Louisa Sternhagen’s large green eyes, which, in her youth, had been renowned for their pleasing appearance but now were protuberant in her aged, gaunt face, widened almost to popping when she realized, quite suddenly, one morning over her customary breakfast of coffee and dry toast, that her downstairs serving maid was with child. Quite! “Good Lord!” the venerable woman exclaimed. Since Mrs. Sternhagen wasn’t one to mutter an oath even in front of servants, Ellie Fitzsimmons started in surprise, her quaking hands nearly dropping the weighty silver coffee service on her employer. She didn’t have to look into the woman’s face once more to know what exactly had caused Mrs. Sternhagen’s outburst. A knot formed in the pit of her stomach. This was the moment she had been dreading for months. “Heavens, Eleanor! What have you done?” Placing the coffeepot down on the sideboard, Ellie turned back to her mistress, took a deep breath, and announced belatedly, “I’m going to have a baby, ma’am.”
