The Romantic Trials Of A Transmigrated Empress

Chapter 341: Who is the father of the baby?

Sitting behind Roland and Sigrid was Mrs.Vickers, wife of the most well known apothecary in the Doria.

Somehow, her ears were sharp enough to catch Roland's question and she was in the mood to gossip so she

leaned forward and whispered with an urgency, "Crown princess, Crown prince, haven't you heard the news?"

Roland and Sigrid were surprised that someone was brave enough to pull them into gossip. They frowned at each

other before turning their heads to look behind.

"Mrs. Vickers." Sigrid said the nwith a polite smile. "Thank you for coming."

"It is a pity." The bubbly round faced middle aged woman answered.

The words were so perfunctory because there was not one ounce of sorrow on her face. In her eyes was a glint of

joy as she thought she was about to share the most scandalous news ever.

"I heard from Lady Aberdon who heard directly from nurse Shalin that Emmah Fairfax is in a family way. Nobody

seems to know who the father is. Ssay it is prince Benjamin, others say it is Sir Valerius, others think it is

Gage the giant and ssay it is the shopkeeper Bumblebert. You would think the list ends there but it goes on.

Every man that has been seen in her company is a suspect."

The music stopped just in tfor Mrs. Vickers next words to travel all through the drawing room.

"Sof the men in this very room are on the list of those suspected to have put Emmah Fairfax in the family

way. It is amazing that there is no Ashford on the list. Anyway, nurse Shalin swears that it is the reason behind

Lady Jane's murder. That she knew the real identity of the father of Emmah’s child."

And thus begun the gasping. The news of Emmah’s pregnancy had not yet hit the news as the Fairfax family had

opted to keep it quiet. Who would have known that by the tthey bribed the nurse to keep what she knew to

herself, it was too late.

Count Fairfax clenched his hands around the walking cane. He needed to send someone to the nurse and make

her return the fifty gold coins she had accepted from them.

Lady Percival was the first to respond to Lady Vicker’s claims. "I knew it. | saw her vomiting secretly in the

bathroom at the school and | asked her how she was feeling. She claimed that she had simply eaten sbad

shrimp. But | knew straight away that she was pregnant and | mentioned it to my friend Jane." [It never

happened, she was lying.]

"I did hear from the dressmakers hired to make dresses for the Fairfax girls before the debutante ball that

Emmah’s stomach was a little rounder."

"I heard her appetite had increased incredibly. That is usually one of the greatest signs of pregnancy."

"I always knew that she would end up like that given all that flirting she was doing. And the way she used to

dress! No young decent woman dresses like that."

"Hers should be a precautionary tale to all young ladies. If you live recklessly, you you will suffer disasters."

"Oh my goodness, you don’t suppose it is a royal child, do you? Will they take in the child even if the mother is a

criminal?" Someone whispered.

Those that heard the whisper looked at Sigrid and Roland.

The couple pretended that they heard nothing and decided that it was tto end their brief visit to the hof

the Fairfax’s.

As they left, they heard someone wondering if Emmah would be pardoned in case the child she was carrying was

Benjamin's. Then, Lady Underwood broke into song again.

While the couple was being driven away from the manor, Sigrid pondered on the whispers and claims being

made. She had a feeling that before the day ended, the entire city would know about Emmah’s pregnancy. The

claims that the child was royal would also grow.

She looked at her husband and it appeared like the funeral had exhausted him. His eyes were closed, his

breathing slow. It seemed as if he was sleeping.

Sigrid shook him and said, "My love, wake up. You need to make a statement, or maybe | do. We cannot have

people assuming that Emmah’s child is royalty. That shameless woman might becbold enough to claim that

it is the truth. Given how crazy Benjamin was about her and the fact that they were intimate, he could accept the

pregnancy and the child, whether or not it belongs to him."

Roland did not open his eyes. He just replied lazily, "We can prove with bloodline magic that the child is not

Benjamin's. Provided, it is not his. But even if it is, Emmah’s crimes will not be pardoned. She killed someone, a

noble at that. Her fate is to be beheaded, no matter what. Who will you be sending after her?"

"Veylin and sknights." She replied instantly, having pondered on the matter the previous night.

"It is such a shthat the lucky halo is gone or else, the wind would blow her back here." Roland opened his

eyes and a small sigh cfrom his mouth, "It is also a shthat you threw such a great debutante ball and in

the end, it was overshadowed by this tragedy. | thought for sure that everyone would be talking about the sand

and the fact that when we got home, it seemed to be everywhere.

Look at the carpet in this car Sigrid, we took baths, changed clothes and we somehow managed to get sand in

the car. Where is it coming from?"

"That would be my cloak." Sigrid pointed to the white cloak hanging on the head rest of the drivers seat.

"The falcons." He brought up another thing that he thought would be lips of everyone. "You surprisedwith

those birds. | thought we would be fighting off noble lords today as everyone would be trying to buy a falcon

from us."

She shrugged. None of that truly mattered anyway. "Well, murder has a way of taking attention from everything

else. And the murder of a noble....." She shook her head. "It shakes up other nobles. | heard so many people at

the Fairfax manor saying "thank goodness we know who the killer is or else we would have restless nights, forced

to keep our eyes open and frightened that snoble hating maniac is on the lose, targeting our hearts." She

paused and drew in a small breath."l think everyone is more interested in how Lady Jane died rather than the

fact that she died."

Roland thought back on his own memories of Lady Jane Fairfax and she smiled. "I think she would be happy to

know that her death, much like her life, was exciting and something worth talking about. Scandal was her bread

and butter."