Page 138 of Duchess Material

“Oh… it’s not a big deal,” Lucy said.

“I will take care of you, along with the Duchess and Miss Brown this weekend. My name is Mary. I would be glad to do anything you might need. What of a bath? Does that sound good?”

“Hot but not too hot,” Lucy said, paranoid.

She had read that women with her potential condition should avoid hot baths.

“Yes. And while you’re in the bath, we’ll make certain your clothes are tucked away just-so, alright?”

Lucy knew that the staff were doing their job, but it was unusual. She and Winston weren’t the type of people to have staff. Lucy was staff. This was so odd. She allowed them to draw her a bath—a true treat she’d missed from the times she stayed with George towards the end of their relationship. She emerged from the bath to find a dress laid out on the bed. It was like a fairy-tale. Lucy decided to get made up for dinner, but the fairy-tale ended as soon as Lucy opened her face cream. The smell hit her hard.

“Mother fucker,” Lucy felt very un-countess-like at present.

She filed through her toiletries’ arsenal to find the lone pregnancy test she carried since The Incident. Last time, she’d not had the satisfaction of taking a test. This time, she got to see the flash of two perfect little pink lines meet her gaze.

“Well, fuck.”

Lucy continued to dress, ignoring her skin’s need for hydration to avoid losing her lunch again. She came downstairs to find Natalie had tucked into the booze with Ed, Winston, and Gerry. Natalie never took as much time to get ready as the rest of them. It was her perfect skin. The woman had no pores. Half a dozen others had assembled—friends of the family whom Lucy sensed she was about to be introduced to. She wasn’t quite ready for that. Instead, she approached Winston directly.

“Hey, uh… can I have a moment of your time?” Lucy asked.

Winston kissed her. “Well, hello weary traveller. You look beautiful.”

Lucy blushed. “Thank you. But like… I need a moment.”

“Sure, sure.”

She took Winston’s hand and took him back upstairs. Winston practically launched himself at her the minute they landed in their room.

Lucy pushed him away. “Tony, no, no! I didn’t bring you up here for sex. I just blow dried my hair, so I’m not about to get it all screwed up.”

“Oh.” Winston looked disappointed.

“We need to have a chat about something.”

His face dropped even more.

“It’s not… it’s not bad.”

Lucy left him, picked up the test, and handed it to him.

“What is this?”

“Winston, don’t be silly. You know what it is.”

“This is… yours?”

“I’ve been throwing up all day. The flight back was utter hell. I feel like shit.”

“Really?”

“Yes.” Lucy smiled.

Winston planted a big kiss on her. “Well, that was fast!”

“Stop. I’m not okay with telling people yet. Natalie is convinced I am pregnant and, since she’s my boss, I’m not particularly keen to keep her on the outside. She needs to know. However, no moms. None.”

“Okay,” Winston said.

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