Forever Mine (43 page)

“Then there’s
no way
in hell you’ll be like your father where
our
baby is concerned.”

The conviction on her face made his heart tighten in his chest, and he marveled at the love he saw shining in her eyes. Regret rolled through him as he cupped her face with his hands and placed a tender kiss on her brow.

“I was a coward for deserting you last night, sweet witch,” he whispered.

“I’m just as much to blame,” she said in a choked voice as she wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his shoulder. “I knew you would think I was like Vickie and her lies all over again. I betrayed you by not telling you the truth from the start.”

“You are
nothing
like, Vickie,” he growled fiercely as he forced her to look up at him. “And you
didn’t
betray me. I would still have had doubts even if you’d told me right away.”

“Then you believe me when I say you’re not like your father and never will be?”

“Yes,” he said as a small smile tilted the corners of his mouth. He’d never had a more beautiful or passionate champion to defend him.

“I have a confession to make,” she murmured as she nibbled at her bottom lip. “I did think about bringing on one of my headaches, but the moment I considered it, I knew I’d never be able to do it. I want this baby, Nicholas.”

“As do I,” he said softly as he realized it was the truth.

Whatever happened, he would love the child, because the babe would be the culmination of their love for each other. She laid her head on his shoulder, and he heard her yawn.

“I know you’re tired, my love, but you have another champion who wishes to see you before you retire for the night.”

“Edmund?” she asked with a smile. “Where is he?”

“In the hall,” he said with a smile. “I knew better than to send him to bed, I imagine he would have punched me again.”

“He hit you?” Her eyes widened as she stared at him in astonishment as she left his embrace and moved to the wardrobe to retrieve her robe.

“He landed a couple of sound blows to my jaw when I came home from the club today. He was furious with me for having driven you away,” he said with a hint affectionate amusement. “I’m certain he’ll not be able to rest until he knows you’re all right, and God knows he won’t believe me.”

“Then I won’t disappoint him.” Victoria’s smile was filled with warmth and love as she looked over her shoulder at him. His heart had never been so full as it was at this moment. His wife loved him in spite of his faults. No other man in the world could have been as lucky as he was.

V
ictoria grimaced as the baby moved inside her belly to a position that was obviously more comfortable for him. The only problem was it made
her
extremely uncomfortable. She stared down at the page in her journal and the last few paragraphs. She smiled despite her uncomfortable state.

I wish this baby would hurry up and get here. The weather has been boiling hot. Who knew England could be this miserable in summer. I thought it would be cool. It might be all these layers of clothing, and the pregnancy isn’t helping either. Dr. Bertram says it won’t be long now, but I’m not sure I trust him. Men don’t have a clue about what it’s like to be pregnant. Even Nicholas, as much as I love him, can be a bit of an ass sometimes about how uncomfortable I am.

Edmund is the only one who seems to get the fact that I’m really uncomfortable. He’s such a sweet man, and I love him dearly. I think about the time before I came to Brentwood Park less and less. It seems more like a dream. Perhaps Nicholas is right. It might be a fabrication my mind created while I was missing for three weeks. I can only assume the blow to my head changed my behavior for the better. No, I don’t really believe that. None of it makes sense, but I can’t believe my life in the future wasn’t real. At least everyone here doesn’t have to deal with the real countess any more. The woman was a major bitch and made everyone’s life miserable. It does worry me some that Nicholas hasn’t mentioned that bastard Reardon for the last several months. Every time I ask him about the man he simply says there isn’t any news.

Victoria closed the journal and tucked it back into its hiding spot in her desk. It was the second journal she’d almost filled completely, and her fingers brushed over the first volume as she put the second one back in place. After her death as an old woman, someone would read them and wonder how she managed to escape the psych ward.

A soft noise made her turn her head, and she saw Edmund standing near the door. She frowned in puzzlement at his wistful expression, and she beckoned to him. He raced forward to squat down in front of her with his elbows tucked in between his legs.

“I didn’t want to bother you while you were writing, so I kept still for the longest time.”

“That was very thoughtful of you Edmund. Now why don’t you tell me what’s wrong, sweetheart? You looked really sad this afternoon.”

“I’m sad because you have to go away.”

“Go away?” She frowned as her heart skipped a beat in fear. “What do you mean?”

“I know you have to go, but I don’t want you to,” Edmund said with an angry frown.

“What makes you think I’m going away, Edmund?” Victoria stared at her brother-in-law with a growing sense of unease at his emphatic belief.

“My momma came to me last night, and she said you would have to go away.”

The certainty in his voice sent a shiver down her spine. Did he somehow sense she wasn’t really supposed to be here? Was he intuitive like Anna?

“What else did your mother tell you?”

“Mama said you forgot about the secret. She said I should show it to you again so you wouldn’t forget.” Edmund tipped his head to one side as he spoke.

“What secret, Edmund?” Puzzled, she frowned.

Scrambling to his feet, he grabbed her hand and solicitously helped her to her feet then pulled her toward the fireplace. On the left side of the mantle, Edmund reached out and pressed the third rose down from the top of the shelf. The flower was part of the intricate pattern of roses that wound its way up the sides of the fireplace to meet at the center of the mantle.

The moment Edmund pushed the flower inward, she heard a soft click, and the whole side of the mantle swung open to reveal several narrow shelves capable of holding valuables. The cleverly concealed compartment joined with the mantel’s wood inlay in a seamless joint, which made the secret compartment impossible to detect.

“Edmund, does anyone else knows about this hiding spot?”

“No, not even Nicholas,” he said. “Momma said you would remember about the book when I showed you the secret door.”

Trepidation tightened her throat. Christ, first she’d been thrown into the past, suffered from frightening visions and now Edmund was telling her about a ghost. She snorted silently. Why should Edmund’s story about his mother surprise her? She was from the future living in the past. Living the life of another woman. How could she question the logic of a message from a dead woman?

