The next day dawned.
It seemed Mr. Fisalis really hadn’t been feeling particularly under the weather, seeing as he got up at his usual hour and left for work.
As I watched my husband head out in good health and high spirits, Rohtas mentioned, “It sounded like Master Fisalis woke up in the middle of the night.”
“He sure did! It was some kind of nightmare, he said. Are we sure there isn’t something more serious wrong with him, though?”
“To my eyes he seemed to be doing fine, so I doubt we have anything to worry about. But if you’re that concerned, perhaps we should have the doctor drop by for a surprise check-up?”
“Oh, good idea. Sounds like a plan.”
“Still, what kind of nightmare could have been so bad that he woke up screaming?” the butler asked with a curious tilt of his head.
“Well, you see... Apparently he dreamed that our baby was a girl, and that when she grew up, she announced that she was going to marry the crown prince,” I explained, rubbing my belly as I did. “And he was dead against it, of course.”
Rohtas chuckled. “So his child turned out to be a daughter, and the crown princess at that...? That’s not outside the realm of possibility.”
Aha... So that scenario’s “not outside the realm of possibility,” huh? I guess that makes sense—the Fisalis line is a prestigious ducal family and all. That’s a perfectly respectable pedigree for the future king’s wife. Or more like, that’s about as good as it gets.
Hm? Wait a second.
If our baby really is a girl...what are we going to do about a Fisalis heir?!
✦ ✦ ✦
The looming issues of our baby’s gender and the family heir situation continued to weigh on me. I couldn’t bring myself to consult anyone about my worries, however, so I spent the next few days down in the dumps.
That was when we suddenly received word that Mother and Father Fisalis would be visiting Rohze.
“Do they have some business here in the capital? Another summons from the royal palace, perhaps?” I wondered, curious as to why they would uproot themselves from their life of leisure in Le Pied.
“They just want to see you again. It’s been a while,” Mr. Fisalis explained, scanning through his work materials beside me.
“I find it hard to believe that getting a look at me would be worth the trip.”
“Oh, do you now? It should go without saying they’d want to see for themselves how you’re holding up. I mean, they love you even more than their own son.”
“Uh...sorry for stealing your thunder.”
And so it was that my in-laws would be coming to our manor for the first time in a while.
✦ ✦ ✦
Mother and Father Fisalis were typically pretty laid-back about their visits, but things were different this time around. In addition to the carriage they’d rode in on, they’d brought along a second car just for all their luggage.
“It’s good to see you, Mother. Father,” I greeted them. Since Mr. Fisalis was away at work, the servants and I had come outside to welcome them instead.
“It’s been too long, Vi! I was worried to death when I heard how bad your morning sickness had gotten! Are you doing better now?” Mother Fisalis asked, rushing up to me and inspecting my complexion.
“Sorry to give you a scare. I’m feeling much better these days.”
“We wanted to come sooner—why, the very second we heard you were expecting—but Cercis told us not to! He said you already had enough on your plate without us here,” she went on, puffing up her cheeks. As childish as the behavior was, my mother-in-law somehow managed to make it look cute. That was the magic of a pretty face for you.
True enough—if Mother and Father Fisalis had been around, I would’ve had to stay on my best behavior, so I was glad Mr. Fisalis had held them back. Good judgment call, dearest!
“Oh, I didn’t realize.”
“We packed our bags the moment we got the okay to come see you!”
“We heard your morning sickness was so bad that you weren’t eating much of anything but fruit, so we brought you a mountain of fresh produce from our territory,” added Father Fisalis, pointing to the extra carriage I’d mentioned. Ah, I see that was the car for souvenirs.
“Wow! Thank you so much! The worst of it has passed, so I’m slowly but surely getting back into the habit of eating normal foods. I’m still delighted to have all this fruit, though!”
I loved the fruit from our territory; it was always mouth-wateringly tasty. Back when my morning sickness had been at its peak, I’d even asked Cartham to order some for me. I was beyond thrilled to have so much of it now!
✦ ✦ ✦
“The servants were concerned that your morning sickness was keeping you from eating enough, which had us worried in turn. I’m glad you seem to be doing so much better now.”
“You’re already such a skinny little thing—we weren’t sure what might happen if you hollowed out any further!”
“Sorry to worry you.”
“Don’t be! Anyhow, I see you’re really starting to show now.”
“The doctor said that me and the baby are both in good health.”
I was chatting with my in-laws in the parlor, nibbling away at the fruit Cartham had so beautifully arranged on a plate for us.
“I was lucky that my morning sickness never got all that bad. It sounds like a rough time.” Mother Fisalis reflected back on her own pregnancy and frowned, perhaps imagining how it might have gone if her symptoms had been worse.
“You’ve got that right. I never thought the day would come when I’d see so many of my favorite foods as the enemy... It certainly was a trying time.”
“Oh, you poor thing! Cartham’s food is so scrumptious—it’s heartbreaking just to imagine not being able to stomach it!”
“Exactly! But at least he’s been mostly making easy-to-eat, healthy foods for me these days.”
“I’m glad you’re having less trouble now. Nothing’s more important to us than your well-being!” Mother Fisalis smiled at me.
And then, Father Fisalis followed that up with: “That’s right. It doesn’t matter if it’s a boy or a girl—all you need to worry about is giving birth to a healthy child.”
It doesn’t matter if it’s a boy or a girl? Who told them what I was so worried about?! I never said a word about it to anyone, did I?! So how did they figure it out?!
But now was not the time to be worrying about who had read my mind.
Does Father really mean that? Or is he just saying that to be polite? Deep down, he has to want an heir (a.k.a. a boy), right?
I gazed into my in-laws’ faces, unable to discern what they were thinking...but given the way they were smiling at me, it sure didn’t look like they were lying through their teeth.
✦ ✦ ✦
Sheepishly, I voiced the concern I’d been holding inside for a few days now. “But we do need an heir to the family line, so I’m a little worried about what will happen if I do have a girl...”
“Oh, believe me—I’ve had my fair share of thoughts like that in the past! It’s an easy dilemma to find yourself obsessing over. It doesn’t help that emotions tend to run high when you’re carrying a child,” Mother Fisalis replied matter-of-factly.
She was so blasé about it that I wasn’t sure how to react.
“Really?”
“Absolutely! It used to be so easy to waste my time with worries about producing an heir or a son-in-law or what have you.”
“...Yeah. I’ve been thinking about those things a lot.”
What you said, mom. Except in the present tense.
“I was the same way, but my husband and mother-in-law both just laughed it off and said, ‘We’ll make it work no matter where the chips fall. You just focus on giving birth to a healthy child.’ It’s thanks to their support that I pushed past all of that and decided it wasn’t that important after all.”
“Oh, what a nice story.”
“Isn’t it? So I want you to relax and have yourself a healthy baby too! That’s all you need to think about,” she said, a lovely smile rising to her face.
So that’s all there is to it, huh?
“Okay! Thank you so much!”
There were still a few months left until my expected delivery date. I was getting more and more eager to meet our little Bitsy (the name was a work-in-progress) by the day.
* * * Bonus Scene * * *
“Still, I can’t believe how well-timed that piece of advice was... Did one of you read my mind?!”
“Oh, there’s a simple explanation for that: we got a letter from Cercis and Rohtas asking us to help you grapple with your little heir dilemma.”
“Cercis wrote that?! And Rohtas too?!”
So what—did everyone see right through me all along...?
“No surprise there. It was written all over your face.”
“For real?”