Late in the year, Jocelyn and Elysabet shock all of Illyria by announcing that they are expecting a second child. 

The cordial but distant relations between the two have been an open secret for years, not to mention the whispers about the duke’s proclivities. A few folk even go so far as to declare the duchess’ condition a miracle. 

Perhaps some of the only people not bowled over by the news are the de Clairnes. Certainly, they ought not to be, since it was by Catalina’s advice that Jocelyn returned to his wife’s bed in the first place, for the sake of familial harmony as well as appearances.