AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He took another few steps across the room, then turned and looked at her. Through the unshed tears that clouded her eyes he was an indistinct figure silhouetted against the window. ‘Anna is with you. She knows, I presume? When did you tell her?’
‘I did not need to,’ Hebe said simply. ‘She saw…’
‘She saw the bruises I had left on your body, I suppose.’ Hebe could not bear the self-loathing in his voice. The tears gathered and began to roll slowly down her cheeks. ‘Of course, that explains her strict chaperonage—and the way you withdrew from me as soon as you had reached safety with her. Very wise: you never know when a man who acts as I did might not turn on you again.’
‘Alex, stop it! I never feared that.’
‘You forgive me, then? Is that what you are saying?’
‘No! There is nothing to forgive. You were not responsible for your actions that night.’
‘I am not weak-minded. I am, and should be, responsible for my actions, all of them. If I had not thought about you in that way—yes, I admit it, I desired you—if I had not allowed myself to think like that, then this would not have happened when my guard was down. As you have so accurately pointed out, I was an engaged man, I had no business being attracted to you.’ Alex stalked back to the chair and threw himself into it, then saw the tears pouring helplessly down her cheeks. ‘Oh, Hebe, Hebe dearest, don’t…’
He was on his knees in front of her, holding out a handkerchief, reaching for her. Hebe took the linen square, but pushed him away with her other hand. ‘No, Alex…’
He recoiled as though she had slapped him. ‘Of course. I am sorry. How insensitive of me. I promise I will not touch you again.’
Hebe buried her face in the soft cloth, trying not to let the lovingly remembered scent of citrus and sandalwood overturn her completely. She managed to dry the tears and looked up. Alex was watching her, his lips tight, his hands clasped in front of him. ‘Hebe, why have you told me now?’
‘Because…because…’ The words just would not come. Hebe raised her head, took a deep breath and said steadily, ‘Because I am pregnant.’
She saw him absorb the shock. The only outward sign of the blow her words must have delivered was the way in which he leaned back in the chair, let his head rest against the deep crimson fabric, and closed his eyes.
After a moment he opened them again. ‘You are certain?’ She nodded. ‘It must be what…two months?’
‘Yes.’ Now the worst was said, Hebe found she was recovering a little strength. If only that nagging ache in her back would stop, it was exhausting. ‘You see why I had to come and see you? If I wrote and the letter fell into other hands, it would be disastrous. And I could hardly call when the pregnancy had begun to show—what a stir that would cause.’
‘Yes. Thank goodness you have come, and that I was here.’ Alex sat up straight, some of the colour back in his face again. ‘Now, what we must…’
‘Alex, please let me finish. I cannot say what I came to, if you keep interrupting me.’
‘But there is little choice in the matter.’
‘There is a choice. I have been thinking, and this is what I intend to do.’ Hebe straightened her aching back and said with determination, ‘I will go into the country, somewhere I am not known. A small town, perhaps. I will wear black and a wedding ring and take a modest house and let it be put about that I am newly widowed. I will say that my husband was killed at sea, in the navy. I can speak of that with enough knowledge to convince anyone. When the baby is born, I will bring it up there.
‘But,’ she persisted as he opened his mouth to speak, ‘I need your help. I would never ask this for myself, but I find I am quite unscrupulous when it comes to this baby. It is extraordinary how that changes everything. I am not thinking twice about asking you for money, or about deceiving my family. I have little money of my own: enough, I suppose, to just manage on. But that will not do now. This child is going to grow up in modest, respectable comfort. If it is a boy, then he will need an education, and a start in a career. If it is a girl, then she will need a marriage portion.’
‘Hebe…’
‘I need you to find me that house and to make the child an allowance. That is all I ask.’
Alex looked at her over his clasped hands. ‘And your aunt and uncle? Your mother and Sir Richard?’
‘That is the problem,’ Hebe admitted, relieved that he appeared to have accepted her proposal. ‘I will have to slip away from London very soon. Perhaps I will leave a note saying I cannot face Society and have decided to go and live in the country.’
‘They will have the Bow Street Runners after you.’
‘If I hide well enough, they will not find me. And as for Mama and Sir Richard…I do not know, but they are a long way away, so I have time to think.’
‘They are as far away as the mails to Malta,’ Alex said drily, then broke off at the sound of a discreet tap on the door. He shot Hebe a piercing glance, saw that the tears had dried on her cheeks and her chair was turned from the entrance, and called, ‘Yes?’
Hebe heard the door open and there was a slight cough. ‘Mrs Wilkins thought perhaps Miss Sersay would like some refreshments, my lord. I have taken the library of bringing tea and some biscuits, which I understand would be acceptable.’
‘Thank you, Starling. Please put them on that table.’
The butler left, but Hebe was staring at Alex. ‘My lord?’
He turned from pouring her a cup of tea. ‘Both my brother and my father were in the curricle when it overturned. My father, we believe, had a heart attack while handling the reins. He was killed instantly. William, my brother, was thrown clear, but hit his head. At first it did not seem too bad, and he has been up and about, although shaky. Then last week he began to have severe headaches and fell into a coma. The doctors say it must have been an effusion of blood on the brain. There was nothing they could do: he died yesterday without regaining consciousness.’
