Free The Guilty Wife by Sally Wentworth

'Although it's not like you to get so upset.'
    Fear that he might start questioning gripped her, so Lucie managed to say flippantly, 'Must be my interesting condition.'
    'Did you go to the doctor's to confirm it?'
    'No. I went up to see Aunt Kate, remember?'
    'Of course. But there can be no doubt?'
    'No.' She smiled at him, but somehow the joy that the knowledge should have given her wasn't in her face. Seton frowned, unease in his eyes, and pulled her to him. 'It's understandable that you feel nervous here on your own. I'll try to go away as little as possible in the next few months.'
    She sat up straight, tried to make her voice firm. 'No, you mustn't do that. I was just being silly, overreacting. Now the number's been changed I'll be fine. Really. And next week I'll go to see our doctor. Then, when we get the result, we'll tell your parents, shall we?'
    That thought distracted him, as she'd hoped it would, and the weekend progressed with some kind of normality. They took Sam to a play-barn the following morning, drinking coffee with some other parents while he enjoyed himself. In the afternoon Seton went to cricket practice while Lucie took Sam to a friend's birthday party, held in the village hall, where the thirty or so children were able to run wild and where Lucie was kept busy helping the distracted mother of the birthday child and so, thankfully, had no time to think. That evening they went to dinner at the house of friends, on Sunday morning they worked in the garden, and in the afternoon took Sam to the local pool, which he loved. He could already swim well and Seton was teaching him the backstroke. So it wasn't until Sunday night that Lucie and Seton were really alone together. Lucie tried very hard to be bright and happy, and largely succeeded. When they were in bed she said, 'It's been a busy weekend.' He murmured an acknowledgment, and she added, 'Did you do it on purpose? To take my mind off that phone call?'
    Seton chuckled. 'I'm that transparent, am I? But you're not so worried about it now, are you?'
    'No.' Lucie tried to sound positive. 'No, of course not.'
    'Good.' He kissed her back. 'You looked gorgeous in your swimsuit today.'
    'I shall soon be fat.'
    Putting his hand on her stomach, Seton said, 'The baby has to grow. And you'll be radiant and lovely, as you were with Sam.' He stroked her gently. 'Do you think it will be a girl?'
    'You can tell on the scan sometimes. Do you want me to try and find out?'
    'No. Let's wait and then have a lovely surprise.'
    'It might not be a girl,' she warned.
    'Well, a boy would be absolutely marvellous too— and maybe the next time it will be a girl.'
    'The next time!' Lucie exclaimed, and punched him on the shoulder. 'Just how many times are we going to try for this daughter?'
    'As long as it takes, of course,' Seton said with a grin. 'And anyway I hike you pregnant; you look so beautiful and so happy, as if someone had lit a light inside you.'
    She laughed. 'Well, I suppose you have, in a way.'
    He went on stroking her gently. Lucie turned her head and kissed his throat, letting herself sink in the warm, masculine smell of him, in his closeness, hi the strength of his arms. Then she said, her voice muffled, 'Sometimes I miss you so much.'
    Raising his hand, he turned her face towards him and stroked her hair, then bent to kiss her. 'Why, darling, you're crying.'
    'No, not really. It was just—just love, that's all.'
    Smiling tenderly, he kissed her eyes. 'My sweet girl.' Moving over her, he took her gently, moving slowly so that their pleasure was prolonged into a wonderful voyage of discovery, culminating in a golden burst of fulfilled delight that left Lucie physically exhausted. Still held in his arms, she fell immediately asleep. When Seton left to go away again on Monday Lucie was almost restored to happiness. And determined to stay that way. The incident was over; she could forget Rick and get back to living a normal life again. Her peace of mind lasted for