Because she wasn’t from the future. It was simply a lie her brain had created. A voice laughed at her in the back of her head. She simply wanted to believe that because it would eliminate the fear that she would eventually be pulled back to her own time. Her heart skidded along as fear threatened to take over her thoughts, but she pushed the emotion back into the darkness from where it had crawled from.

She peered into the hiding place with its dusty shelves. Sneezing, she saw something shoved all the way to the back of the top shelf. Cautiously, she pulled the item out of the cubby hole.

“See, Victoria, it’s the black book you hid there before you came back as a nice person.” The nervous tension in his voice made her glance in his direction. Fear pinched his features, and she patted his arm to calm him.

“It’s alright, Edmund. There’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s just a book.”

He shook his head vigorously in protest, but didn’t move. Returning her attention to the book, she flipped it open and frowned. There were names, dates, and locations. Among the references, she immediately recognized the familiar London icon, Big Ben. The letters P. M. in front of so many names rang a bell with her too, but she couldn’t place where she’d seen them before.

Frowning, she turned one page after another to find the slim volume filled with different names at the top of each page. It didn’t make sense. What would Vickie be doing with a book like this? Toward the rear of the volume, her eyes focused on the name Darby.

Fear snaked through her as she stared at the name and that terrible night at the opera flooded through her. She forced the horror of those terrible moments aside to focus on the book in her hand. There was nothing about it that made any sense whatsoever.

If she showed it to Nicholas he might know what all the names meant. He would be home day after tomorrow when Parliament went into recess. She would show it to him then. Victoria put the book back into the cubby hole and shut the secret door. She turned toward Edmund and smiled.

“I don’t remember why I have the book or why I hid it, Edmund. But it looks important, so we’re going to leave it hidden until Nicholas comes home. We’ll show it to him, and he’ll know what to do with it. Sound like a plan?”

“I’m afraid, Victoria. I don’t want the bad men to come and hurt you.”

“There’s nothing to be afraid of. Nicholas will know what to do with the book, and no one’s going to hurt me.” What men was Edmund referring to? The men in her nightmares? She shivered.

“Are you all right, Victoria?” The fear in Edmund’s voice made her reach for his hand.

“Of course, sweetheart.” She smiled and squeezed his hand. “There’s nothing to worry about. Nicholas would never let anything happen to either one of us. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yep. Nicholas will keep us safe,” Edmund said with renewed confidence.

“All right, now isn’t it time for tea?”

“Uh huh.” With a grin, Edmund, with his hand still holding hers, pulled her toward the door. “Cook made me apple tarts today.”

“You and your apple—” her words came to an abrupt halt as a rush of warm liquid ran down her legs and formed a puddle at her feet.

“Victoria, you peed all over the floor.” Edmund’s wide-eyed look of appalled amusement made her choke out a laugh despite the sudden, hard contraction that twisted painfully in her belly.

“Edmund, go get Mrs. Beechum.” She tried to keep the panic out of her voice, but failed. A look of fear swept over Edmund’s face. She shook her head and smiled despite the painful contraction. “It’s all right, Edmund. The baby is coming. Go find Mrs. Beechum and Molly
now
.”

A look of wonder swept over her brother-in-law’s face, and with a bob of his head he raced out of the room. The contraction easing, Victoria pulled out a lightweight lawn nightgown from her wardrobe. Her hair was already sticking to the nape of her neck, and her water breaking had left her legs sticky as well.

She moved into the bathroom at a slow pace and wet a cloth to apply to the back of her neck. She lifted her head and stared into the mirror and smiled. She was about to have a baby. Another contraction twisted through her, and she sucked in a sharp breath before releasing a cry of pain. The contraction seemed to go on forever, and she breathed a sigh of relief as the pain faded.

“You’re being a real pain in the ass, baby, just like your father can be sometimes.”

“More like his mother I think.” The familiar voice echoing in her ears made Victoria jerk her head toward the bathroom door. Her heart sang as Nicholas closed the distance between them.

“Nicholas, you weren’t supposed to be home for another two days.”

“My bill won’t come up until the next session, and I had a feeling my wife might need me,” he murmured as he kissed her gently. “It seems I was right.”

Another contraction built up and lashed its way across her belly. She released a quiet sob of pain, and concern darkened Nicholas’ features. He quickly wrapped his arm around her waist to ensure she remained upright. The contraction lasted for at least a minute, and as the pain eased, Mrs. Beechum and Molly hurried through the doorway of the bathroom. A beaming smile on her face, the housekeeper immediately took charge.

“Molly run the hot water, we’ll need it soon. Come, my lady. Let’s get you into your nightgown. You’ll find it much cooler than your dress.” Mrs. Beechum glanced at Nicholas. “My Lord, if you would, Master Edmund is beside himself outside her ladyship’s door. He keeps talking about her ladyship going away. Would you mind reassuring him that all is well?”

Nicholas stiffened beside her, and his tension pulsed its way into her body. She grasped his arm, and smiled up at him.

“I’ll be fine. I’m just having a baby. I’m not going anywhere. Go to him. He’s just scared.” Despite her calm reassuring manner, Nicholas still appeared reluctant to leave her. She smiled up at him and nodded her head toward the door. With a grimace, Nicholas kissed her.

“Very well, but you’re not to go anywhere,” he murmured with a twinkle in his eye that vanished as soon as she gasped at the contraction taking hold of her. She heard Nicholas grunt with discomfort as her fingers dug into his arms. Mrs. Beechum dampened another hand cloth and gently wiped the sweat off of Victoria’s face as the contraction eased. His features taut with worry, Nicholas looked at Mrs. Beechum.