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CHAPTER TEN

FOR the past week Francesca had been on bedrest She had been feeling sick and light-headed She couldn’t eat The sight of food, any food, just made her feel sicker The doctor who had initially warned her that she needed to get her energy levels up had given her a stern warning about the effects of stress on her unborn baby and added so to the vulnerability of wonancy He had thrown her some scary statistics but by that point Francesca had been too busy thinking about the possibility of losing her baby to pay him much attention

Bedrest Dr White had been kind but fir to ith one raised hand that had stopped her inthe baby—it was as si properly, not just a handful of crackers on the go to stave off nausea

He had tried to encourage her into chatting about whatever was on her mind but Francesca had just s face and assured him that she would take his advice, put her feet up and do so her diet

Dr White presented a very syure but Francesca had no desire to spill her feelings out to hielo had walked out of her house, apparently taking her at her word, which was good, and she had not heard a word froht about the ramifications of what she had told hi with the situation He was, after all, a highly logical man He would be in touch, she assuements for the baby became necessary That wouldn’t be for months yet, by which tiood, which would be all to his advantage A child living an hour and a half out of the city was a child he could visit h to salve his conscience and certainly not enough to arouse any suspicions aues Soto be involved in every aspect of his baby’s life So e

Well, could she blame him? He had reacted exactly as she had predicted Her past had brought the shutters crashing down because, at the end of the day, he just couldn’t afford to go out with soht insalubrious

Francesca, lying flat on her bed, stared up at the ceiling Next to her was a tray with the reht in by Jack, who had taken to checking up on her three or four ti that she eat, like a tyrannicala poorly chick into obedience She half expected that guilt had so to do with that She hadn’t delved into the details of Angelo’s reaction to what she had told hih for Jack to realise that there had been no cheerful brushing aside of the past So now he had taken to fussing around her, even though, with her out of action, he was handling the catering business prettyher to do the books and whatever else she could accomplish from the end of a telephone

In a couple of hours’ time the breakfast tray would be replaced by a lunch tray, co chat about lots of positive things that she should be looking forward to

Francesca was learning fast how to avoid the concern in his eyes by a barrage of light-hearted patter, just the sort to put his naw over her elo Several times she found herself poised to dial his nus out, but the thought of hearing fro further to do with her, that she should cease calling him, that he would do as necessary but no more, terrified her In his eyes, she would have been tarnished by her past and she knew that he would not want her to infect his own golden future

She could feel herself being sucked down the fari unlocked and Jack’s footsteps co up the stairs Earlier than usual