Chapter Text
The first thing Kate felt when she stepped onto the ship’s deck was the heat. It wrapped around her, thick and humid, against skin stretched already too tight.
Bombay was fragrant with the saltwater air and spice notes that smelt purely of home.
Home.
She shifted her weight. And immediately regretted it. She ached. From the curve of her back to her hips, she ached. The child had settled low these past days– very low. Walking even the short distance from their cabin on the level below to the deck exhausted her.
Anthony noticed. He always did. His hand came to her waist, firm and steady. “Slowly.”
“I am not inept.” she muttered, though she accepted his help without protest.
The gangplank creaked below them as they descended. The baby pressed downward in a way that Kate’s breath catch– not pain, not yet. But a constant reminder of what was soon to come.
The shore shimmered beneath them, the harbor alive with motion. Dockworkers called out. Sails snapped in the wind. Ships bearing the insignia of the East India Company lined the docks.
Kate paused halfway down the plank. Anthony stiffened instantly. “What is it?”
She pressed a hand against the curve of her belly as the child shifted, a foot, she presumed, hitting her rib in the process.
“Nothing,” she breathed. “Your child has decided to greet India personally.”
His expression was knowing, though reverent.
Kate had become restless the final week of their voyage, unable to sleep or maintain a comfortable position for long.
The baby shifted again, causing her to grip the railing until the sensation passed. Anthony did not release her once they reached the dock.
By the time they reached the line of waiting carriages, Kate’s composure had begun to slip. The journey from ship to shore had been brief, though it felt endless. Her feet had begun to swell tight in her shoes. The muslin of her gown seemingly clinging to all the places she least wished it to, trapped the heat close to her body.
Anthony guided her inside the carriage marked with the Sharma crest. She sank into the soft cushions with a soft exhale The relief lasted precisely four seconds before she felt the baby shift again. “Oof.” she grunted, pressing a palm low against her abdomen.
Anthony’s knuckles whitened around the carriage door. “Is it time?”
“If it were time,” she said dryly, adjusting herself with difficulty, “you would know.”
He did not look reassured.
The carriage jolted forward. Kate closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing through the discomfort. She could no longer both sit up straight and breathe simultaneously due to the tightness beneath her ribs.
Anthony hovered inches away. Kate opened her eyes briefly, noticing the carriage driver looking back in at them.
“You are very near.” the man remarked, smiling warmly.
She smiled faintly.
Yes. She was.
When the carriage stopped before the familiar Sharma gates, Kate felt relief wash over her.
Anthony descended the carriage first and turned immediately, arms already raised to help her down. She placed her hands on his arms and allowed him to steady her descent. She now moved slower than she ever had, her center of gravity betraying her entirely.
The gates opened, and Mary Sharma hurriedly made her way through them.
“My darling!”
Kate managed three steps before Mary had her arms around her, constricting her breath slightly more, pulling a small grunt from Kate as the baby decided to shift inside her once again.
Mary pulled away and stepped back, eyes and hands dropping to Kate’s abdomen. Mary’s gaze lifted to back to her eyes.
“You are close,” she said knowing.
Kate exhaled as she felt the baby settle once again. “Yes.”
The cool interior air was a mercy. Even so, by the time they reached their bedchamber Kate’s movements had slowed to careful, deliberate shifts. She lowered herself onto the edge of the bed with visible relief and an exhale she could not suppress.
Anthony knelt in front of her, hands holding the curve of her belly gently. “You must lie back.”
“I have been lying back for months.”
“Kate.”
Stubbornly, she leaned back on the mattress, elbows supporting her so that she maintained eye contact with her husband.
Their child responded instantly with a swift kick to Anthony’s palm. Kate laughed softly. “You see? It is not you in command.”
He looked up at her, a faint smile marking his concerned expression. He noted the flush high on her cheeks and the poorly masked strain behind her eyes.
“You should not have endured such a voyage in this condition,” he said quietly.
She carefully sat back up, hands framing her husband's face, lovingly.
“Nonsense. I longed for home.”
Anthony remained kneeling before her, one hand coming up to his cheek to hold hers, the other still splayed protectively over the small life that would soon change their’s forever.
He swallowed, the unease of the realization that the waiting was nearly over hitting him.
The afternoon heat had begun to relent when Mary sent word of a visitor.
“She is here.”
Kate was seated near the veranda doors, one hand braced at the base of her spine, the other resting low against her abdomen. The child had been restless since their arrival, pressing insistently downward which produced a new source of discomfort among the many for Kate.
Anthony stood behind her chair. Hovering, as usual.
Mary entered first, eager, but composed. Behind her came a woman perhaps in her late forties, wrapped in a deep indigo sari. Her posture was straight, gaze steady.
“This is Mrs. Vaidya,” Mary said. “She has attended births in Bombay for twenty years. Indian households as well as English families.”
Mrs. Vaidya dipped her head respectfully toward Anthony before turning her attention fully to Kate. And then she did something no London midwife ever would have done in Anthony’s presence.
