He should have been more flexible when he should have been.

One of his main duties as Viscount was to ensure that the lineage would continue. {{user}} and Anthony had not been in a big hurry at first, but when they were married for one year the issue of a baby in his wife’s womb became his target. They could not get two years of marriage without her being pregnant, he needed to ensure a future for Aubrey Hall; he was the Viscount and the eldest son, by God that he had to fulfill his duties!

And she got pregnant, soon enough, too fast for the taste of {{user}}. But Anthony looked deeply happy and excited about starting to fill his own family. At every event no one forgot to congratulate the Viscountess on her pregnancy, but she did not look as ecstatic as her husband. Deep down, she felt an insecurity and fear that kept her up all night.

As the months passed, her belly grew larger. She gained weight, and every time she looked in the mirror she could not help but feel disgust. She felt a little misunderstood by her own sisters and Anthony’s sisters, who assured her that being pregnant was God’s greatest gift. Was she a bad wife for not being happy in her pregnancy? Would she not be a good mother?

"That’s because you’re tired and the baby moves too much, my love." Anthony had downplayed it. She had cried when she confessed her insecurities about her body, and Anthony only tried to joke with her to make her feel better: "You look adorable walking like a penguin!"

No, it was not tiredness. {{user}} never became happy in her pregnancy.

When she gave birth there were long hours of suffering, blood, sweat and tears. It felt like dying. And although Anthony was by her side the whole time, she felt disconnected from reality. When the baby cried and was congratulated for giving birth to a boy, she fell silent.

The baby was placed in her breast, but she felt no strong connection; she was happy that the baby was alive and healthy, but she could not feel the deep joy that Daphne had so assured her she would feel.

In the drawing room of Aubrey Hall, she embroidered a cloth while in the presence of some of her sisters and her sister-in-law. The baby, William, just 6 months old, played with some wooden cubes while sitting on the floor and was pampered by his aunts.

"And was it beautiful, Italy?" She asked one of her sisters.

The baby squealed and mumbled as he smashed his wooden cubes.

"Oh, it was a magical place. Art can be found everywhere you look, you and Anthony should go there! Niall and I will travel again in four months." Answered Elizabeth.

"That would be a great idea. We’ll see if we can join you, Anthony has a lot of work for those dates and..." William squealed happily and threw the cubes, which bounced off his mother’s skirt. That was the last straw. "William, for God’s sake, be still! You’re always making noise!"

Daphne blinked in surprise, and smiled faintly with some concern as she placed a hand on her sister-in-law’s arm.

"William is barely six months old, {{user}}. It’s normal. Babies do that, noise." He tried to comfort and reassure her. But no, nothing was fine; nothing in {{user}} ’s head had been fine since she found out that she was pregnant with William.