“I’m not.” She forces me away and wipes her tears. “I’m just making things clear. This may be your baby, Jack, but it’smybody.”
“I hear you,” I assure her, taking her face in my hands and forcing her to look at me. “I hear you,” I repeat, making sure she gets it.
“Now, do you think you could stomach some breakfast? My baby hasn’t eaten since that salad you had at the reception.” I reach down to touch her tummy, and instead of pushing me away, she smiles.
“I’m sure I could manage something.” She rolls her eyes.
“Let’s go take our first breakfast as husband and wife.” I offer her the crook of my arm.
“Sure.” She takes it with no hesitation and a reassuring smile.
GRACE
One Month Later
“So, how is everyone?” I ask Sophia once I’ve finished telling her about the meal we had with Lord Harrison and his wife last night. Thankfully, we run our investigation services online. We never meet the clients in person, so she didn’t recognise me as one of the people she employed to check in on her husband's activities.
“Selena’s bored out of her brain, but enjoying the luxuries. Did you know there's a pool in the basement?” she tells me excitedly. “I’ll bet it's not as big as the one you have there, but it’s pretty cool.”
“Is Polly still mad at me?” I sip my lemon and ginger tea, dreading her answer.
“She's not mad at you, she’s just concerned. You know how she feels about that family. How weallfeel about them. Suddenly, you’re living in their mansion, carrying the next Ravenshaw heir. It’s a lot for her to take in.”
“Tell me about it.” I look down at my stomach and blow out a breath. There's no physical sign of me being pregnant yet, other than the constant feeling sick and horrendous exhaustion.
“I just wish she understood that I’m doing this for us all.”
“She does.” Sophia tries to sound convincing.
“I don’t want to be here, and I sure as hell don’t want to be pregnant, but this is?—”
“Too good an opportunity,” she finishes my sentence for me. “We get that, so does Polly, but you have to admit it’s a lot to put your body through, and giving up a baby isn’t going to be easy.” I hear the concern in her voice.
“My body is strong, and I’ve got my head on straight. I know this baby isn’t mine. It’s Jack’s; we all just have to hang on until this is over.”
I hear loud giggling and whispers coming from the living room, and when I head down through the hall to find out who it's coming from, I find Kerry and Amelia, the housekeepers, distracted from cleaning the patio doors by something outside.
“He is sooooo hot,” Kerry says, practically drooling against the glass. “Much better than that last duke.” Amelia jabs her with her elbow, and when I clear my throat, they both spin around and instantly turn red.
“Miss.” Kerry bows her head, despite the amount of times I’ve told her not to.
“I think the windows are clean, girls. Why don’t you take a break from admiring my husband?” I smile as I step closer to see what's got them in such a flap.
“Oh, we weren’t—” I tilt my head and smile at them. “Of course, miss,” they both say in unison as they scurry past me, and when I see Jack outside pushing a wheelbarrow, it’s not just the sight of him doing physical labour that makes my pussy jolt; it’s how he’s dressed while he’s doing it. All the duke is wearing are jeans and thick garden gloves; his perfect hair-covered chest and torso on full display, shimmering with sweat as he goes about his business. I watch his arm muscles work as he lifts the handles of the barrow and tips it onto the compost heap.Pauline, the housekeeper, approaches him with a cool, iced beverage presented on a tray, and he smiles at her gratefully as he takes it and downs it. The smile she gives him when he places it back on the tray is the first one I’ve seen from her since I’ve been here.
Suddenly, I’m reminded how long it’s been since the two of us had sex. It’s been a whole month since our wedding night, and granted, it’s been my choice. Although I made the decision for good reason, it doesn’t mean it's been easy. I’ve missed our intimacy, and every day seems to get harder instead of easier.
My feet start moving outside towards him, and Pauline offers me a polite but stern nod as she passes me on her way back to the kitchen.
“Hey.” Jack smiles when he sees me approaching, and being closer makes me want to run my fingers all over that perfectly trimmed upper body. I used to love touching it while he fucked me, holding on to his strong, muscular arms as he came inside me and growled in my ear.
“You manage to keep your breakfast down?” he asks, acting as if him standing in front of me half-naked isn’t his way of torturing me. I’m sure he’s doing his best to ensure I regret my decision.
“I did.” I smile, trying to figure out why I’m so mad at him; there's every chance this is not a punishment, and the guy’s just doing some gardening, so why have I got such a fucking issue with it?
“Don’t you have staff for this kind of thing?” I look at all the weeds and brambles on the heap and wonder where they came from. I’ve explored these gardens, and they’re immaculate.
“Got to do something to keep me busy.” He shrugs, taking off his gloves..
