Page 36 of Beauty's Beast

“Aye, my lord.”

“How long have you known?”

“Nearly a month.”

“And you saw no need to tell me?”

“I … ” She looked up at him, tears welling in her eyes.

“Why did you not tell me, Kristine?”

“I was afraid.”

“Afraid? Of what?”

The flush that stained her neck and cheeks crept up into her hairline.

“Answer me!”

“I was afraid,” she stammered. “Afraid you would no longer come to my bed if you knew.”

He stared at her, speechless. “Why would you think that?”

She grabbed her riding habit and drew it over her, as if it would protect her. “You once told me that you wanted nothing from me but a child.”

Erik nodded, still not understanding.

“I … I … ”

He would have wagered half his estate that her cheeks could get no pinker than they were. He would have lost. “Go on.”

“I didn’t want to lose your company in my bed, my lord.”

“Ah, Kristine,” he murmured. “What a delight you are, and how I shall miss you.”

“Miss me, my lord? Where are you going?”

“Nowhere,” he said quickly. “When is the child due?”

“I’m not sure. Mrs. Grainger thinks sometime after Christmas.” Kristine bit down on her lower lip. “Will you be terribly disappointed if it is a girl, my lord?”

“No.” He plucked the habit from her hand and tossed it aside, then placed his hand over her belly. His child was growing there, beneath his hand. It was a powerful thought.

She glanced at his hand, then frowned up at him. “I don’t even show yet. How did you know?”

He shook his head. She was right. How had he known? He shied away from the answer that quickly came to mind even as he knew that it was somehow tied to the curse that plagued him, to the heightened senses that enabled him to see things, hear things, that others could not.

Kristine’s gaze slid away from his as she wondered how to phrase the question that plagued her without hurting his feelings.

“My lord, may I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“You won’t be angry?”

“No.”

“You promise?”

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