The Second Bride (17 page)

The sister standing in attendance behind the consultant nodded sagely. 'You were fortunate
Mr
Conway was on hand in the hospital. Your condition was life-threatening, Mrs Grierson.'

James Conway smiled reassuringly.
'I'm
sorry about the vertical scar—I couldn't take time to do a cosmetic bikini job. But I put things right, removed the ruptured tube, and once you've had enough blood you'll be up and about and back to normal far sooner than you think.'

Jo licked her dry lips. '
Mr
Conway,' she said, dreading his answer, 'please be frank with me. Does this mean I can't have another child?'

'Good heavens, no,' he said cheerfully. 'It might not be quite as easy with only one tube, but you'll manage. Lots of women do. In no time at all you'll be coming to one of my antenatal clinics.'

Jo doubted this. She looked away. 'Was there anything I could have done, or not done,' she said carefully, 'to avoid what happened?'

'Nothing at all, my dear. One of nature's cruel little tricks, I'm afraid. Don't worry, it's unlikely to happen a second time.' He patted her hand, then got up and strode off to begin on his operating list for the day, his entourage in close pursuit.

Because Jo was in a private room there was no limit put on the number of visitors allowed to see her— something she had cause to regret by the end of the first day. Rufus arrived as soon as the morning round was over, and brought her an exquisite arrangement of autumn flowers, plus a supply of fresh nightgowns, her toilet things, a couple of novels and some magazines.

'No chocolates,' he said, smiling as he bent to kiss her cheek. 'How do you feel, Jo?'

'Better than last night,' she assured him. 'And once they finish pumping blood into me I'll feel better still, I'm told.'

'I had a word with James Conway,' he said, sitting down. He took her hand in his and smoothed the back of it with a long finger. 'He put me in the picture. Said there's no reason why you can't have children in the normal way in future.' His eyes met hers. 'Though after what you went through I imagine the last thing you want is to make the attempt.'

They exchanged a long, unwavering look, then Jo turned her head away. 'The flowers are lovely. Thank you, Rufus.'

'Is there anything else you need?'

'No. You've thought of everything.'

Rufus stood up, looking pale and drawn above the dark, formal suit. 'I need to put in an hour or so in chambers, but I'll be back later.'

She nodded listlessly. 'Thank you.'

'You've nothing to thank me for, Jo.' His mouth twisted. 'Quite the contrary.'

At which point Rose Fielding arrived, and after a quick exchange of greetings Rufus excused himself and went off.

After embracing her daughter Rose Fielding sat down beside the bed, anxious to know every detail of what happened. 'I've told Thalia and Callie, of course, but staved off a visit from them until you feel better. They were all for coming with me this morning, but I vetoed that.' She took Jo's hand. 'Obviously I had to tell them about the baby, darling.'

'It's all right, Mother,' said Jo wearily. 'It's hardly a secret any more.' Tears slid down her cheeks again, and she mopped them up hurriedly. 'Funny, isn't it? At one time I could never cry. Now I can't stop.'

'I shouldn't try. Let it out, darling.' The hand tightened. 'You really wanted the baby, didn't you?'

Jo nodded miserably. 'And now Rufus is stuck with a wife he only married because he got her pregnant. What a mess.'

Mrs Fielding looked stunned. 'Is that how Rufus feels too?'

'How do I know, Mother?' said Jo irritably. 'It's impossible to know what Rufus feels, ever.'

'He was in a terrible state when he rang me last night. Totally distraught.'

Jo nodded morosely. 'Probably felt he'd murdered me.'

'Murdered
you?'

'Apparently I could have died.'

'An ectopic pregnancy is nobody's fault, Jo.'

'I know. But he considers it his fault I was pregnant at all, ectopic or otherwise.'

'And was it?' said Mrs Fielding gently.

Jo turned heavy eyes on her mother. 'No. I'll spare you the intimate details, but it was my fault as much as his. I never imagined—' She broke off, biting her lip, and stared at the flowers Rufus had brought her.

Rose Fielding got up and began to unpack the bulging carrier bag she'd brought with her. 'Thalia sent you one of those sex-and-shopping novels and Callie's sending flowers. I've brought you a cookery book.'

Jo smiled reluctantly. 'A cookery book! In hospital?'

'I thought you could
swot
up some recipes to try out on Rufus when you get home.' Rose Fielding gave her daughter a wry smile. 'Or did you imagine that now there's no baby Rufus would send you post-haste back to your attic to resume a life of single blessedness?'

Since that, in essence, was exactly what Jo had pictured as her future she burst into tears again, and this time her mother took her in her arms and held her close until the storm was over.

The
Griersons
came to see Jo shortly afterwards, full of good wishes from Rory and Susannah, and both of them so concerned and sympathetic that Jo felt less embarrassed than expected over the pregnancy which had been kept secret from them. George Grierson stayed only a few minutes, but his wife settled down with Rose for a comfortable chat. Jo listened in amusement as between them the two women sorted her life out for her. By the time they left she'd been told that another baby was the best remedy possible to help her get over the first one, and Rufus would be ordered to see to it as soon as Jo recovered.