She studied Kate openly.
Mrs. Vaidya’s eyes trailed down Kate’s body, lips pursed in contemplation.
“You are carrying low,” Mrs. Vaidya said matter-of-factly. “And forward. First child?”
“Yes,” Kate answered.
The midwife stepped closer, hands confident as she placed them against Kate’s abdomen.
Anthony stiffened instantly.
Mrs. Vaidya’s hands were not tentative, nor apologetic. She felt around Kate’s belly, pressing in gently, yet firmly. The baby shifted beneath her palm.
“Strong,” she said. “Very strong.”
“How near?” Anthony asked. The midwife glanced at him, faint amusement in her eyes.
“Soon enough that you should not plan any more long journeys,” she replied.
Mary hid a smile.
Kate met Anthony’s eyes with a look of calm reassurance.
Mrs. Vaidya continued, “We will prepare the rooms tomorrow. You will move there when the pains begin in earnest.”
Anthony’s jaw tightened slightly. “Move?”
Mary answered gently. “It is customary.”
The women’s quarters. Attended only by women.
Anthony knew there were things that men were not a part of. That was no different here than in England.
Kate reached back blindly until her fingers found his hand, squeezing it gently.
Mrs. Vaidya went on. “There will be oil massages to ease your back. Walking in the evenings is encouraged.”
Anthony cut in. “Walking is permitted?”
Kate rolled her eyes.
“Yes,” the midwife said, “Movement helps ease the process.”
Anthony was wholeheartedly unprepared for whatever lay ahead.
By the evening, lamplight illuminated the house, spilling out onto the veranda that was open, allowing cool sea breeze to enter the home.
Kate had changed gowns– not for formality’s sake, but because the first had grown uncomfortably tight beneath her ribs.
Anthony noticed every wince.
Edwina’s carriage arrived just after sunset. A man stepped out first, holding his hand out to help her.
There was a brief, but noticeable pause when she stepped onto the veranda and saw them together.
They all felt it.
“Didi,” Edwina breathed, rushing to embrace her sister carefully. “You are radiant.”
“I am enormous.” Kate exhaled lightly.
Edwina grinned. “That as well.”
Anthony allowed himself a faint smile.
Edwina turned to him. “Lord Bridgerton.” She said with a curtsy.
Polite. Not cold, but not all together easy.
He nodded in acknowledgment, equally measured.
Her husband, Naveen Kumar, gently stepped forward, taking Kate’s hand, kissing it lightly in greeting. “My Lady. Your sister has told me so much about you.”
His eyes moved to Anthony. He smiled and bowed respectfully. “My Lord, is an honor.”
Still, as they took their seats, a slight awkwardness lingered between them. Not so long ago, their futures had nearly intertwined very differently.
The light breeze carried the scent of cardamom and roasted lentils across the table.
“You did not bring Newton?” Edwina asked her sister. Kate smiled lightly. “No. We thought the journey too arduous for him. He has been entrusted to Hyacinth in our absence.”
Naveen led most of the conversation, topics consisting of Bombay, to the changes under the East India Company. He spoke animatedly about astrological charts and recorded birth hours.
“The timing of birth is of great significance. We note it to the minute.”
Anthony leaned forward slightly. “You will be present?”
Naveen grinned. “Oh no. That is women’s business.”
Kate shifted in her seat, a flicker of discomfort crossing her face before she masked it. The baby pressed hard and low; her breath caught.
Anthony’s attention snapped instantly toward her.
Edwina noticed. The way he leaned closer. The way his hand found Kate’s beneath the table. His concern.
Something in her previously guarded demeanor changed. “You are quite devoted,” she said softly.
Anthony met her gaze.
“Yes.”
The honesty caught them both off guard. History does not change so easily, but the energy shifted. Mary sat watching from the head of the table.
She allowed herself a small knowing smile.
Kate inhaled carefully as another tightening rippled across her abdomen. Anthony felt the change in her breathing.
“Are you certain you should not retire?” he murmured.
“I will not miss the rest of this lovely dinner because you are anxious.” she replied.
Edwina laughed lightly.
“Some things have not changed, then.”
“No,” Kate and Anthony said in unison.
They all looked at one another and smiled.
By the time the evening drew to a close, the lamps burned low and the air became heavy with the expectation of rain.
Edwina embraced Kate once more before departing for the carriage.
“You will send word as soon as something happens?” she insisted more than asked.
“I would never dream otherwise.” Kate replied before walking back inside.
There was one final pause between Anthony and Edwina.
“I am glad,” she said carefully, “that it is you.”
He inclined his head.
“I can see now how you love and care for my sister.”
“I intend to spend the rest of my life proving worthy of her.” He replied.
The carriage rolled away into the dark.
Anthony returned to find Kate standing slowly from her chair, one hand pressed against her lower back.
“Walk with me,” she said.
He offered his arm, she took it. They made their way into the dimly lit garden together.
Author’s Note: After the clip was released yesterday of our new family of three, I could not help myself and had to write something. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! The next will be up later today. :)