Sins of Sarah (47 page)

'Us? So there is still an us?' 'You want there to be?'

'Would I be here if I didn't? Of course I want there to be an us! And you?' .

'Yes - yes, I do. Nick. But ... well . .. there is something else to consider. I want this baby and I intend to keep it.'

'You knew you were pregnant when we went to Palm Springs, didn't you?' he accused. 'You must have been - what - four months? Dammit, Sarah, why didn't you tell me then?'

'You know exactly why I didn't tell you!' Sarah jerked herself awkwardly from the low chair. 'All those stupid phobias about Charlotte's birth and never wanting any other children. You made it quite clear what your feelings were - and probably still are, for all I know. It was impossible to find the right time to tell you, and I did try - several times! I began to think there was something wrong with our relationship. If I couldn't be honest with you over that what chance had we?'

'Meaning I was so bigoted about it!' Nick sank his head in his hands. 'God! If ever a man's had his past come back to-haunt him I have today! First Natasha, and now this! I've been such a fool! Oh, Sarah, you could at least have tried.'

'And let you worry yourself stupid over me while you were in Brazil?'

'I probably wouldn't have gone at all if I'd known! I had the right to know!' He grabbed at her arm as she swung away and Sarah immediately jerked free, aiming herself at a gate that led to an open, flower-filled meadow.

'You had no automatic rights!' she returned, swiftly. 'You would probably have told me to have an abortion, knowing you!'

'The hell I would! Sarah, come back!' Nick sprang after her, then remembered the waiter. Hastily he threw some notes onto the table and then raced after her. Despite his illness he was a great deal more agile than she was, and he caught up with her in seconds, grabbing her by the shoulders in a painful grip.

'My child!' he grated as he clutched at her. 'And my responsibility! Much as it terrifies me. I love you - you stupid woman. Can't you get that into your head? I love you whatever you do to me, and you seem to be doing quite a lot at the moment.' Sarah bit her lip, then finally met his eyes.

'Even when I'm making you a father against your will?'

'It does take two,' he reminded her, smiling at the memory of their reunion that October day. 'And I do seem to remember enjoying every minute of it! Diana will have to divorce me now, with this evidence.' Slowly, hesitantly, he put his hand over the bulge of the baby, and as if on cue the baby kicked, bringing an involuntary cry of surprise from him. 'It's moving!' he said, and Sarah smiled at the awe in his voice.

'Babies do - frequently,' she told him. 'It feels as if I have a rugby team in there sometimes!' Bolder now, she put her hand over his, guiding him. 'Feel, Nick. You can feel an elbow, and a foot.' In complete wonderment. Nick stood very still, his sensitive hands absorbing the movements of his child. It was the wisest thing Sarah could have done.

'I've never felt that before,' he breathed at last.

'Not with Charlotte?' She was astonished.

'Good heavens, no! From the moment of conception, practically, I wasn't allowed near Diana in case it hurt the baby. The whole nine months was a complete nightmare.' No wonder he was so anti-childbirth, she thought suddenly. His one experience of it had certainly not been a joyful one.

'This is different. Nick. I'm different. Our baby is perfectly healthy, and so am I. I can even show you the scan pictures.'

'Our baby!' Nick couldn't help the shiver of apprehension that ran through him. 'It's not at all what I wanted, but. . .'

'You still have the chance to walk away, Nicholas,' Sarah said quietly. 'I would never try to make you stay with me unless you wanted to.'

'But it is what I want - to be with you! Do you think I could leave you now?' he demanded. 'When I was ill, apparently the only comprehensible word I said for two weeks was "Sarah". You were the only thing that kept me fighting. And wanting this . ..' He kissed her then, with all the pent-up need that had been imprisoned inside him for months, and Sarah felt his urgency as she responded to the hot, hard force of his mouth on hers, her arms tight around his neck as she clung to him. Every loving word he had wanted to say in those long months without her came tumbling out when he finally released her, until he felt the warm spill of her tears running over his fingers as he cupped her face in fiercely possessive hands.

'Don't cry, darling. I can't bear it when you cry,' he whispered. 'Whatever happens, we'll face it together.'

