It is his will.

Denah awoke the next morning with the sun shining on her face. She felt sore, and couldn't remember how she had gotten in bed. She stretched and tried to remember the last 24 hours, since things were a bit hazy for her. She looked out the window and watched a bird on the window sill feed her chick, then she remembered the night before. She let out an anguished sigh, covered her head and rolled over.

She heard the rustle of dresses and figured one of her lades had come to get her dressed for lunch, as was her daily routine.

"Please, not today. This is the WORST of days to show my face"

"I hardly see how that can be possible" replied Queen Jenny "you delivered in the night."

Denah sat up and found Jenny and Danica at her bedside, each of them holding baby with a smile on their faces. Denah rubbed her eyes and looked at them confused.

“Why would you bring that’s trollop's son to me?”

Their faces beamed, then fell, then beamed again. The looked at each other, and silently decided Jenny would tell Denah what happened since she clearly did not remember.

“First off darling, these are your sons.”

“My sons? I have two sons?” Denah was overcome with relief. She was terrified she would fail in her duty again, but with two sons it was unlikely the throne would pass to any ‘pretender’. Denah pulled herself up, and took her first son from Jenny. It was like looking in a mirror. She saw nothing of Dixon, and was happy.

“I shall call you Edward!” She said with a smile. She kissed every part of his face and looked up at Jenny.

“What’s the second?”

“That news is not so happy… Helen died in childbirth…”

“I hardly see that as sad news” Denah said quietly

“The doctor was able to get two more sons from her, and they survived the night.”

Denah’s jaw went slack “Three sons?...No… No, I will not let that woman steal this day from me. I have two daughters and two LEGITIMATE sons. She has nothing, and she is dead.”

She handed Edward back to Jenny and took her other son to examine him. “You shall be Ephraim, even though technically you’re number 7.” The three of them laughed.

“So what will happen to the three Walton children?”

“Well,” Jenny started “your husband has decided to claim the children as his own, though to what advantage I do not know. He wants them to remain here. I tried to convince him to send them back to their legal father, but he would not hear it. I’m sorry.”

“Don't apologize. It’s his fault their mother is dead now, and not in a home next to the textile factory…. I honestly never know what that man thinks.”

“No one does. But it is his will.”

“Indeed it is his will.”