Breathe Me Smith and Belle (Royals Saga #11) - Geneva Lee Page 0,53

far cry from the office where I was seen during my pregnancy. I’d agreed to Smith’s request to see a doctor, but we both felt driving all the way to London meant either packing Penny up and hoping for the best, or making me more stressed out about leaving her behind for the better part of the day. I’d been the one to finally decide on the local doctor. I’d committed to moving to Briarshead. Did I really want to go to London every time I had a cold?

Still, it felt odd being here now. The clinic was clean, sterilized to the point of something more like obsession than germ warfare. Nora followed behind me, Penny in her arms, as I stopped to wait for the only other patient here to move away from the check-in desk. It was an older woman, and I could tell by the laughter coming from the nurse that she likely wasn’t here for more than a social call. I tapped my foot, feeling impatient. This was the last place I wanted to be, and now I had to wait.

I couldn’t argue with Smith’s concern. I sensed it myself. I simply found myself disinterested in doing anything about it. What could a doctor do? A doctor couldn’t fix my brain and make me a competent mother. A doctor couldn’t make certain I’d packed the nappies. I had Nora for that now.

She was a bit like having a shadow, to be honest. She moved into Thornham almost immediately after we asked her, on the understanding that it would be a short-term situation. She still planned to attend school later in the spring. But I got the impression that she felt guilty after what I’d deemed the chocolate cake incident. I still hadn’t told Smith about what happened. I couldn’t imagine what he would think of me for breaking down and sobbing into a dessert in front of my business partner and a total stranger, especially over something as stupid as forgetting to put nappies in the changing bag. I’d managed to reason with myself since the disastrous luncheon, realizing that no harm had been done. There had been a shop. We had found nappies. Lola hadn’t quit Bless and, as far as I knew, Tomas would welcome me back in his restaurant any time. That meant, the only person I was being hard on was myself.

I just had to be a better mother. End of story.

“Excuse me,” I interrupted as another laugh rose between the two. “I have an appointment.”

“Bless me, I’m sorry!” The stub of a woman in front of me waived an apology as she turned around. “I didn’t even hear you come in. I’ll catch up with you later, Marjorie.”

“Name?” The woman behind the desk—Marjorie, it seemed—asked, looking less apologetic then her friend. I doubted there were a lot of appointments on the books today, but I answered her all the same.

“Belle Stuart. I mean, Price,” I said quickly, feeling embarrassed to have given my family name instead of my married name.

“I have you right here Mrs. Price,” she said, passing the clipboard. “I just need you to sign a few documents for the NHS.”

“Ms. Price will do,” I told her, taking the clipboard and shuffling over to the seat next to Nora. Penny had stayed asleep for the entire ride into the village, already making this trip more successful than our last attempt at an outing. I suspected it had something to do with the presence of her nanny. Penny always seemed calm around Nora. I was grateful.

I was also a little jealous.

I signed the paperwork, wondering how Nora managed to make it all look so easy. Maybe the fact that she wasn’t responsible for the entire growth, safety, and development of her charge made it easier to just relax and take care of her. I wouldn’t know.

Lately, I found myself checking Penny obsessively to make certain she was breathing when she was quiet. I supposed I’d grown so accustomed to her screaming that I didn’t know what to do with her when she wasn’t crying.

I finished the forms and returned them to Marjorie. She peered at them with hawk-like eyes, sweeping across the lines until she reached the final page. “Seems to be in order. Will the doctor be seeing the baby as well?”

“I don’t know,” I said, truthfully. “She’s six weeks old.”

“And has she been seen for her six week check?”

I shook my head, remembering only now that I’d meant