Capital Sins (22 page)

'Are you sure
it's Constance's welfare you're thinking of?'

She
crimsoned at the taunt but her anger wasn't abated. 'Have you told her?'

'About what?'

Irritated,
she stamped her foot. 'Don't pretend to be thick, you know what about! What
will happen afterwards when Connie will naturally want to perform her wifely
duties? Have you thought about
that!
'

'Very
carefully, and I'll worry about that when the time comes. It may not matter
afterwards, when she's given me a son.' He stabbed out his cigarette leisurely.
'You never know, she might be the one woman who can arouse me.'

'And if not?'

'I prefer
to look on the bright side, my dear.'

'You're a
bloody coward.' Her nostrils flared. 'Sam, you disgust me!'

'You
underrate Miss Sands, Sheila; she'll be getting something out of this too.'
Sheila snorted. 'Constance may prove to be very understanding and generous. She
might forgive me if things don't turn out as we both expected.'

'Ha! And
she may not understand, and who could blame her! God, how short-sighted and
selfish can a man be! At least you could have let her know what she was getting
herself into, given her a choice. It would have been the honourable thing to
do, instead of deceiving the poor kid like this.' Her lips trembled. 'Ah, Sam,
you should've told her what to expect... prepared her... '

He stood up
then, his face dark. 'Sheila, do I have to tell you again to mind your own damn
business! Constance may look on you as an elder sister and confidante, but
you're not her mother!'

Her chest
heaved. 'You want a boy so
badly,
you're willing to
destroy the girl you marry, just as long as Samuel Jessop gets his way!'

'Don't be
so melodramatic,' he said cuttingly. 'For the last time, kindly take your nose
out of my affairs. And another thing, if you dare breathe so much as a word to
her about me I'll– ' he stopped, suddenly ashamed of his outburst as Sheila
buried her face in her hands. His hands dropped to his sides. 'Don't,' he said
clumsily. 'Don't cry, love. I didn't mean it. I wouldn't hurt you for the
world.'

'Sam, oh,
Sam
... '

In a long
stride he had reached her and put his arms around her quivering shoulders.

'I've got a
chance to be happy,' he murmured. 'I don't want to hurt you, you of all people,
and I honestly don't want to hurt Constance either. I don't see why anyone
should be hurt.' He clutched her hands tightly. 'Give me this chance, Sheila. I
need your support as much as ever.'

She wiped
her eyes and slowly nodded. 'All right,' she said heavily. 'You have my
blessing as well as my friendship, Sam. I won't stand in your way.'

'Bless
you,' be said gently, and bent to kiss her lips.

Her mouth
still tingled from his kiss even after he had left.

The wedding
arrangements were organised with incredible speed. This generated much
speculation among Jessop's acquaintances – but so far from being bothered he
was delighted at the inevitable talk that he was doing the honourable thing by
marrying a girl whom he'd made pregnant. The wedding was arranged for a month
later at a Registry Office. Connie's disappointment at not being married in
church was soon dispelled by the bustle and activity.

They had a
simple ceremony with Sheila as one of the witnesses, but the reception
afterwards more than made up for any previous lack of fuss.

Connie felt
as if everything were unreal, that she
were
living a
dream, although Samuel told her to take it in her stride. She had never
realised how kind and considerate her husband could be. Nothing was too much
trouble for
him,
her slightest whim was attended to.
The diamond ring she now wore on the fourth finger of her left hand was almost
beyond belief, and she must have flashed it before her eyes a hundred times or
more since he had given it to her. Never in her wildest imaginings had Connie
thought she would own so many beautiful things; he lavished jewellery and
expensive gifts on her as if his money was endless. The honeymoon consisted of
a week in the West Indies and five days at St Moritz, because she had read
somewhere that it was one of the most luxurious resorts in Switzerland.

How proud she
felt being addressed as Mrs Samuel Jessop, how deferentially she was treated
when they knew to whom she was married! It was
a dream come
true, and sometimes Connie had to pinch herself to make sure it was real. Life
was wonderful and she was so happy: with herself, with Samuel, with everything
– and how crazy she was about him now.

Honeymoon
over, Connie was installed in Jessop's penthouse and even had her own room. How
sweet of him to think of it, how considerate of her comfort, for the larger she
grew, the more uncomfortable she became at night, finding it difficult to sleep
so that she'd read novels and magazines until she dropped off from sheer
exhaustion.

'Consummation
will just have to wait until after my son's arrival,' Samuel told her
teasingly, himself half-convinced by what he said.

Connie
snuggled up to him and he laid his hand gently over her large stomach.

'It's daft
getting married then having to wait so long before I can make love to my own
husband.' She sighed blissfully.

'You don't
regret it, do you?'

'Not yet,'
she said mischievously, only teasing and, in spite of a spasm of fear, the
smile remained set on his lips.

He passed
his hand lovingly over the bulge under the smock she wore. He grinned. 'I can
feel him kicking.'

'Them,' she
amended.

'Is it
getting easier for you to bear?'

She knew he
meant the condition of her mind, not her health. 'Not
really,'she
said frankly. 'Still, at least you'll be here to love the boy, even if I can't
to begin with. You've been right about us so far, so maybe I'll change my mind
about the kid as well. Anyway, even if I don't love him straight off, you can
give him double portions, can't you?'

They were
quiet for a moment, each with their own thoughts. Then: 'I met Sheila
yesterday,' Connie went on chattily. 'We went to that new coffee lounge that's
just been opened in the square. You know, I swear something's bugging her,
though she didn't let on to me. Never does.' She eyed her wedding ring
thoughtfully. 'I wish she'd get married and settle down. It's about time that
bloke of hers stopped mucking around, she's getting much too thin ... not like
me, eh?' She giggled, but there was no answering smile from her husband.

