Free One-Night Pregnancy by Lindsay Armstrong Page B

baby—whether there was a future or otherwise for her with Adam Beaumont—she had to clear herself of this stigma she’d acquired.
    It was supremely important—because it affected her standing not only in his eyes but in her own.
    How, though?
    No answer came to her immediately, but in the middle of the night she sat up with a name on her lips—Julia. Why not start with her? She did seem to know something about the Beaumonts. Maybe Julia could at least point her in the right direction…
    ‘Going away?’ Julia asked on Monday morning, during their coffee break in the TV station’s bright, bustling, impersonal cafeteria.
    ‘Away?’ Bridget looked at her, mystified.
    Julia frowned. ‘Don’t you have three weeks’ leave coming up tomorrow?’
    Bridget could have kicked herself. How could she have forgotten? But, come to think of it, how fortuitous?
    ‘Yes. No,’ she said, and bit her lip. ‘I mean, yes, I do, and, no, I’m not going away. I was—that is, I’m planning to potter.’
    ‘Are you all right?’ Julia queried.
    ‘Fine,’ Bridget lied. ‘Julia, tell me more about the Beaumont brothers.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘Just interested. It seems to be a fairly topical subject these days.’
    Julia cut her blueberry muffin in half and buttered it before she responded. ‘They were probably destined to feud from day one. Henry was always the apple of his father Kevin’s eye, but the fact is neither Henry nor his father had the approval of Samuel Beaumont, Henry’s grandfather. He was the founder of it all. And, while he didn’t approve of his son or his eldest grandson, he did increasingly approve of Adam and see him as a more suitable heir. But Samuel died unexpectedly, and Adamgot pushed more and more into the background. He was only twenty when Samuel died.’
    ‘I…see,’ Bridget said slowly. ‘That wouldn’t make for a happy family, precisely.’
    Julia shrugged. ‘No. Mind you, Adam branched out on his own and turned a medium-sized construction company into a billion-dollar enterprise. So he did justify his grandfather’s approval, you could say.’
    Bridget’s lips parted. ‘So why does he still—?’ She stopped.
    ‘Hanker for Beaumonts?’ Julia supplied with a world-weary little smile. ‘That’s probably men for you. Power is important. He is a Beaumont. And Henry is seen by some as not doing a great job with the company. But there’s also more, a woman—’
    Julia broke off rather abruptly, and Bridget had it on the tip of her tongue to say His brother’s wife? But she stopped herself on the thought that she had not yet revealed one word of what he’d said that night, despite what Adam Beaumont might like to think, and she wasn’t about to start.
    ‘Are the brothers alike?’ she asked instead.
    ‘On the surface, in some ways.’ Julia paused thoughtfully. ‘Henry’s very good-looking, and quite charismatic, but…’ She put her cappuccino down and patted her lips with a serviette. ‘Why do you want to know all this, Bridge?’ she asked rather intently.
    Bridget shrugged. ‘Just interested,’ she repeated.
    Julia Nixon looked at Bridget closely and noted the faint blue shadows beneath her eyes, testament to severalsleepless nights. And she recalled Bridget’s earlier confusion on the subject of her upcoming leave.
    ‘Uh-oh,’ she said. ‘You fell for him, didn’t you? Look, I’m probably wasting my time, but don’t go there, sweetie. It’s a no-go zone. Both of them are—as I know to my cost.’
    Bridget blinked at her. ‘What do you mean? How do you know to your cost? And what?’
    Julia shrugged. ‘I was Henry Beaumont’s mistress.’
    That evening Bridget, still reeling with shock at Julia’s incredible revelations, dialled the number Adam Beaumont had given her with a shaking finger.
    A disembodied male voice she didn’t recognise said, ‘Adam Beaumont’s line.’
    ‘Could I speak to Mr Beaumont, please?’
    ‘I’ll just check, ma’am. Who may I say