She scoffed. “Have you done a lot of reading on getting pregnant?” She doubted it. He was of the school of thought that if you just kept going at it, it would happen. While for Esperanza, this had been true twice now, she knew it was not so for all women. There was a plethora of literature on the topic of pregnancy and childbirth and childrearing. Kaleb left the house daily, he played quidditch, went drinking, and very likely visited mistresses. Since Charlie’s birth, Esperanza had become a bit of a recluse, leaving occasional to take the girls to the park or to Diagon Alley or to the market. Avoiding Sioni was a full time job in itself. During her hours and days of self-inflicted solitude, she had done a lot of reading. In her efforts to pretend like she was not sabotaging their attempts to gain a son, she chose mostly books on this topic. Not that Kaleb would have noticed. But, she wanted to have it as evidence in her favor if they fought on the subject like they were doing now.

“Potions for headaches can be dangerous for unborn children.” He would not believe that either, so before he could again suggest a trip to St. Mungo’s, she beat him to it. ;”Now you have two questions to ask healers. Both of which will make you look unprepared and foolish.” She was pushing her luck and she knew it. But the children were sleeping down the hall, and Espa was counting on him not wanting to wake them. How attached her husband was to the daughter that was not his had come as a surprise to her. Not that he had been disinterested in Grace, but he had seemed much more fond of Charlie.

It was not that she did not want another child. She was pleased with her little family, a son would have made her immeasurably happy, but a son with Kaleb would not have made her happy. Having Grace with Kaleb was one thing. Their angel haired daughter had been the only thing keeping her from considering the only and unfortunately permanent option for removing herself from Kaleb’s life. Then having Charlie had changed things again. She went from a “happily” married woman to an adulteress with clear and obvious proof. Esperanza felt it was obvious. Charlie had Sioni’s nose, his hair, and his defiant stubborn attitude, but Kaleb had seemed mostly in the dark. Adding a third child who looked like Grace and nothing like Charlie would only draw attention to Charlie’s differences. So their family had to stay at two children. At least for now.

“You don’t have to,” she pointed out. True, neither Grace nor Charlie could carry on the Broadmoor name, but, he did have a brother, who might have children, and it was not like they were at the end of their childbearing years. “And we certainly don’t have to have one right now. We have plenty of time.”

Going gentle was not what she wanted. Having any sort of sex with him was not what she wanted, but he was going to continue persisting until she gave in. On the one hand, asserting what little dominance she felt she had left in her, she could have continued saying no. She was sorely tempted to do so. But really, it was not like he was going to get her pregnant anyway. Her potion was safely hidden, and she was just going to continue taking it every day until she decided to have another child with Kaleb, which would be sometime on the other side of never she felt fairly certain.