LITMIR.BIZ

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a rueful smile. ‘Look at the portrait, Mum. What do you think?’

      ‘Hmm.’ Her mother grimaced. ‘I think Andrew Southern was in love with Claudia.’

      ‘But was Claudia in love with him? That’s the question.’ Hebe shrugged.

      ‘I think so,’ her father answered consideringly. ‘Look at Claudia’s face—that glow. It’s the glow of a woman who has just been thoroughly loved,’ he acknowledged with a wince. ‘What do you think, Nick?’

      ‘I think it’s not the sort of portrait you would hang over the family fireplace,’ Nick acknowledged stiffly.

      ‘Only in a man’s bedroom, hmm?’ Hebe turned to mock him, only to find herself frowning when she saw the grim expression on his face, felt the restless anger emanating from him.

      What was wrong with him?

      She had tried to tell him all these things when he’d first showed her the portrait, that it wasn’t her but her mother, so why—?

      That was what was wrong with him. The fact that she had been right. And he had been wrong. About her, most of all.

      Hebe gave him a searching look, and Nick, becoming aware of that look, turned to her with glittering blue eyes so fierce and angry that she only just stopped herself taking a step back from him.

      Obviously Nick didn’t like to be wrong!

      ‘I also think,’ Nick bit out forcefully, ‘that with Claudia and Jacob Gardner both dead, there is only one person left in this triangle who can tell us the truth. It’s Andrew Southern we need to talk to next.’

      ‘I’ve already tried to contact him—with no luck,’ Hebe revealed with a disappointed shrug.

      ‘You have?’ Nick frowned darkly.

      ‘Yes, I have,’she confirmed defensively. ‘I gave his agent a letter and a photograph to forward on to him last Friday. No response, I’m afraid,’ she confided to her parents.

      ‘A photograph?’ Nick prompted suspiciously.

      ‘Of me,’Hebe told him dryly. ‘You said it yourself, Nick. My likeness to the woman in the portrait, to Claudia, is too much of a coincidence for it to be accidental. I was hoping that Andrew Southern would think so too, would realise that I have to be Claudia’s daughter, and possibly his too. But he hasn’t responded, so I guess that theory was wrong.’

      And she had been so hopeful too—had hoped to be able to throw the truth in Nick’s face once she had it, to prove that the things he believed about her were completely untrue.

      Of course Jean and Henry had done that for her by explaining exactly who Claudia was, but she was still disappointed that Andrew Southern hadn’t even bothered to so much as acknowledge her letter.

      ‘Not necessarily,’ Nick muttered grimly. ‘It’s only Monday now, Hebe,’ he said. ‘We have no idea when his agent forwarded the letter; Andrew Southern may not even have received it yet.’

      She supposed that could be a possibility…

      ‘So you think I could still hear from him?’ she asked slowly.

      ‘I believe it’s a possibility, yes.’ Nick nodded tersely. ‘And if you don’t, I’ll go and see his agent myself. You need to get to the bottom of this.’

      She did?

      Or Nick did?

      ‘In the meantime,’ Nick added briskly. ‘Hebe has an appointment with a specialist this afternoon; we’ll talk to him about Claudia’s medical history, and ask him to check whether or not Hebe could have a smiliar problem.’

      Hebe had forgotten all about her doctor’s appointment this afternoon in the excitement of this conversation.

      But Nick obviously hadn’t…

      He couldn’t seriously think that just because her mother had died in childbirth she might too, could he?

      Even if he did, hadn’t he realised yet that it would solve all his problems for him—that he would be able to have his baby and get rid of his gold-digging wife in one fell swoop!

      At the moment he looked like that saying—‘found a penny but lost a pound’.

      Although quite what the ‘penny’ and the ‘pound’ were in all of this Hebe had no idea…!

      CHAPTER ELEVEN

      ‘CHEER up, Nick,’ Hebe told him lightly, as they drove away from the doctor’s consulting rooms two hours later. ‘It might never happen!’

      It already had, as far as he was concerned.

      Neil Adams’s prognosis had been excellent, assuring them that Hebe probably would not have the same problem during childbirth as her mother had, and that even if she did, now that he was aware of it, he was sure they could deal with it when the time came. He had told them to just go away until next month, when he would examine Hebe again, and enjoy the pregnancy.

      Something Nick hadn’t let Hebe do too much of so far!

      Admittedly, they had only known about it for a few days, but Nick was all too aware that he had made those days pretty miserable for Hebe.

      Even if she did seem bright and bubbly now!

      He was still slightly in shock over discovering that the portrait had been of another woman, after all. Claudia—Hebe’s mother.

      How stunned Hebe must have been when he’d produced that portrait, knowing it wasn’t her even as Nick accused her of all manner of indiscretions.

      God, it made him cringe to remember the awful things he had said to her!

      Accusations he certainly owed her an apology for.

      But he owed her more than that, he acknowledged heavily. He owed Hebe the offer of her freedom, along with his support, emotionally and financially, during her pregnancy and after…

      She had been so adamant on Thursday that she wasn’t pregnant, so convinced that she couldn’t be, and she must have been totally shellshocked when the tests had shown that she was.

      And what had he done? Armed with the knowledge—so he’d thought—that Hebe had once been engaged to Jacob Gardner and then had had an unsuccessful affair with Andrew Southern, he had accused her of getting pregnant on purpose in order to trap herself a millionaire husband, that was what he had done!

      When what he should have been doing was assuring her that everything would work out fine, that he would look after her during her pregnancy, telling her that she would have no worries after the baby was born either, because he would care for both of them.

      He should have made all those offers without conditions, without even thinking she might want to marry him, let alone forcing her into doing so!

      He glanced at her briefly now, appreciative of just how beautiful she was. It was odd, but she appeared even more so since the doctor had confirmed her pregnancy. She seemed to have taken on that inner glow, her eyes deeply golden, her face creamy and flushed.

      She was everything and more that he could ever want in a wife, he realised. She had shown herself to be loyal and loving where her parents were concerned, understanding of the youthful mother who had died giving her life, and, most of all, she had put up with his boorish behaviour when inside she must have felt like screaming her innocence at him.

      Yes, Hebe was just too good for him, and he had to let her go.

      Nick didn’t look too happy, Hebe had to acknowledge, wondering what he could possibly be scowling about so darkly.

      ‘I do believe that Claudia was just a rebellious teenager who got into a situation way over her head…’ she began tentatively.

      ‘Could we leave this for now, Hebe?’ Nick

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