'I gather my mother's been trampling all over your sensibilities,' said Rufus when he visited her that evening. 'Sorry about that. She means well.'

'My mother was in complete agreement,' Jo assured him.

'You look better tonight,' he observed, relieved.

'Apparently I'll be almost as good as new in a day or two.'

'I doubt that,' he said crisply. 'When you come home I want you to take it easy for a while.'

'Mother brought me a cookery book,' said Jo evasively. 'Apparently I'm to
swot
up on it in here so I can delight you with all sorts of new dishes when I get home.'

Rufus
gave her
a
smile of
genuine
amusement for the first time since their honeymoon. 'She's quite a lady, your mother. She wouldn't come and stay with me, you know, nor with my parents.'

'It's nothing personal. She's like me. Needs her space. She's got a list of old chums to visit, and she can invite them back if she's at my place.' Jo smiled at him. 'She works hard at being a trouble-free mother-in-law, Rufus. Hates to think she's being a nuisance.'

'She could never be that,' he said, and got up to look at her selection of literature. A bookmark protruded from one of the thrillers he'd brought her. 'Is it good?'

'Very. My concentration isn't what it might be, but I'm enjoying it.'

'Is there anything else you need?'

'No.' Jo braced herself. 'Would you sit down, Rufus? I'll be discharged in a couple of days. Before then we must talk.'

Rufus sat down, his eyes expressionless. 'What did you want to discuss, Jo?'

'Our future.'

'Go on.'

'Well—I know you married me because I was expecting your baby.' Jo cleared her throat. 'I'm not any more, so I'd quite understand if you felt you saw no reason to be married to me any more.'

He eyed her expressionlessly. 'Let me see if I've got this right. Now you're not pregnant any
more
you feel we should separate before we've even begun to be married?'

Jo's eyes fell. 'I thought,' she said rather desperately, 'that you might not want us to be tied together— now there's no need, I mean.'

'Did you really? Is that how
you
feel?' he added politely.

Since all she longed for was to be married to Rufus for the rest of her life Jo shook her head and looked away, afraid he would read her mind. 'No. It isn't.'

'Good,' said Rufus, leaning forward. He put a hand under her chin and turned her face to his. 'I object — violently—to the idea of a bride who leaves me flat before she's even had time to be my wife. Since we are married, Jocasta Grierson, I don't feel I'm being unreasonable in expecting you to return home with me once you're well enough, and proceed in exactly the same way we intended before events overtook us.'

Jo gazed at him in silence, her heart beating so loudly that she was surprised he couldn't hear it. 'Is that really what you want?'

'Yes, it is,' he said shortly, and got up. 'James Conway says I can take you home the day after tomorrow. In the interim I advise you to get used to the idea.' He stood looking down at her, his face stern beneath the silvered bronze hair. 'My one rash act caused you a great deal of suffering, Jo. But if it's any consolation I suffered too.'

'Did you?'

'Is that so surprising?' Rufus breathed in deeply, his eyes bitter. 'Put yourself in my place for a moment. In the beginning, that first night, I lost control and made you pregnant, then in London, though I gave you my word I would not, I made love to you again and
this
happened—'

'But not because we made love,' said Jo urgently. 'Nothing
made
it happen, nor could anything have prevented it.
Mr
Conway made that very clear.'

'He made it clear to me too,' said Rufus bleakly. 'Which doesn't alter the fact that you could have died as a result of my attentions, one way and another.'

'Rubbish,' said Jo scornfully. 'Is that why you want us to stay married? Because you feel guilty?'

'No, it's not.' He looked at her very steadily. 'I went to great lengths beforehand, Jo, to give the impression that we got married purely because we wanted to spend our lives together. I'm human enough to want to preserve the fiction.' His eyes glittered suddenly. 'And this is where I use emotional blackmail. Fate cut short my first marriage, Jo. When you were rushed into hospital
I
thought it was going to happen again. But it didn't. So
I
assume
our
marriage is meant to last a while.'

Because Jo
had rarely been ill in her life once the usual childish ailments were over, her slow return to normal annoyed her intensely. The scar healed well, the soreness subsided gradually and her blood count was pronounced satisfactory, but she felt tired and listless, and, worst of all to Jo, was plagued by a tendency to tears. Hormones, she told herself, and took enormous care to prevent the tears getting the better of her in company with Rufus, who was adamant she needed rest.

'Try not to overdo things,' he ordered her.

'I'm strong as a horse normally.'

'This isn't normally. My mother keeps telling me you need cosseting.'

'What a lovely word!'

'You'd be cosseted to death if my mother had her way,' he warned, grinning. 'Now Rose has gone back, Mother would be here all day long, given half the chance, force-feeding you egg-
nog
and beef tea.'