Page 37 of The Scandalous Love of a Duke (The Marlow Family Secrets #6)

Katherine lay back on the bed, her stomach churning.

The morning sickness had not subsided. She had not eaten breakfast for days.

It was easier to simply stay away from the table.

It was a good thing then that her family paid so little attention to her; none of them had said a word about her absence.

With one hand on her stomach she thought of John’s child growing there.

There was a feeling of awe to think of a child, a part of John, developing in her womb, and yet she had no idea what to do. When she thought about what would happen, fear constricted her throat.

For days now she had been building up her courage to ask Richard for help. She knew he had helped other women in the parish find somewhere safe. But she would lose his respect and his friendship, and she would lose Phillip and her father when she left.

At the beginning of this dreadful folly, she had longed to know how her mother had felt.

Now Katherine knew. Alone and ashamed. No wonder her mother had taken her own life.

Katherine was her mother’s perfect legacy – frail and na?ve.

But she would not follow her mother to the grave.

She wished the child to live and to have its mother.

A slight knock tapped her bedchamber door.

Katherine got up, ignoring the lurch of her stomach. She had dressed, in case anyone came. She sat on the window seat and picked up her mending. Then she called, ‘Come in,’ and set a smile on her face.

Hetty entered, waving a letter. ‘Av you not eaten, miss? This letter was left on the table. You’ve barely touched a thing in days. Still, here you are, I brought it up so you’d av it, miss.’

So, Hetty had noted Katherine’s absence.

‘Thank you.’ She accepted the letter.

Hetty bobbed a swift, shallow curtsy, then left.

Katherine felt faint when she saw the bold script. John’s. She took a deep breath and broke the seal.

He had written three lines, to repeat the offer he had made in the summer.

Then said again, ‘ remember me ’. She did not wish to, not any more.

She wanted to forget him. She would not live in sin with him.

Her child would not grow up being called his bastard.

The letter convinced her to speak to Richard.

John’s repeated offer only showed his lack of respect for her.

Angry, she crossed to her small travelling desk and wrote a letter back.