Page 4 of The Un-Apparent Heir

Natalie pulled a face.

“Oh, Nat, she loves you. She is trustworthy.”

“I know,” Natalie said. “It’s not Mum. It’s putting her in a bad position with Dad. She’s pretty much obligated to tell him. And she will keep to her word and not squawk, but that weighs on her.”

“I think your Dad would?—”

“He would worry. His worry would worry me. And that would be the end of it. I would feel worse, Ed would feel immense pressure, and we don’t need that. Trust me when I say I have thought about this. I feel it best.”

Lucy nodded. “Of course. I trust you have. I know it. Poor Ed. Guys don’t handle this stuff well.”

“Especially not buff guys who could be mistaken for Greek gods but have now been brought down to Earth.”

Lucy giggled. “Oh, Nat. You are still mercilessly in love with that man. You still thirst.”

“I hope I always will,” Natalie said. “Is that not normal? I mean, he’s my husband?—”

Lucy looked down and shrugged.

“Oh, oh. What is going on? Wait, are you and Winston having problems?” Natalie realised she may have overstepped. She pulled back. “Not that I want to pry…”

“No, no. God, I’m so frustrated. It’s not that I struggle with attraction. I want Winston. I think about him now probably as much as ever—if not more—but by the end of the day, we’re both so exhausted that we have nothing left within. He wants to try for another baby and I have no desire to make that happen right now.”

“What do you need from him?”

“I need him to… I dunno…”

“Well, you should tell him what you need him to do, Luce. Men aren’t mind readers. It’s unfair.”

“Isn’t it like implied? I need him to fuck me—and soon—before I lose my damn mind!”

“The Countess has spoken!” Natalie rubbed her hands together. “Shall I call my dear cousin and tell him to properly service his wife before she loses it?”

Lucy pulled a face.

“Tell him what you want?—”

“We make plans. I tell him. Then, he gets busy with the baby, or we both get run down.”

“You know what you need?”

“What?” Lucy groaned. “A new vibrator?”

“That is exactly what you do not need. No. You need a trip. A couple of nights away. Time to reconnect.”

“What?”

“Yes. Call it time to reconnect. Take a trip to Paris or something. Fly somewhere. Go up to Scotland. Something. Go to Anmer. I don’t care. I want you both to be happy. It’s important to connect properly, okay?”

Lucy shook her head. “He refuses to hire a nanny?—”

“Luce, let Ed and I handle the baby, okay? It’s good practice for us. We’re going to be parents hopefully within a year. We could use it.”

“I couldn’t ask you to bother.”

“Why? You couldn’t ask us to crash at your palatial stately home only five minutes from us and watch the baby for a couple of days. Ed loves Malcolm. It will be good.”

“Really?” Lucy looked confused.

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