“Why?” Elizabeth mumbled, sounding sad and finally giving him what he wanted.
“Because you’ve just made her a very rich woman.”
Chapter 22
“Mary?” Elizabeth asked, swallowing nervously as she reached out and gripped the sides of the tub, praying that the inheritance that had been meant for her would go to the one sister that would use it wisely.
Mary would use it as Elizabeth had planned. She’d turn the estates that she’d inherited into schools for the poor as well as safe homes where women would be given training and more options in life. The money that she’d inherited would have gone a long way to make sure that all the schools could have run tuition-free for many generations to come.
The only estate that Elizabeth had planned on keeping for herself was her north estate. It would have been more than enough for her to live out the rest of her days quietly, but Mary wouldn’t need that and would most likely turn it into another opportunity to help the less fortunate. Heather, on the other hand…
She wouldn’t part with a single quid if it meant that it helped someone that she deemed beneath her. Heather would spend the money on lavish gowns, jewels, parties, and every expensive bauble that she could get her greedy hands on. She would never even consider helping anyone but herself.
When Robert had happily announced the loss of her inheritance, she’d felt sick. She’d failed. The fact that she couldn’t regret her baby, even if it meant the loss for so many, made her feel horrible. If Mary were the one to inherit in her place, then everything would be okay. Mary would fix this. Mary would make sure that the schools were started immediately. Mary would-
“Heather stands to inherit, of course,” Robert announced, shattering her last hope.
“Oh…God…no,” Elizabeth whispered hollowly.
Robert chuckled as he slowly walked to the door. “Yes, I’m sure that you’re quite upset about that. No doubt that Mary would have given you whatever you wanted, but Heather…” he said meaningfully as he paused before continuing, “I doubt that Heather would share so much as a shilling with you.”
Her stomach cramped down violently with that last announcement. All of her and Mary’s plans for the future were gone. There would be no schools, no donations to the poor…nothing. She’d lost it all in one night. So many lives that were never going to have a chance because of her.
She’d ruined everything because she’d fallen in love with the wrong man, Elizabeth thought numbly as she struggled to stand up on trembling legs as her head spun.
Fresh air, she needed fresh air, Elizabeth decided as she somehow managed to stand up.
“Elizabeth?” Robert said, sounding uncertain as she struggled to step out of the tub.
“J-Just leave me alone, Robert. You’ve delivered your blow, so just go,” Elizabeth said just before her legs gave out.
“Elizabeth?” Robert said anxiously as he cradled his unwanted wife in his arms.
She’d gone deathly pale on him. Her cold body trembled in his arms even as she tried to push him away.
“Leave me alone,” Elizabeth mumbled, pushing weakly against him to gain her freedom, but he simply ignored her attempts as he carried her to the bed and laid her down.
She was just playing a game, Robert tried to tell himself as he pulled his arms away so that he could stand up. She was simply upset that she’d lost a fortune, he told himself, doing his damndest to build up his anger at her once again. She was just trying to manipulate him so that he would…so that he would…
“Oh, God,” he choked out as he slowly stood up, his eyes locked on the blood that stained her pale thighs.
“I-I don’t feel very good,” Elizabeth mumbled, whimpering as she turned onto her side and curled into herself.
Robert swallowed his fears for his unborn child and wife as he took a step back, stumbling on unsteady legs. He blindly reached out and grabbed the silk rope hanging by her bed and pulled on it, again and again, until he was sure that there was a small army of servants racing to their room.
Once that was done, Robert dropped down onto his knees next to the bed and covered Elizabeth’s cold hands where they rested over her womb with his own. He gave her hands a gentle squeeze as she quietly sobbed, no doubt realizing that she’d just lost their child.
“I’m going to kill him!” Lord Norwood shouted as he was once again dragged back by the servants that were desperate to save their employer from murder charges.
Robert barely heard his father-in-law or cared for that matter. His focus was on the door in front of him as he waited for it to open and for the surgeon to tell him that his wife would be okay.
He wasn’t sure how long ago the surgeon had demanded his removal from the room. The only reason that he’d agreed was so that Elizabeth would be granted some privacy, but he’d also thought that her mother would have dragged her ass out of bed and comforted her daughter. When it became obvious that Lady Norwood had no plans to comfort Elizabeth, Robert had asked his mother to help.
His mother hadn’t hesitated in offering her daughter-in-law some comfort. As upset as his mother was, and he had no doubt that she was distraught over their situation, she’d hurried from her room and straight into Elizabeth’s room without sparing him a glance. She truly loved Elizabeth and he thanked God for that.
He couldn’t stomach the idea of Elizabeth being alone right now. As furious as he was over the fact that she’d lied to him, Robert realized something important. He truly did care for her, more than he ever thought possible. He didn’t want to lose her, not yet, not before he could tell her how sorry he was for causing her to lose their child.
As much as he’d once hated her, he’d had no right to torment her the way he had. She’d been carrying his child and he should have given that some consideration instead of acting like a child and giving into his anger. He’d never regretted his temper more and, as God was his witness, he would never treat her that way ever again.
