Page 91 of Unravelling: Aria & Crispin
And he hadn't even known.
He had been adding stress to her life without meaning to, and it twisted something deep in his gut. Worse still, she hadn't trusted him with the news. How could she when he had not given her any reason to?
The guilt piled on.
What kind of man had he been, that she didn't feel safe enough to tell him?
Crispin lay down on the bed, folding an arm over his forehead. But sleep didn't come easy.
Eventually, he reached for his phone.
He began to type.
First trimester...pregnancy care...manual labour during pregnancy...signs of miscarriage... What to say to someone who's expecting... What vitamins does a pregnant woman need... How to be a good partner when you're terrified...
The light from the screen cast a soft glow in the otherwise dark room.
It took a long time for him to sleep.
But when he did, he dreamt of Aria, of the spray of waves, of the howl of the wind, and a child's laugh carried off into the salt air.
By morning, everyone in the inn seemed to know. Every person he passed gave him a knowing smile.
The young couple who ran the place, Dana and Treveo Ridges, had clearly figured it out. They made teasing comments, but they didn't gossip. They just let Crispin hover awkwardly near Aria as she went about her morning routine, like a lost hound who hadn't figured out where to sit yet.
He followed her, trailing behind with his sleeves rolled up. When she moved to strip the bed in one of the rooms, he tried, clumsily, to help.
"You've never tucked a sheet before?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I usually have people who did that sort of thing," he muttered.
The Ridges terrors, their two children, poked their heads into the room and stared at him like he was a new exhibit.
"Are you the baby's daddy?" the younger one asked, entirely without guile.
Crispin blinked. "Er...yes."
The older child stepped forward. "Do you know how to change nappies?"
"No."
Both children looked deeply disappointed in him.
Aria smothered a laugh behind her hand.
Crispin shrugged. "In my world, babies were usually kept in nurseries and looked after by nannies."
The smile vanished from Aria's face. "Well," she said curtly, "I'll be looking after mine."
He grimaced. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant... I think that's good. My mother loved us, I know she did, but she was always at galas or fundraisers or glued to my father's side. We had nannies and tutors. Our routines were like clockwork. Don't get me wrong, we were happy and Dorian was always around. We had some wild adventures with Alice tagging along. I don't think I really knew Mum well until I was an adult. Dad was always distant."
There was a pause. Then he added quietly, "She supported me during the vote, you know."
Aria looked at him. "Did she?"
He nodded. "But I don't trust her anymore."
She nodded in return, but said nothing.
