No one need ever
"I'm not giving the child up," she said.
"We'll tell everyone the baby was an orphan we've taken into our home. Don't worry, darling, it will be—"
Her bedroom door slammed open, and Adrian was standing there, fully dressed, vibrating in rage.
"You didn't think it worthwhile informing me that you're pregnant?" he roared.
Charlotte stiffened, her own "Where did you get that idea?"
"From Monty. He wants to know you won’t marry me as well.”
“Because I don’t love you.”
It was the wrong thing to say, but she was goaded. He looked at her in complete astonishment, and then laughed. "Why in the world would you think love has anything to do with what's between us?
It's healthy lust that we ought to enjoy as long as it lasts, and then—"
"That's enough," Lina broke in hastily. "I believe you've put your foot in your mouth enough for one day. Why don't you go back down and chew on it for a while. Charlotte needs her rest If she is increasing, and we're not even sure of that, then we need to take extra-special care of her."
Adrian's eyes narrowed. "You told me you've been entertaining gentlemen nonstop since you arrived back in London. What makes you think the child is
Meggie had just set the tea tray down in her lap, and Charlotte didn't hesitate. She picked up the pot and flung it at him, scalding tea spewing out over the bedroom.
It hit him on the unmarked side of his face, slamming against his cheekbone and breaking. The tea drenched him, but he didn't flinch, even as blood began to trickle down his cheek from the spot where a shard of china had sliced through the skin.
"Be damned to you then," he said, and slammed the door as he went.
For some reason Lina had a half smile on her face, one she quickly wiped away when Charlotte glared at her. "Let me get this straight, dearest. You won't marry him because he doesn't love you, is that it?"
"You heard him. Love has nothing to do with what's between us," she said angrily.
"Bui we know differently, don't we? You're in love with him. I'm not sure why, but I accept your
"It's not my choice. He doesn't want me for the right reasons, and I won't take him for the wrong ones." She could feel the tears welling up again, and she dashed them away. “And why am I crying all the time? I never used to be so pathetic."
"Another sign of pregnancy, Miss Charlotte," Meggie said in her practical voice. "Anytime me mum got knocked up she'd start bawling all over the place. I used to think it was just because she didn't want another bastard clinging to her, but she told me no, it came with the baby. You're pregnant."
Enough was enough. Charlotte stopped fighting it. She burst into tears, flinging herself face down on the bed. And it wasn't until later that she realized that Lina had quietly slipped out.
Adrian made it as far as the stables. He spun on his heel and turned back. He was making a habit of this, he thought wryly. She really did have the ability to make him insane.
He was damned if a child of his was going to be born a bastard. She didn't like it-she could damn well make the best of it. The best of a title, a fortune, belter sex than she'd ever find in her life. There were worse fates for an overtall spinster with red hair and freckles. He didn't care what she wanted or didn't
Except that he loved her rich, coppery hair. He loved her creamy skin and the flecks of gold that places. He hadn't gotten around to discovering all those places, and he was never a man to leave a job only partly done.
And what if she wasn't pregnant? He thought, strolling back into the house as if his very future weren't at stake. Then he'd do his best to ensure she soon would be. He wanted her to be pregnant, he realized with a sense of shock. Wanted her to be carrying his baby. The thought of her, round and waddling, heavy with child, filled him with an odd sense of what might almost be called delight. Not that he would go that far. But his father would probably appreciate an heir if she had a boy, and his mother worried about him incessantly. If he were married she might calm down a little.
Of course his mother wanted