As Cecily cleared the dinner table to do the dishes after the supper held at King Farm to congradulate the parents-to-be, she looked up through the kitchen window which so many King girls before her had looked up from long ago.
Elbert (thanks Bobby!) was working outside with her father, trying to persuade the cows to retreat from the bale of hay that they had been feasting upon, and go into the barn. Gus was standing by playing with Daniel and the orphans.
It had been a hard few months for poor Cecily, with Felicity married and Felix gone to sea. Daniel was still far too young to be a suitable companion for his older sister, so she relied on Izzy's company mostly...and Elbert's. Izzy was kind of boring since Felix left. Not much could make her happy, and not much could make her angry.
Cecily, a rather meek soul by nature, found it pleasant to be with her siblings mostly. They were rambunctious. She was nothing of the kind, though "she could be at times when the King blood was in her". Cecily fondly remembered Aunt Olivia saying that once.
When the dishes were done, Cecily decided to take a roam through some of their old haunts.
"Mother, I'm going for a walk...." said Cecily as she pulled on
her thick wool sweater.
"Now, dear, do you really want to rather then sit with us and
have
some tea?" replied Janet.
"Oh, I think a walk would be splendid!" said Felicity, "We
haven't
had much time together at all lately though Cecily."
"Well, then, come on Sis, I'll race ya...!"said Cecliy as she ran
through the hall.
Felicity finally managed to catch up to her by the time they reached the fence.
"Would you mind at all if we stop over at Peg Bowen's place for a few minutes? I really must talk to her about the children. She was teasing them just yesterday and I should really ...." her voice trailed on into a whisper when she saw a figure move from inside the bushes.
"Peg?! Are you all right Miss Bowen? Have you been hurt?" gasped
the sisters as soon as they recognised the old woman.
"I'm just settin' here mindin my own p's and q's. I have found
the ingredient for my spell to cure a bad temper completely...." said
Peg rather mysteriously as she pulled common looking leaves from her
sack.
Felicity rolled her eyes. Cecily tried to look less nervous than
she was.
"Now, MISS Bowen," said Felicity in a very Hetty-like manner,
"there is no such cure for a bad temper."
"Well I guess you're right. Otherwise you and MISS Hetty King
would've been cured long ago." said Peg, who was at this point very
proud of herself. She went on..."Mrs.Pike, I would like to give my best
wishes to you and Gus on the coming arrival of your first child."
"But how....how did YOU find out?" asked Felicity. Cecily now was unsure if Peg was just an eccentric old woman....or a supernatural being.
"I knows that most seys I ain't quite right in the head, but I know more about PEI than anyone could learn in 3 lives, and I surely know when a baby'll be comin to ANY part of it." said Peg as she took a jaw full of what the girls thought to be tobacco, but was actually licorice that someone had given her to pay back herbs she grew for them.
Cecily had had enough by this point.
"Felicity...." she tugged at her sisters sleeve, "Mother and Dad
and Gus will be worried...."
"Yes. Well, good-bye Peg..." she managed to say before Cecily
started running as fast as she could manage, dragging Felicity with
her.
Peg started picking the leaves once again and chuckled to herself.
Neither of the sisters were ever to find out how Peg had made that incredible observation. If only they knew that Peg was gathering her precious herbs very close to the screen door of the foundling home at the precise moment when Felicity and Gus had first exclaimed (very loudly) about the exciting news in the first place.