Chapter 12
Who ever said that tomorrow never came?
It was here now and it was the hardest thing Bella had ever done, returning to the Dawsons’ house.
‘We’ll talk tomorrow,’ had been Oliver’s parting words when he’d taken his mother home from the wedding.
Kate and Connor had left this morning, for their tropical island honeymoon in Rarotonga.
Her family had gone home as well, with Bella assuring them that she was fine.
She would have to tell them the truth very soon but not just yet.
Not until she had spoken properly to the father of this baby she was carrying.
But she felt very alone now.
And very scared.
She let herself into the Dawson mansion by a side door near the kitchen that she had a key for.
The kitchen was empty and, being a Sunday, the housekeeper was having her day off.
It was supposed to be Bella’s day off as well, because it was the day of the week that Oliver was most likely to be at home and available if his mother needed assistance, but, as often as not, in the last weeks he had been called in for some emergency and Bella hadn’t minded.
She was being paid quite well enough to be expected to be here twenty-four-seven.
She knew where she’d probably find her employer. On a quiet Sunday morning, Lady Dorothy loved to sit in a corner of the conservatory and listen to a radio programme that featured hymns.
‘I’ve always loved getting dressed up and going to church,’ she’d told Bella. ‘Not that I’ve done it nearly often enough in recent years.’
Maybe she’d decided to do it today after the pleasure in dressing up to go to Kate’s wedding yesterday. If she had, then Oliver would have accompanied her.
But Lady Dorothy was in her usual spot amongst the potted palm trees. Her face lit up in a smile as she saw Bella approaching. The smile widened when her gaze dropped and she saw what Bella was carrying.
‘Oh… you’ve brought Bib. I’m so pleased.’
‘Are you sure about this?’ Bella crouched beside the plastic carry cage. ‘She’s not really a kitten any more and she can be quite demanding if she doesn’t get the attention she wants.’
‘Can’t we all?’ Lady Dorothy murmured. ‘All the more reason to bring her here while Kate and Connor are away on their honeymoon. She might have got lonely with you only popping over a couple of times a day. How awful would it have been if she’d run away?’
‘That’s true.’ Bella opened the door of the box and Bib ventured out without hesitation. With a flick of a fluffy grey tail, she sniffed the air and started to investigate her new surroundings. Within seconds she was sharpening her claws on the trunk of the nearest palm tree.
‘Bad cat,’ Bella admonished, picking her up. Bib started purring loudly but then wriggled to get down. She trotted to Lady Dorothy’s chair, leapt up into her lap and then settled into a fluffy ball, still purring.
Lady Dorothy stroked the cat. And smiled.
Bella tried to smile back but her lips wobbled. ‘W-where’s Oliver?’ she asked quietly. ‘I think it’s time I talked to him.’
‘Of course. I’m not sure he’s up yet.’
‘He hasn’t been up to see you?’ Bella glanced at her watch, horrified. It was nearly 10 a.m.
‘Don’t worry.’ A quiet pride wrapped itself around Lady Dorothy’s words. ‘I tested my blood sugar myself. And I could have called Oliver to help me with my insulin injection but I didn’t need to.’
‘Oh… that’s wonderful. Well done, you.’
‘Oliver might be having a swim. Or using one of those dreadful fitness machines he’s so fond of. Do you want to go downstairs and find him?’
Bella shook her head sharply. No way was she going to go downstairs. The last thing Oliver would appreciate would be having the conversation they had to have if he was dripping wet and probably half-naked.
She drew in a deep breath and clamped her lips together to stop them trembling, but it was impossible to hold back the sting of tears. She blinked hard and willed them away, dipping her head and pretending to fuss with the catch on the carry-cage.
‘You care rather a lot about Oliver, don’t you, love?’ It was an observation rather than a question.
Bella nodded, without looking up. Of course Lady Dorothy would know. She’d been aware of practically every glance happening. How embarrassing was it to know that the sexual frisson in the air every time she’d been in the same room with Oliver had probably been noticed by his mother?
Not that Lady Dorothy seemed to mind. Bella’s love for her welled up, and she had to look up and smile then. Lady Dorothy smiled back but her eyes were full of concern.
‘There’s something I should tell you before you talk to Oliver.’
‘Oh?’
Lady Dorothy looked embarrassed now. ‘There have always been a number of women who are interested in what Oliver has rather than who he is. It’s probably contributed to how… wary he is with women.’