'I'm happy. Nick. That's all!' She smiled up at him as he wiped her tears away with his fingertips. 'But now you've effectively kidnapped me, what are you going to do with me? I can't fly to the States, the airlines wouldn't let me fly.'

'I realize that.' He smiled back. 'But Seth's jet is available, I only have to ask - I'm part of the company now. However, for the moment we'll go to Cap Ferrat and work out what we're going to do. I must admit my intentions were to whisk you away and spend weeks ravishing you, but in the circumstances . . .'

'Will you really stay with me?' she asked hesitantly. 'When the baby is born, I mean?'

Nick laughed. 'I'll probably do something totally stupid, like faint! But, yes, darling I'll be there if that's what you want.'

'It is! Oh, Nick, I thought I'd have to face that alone.'

'One thing . . .' Nick hesitated. 'No classes. I don't think I could stomach that!'

'Shame on you, Nicholas.' Sarah giggled. 'I've got a really nice teacher too - you'd like her.'

'Over my dead body!' he threatened. 'I'll read a book to get up to date.'

'Oh, I've got lots of those! Charles never stops buying . . . Oh!' Nick had put a hand over her mouth.

'I never want to hear about Charles again!' he said quietly. 'From now on he simply doesn't exist.' Sarah could hear the firm resolve in his voice and she shivered. That such a long friendship could come to an end so abruptly saddened her.

'I still have all my stuff at Hastings,' she reminded him tentatively. 'I must get that back. It's all my parent's things.'

'Your brother would help over that, wouldn't he? Nick knew how attached she was to the mementoes of her family.

'Yes, I guess so. I'll phone him this evening. And, whatever you say. Nick, I will phone Charles too.' She was standing firm on that. 'Whatever you think, he was very kind to me - I owe him that courtesy at least.'

'Knowing you, I rather expected you might.' He smiled. 'I'm being very selfish - of course you must. I just want you to myself now I've found you again.' He curved an arm around her waist to lead her back to the car. 'At least we have time to be together. You are obviously free to do as you please, and I'm under orders to rest.'

'Then I'll take care of you,' Sarah decided. 'You've certainly lost a lot of weight, Nick.'

'Almost a stone,' he admitted ruefully. 'But I dare say with your company to cheer me and Miriam's constant chivvying to eat I'll soon put it back.'

'Is Miriam at Cap Ferrat, then?'

'Yes. I was meant to join her for a few days. After she and Seth realized that I intended to come to England they insisted I went there for a rest. It was sweet of Miriam to come over, but I couldn't start to relax until I'd sorted things out with you. So now she'll have both of us to fuss over. Maybe Monte Carlo would be a good place to have the baby? Much safer than London as far as the Press are concerned.'

'More expensive, though.'

'The least of our worries! And from what little I know of the procedure, France is a pretty enlightened place to have a baby in.'

'So I've read! But don't let's worry about it yet. Nick. There's almost a month to go:'

'A month to really worry over you,' he sighed. 'Maybe it was just as well I didn't know!' He handed her into the car with such care that Sarah laughed out loud.

'I'll make the most of it, I think.' She grinned at him. 'I certainly need some help rubbing all the oil into my skin.'

'That I will enjoy!' Nick picked up the phone to ring Miriam. 'We'll be there in about three hours, I hope.' The Porsche had a hard suspension and, aware of it, Nick drove with a great deal more care than usual, reaching out occasionally to close his hand over hers as if to reassure himself she was there. Sarah smiled at his apparent insecurity, so unusual for the normally arrogant and self-assured Nicholas Grey!

To her surprise she grew increasingly uncomfortable. She had driven miles with Charles - albeit in the slightly more comfortable Jaguar - but this journey was causing a real ache in her back, and then her stomach. She twisted around frequently, enough to bring a concerned question from Nick several times. 'I'm OK,' she tried to calm him.

'Must have been something I ate at lunch. I keep getting the odd twinge, that's all.'

'You hardly ate any lunch,' he pointed out. 'Except olives, and you've always eaten loads of those. They're hardly likely to upset you. Perhaps it will be a bit easier on the motorway, we'll be on the A8 in a minute.'

'The Autoroute du Soleil - it always sounds so exotic somehow.' Sarah sighed. 'Do you remember going to Beaulieu?'

