Page 17 of The Winter Bride

‘Well, I can understand that,’ the woman quipped. ‘After all, coming from her background I doubt she’d know the difference between a mongrel and a pedigree.’

Monty clamped his lips together and hurried away to put the kettle on before he said something he might regret. Luckily the visitors only stayed long enough to have a nose around and drink their tea, and when they were gone, Annie squeezed his arm sympathetically.

‘Don’t let them get to you,’ she urged. ‘I doubt we’ll see them for weeks now.’

‘Let’s hope not.’ He shook his head, some of the joy of moving in already gone. His mother always had that effect on him.

‘Look, I doubt any mother ever thinks the woman her son marries is good enough for him,’ Annie said gently. ‘But let’s not let them spoil the day. Let’s go up and decide what colour we want the nursery.’

He was frowning but he nodded and they set off together with Alfred close behind them.

Decorators came the following week, while Monty and Annie went shopping for furniture, and within a month the main rooms in the house were comfortably furnished and decorated. Annie’s clothes were becoming uncomfortably tight by this time and she was struggling with the hot weather. She was still going out to buy stock, but Monty had insisted that Susan should man the shop until after the birth.

Peggy and Levi were regular visitors and in her spare time Peggy was busy knitting tiny matinee coats ready for the new arrival.

‘I’m stickin’ to white an’ lemon,’ she told Annie. ‘Just till it arrives an’ we know what it is, though I reckon you’re havin’ a girl.’

‘If the way it kicks is anything to go by, I think it’s a boy,’ Annie said as she rubbed her back.

‘What would you like?’

Annie shrugged. ‘I don’t mind so long as it’s healthy.’

‘Well, goin’ by the size of yer I don’t think we’ll ’ave to wait too much longer to find out,’ Peggy commented.

Annie frowned. Although her heart would always belong to Alex, she had no regrets about marrying Monty because he was so kind and loving. But now she was wondering how she would feel when the baby was born. Would Monty somehow sense the child wasn’t his? She feared it would break his heart if he did. She also thought of her birth parents and wondered how they must have felt before she was born.

One morning after Monty had left for work, Annie had just let Alfred out into the garden when the gate opened and Reggie appeared. Her heart started thumping. She’d wondered how long it would be before he put in an appearance. Alfred raced to her side, growling and with his hackles up.

‘What can I do for you, Reggie?’ she asked coldly.

He laughed. ‘Now that’s not a very nice greeting for your favourite brother-in-law, is it? I only popped in to see how you were settling in. Can’t you shut that mangy cur up?’

Annie was shocked. She had never known Alfred to be aggressive towards anyone before, but he’d clearly taken an instant dislike to Reggie.

‘He’s obviously a very good judge of character,’ Annie retorted. ‘And I’m afraid if it’s Monty you’ve come to see he’s already left for work.’

‘I actually came to see you and find out how you’re doing playing happy families,’ Reggie mocked, leaning nonchalantly against the gate with a lewd grin on his face. ‘Everyone must think what a charming couple you make, but I wonder what they’d say if they knew that I’d had you first. Nothing like keeping it in the family, is there? It could have been my child you were carrying. And I wonder what Monty would say if he were to find out.’

‘What – that you raped me?’ Annie’s eyes flashed fire as she laid her hands protectively across her stomach. ‘I think if he were to find out he would kill you, brother or not!’

Reggie chuckled and Alfred began to growl deep in his throat. He could sense his mistress was upset, and small as he was, he was ready to attack.

‘That’s a little dramatic, isn’t it? Especially if I were to tell him you were willing. Who do you think he’d believe? His own flesh and blood or a trollop from the workhouse.’

‘If you think so little of me, why do you keep hounding me?’ she spat. ‘Now I suggest you leave and do us both a favour by not coming back.’

His grin slipped as he stared back at her. ‘But surely I’ll be allowed to play the part of the doting uncle when the sprog arrives?’

‘I don’t want you anywhere near my and Monty’s baby!’

He laughed again, a wicked laugh that turned her blood to ice. ‘Monty’s baby, you say? I don’t think so. Didn’t he tell you that after he took all that shrapnel, the doctors in the field hospital told him that it was highly unlikely he’d ever be able to father a child?’

Annie gasped. She had been shocked when Monty had first undressed in front of her and she’d seen just how serious his injuries had been. From the top of his legs to beneath his chin he was covered in scars from where the shrapnel had been removed, but he had never mentioned anything about not being able to father a child. But if what Reggie was saying was true, it was no wonder he had looked so shocked when she’d told him about the baby. Somehow she kept her voice even as she said, ‘Then it’s a good job the doctors were wrong, isn’t it? Now please just go and don’t come back. You’re not welcome here and never will be.’

With that she caught Alfred’s collar and hauled him into the kitchen without looking back. It was only when she heard the gate closing that she sagged against the wall and started to tremble. If Reggie had been telling the truth she could only pray that the baby would come late and Monty would assume the doctors had been wrong. But what if it came early? Guilt and panic swamped her and taking some deep breaths, she forced herself to be calm. It was out of her control, so all she could do was hope for the best.

The next visitors the following Sunday morning were much more welcome. As Annie was preparing the vegetables for dinner there was a tap at the back door and Barney and Mercy appeared. They looked so happy that it did Annie’s heart good to see them.