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door.
    ‘Mary Anne!’ I cried, bracing myself to disallow her exit. ‘Stop it at once!’
    She attempted to scramble past me, but I stayed her off.
    ‘I gave ’im my cunny!’ she sobbed, collapsing against me. ‘He asked and I gave it, and ‘e promised me! I got to go find ’im…’
    She heaved a tremendous sob, and I gingerly stroked her back.
    ‘Hush now, it will be all right.’
    So long as you are not with child .
    The thought made my stomach churn.
    ‘Mrs Bates!’ I called through the door. ‘Call Bolton, and have him assist his cousin to her room.’
    Mrs Bates entered, her face stern, and lips tight. She stared in deep disapproval at the sobbing Mary Anne. Personally, I thought she would be better reserving the reproach for Arthur.
    Yet I knew she could not, or would not. Servants should not make judgements on the family they served. No matter how vile certain members may be. I suspected greatly that the staff of Fielding Place verily loathed Arthur as I did. I felt a burning anger then; should not Arthur be reprimanded? Yet, no crime had been committed, had it? Alas, I felt as though it had. What manner of man treats a simple girl so?
    I could see other members of staff watching as Mrs Bates ushered Mary Anne towards Bolton. Many glanced away, their faces masks.
    What must they think?
    Late that night, as I curled beside my husband in our bed, I could hear the faint echoing lamentations of Mary Anne as I tried to find sleep.
    ‘He is a wicked man,’ I murmured. ‘To torment a simple girl so.’
    ‘He is, I shall not deny it,’ Jacob replied. ‘Let us hope it shall be over soon.’
    ‘She cannot stay here, if Arthur returns.’
    ‘No, indeed, but we shall cross that bridge when it comes.’
    I felt his kiss warm on my forehead, as his hand roamed and stroked the globes of my breasts.
    ‘You must be feeling well, again,’ I purred, and arched into him, willing him to stroke me harder.
    He obliged and squeezed my breasts, sending a frisson of sensation straight to my woman’s parts.
    ‘Alas, my dearest, I shall decline this eve lest I damage myself with too great an enthusiasm.’
    I smiled at him and kissed him. ‘Of course, we can make our son another night.’ We fell into silence, with nothing but the gentle breeze through the window to serenade our thoughts. I was blessed, I knew; for the first time in weeks, in the soft bosom of the night, Jacob fell asleep beside me. For a time, I lay and relished the warmth of his body next to mine. That night, I felt I’d never slept so soundly as I did with him back in my bed. Yet our peace did not last long.

Chapter 5
    Later that month, my courses heralded bad news, not just for my husband’s potency, but Arthur’s actions in London.
    I was in my rooms during my monthly confinement, reading. Jacob had reacted ill to my courses’ untimely arrival, as we discussed its ramifications
    ‘Granted, I have only just recovered, but we have never had to try for a child before,’ Jacob groaned that morning when I announced the news to him. ‘I feel this bodes very ill for us, my dear.’
    I laugh now, at how confident I was that all would still be well.
    I smiled indulgently. I was not nearly so worried. Indeed, we had tried most rigorously to get me with child, as many nights as Jacob was able, in fact. Yet I had not fallen. Still, hope remained.
    ‘Do not worry so, it is bad for procreation,’ I chided as I took his hand and kissed it.
    ‘I fear it is more than worry that keeps my seed from taking within you,’ Jacob said with a frown.
    ‘Nonsense,’ I retorted.
    We were silent a moment and I rested my cheek upon his hand, offering my wordless support.
    ‘If…’ He hesitated. ‘If by chance Mary Anne finds herself the mother of Arthur’s child, and it is a boy…’ He hesitated again. ‘It is possible we could adopt him and raise him as our own.’
    I felt a cold chill coil itself around me. ‘Jacob…what a thing to suggest!’
    ‘I am