Essie Mae had really wormed herself into Cecilia’s heart.

That thought brought me up short. Why did I think of it in those terms? I realized I was projecting backward, based on my distaste for Vera. That was not fair to Essie Mae, and I resolved not to fall into that trap again.

I returned to reading. There were occasional references to the baby, but judging from the tone of the entries, Cecilia seemed determined to be more cheerful, particularly with her husband, who still felt the loss of the child keenly.

Dick so desperately wants a child. I know he would love a son to carry on the Ducote name. He is an only child, and now that his father is gone, he is the only male Ducote left. I want so much to give him a son and am quite willing to try, but he is terrified that another pregnancy will be dangerous. I suspect the doctor told him things that neither of them shared with me about my health. I have taxed him with that, but he always evades the questions. Once I suggested that we adopt a child, but he was adamant. I don’t think I have ever seen him so furious. Only a child of his blood would be good enough to inherit River Hill. The Ducote bloodline must carry on.

I frowned. Had Cecilia been able to overcome Dick’s objections to adoption? Or was the doctor wrong after all? I began to have suspicions that the answer to both questions was no.

I skimmed through ten pages of routine journal entries, mostly accounts of social engagements. I found an amusing reference to Hester Beauchamp, who I figured must be the grandmother of Hank and Sissy. According to Cecilia, Hester was a homely frump and a vicious gossip. Neither Hank nor Sissy inherited his or her looks from Granny Hester, that much was obvious.

I turned a page, and my eyes widened in shock, even though I had begun to suspect what I read.

There is to be a child with Ducote blood after all. Essie Mae is with child, and Dick confessed shamefacedly that the child is his. I am sick over this double betrayal. Not one, but two vipers I have nursed in my bosom!!!

Poor Cecilia. Perhaps my assessment of Essie Mae’s character hadn’t been off after all.

The next entry was dated four days later.

I am trying to reconcile myself to the fact that my husband and his concubine are having a child. I tried to insist that Essie Mae be sent away forever because I can’t stand to have her near me, but Dick refused. He has grown callous in a way I never suspected he could be. He is determined to have a child. What am I to do?

I felt heartsick for Cecilia. I could only imagine the depth of her outrage and her hurt. I also realized that Essie Mae’s child had to be Miss An’gel, and that was hard to grasp. Vera and Miss An’gel were half sisters.