'Sheila's
going steady?' he asked disbelievingly. It was just as well that Connie wasn't
looking at him, or she might have won
dered
at the
look on his face.

'Sure, told
me about him ages ago. I thought you knew.'

'No.'
It
was strange, but the thought of Sheila having a lover
tucked away somewhere made him feel betrayed. He'd always taken her love for
granted. He shrugged the thought away. 'How did it go at the clinic this
afternoon?' he asked, shifting a little on the settee so that she would be more
comfortable.

'Fine,' she
assured him. 'Blood pressure normal, and weight ... well, maybe just a little
over what I should be.' She chuckled. 'It must be all the unaccustomed rich and
fattening foods you've been stuffing me with lately.'

He looked
worried. 'Do they say you should take it easy?'

'Oh, don't
fuss about me, Samuel. I'm perfectly fit and nothing's going to go wrong.'

He relaxed
in relief,
then
smiled at her indulgently.

'You
mustn't worry about a thing, Constance. They know the approximate date that the
twins are due, and you'll have your own private room so you'll get plenty of
rest. You're having the top consultants and the best treatment money can buy,
so don't you worry your pretty head about a thing, you hear?' He kissed the tip
of her nose. She really was a sweet kid, and she tried hard to keep herself
amused and occupied. She was an affectionate girl, and he was
gro
\ring very fond of her.

She glanced
ruefully at her slightly swollen ankles. 'Who's worried? My only concern is
that I won't ever be able to get into all those fabulous dresses you promised
to buy me when I get my figure back.'

'You
child,' he said fondly. 'You'll soon by sylphlike again, and then there'll be
no one around to touch you in looks.'

'If you say so.'
She clung to him. 'Samuel?'

'
Mmm
?'

'You were
right, you know.'

He opened
his eyes and regarded her lazily.
'About what this time?'

She gave an
embarrassed
smile. 'I do love you.'

He laughed
and pinched her cheek. 'Good.'

She wanted
further reassurance. 'We will be happy, won't we?'

'I hope
so,' he said quietly.

'I think we
will be.' She sounded like a sleepy, contented cat.

He wound a
strand of her silken blonde hair around his hand. 'Have you thought of a name?
For the boy?'

She didn't
remind him again that he was taking it for granted that she would produce a
son, lest their intimacy be shattered. Connie gave a casual shrug without
replying.

'Then we'll
call him Martin, after my father,' Samuel went on cheerfully. 'The old man
would've liked that, made him really proud.'

'Call it
what you want. I don't care.' She sounded bored.

'You might
in time,' he said generously.

'I don't
feel that they'll be my children. Only when you and I have our own will I have
my own, if you see what I mean ... ' She yawned. 'I'm going to bed, Samuel.
G'night
.' She rubbed her cheek against his.

'Night,
Constance.'

He prayed
that nothing would happen to spoil their present happiness.

Nevertheless,
as the weeks passed Connie found time weighing heavily on her hands. She had
been depressed and fed up with herself, increasingly growing more irritable. It
got so that she hated to see herself in the mirror, she felt she looked so drab
and dowdy. Samuel was often away on business and now that she was growing
accustomed to her new life, she was often bored. He'd told her she could go
shopping as often as she liked, having accounts in most of the largest stores
in town. Connie decided one day to take up his offer and amuse herself.

Connie took
a cab into town, it being he chauffeur's day off, and wandered around for a
while, just looking and wondering what to buy when she was slim again. It was a
hot, humid day and Connie felt stale and damp. She was looking forward to a
cool shower when she went home. Then it happened. She'd been trudging around a
store for over an hour, when she suddenly felt giddy. A manageress quickly came
to her aid and led Connie to a staff room.

'Thank
you,' Connie said, a little breathlessly. 'I think it was that last flight of
stairs that did it.'

'One of our
lifts is out of order at the moment, I'm afraid,' the manageress replied. 'You
really shouldn't have attempted to climb them at all in your condition,' she
added, looking
reprov
ingly
at the swollen belly. 'Would you like me to get you something? Perhaps call
your husband?'

'Oh, no,'
Connie said quickly. 'Don't bother
him,
I'll be all
right in a moment. But I could do with a glass of water, please, if it's no
trouble.'

'Surely, Madam.
Just lie still and I'll get it for you.'

She went
out, leaving Connie alone. The divan on which she lay was quite comfortable and
Connie soon found her eyelids dropping. She still felt hot and sticky, and was
glad that the window was open, allowing in some fresh air. It was really too
hot to have gone out, she thought sleepily before she drowsed off.

Her back
ached unbearably. She had, she thought, only closed her eyes for a moment, when
she suddenly found herself swimming in water. Immediately, her senses were
alert. She thought she was drowning and for a moment thought the manageress had
returned with the glass of water, which perhaps had been knocked over. Then
realisation dawned and she struggled to sit up. My God, she thought
despairingly, my waters have broken! She began to scream in panic as the pain
knocked her flat.

In less
that
ten minutes, an ambulance was bearing her swiftly to
the hospital. Connie clutched on to the attendant frantically and kept asking
that Samuel Jessop be notified immediately.

She was
admitted for internal examination on arrival and didn't have to be told that
the babies were imminent. Connie was in for yet another shock. Mr Myers, the
consultant who was to have been in charge of her case, was still away on
holiday.