'I certainly do!' He smiled at the recollection. 'I think I finally fell in love with you there. I remember watching you sleep one night, and it was all I could do not to wake you up and tell you exactly how I felt. Which reminds me . . .reach over and get my jacket. In the inside pocket. . .' Sarah reached for the navy jacket from the back shelf with difficulty, and then gave a shriek of pure pain.

Seconds later, as Nick turned in concern, she gave another cry of alarm. 'Nick! I'm bleeding!' The skirt of her denim dress was indeed soaked from the waist down. Hurriedly he aimed for the side of the road and stopped the car.

'It's not blood!' He touched her skirt tentatively. 'Look.' His fingers were clean, but definitely wet.

'Then what the hell is it?' Sarah was frantic.

'I rather think, my darling, that your waters have broken,' Nick said, struggling to contain his own rising panic. 'I guess we're going to become parents a little earlier than we expected. Don't worry, we'll cope.' He unstrapped his belt and got out of the car to go to the boot, pulling a towelling robe out of his bag and then reaching for the map tucked onto a side pocket.

'Nick, it's a month early!' Sarah blotted at her wet clothes. 'Oh, God, your car is soaked!'

'Never mind the damn car, it'll clean. Look, we should get you to a hospital, at least to get things checked out and make sure we can safely drive to Cap Ferrat.' He studied the map carefully. 'It's about five miles to Canville; that's a reasonable size - I'm sure we can get some help there. Hold on, darling.' His driving was noticeably faster, his worried glances more frequent as he negotiated the winding uphill route.

Frantic herself, nevertheless Sarah did her best to hide the sudden strength of the contractions she now knew were the real thing. They weren't, she knew, going to make it to Cap Ferrat.

The streets of the tiny town were deserted as the inhabitants took their normal long lunch break, and Nick swore violently as he realized their predicament. He was unable even to locate a hospital sign. Instead he aimed for the centre of town and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

'There's a police station.' 'Police? We need a hospital, not the police,' Sarah protested.

'Just stay in the car!' Nick pulled up, disregarding the parking restrictions, and raced into the police station.

Sarah instinctively obeyed him, too frightened to move from her seat as she clutched Nick's robe around her, breathing the familiar scent of his cologne that clung to it. Within minutes he came racing back to her, with two very voluble policemen in tow.

'Nick!' she almost shrieked at him. 'What on earth - ?' 'Don't worry, they're only going to show me the way!' The two policemen swung onto motorbikes parked out- side the station and gestured to Nick to follow them. They set a brisk pace, whisking through the narrow cobbled streets, and Sarah winced several times as Nick hit bumps in the road. The relief when they turned into the wrought-iron gateway of an impressive-looking building was immense to both of them. It looked more like a hotel than a clinic, and it reassured them more than a little.

One policeman bustled inside and seconds later a pretty young nurse came out to them. Remembering, then, Nick reached for the inside pocket of his jacket. 'Put this on,' he told her firmly, and promptly slipped her gold ring onto her wedding finger. 'I told them you were my wife.' Somehow she felt much better with the familiar diamonds twinkling at her. 'I never thought I'd see this again.' She smiled at him as he lifted her out of the car. Despite her protests, he carried her up the short flight of steps into the cool white interior of the marble foyer before the nurse produced a wheelchair for her.

'I can still walk,' she argued vehemently.

'Do as you're told, Sarah!' Nick commanded as the nurse spoke in rapid French to him. His response was equally rapid and Sarah frowned.

'Nick, I don't understand,' she pleaded.

'Don't worry, I'll translate for you. I'm not leaving you for any longer than I have to,' he said. 'They're getting an English-speaking nurse for you.'

'I need my medical notes - they're in my case,' Sarah realized. Nick cursed and went back to the car when the nurse was joined by another, who did indeed speak reasonably fluent English, and Sarah relaxed. However, it seemed an age before Nick was finally allowed to join her in the surprisingly unclinical room. Prettily decorated in pale blues and lemon, it had light curtains that drifted in the breeze from the open windows that led to a small balcony. Thanks to the policeman they had been directed to the best maternity clinic in the area, and Nick felt a great deal more confident as the doctor who had examined Sarah spoke to them.