Maggie lowered her head with a despondent sob, and Philip drew her close, wrapping his arms around her. “My poor Maggie,” he whispered hoarsely. “What have I done to you?”

Her face buried in Philip’s shoulder, Maggie wailed. “There’s a child—oh, Philip, I think there’s a child—”

Philip’s embrace tightened. “My God,” he breathed.

Maggie had already come to regret blurting out such a confession, and she thrust herself away from Philip and sniffled, trying to recover her composure. The first thing she had to do was go directly to Reeve’s offices and find out if anything else was known about the disaster at sea. “I’m leaving now,” she said, her chin high.

Philip caught her arm in his hand. “Let me go with you, Maggie,” he pleaded softly.

Maggie shook her head, pulled free of his grasp, and crossed the dressing room to open the door. Philip’s next words stopped her where she was, her hand grasping the knob.

“If you are expecting McKenna’s child, Maggie, I’ll marry you. I owe you that much.”

Maggie could not bear the thought of marrying anyone but Reeve, but she understood that Philip was being more than kind, he was being noble. She turned to look back at him with puffy, red-rimmed eyes. “Thank you,” she said, and then she left the room.

Tansy was standing beside Maggie’s bed, bathing her head with a cool, damp cloth. “There now,” she said sadly, “that’s it. You’re comin’ ’round at last.”

Maggie had a headache, and she felt sick to her stomach. “Reeve—”

“I know,” Tansy said gently. “I know.”

Maggie struggled to sit up, and the room spun around her, making her sink back onto the pillows and gasp for breath. “He’s not dead, Tansy,” she insisted. “If Reeve were dead, I’d know it.”

“There now, we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?” Tansy was fussing with the covers, and Maggie slapped her hands away, trying to get out of bed.

“I’ve got to speak to the people at Reeve’s business—”

Firmly, Tansy shoved her friend back into bed and put the covers in place. “No, Maggie. You tried that once and, to ’ear your Philip Briggs tell it, you got no farther than the sidewalk before you collapsed in a heap. There’s a love, now just rest.”

Maggie groaned. “I can’t rest!”

“Do you want to lose that baby as well as the man you love?” Tansy demanded, drawing up a chair and plunking herself down in it. “You will if you keep this up.”

Maggie’s eyes had gone wide. “How—”

“I knew by the look o’ ye. It ain’t like I ’aven’t seen this before now. What’ll you do, Maggie, if Mr. McKenna is dead?”