“Truthfully? I feel all but trapped in my own body, as well as trapped in this house,” Jemima said, in a tone that she had supposed to be light and joking but which rang a little more plaintive than intended. Her expression wobbled slightly, even as her hand fell from Darling’s hand to rest on the large bump of her stomach. She felt as large as a whale, and her fears of the future had risen with the more time she spent stuck at home here, left alone to her thoughts.

“It’s a blessing, of course,” she added quickly, meeting Darling’s eyes, as if to assure her it was not all bad. Jemima was trying believe that, to see the bright side of this baby. But she still didn’t know if, after everything, if it would be enough.

And it was hard not to be honest with her closest friends.

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