Page 131 of The Pearl Sister
Kitty shuddered at his lack of delicacy. Even though she knew he was the better physician, Dr Blick would never talk in such graphic terms. She thought quickly. ‘It was the middle of April,’ Kitty lied. ‘Now I remember.’
‘Really? Well now, that surprises me. I would say that your baby is around four months in gestation.’
‘I am pregnant? Are you sure?’
‘Quite sure.’
It can’t be true . . .
‘Apart from your condition, I can pronounce that you are in perfect health. May I offer my congratulations, madam, and hope your husband returns to you soon so you can share the happy news with him.’
‘Thank you,’ said Kitty numbly.
‘You have endured terrible loss, but what God takes away, he returns. Now, I can only prescribe as much rest as possible. You are far too thin and the baby is obviously large. Stay in bed for the next month and preserve the life that is growing inside you.’
Kitty watched in shocked silence as Dr Suzuki packed away his instruments.
‘Good day to you, Mrs Mercer. I am at your service, should you need me.’ He gave her a small bow and left her bedroom.
‘No, please . . .’ Kitty gasped as a small tear dribbled from her eye in protest. ‘I have so much to do.’
She looked up at the ceiling and saw a large spider making its way across it. And remembered how Drummond had appeared in her bedroom to save her all those years ago.
‘I am pregnant with your child . . .’ she breathed, then thanked the stars in the sky that at least his recent deception would allow everyone to believe it was her husband’s baby. From what she remembered, her last bleed had been in mid-February . . .
‘Oh Lord.’ Kitty bit her lip. ‘What a mess,’ she whispered.
Tentatively, she touched her stomach.
‘Forgive me,’ she begged this new life that was innocent of all sin. ‘For you will never be able to know the truth of who your father is.’
Broome
January 1929
17 years later
24
The sun had long since set when Kitty raised her tired eyes from the ledger in front of her. Taking off her reading glasses, she rested an elbow on her desk and rubbed the bridge of her nose wearily. Glancing at the clock on the office wall, she saw it was well past eight. The staff would all have left the building by now and she knew she probably should too, but if she was honest, it was quite normal for her to sit here burning the midnight oil.
She let out a sigh as she thought of Charlie, her darling son. She had meant to meet him off the boat earlier, but a lugger had arrived unexpectedly with a rich haul of shell and she had become distracted and missed him.
On the one hand, she was extremely proud that all her hard work and her canny nose for business had not only restored but grown the Mercer empire over the past seventeen years. And that Charlie would inherit the fruits of her labour lock, stock and barrel when he turned twenty-one in just two days’ time. On the other hand, she felt guilty that he’d been made a virtual orphan by the business and her dedication to it.
At least her guilt was partially salved by knowing that while she’d been toiling at the office, he’d been nurtured at home under Camira’s protective wing, with Cat always close by as a playmate. The special bond that had continued to flourish between them over the years had not escaped Kitty’s notice. Even when he’d left for boarding school in Adelaide, a wish of Andrew’s that she’d honoured and, under the circumstances, the best solution, the two of them had spent his holidays together.
It was perhaps just as well that Elise Forsythe, an extraordinarily pretty and well-bred young lady, newly arrived in Broome with her family, would be joining the company as Charlie’s secretary when he took over the business fulltime. Kitty had hand-picked Elise for the position. Although she mentally chided herself for her matchmaking, it was vital that Charlie chose a suitable wife who could love and support him as he took on the role of head of the Mercer empire.
As for herself, she’d told no one of her own plans yet, but she had a clear idea of what she would do once she finally handed over the reins to her son. She worried about not having the distraction of work in future, since it had given her mind somewhere else to go whenever it began to wander in the direction of Drummond and all that had happened seventeen years ago . . . The devastation she had felt at his loss, doubled by an equally painful loss five months later, had almost destroyed her.
There had been no one else since, although there had been any number of suitors willing to put their hats in the ring to wed the young, beautiful and very wealthy owner of the most successful pearling business in Broome. When she’d promised herself never to love again after Drummond had left, she had kept to her word. Her lover had been her business; her bedtime companions the accounts ledgers.
‘Good grief! I’ve become a man,’ she said with a grim chuckle. Then, putting her glasses back on, she returned her attention to the ledger.
* * *
‘Thank you, Alkina.’ Charlie gave her a surreptitious wink as she served both him and his mother breakfast. As usual, Alkina ignored it for fear of his mother noticing, but given that Kitty’s nose was buried as usual in the pages of theNorthern Times,it was unlikely she’d notice if the ceiling fell upon her head.
