was supposed to provide clarity, to mute her anger.
Would his plan work if he couldn't get Jacqueline in control of her emotions?
*****
Morrigan stared into her scrying pond, watching the young couple talk. She'd grimaced when Jacqueline referred to her as a slut, but since she was always the first to admit her love for the opposite sex, the goddess held no grudge.
Not to mention that Arwan lie snoring in her bed at the moment.
She was far too interested in catching a glimpse of Merlin to care what his daughter thought about her. To her disappointment, the wizard was nowhere in sight.
Pity.
She'd been looking forward to a showdown with him. This baby was going to provide her with all sorts of new opportunities and Morrigan wanted to make sure he knew where the child ended up.
Ah??evenge could be so sweet sometimes.
Impatient, Morrigan studied Jacqueline's belly. The charm had yet to take real effect, but she knew the next few hours would bring significant changes. She could only hope Toby was prepared and had taken her warnings to heart.
"Sleep," she whispered, waving her hand over the pond. "You need to take a little rest, banshee. The baby is about to experience a growth spurt."
In the pond, Morrigan saw Jacqueline lying down on the bed and beginning to yawn.
"Good." The goddess smiled as Toby tucked a blanket over the woman. "How loving you are."
For a moment, her eyes grew misty with unshed tears. Once, long ago, a man had loved her like that and she had adored him. Her heart had been so full, so happy. While things had changed in the blink of an eye for her, Morrigan wasn't quite bitter enough to wish the same for Toby. She hoped things would work out for him. That he would find the happiness with his love that had eluded her.
Chapter 9
Nothing could have prepared Jacqueline for what awaited her upon waking from her twenty minute nap.
Her eyes had to be playing a trick on her.
She'd dozed, feeling the exhaustion of the last few months creep in on her physical being. Toby had insisted she lie down, and she'd been so touched by his caring that she felt safe enough to let her guard down a little. The moment her head hit the pillow, she'd been out like a light, sleeping deep and hard.
But something had happened during the nap.
Jacqueline stared at her swollen stomach in the mirror.
Unless, she was mistaken, sometime in the last few hours, her baby bump had increased in size. Instead of looking like she was three months pregnant, it now appeared that she had somehow skipped the second trimester and gone straight into the third. Her stomach protruded from her skinny frame, and even as she ran a trembling hand across it, she felt the kick of the baby. Startled, she drew her hand away.
"Toby," Jacqueline called, her voice shaky. "I think you need to see this."
She heard the sound of his feet on the stairs almost immediately and couldn't help but smile despite her distress. He was worried about her, worried that she would run off again. And while the urge to find Gwydion and kill him was still strong within her, seeing Toby had been like a vacation. He made her world feel less heavy and almost normal. There had even been a few fleeting moments throughout the day when she'd thought about letting go of her need for revenge and just spending the rest of her life with Toby.
Deep inside her, Death laughed at her thoughts.
You are so stupid, Jacqueline. You can't ever have a normal life again.
She brushed aside Death's words as Toby came in the room. In one hand he held a plate with a sandwich and fruit, while the other grasped a tall glass of milk.
"You need to be eating better." He put down the food on the dresser. "You're too skinny."
"Not anymore."
Jacqueline turned to show him her profile.
For a moment, Toby just stared. Disbelief flickered briefly in his eyes before he nodded in acceptance.
"What the hell happened?" He scratched his head. "I thought sex was okay when a woman was pregnant."
"It is!" Jacqueline laughed but something in his manner made her nervous. He didn't seem as shocked as she was by her sudden girth. "This has nothing to do with sex."
Toby stepped forward, reached out a hand, and placed it on her rounded belly. His face lit up as the baby kicked in response to his touch.
"I felt her," he said. "She's