‘I feel it is our duty to help—’
‘But this is going beyond the call of duty! Do you blame me so much that youdeem it my punishment?’
‘I do not blame you. Of course I don’t,’ said Max earnestly. ‘But don’t you see? This is a chance to have our own family, for me to have an heir.’
I narrowed my eyes at the word ‘heir’. ‘This is Seraphina’s doing. She has put that idea in your head.’
Max shrugged and did not deny it. ‘What she says makes sense. I do need an heir.’
‘You are presuming it will be a boy. What if it’s a girl?’
Max’s eyes softened. ‘Then she will have a sizeable dowry and be the most eligible young lady in England.’
He rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb. ‘I have seen how you are with Lucy. You would make a kind and caring mother, Fliss.’
Tears pricked my eyes. ‘Do you think so?’
Max nodded. ‘I know so. You haven’t had an easy time of it, growing up without a mother. But at least you had a loving father. Imagine how Lucy’s child will fare if he or she has neither.’
I extracted one of my hands from Max’s to swipe at my watering eyes.Oh, he is tugging on my heartstrings now!‘I doubt Seraphina will cast out her first grandchild.’
‘Fliss, she is talking of sending Lucy to a nunnery and the child, when it is born, being given away. There is no guarantee that it will end up with kind or loving parents.’
I gapedat him. ‘But that’s monstrous!’
‘Seraphina is being pragmatic. She has four other children to think of—two of them girls who are not far from marriageable age. You know what the consequences are for them if this scandal becomes known.’
‘B-but can she not pass it off as one of her own?’
Max shook his head, and his lips tightened. ‘She doesn’t want Tobias toeverknow about this. Lucy is his little girl, and he dotes on her. If he finds out Dorian Hart has ruined her life, he is likely to do something very stupid. And again, Seraphina is thinking of the welfare of her other children and herself. If Tobias is hanged, they are all done for.’
‘But to not tell her husband! And for you not to tell your own brother!’ I cried. ‘It seems so wrong.’
‘Fliss, you haven’t seen Tobias in a temper. I have not told you this, but there was an incident in London before they were married. One of Seraphina’s previous suitors attended the same ball, and the man provoked Tobias into a jealous rage. He spotted him walking along the street afterwards and tried to run him over with his curricle. Fortunately, Seraphina managed to grab hold of the reins at the last minute and halt the horses.’
‘Gracious!’
‘Yes, so you can see why Seraphina is reluctant to tell him about Dorian.’
I glanced over at the letter Max had been penning in haste.
‘So why do you need your lawyer?’
‘I need him to draw up a formal contract that states we are the child’s official guardians and also add some other clauses about inheritance if it is a boy. Seraphina has agreed to it on Lucy’s behalf.’
I balked at that arrangement. ‘She doesn’t even get a say in what happens?’
Max’s eyebrows flicked briefly. ‘Lucy has a say, but she will come to see that it is impossible for her to keep the child even if she wants it. If she and her family are to remain favourable in society, she will have to give it up. And it is the best decision for everyone, including the child, if we raise it.’
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.But is it the best decision for me?
‘Can I at least think about it?’
Max patted my hand reassuringly. ‘Of course, but you won’t have too long. As soon as Mr Chadwick arrives, we’ll all sit down and discuss the particulars of what is to happen before and after the birth. It all has to be conducted in utmost secrecy too so no one besides us must know.’
Oh dear Lord! This was moving fast. Too fast.
In the space of less than a day, I was now confrontedwith being the mother of Dorian Hart’s child. How was this happening?
