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Obviously deeply disturbed by the tense atmosphere that filled the kitchen, Maggie got up and carried the baby over to strap her into a bouncing chair set by the table. ‘I’d better make a start on breakfast. What would you like, darling? Beth and I are—’ She broke off as a small whirlwind erupted into the kitchen through the back door.
‘Mummy, Uncle David took me to the swings and the slide and came on the roundabout with me! It was great!’
‘It sounds like it.’ Maggie smiled at her excited daughter. ‘Now how about saying hello to Beth? She’s been waiting to meet you.’
The little girl turned to look at Beth, smiling shyly. Her hair was dark and curly, dancing around her glowing little face in a tangle of silky curls. Beth returned the smile then glanced at Matthew. ‘She is the absolute image of you, isn’t she?’
‘Do you think so?’ The grim expression faded slightly as he held his arms out and Janey launched herself into them, clinging hold like a monkey as he lifted her high into the air.
‘I do indeed. Hello, Janey. It’s nice to meet you.’
Janey smiled back, her dark eyes, so like Matthew’s, studying Beth with the same kind of intensity. ‘Are you my aunty? Uncle David said that you are.’
‘I…yes. Yes, I am.’ Beth was surprised at the warm feeling it gave her to hear that David had said that.
‘Mummy said that you were going to have a baby, but that it had gone to heaven now. Are you going to have another one?’
Would she? A child that was hers…and David’s. He’d told her that it would be her choice if they decided to make their marriage real and now she knew that was something she wanted more than anything. A child of David’s…their child. Not to replace the one she’d lost, but a living, breathing, precious link between them.
She barely heard Maggie’s hurried admonishment to her daughter as she glanced across at David, wanting only to see some reflection of how she felt, but his face was totally blank, his eyes shuttered. Beth took a slow, painful breath, letting the precious little dream fade in the face of reality. ‘I expect we shall just have to wait and see what happens, Janey.’
Janey nodded wisely. ‘Perhaps it will be a surprise for you, like I was for Daddy. He said that I was the best surprise he ever had.’
‘That’s quite enough, Janey.’ Maggie’s voice was sharp, but David interrupted her, speaking for the first time since he’d come into the house.
‘It’s all right, Maggie. She’s probably doing us all a favour by speaking about it.’ He smiled at the little girl. ‘I’m sure that if Beth and I have another baby it will be just as good a surprise for us too, poppet.’
Beth’s heart lurched at the warmth in his voice. Had she misread him before? David was adept at hiding his feelings behind that calm mask, but who was to say if he had made that offer because he too really wanted a child to cement their marriage? Joy shone on Beth’s face as she looked at him across the room, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at his brother, his eyes cold and calculating, and in a flash she realised what a stupid, blind fool she’d been. All he’d been doing was keeping up this pretence that their marriage was a real one because he hadn’t wanted Matthew to realise what a pack of lies it all was!
Fury rose inside her, hot and swift, and she stood up quickly, ignoring the startled look Maggie gave her. ‘If you don’t mind, Maggie, I’ll skip breakfast. I’ve gone off the idea. I think I’ll go out and get some fresh air.’
‘Well…yes…of course.’ Maggie glanced round the kitchen, her gaze centring on David. ‘Why don’t you and David walk down to the village? He can show you around.’
‘No!’ The refusal was far sharper than she’d intended and she felt David’s eyes on her, but she refused to look at him. ‘I’m sure David has things he wants to do. I’ll be fine by myself.’
She turned defiantly to him, a shiver running down her spine when she saw the icy displeasure in his eyes, but there was little sign of his true feelings in his voice. ‘I do have a few phone calls to make.’ He glanced at Matthew, his face set. ‘I take it that you don’t have any objections to my using the phone in the study?’
