Stolen Kiss (The Turners of Copper Island #2)

Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-Four

C ynthia took three days to come home to Copper Island. She wasn’t prepared to leave Italy until the pregnancy test results were confirmed.

She was pregnant.

Cynthia didn’t need guess-work to figure out how far along she was, as they only had five days together at Easter in late April. She was now four months pregnant. The last time she was pregnant, she spent the entire pregnancy overseas and could proudly show her bump. However, this time she would need clothes that disguised her condition. Thankfully, she was barely showing, and flared skirts with floppy jumpers were all the rage.

Jonathan stood at the top of the drive with his bag at his feet. They were close, forehead to forehead, with their eyes closed.

“I’ll be eight months by the time I see you again at Christmastime,” she whispered.

“Pick somewhere warm, but not too warm. Stay away from snow and ice. I don’t want you falling over,” he whispered back.

“I’ll write and let you know where I’ve chosen as soon as the funeral is over.”

“Okay. Four months is going to be the longest time. Those Turners are ruining our happiness.”

“Well, there is one less now, even so, Father is formidable. So it’s just me, Father, and my brother Freddie now. Until he produces an heir, that is.”

“Looks like you’ll be producing an heir first.”

“Our child can’t be an heir without marriage, and the marriage has to be before I conceived the child. Turner rules. This kiddo won’t be recognised.”

“They’re living in another world on that island,” Jonathan muttered.

“It’s all they know.”

“Doesn’t make it right,” Jonathan said.

The car driving up the gravel road drew their attention. Jonathan was leaving first to catch his train back home. Her father had wired money to Jennifer to fly them home. Their flight would be later on.

“Time to go.” Jonathan was back to whispering.

Jennifer appeared from nowhere, picked up his bag, and handed it to the driver. Jonathan looked over his shoulder at the driver behind the wheel and Jennifer walking back into the villa. He slanted his head and covered her mouth with his, swiping inside. Cynthia relished the sensation of his soft tongue against hers and clutched onto the lapels of his jacket. She kissed him back with every ounce of love she could muster and then took a step back. Cynthia dashed her tears away with the backs of her hands as she watched the love of her life walk to the car and slip into the back seat. Jonathan locked eyes with her until she lost him around the corner. Cynthia remained standing there long after the car’s engine had silenced. When Jennifer brought her into a cuddle, she completely lost it and broke down.

“I won’t leave you alone, not for a minute. Let’s go inside and get some tea. You have two people to take care of,” Jennifer said.

Cynthia sniffed and took the hanky from the sleeve of her blouse. She was seemingly already back in her Turner uniform and mannerisms. There were days when she didn’t know if the real her was Cynthia Turner on Copper Island or Cyn Turner in the arms of Jonathan Cranford, somewhere in the world.

The journey back to Turner Hall went too quickly. Soon enough, she was in her rooms with Jennifer, unpacking her clothing and sifting through items suitable to cover her pregnancy. She chewed on her thumbnail as she eyed her black dress. It was a fitted dress with capped sleeves. It was tailor made to fit her shape. Her shape when she wasn’t pregnant.

“What am I going to do? This is my only black dress,” Cynthia said.

“I have a plan. I’m going to sew in elasticated panels in the side seams. If you keep your jacket on but not buttoned up, no one will know.”

“What would I do without you, Jenny?”

“You’ll never have to find out. Now change into your navy trousers and cream blouse, and thank the fashion designers that the current trend is baggy clothes.”

“Freddie is the one who followed fashion, not me.”

“You’ll be fine. Stop worrying. It’s not good for the baby. Three more days, and we’re out of here again. Take one hour at a time.”

“Okay,” Cynthia said and let out a long exhale.

The funeral was much like all the other Turner funerals. The same stonemason family made the headstone, and the same grave digger family prepared the ground. The vicar who had conducted the previous funeral said the words. As the Turner way, it was only family and staff at the chapel. Then it was family only at the wake, which comprised Freddie sulking and glaring at their father and their father narrowing his eyes at Cynthia.

Cynthia instinctively knew he knew of her condition. She didn’t know how, but he did. So when he summoned her to the study the following morning, she was terrified. Entering the gloomy room, the first thing she spotted was her grandfather’s cane in her father’s right hand. It appeared her father had aged ten years since his father had died. He looked far older than his sixty-three years.

It was the end of August, but the fire was still lit in the hearth.

“Did you have a pleasant summer?”

“Yes, Father,” she replied.

“Did you secretly marry?”

Cynthia’s head snapped up. “What?”

“Answer me, girl. Did you marry while you were on your travels? This summer, Easter, whenever?”

“Why would you ask that?”

“Because you’re carrying a child, and I want to know if it’s a bastard,” he roared at her.

“I told you I would never marry a man of your choosing.”

“It doesn’t stop you from marrying someone of your choosing. That teacher you mess around with is unmarried, so I know it’s not him.”

Her fears ramped up that they were still watching him.

She didn’t see him raise the cane in time, but managed to hold up her arms as he struck her heavily on her side. The shock sent her stumbling, and she fell into a crumpled heap. Her hand automatically went to her stomach.

“As I thought. I have a whore for a daughter. Well, at least the bastard won’t be an heir, as you’re unmarried, and the child conceived out of wedlock.”

“How do you know I’m not married?”

“Unless you got married in the last three weeks, then I know. I have someone at the marriage records place in London. Your name hasn’t been registered.”

Her heart beat wildly that her father was keeping an extremely close eye on her. Too close for comfort.

“What if I had married that teacher?”

“He’d be found in a ditch somewhere, and you’d be dragged back here by your hair.”

Her father wasn’t a pleasant man at the best of times, but now her grandfather was in the ground, his nastiness had multiplied. That scared her to death. Scared her into not moving a muscle.

“Go abroad, get rid of the child, and come back here when it’s done. If you do that, then I will provide an income for you and a place at Turner Hall, even if you’re not an heir. I will need a woman to keep a close eye on Imelda. Freddie’s new wife is trying to lure my son away from Copper Island. He is the heir, and so will his children. Freddie’s role is to work the rigs and then, in his downtime, come back to Copper Island and learn the way of the Turners and what it takes to run the Island. Your job, Missy, if you can keep your legs together, is to ensure Imelda cannot leave the island. If you succeed, I’ll give you a small salary.”

Now she understood why Freddie was so unhappy. He hadn’t had the luxury of a honeymoon, as that was supposed to happen in these three weeks when their grandfather died and was buried. Now that he had to step up, there wouldn’t be any time for them to celebrate getting married.

She hated Imelda for her loose lips that got Jonathan sent away. The salary they would give her would solve her problems. But how was she going to get Imelda to stay and comply with the Turner ways?

*0*

Thank you for reading Stolen Kiss, the second book in The Turners of Copper Island series. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me you spent the time reading it. The next book in the series is Lipstick Kiss, and find out about Luke Turner.