Bella’s jaw was dropping. Surely Lady Dorothy wasn’t suggesting that she was interested in Oliver’s money? But Lady Dorothy held up her hand to stop her protest.
‘A very long time ago, when Oliver was first at university, there was a girl who was determined to marry him. Determined enough to pretend she was pregnant.’
This time, Bella couldn’t stay quiet. ‘I’m not pretending,’ she said vehemently. ‘And I’m not a gold-digger. I don’t want his money.’
That Lady Dorothy could even suggest such a thing was astonishingly hurtful. She scrambled to her feet. ‘I can take care of this baby myself. I intend to take care of it myself.’
‘Take care of it?’ Lady Dorothy went pale. ‘You don’t mean…’
Bib jumped off her lap, sensing the tension.
‘No, I don’t,’ Bella said, not even trying to check the tears running down her cheeks. ‘I want this baby.’
‘Oh, my dear. So do I. More than I could ever put into words.’
Bella changed her mind about fleeing the room. She stared at Lady Dorothy.
‘What I was trying to say, obviously clumsily, is that you might need to be patient with Oliver. Give him a chance?’
Bella bit her lip and scrubbed the tears from her face.
‘Whatever happens between you and my son is really none of my business,’ Lady Dorothy continued.
‘What I will say is that I think you’re a wonderful girl, Bella.
You have so much love to give. So much joy that you bring to those around you.
You need to know that you’ll have my full support, financial or otherwise. ’
Bella’s chin rose at the repeated mention of money, but Lady Dorothy shook her head. She blinked rapidly a few times and looked, horribly, as though she might be struggling with tears herself.
‘You came to work for me because I reminded you of your nana, didn’t you?’ she asked softly.
Bella nodded slowly.
‘Well… this baby of yours will be my grandchild.’ Yes, there was definitely a tremble in Lady Dorothy’s voice. ‘Maybe the only one I’ll ever have and all I really wanted to say was that if this baby is anything like its mother, I will consider myself truly blessed.’
‘Oh…’ It was the only word Bella was capable of. She bent down and hugged Lady Dorothy tightly.
She was still hugging her when she heard her name.
‘Bella? I’d like a word, if you wouldn’t mind.’
* * *
He had intended talking to Bella as soon as she’d arrived this morning, but he’d mistimed it. Instead, Oliver had overheard the last thing his mother had said, and what he was planning to say to Bella no longer seemed like a good idea.
How could he offer to marry her and do the best by his child when it would now seem as if he was only doing what would please his mother the most?
A vaguely disquieting memory was surfacing with a vengeance now.
When he’d thought that Bella was the person who had upset Lady Dorothy so much by producing the pink track pants for her to wear, he’d been prepared to go and tear strips off her to defend his mother.
And he’d been embarrassed at the thought that he might seem like some kind of mummy’s boy.
Offering to marry her now, after hearing those words about the impending grandchild, could very well be seen as doing exactly what his mother wanted so badly. What she might have told him to do because it was the ‘right thing’.
Or, worse, simply as doing the ‘right thing’ because he was pompous and stuffy and… boringly predictable. The absolute opposite of everything Bella was.
By the time he’d led her into the far more formal drawing room, Oliver felt like he was back on that damned merry-go-round. The first words that burst from his mouth when he had closed the door and turned to face Bella were certainly not what he’d planned to say.
‘How the hell did this happen, Bella?’
Bella just looked at him, her eyes huge and scared and so very, very blue. Her hair was in a loose ponytail this morning and some shorter curls had escaped to frame her face. She was breathing fast and he could see the soft skin at the top of her breasts rising and falling.
What a stupid, stupid question. He knew exactly how it had happened. And, God help him, if he had the opportunity to relive the circumstances that had caused them to be standing here like this, he would probably be unable to resist the temptation.
He’d never wanted any woman the way he still wanted Bella Graham. Oliver closed his eyes, struggling for control. ‘You told me you were on the Pill.’
‘No. I said I was safe. I was talking about STDs. I’d been tested ages ago. I never slept around. I knew I—’
‘I asked if you were on the Pill,’ Oliver cut in. ‘You knew you weren’t and yet you let me think that the issue of an unwanted pregnancy wasn’t a problem.’
‘I didn’t think it was. I had a morning-after pill available.’
‘And you took it?’
‘Of course I took it.’
There was a spark of something like real anger in Bella’s eyes now. Did she think that he was suggesting she’d planned this all along, to get his name and his fortune? Well, it wouldn’t be the first time, and there was something in her face now that actually made him more suspicious.
Guilt. It had to be.