The child growing inside Lucy, while having banished her from society, had brought a good deal of happiness to her solitude. It wasn't solitude persay, with her husband by her side, but it seemed a great deal like it to her when her friends no longer visited nor even wrote to her. How she longed to hear Nora's practicality and Helga's gushing. Even those of her friends who life had not favored well seemed wrapped in their own lives. Bella's letters had long since gone unanswered again. Despite all this Lucy had the knowledge that her child was born of love and would bring her and Ace the happiness she so desired. It was just hard to remember when her back ached, her feet were swollen, and she was roughly the size of a hippogriff!

Afternoons were the worst, she was always exhausted and bored. It seemed such a long time until Ace would return home. In the past the afternoon hours had been spent preparing for a ball or some other such nonsense. Now she would long for any type of company to distract her from the aches of impending motherhood.

It was for this reason that Lucy stirred with some excitement from her lounge at the announcement of the butler that she had a visitor. The only people that visited were the Lukesons and even then those visits were rare enough that Lucy felt a great deal of excitement toward them.

At the sight of her cousin and friend Lucy was moving as fast (alright, rather slowly, shifting comfortably to account for her growing stomach) as she could toward her. "Mel!" She greeted rushing forward to embrace her.

Melody Crouch