eaten some bad cheese, she reasoned but she did not move, lest her wobbly legs fail. In seconds, it seemed, Elias appeared at her side, his face stricken with concern.

“My word! What is it?” he demanded, sweeping her up in his arms. “Are you ill?”

“I am merely faint. It must be the heat,” Emmeline fibbed. “There is no need for such a fuss!”

Elias turned to Cora.

“Send for Dr. Forrester at once!” he barked, striding up the stairs as if she weighed no more than a feather.

“Eli,” Emmeline protested. “I assure you—”

“You assure me nothing,” he interrupted. “The surgeon will look you over and that is the end of the discussion.”

She knew it was futile to protest and in her heart, she rather relished the comfort of being wrapped in her husband’s strong arms.

He lay her on the bed of their shared chambers, propping pillows behind her head before securing a wet compress for her.

No sooner had he started to dab at her face did a knock come at the door.

“Enter,” he called and Dr. Forrester appeared with his bag, a frown darkening his wrinkled face.

“What have we here?” he asked, hurrying toward them.

“I am certain it merely a case of bad cheese,” Emmeline sighed but the surgeon would hear nothing of it and he dismissed Elias from the room.

“Some privacy, Mr. Compton. I have some rather delicate questions for your wife.”

“I will be in the salon,” he promised her and Emmeline nodded, smiling.

“I assure you, this is nothing.”

“We shall see,” Dr. Forrester intoned, closing the sliding doors on Elias’ face. “Now, describe your symptoms.”

“I am merely a bit nauseous,” she replied. “Perhaps a bit faint.”

“I see. Have you any tenderness anywhere?”

The question puzzled Emmeline.

“Tenderness?”

The doctor gestured to his chest and she widened her eyes.

“Indeed!” she gasped. “How did you know?”

A slow smile formed on his lips.

“I wager that you have little to worry about, Mrs. Compton. The sickness will pass as your womb grows.”

It took several seconds for her to understand what she had been told and she could only gape at the surgeon in disbelief.

“M-my womb?” she repeated. “I-I am with child?”

Without warning, the doors slid apart and Elias sprinted inside, his face alight with joy.

“A baby? We are blessed with a baby?” he choked. The doctor cast him a reproving look.

“This was a private interview, Mr. Compton,” Dr. Forrester scolded but Elias did not seem to hear him as he swooped toward his wife, embracing her in his arms.

“A baby,” he whispered, his eyes glowing.

“Our baby,” Emmeline giggled, placing his hands over her stomach. Gently, Elias placed a kiss on her forehead and Emmeline buried her head into his shoulder, exhaling in relief.

“Much better news than bad cheese,” Dr. Forrester quipped and the Comptons chuckled.

“I will check back with you in a day or two,” the physician told Emmeline. “If you are experiencing sickness now, I would wager you are two months along or so.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Emmeline called but her gaze was still locked on Elias. Neither noticed when the older man left, the happiness overwhelming them.

“Did you hear that?” Elias murmured. “Come the new year, we will have our first child.”

“Yes,” Emmeline breathed. “And heir to the Balfour Hotel.”