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And it was that twisting round to make that final response that unbalanced her She rab at the stone bannister failed and she fell, instinctively turning her body into herself as she had been taught to fall from a horse Her hip hit stone and she cried out in pain and then the back of her head struck a step and she knew no more…

CHAPTER TEN

A FAINT MOAN parted Polly’s lips because her head was aching and she cahtened confusion Her eyes opened on an unfa nuistered that she was in a hospital bed with the side bars raised

‘Polly?’ Rashad breathed tautly, springing out of the chair beside her

‘What?’ sheher lips felt like too much effort ‘My head’s sore…my hip’

As she focused blearily on him he stepped back to allow the medical staff to attend to her and she wondered why he looked so tired and why the sun was shining into the rooo it had been dark A nurse checked her blood pressure and gave her a drink while a doctor asked her a series of questions Her attention, however, stayed squarely on Rashad while she struggled to recall what had happened to her Black stubble accentuated his stubborn passionate mouth, his luxuriant hair was dishevelled, his eyes shadowed, his powerful anxiety unconcealed Recalling her fall on the stairs and the argument that had preceded it taxed her concentration and then, with a sudden whoosh of awareness, all that fell away on the shocking surge of apprehension that shot through her She pressed a stricken hand against her stomach

‘My baby?’ she gasped fearfully

Rashad strode forward and rested a hand over hers in a soothing gesture ‘Our baby is fine—’

‘For thebut you must rest The next twenty-four hours are crucial to your recovery,’ the grey-haired doctor told her fired her to lie still

Rashad’s hand was tre over hers and just as she noticed that he withdrew it in a sudden gesture and dug it into the pocket of his trousers He knew that she was pregnant; he knew about the baby She assumed that Dr Wasem had told him after she fell and knocked herself out Polly closed her eyes, guessing just how guilty Rashad would be feeling She was still furious with hi bad that happened around hiive hi her How could she be furious with hi at the same time? It was that crazy conundru

While the doctor talked to her about the concussion she had sustained, Polly tried to think clearly and focus but it was no use, she simply couldn’t Both her head and her body ached The ue the doctor had warned her about were steadily closing in on her because there was far too much to think about and it was infinitely easier to close it all out just then and drift She still had her baby, she reflected with passionate relief, and that was the last clear thought she had

Rashad paced the silent room He had tidied himself up in response to Hakim’s pleas but he had not eaten, he had not slept How could he? His tee he couldn’t always control, could have killed Polly He looked at her, lying so still in the bed, white-blonde hair tu a little colour now, no longer that wan grey that had terrified hiile, so precious…

And the baby? Rashad was still stunned by that develop nancy could happen so quickly, so easily, so…so nornised He hadn’t expected that, hadn’t prepared for it either In fact he had pessiht conceive a child eventually it would undoubtedly take a long ti past disappointment and disillusionment to influence his expectations in the present And how could she ever forgive him for that?

He was fatally flawed, alrammed to disappoint Polly He had even failed to protect her from Hayat’s malice ‘Either you’reto Ferah, and he could see that now—could see that he had failed to make peace with the past and move on to embrace a wife far superior in every way to his first And if it rong and disrespectful to think that then it was better to be wrong but at least rational enough to recognise that truth Fate had rained gold on him when he least deserved it and he had virtually throay the opportunity he had been given, he conceded grimly