Widow in White

Chapter Seventeen: Providence

Laura woke vaguely as Richard slipped into bed. He kissed her, rather clumsily in the dark on her ear, and she woke more properly.

"What time is it?" she murmured.

"After midnight. We stayed up talking." Richard put an arm around her and settled in close. "Go back to sleep, darling. I didn't mean to wake you."

"In a moment. The baby started kicking."

"What?" Richard fumbled under the sheets for her belly. "Where?"

"He's stopped now, and you wouldn't be able to feel it yet anyway. It's too faint. You'll have to wait a few weeks."

"That long?" He kissed the back of her shoulder, rough in his excitement. "Not fair."

"I'll remember that when the kicks start hurting," she said.

"Sorry." He kissed her again, more gently. She could smell the wine on his breath. It must have been a long, indulgent dinner. She thought he was even a little drunk. "You're the one who has the hard part." His kisses were now soft as the touch of a butterfly's wings, trailing down over her shoulder. "I wish I could do more to help."

"Darling, you're drunk," Laura said sleepily, nestling back into him. "I didn't mean it that way."

"But I mean it," he said, but by then she was asleep and did not hear it.

*   *   *

In the end, Giles found out from one of Albroke's maids where he'd gone, and all it cost him was a few kisses. As a bonus, he learned too that the bitch was pregnant.

"Bit of a surprise for us," the maid had said with a giggle. "We thought she was just getting fat, you know, now that she was married him, 'til she ordered the nurseries be cleaned. So now they've gone off to visit his brother, before her confinement comes."

At first it angered Giles to hear this development, but he realized, as he rode north in pursuit of his prey, that there was opportunity in it too. Merely revealing the letters to Albroke was too small an act of vengeance, too incomplete. It was his wife who would be hurt by that, not Albroke himself. But now the letters would not just embarrass Albroke's wife, but cast doubt upon the paternity of her child. Albroke could not help but be humiliated by that.

It still did not seem enough to Giles, but it was a hopeful beginning.

*   *   *

The first few days, Laura continued to feel strangely alone and out-of-place in Neil's house. Not that he was unkind to her — in fact, she could tell he was doing his best to make her feel welcome. And Verity was very thoughtful in making sure that Laura never had to ask for tea and sandwiches, never was made too tired by long walks or social calls or Annie's incessant energy. But Richard was very much absent from her.

The first day, he was away with Annie all morning in the woods, and when he came back, several cousins of Verity's had come to tea. Richard knew all of them. It was somewhat amusing to Laura, at first, to note how peeved Verity's female cousins were to see her and how pleasant they were by comparison to Richard. It became less amusing as Richard remained determinedly polite in the face of their flirtations. When the cousins left at last, Richard went out onto the terrace where he paced up and down with his stick thumping savagely against the flagstones.

"It was a great disappointment here, when word came that he was married," Verity said, following Laura's gaze. "My cousins were all vying for him."

"No really? I'd never have guessed."

Verity gave a half-smile, as if she wasn't sure if that was a joke or not. "They never had a chance, of course."