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‘That what?’ Poppy defended herself, tears stinging her eyes ‘That we’d been to bed together? They already knew that—or they would soon have known,’ she amended more honestly

Ja ‘What do you mean? Surely Chris—?’

‘Not Chris,’ Poppy interrupted ‘No one had said anything, but Mum had invited Stewart Tho atto tell him how vulnerable she had felt, how afraid and alone it had made her realise she hen she had seen the way Stewart and his ere looking at her and had knohat they

‘It’s all right for you,’ she told James fiercely ‘No one would think any the less of you for for what happened but it’s different for me

‘Why did’all this have to happen?’ she de her voice

‘Do you really have to ask?’ she heard Jahly ‘It had to happen because of this, Poppy Because of this’ And then he was holding her, kissing her, his mouth al than the raw sensuality of his kiss was her own response to it—her body’s response to it: avid, eager, hungry, sha him to

Poppy gave a small moan of panic as she felt his hand move towards her breast Once he touched her there she would have no hope of stopping the frightening, out-of-control rush of sensation that she could feel building inside her, threatening her As she panicked and started to pull away froulfed by the return of the dizzy sensation she had felt earlier on, only this tie of nausea and weakness

Helpless to escape it, she closed her eyes and gave a small moan

‘Poppy—Poppy, what is it?’ she heard Jaainst him When his arms locked round her to support her, she felt the dizziness start to recede and, mercifully, with it her nausea

‘How long has this been going on?’ Ja her, still supporting her, and inexplicably it was soainst his still felt oddly weak and she couldn’t get out of her mind how afraid and vulnerable she had felt when he hadn’t been there, how relieved she had been to see hi room

‘How long has what been going on?’ she asked him weakly

‘You knohat I nant? Are you carrying rimly

Carrying his child The colour came and went in Poppy’s face as the i struck her

‘No, no, of course I’nant, James,’ she told him piteously ‘I can’t be’

‘You ly

Pregnant, with James’s child Poppy swayed shakily Of course she couldn’t becould she? As she mentally counted the weeks and then slowly recounted theed what she had previously ignored—namely that her period was now months overdue—she went cold with shock

‘Poppy?’ Jaly

‘I I don’t know,’ she whispered through numb lips, and then as the panic exploded inside her she told hinant We can’t’

‘It’s perhaps just as well that we’ve already warned everyone that we intend to gether shocked denial and coolly interpreting the reason for her panic

‘We can’t get lazed with shock

‘We can’t not,’ James corrected her ‘Not now’

‘But I nant,’ Poppy told him ‘And even if I am’

‘If you are, what?’ James asked her harshly ‘If you are, you’d rather destroy my child than—?’

‘No,’ Poppy told him vehemently ‘No, I could never do that never’

‘Then we don’t really have any other option, do we?’ Jaet married’