The Ambitious Orphan (16 page)

As she watched,
the line through the middle started to morph into a cross, and she
couldn't tear her eyes away as it grew stronger and stronger. She
was carrying Mycroft's child.

Her mind froze,
unable to process the news and what it might mean. Although they'd
talked of marriage, there had been no mention of children. It
wasn't something she expected him to want. His house was orderly
and tidy, everything a child wasn't and shouldn't be forced
into.

A cough from the
doorway made her jump. She looked up to see Mycroft, his eyes
already taking in every detail, but giving no reaction away, as
usual.

“I was about to
come and tell you,” she said, hoping he wouldn't mind that she'd
taken the test without him.

“Did you think I
wouldn't notice?” Mycroft walked over to her and she held the stick
up so he could easily see the result, although she suspected he'd
already looked at it while in the doorway. “You've been showing
symptoms for quite a few days.”

“I... I'm sorry. I
know this wasn't planned.”

Mycroft shook his
head, cutting off the slightly panicked apology.

“It takes two to
make a child. The odds were small given all the probabilities but
it was still possible, and I knew that.”

She looked up at
him, letting the air out of her lungs and some of the tension along
with it. So far, he was reacting well. After looking over the
emotion she wasn't even trying to hide, he gently stroked her cheek
with his hand.

“It might explain
how you have gained the immortality we have. It's possible that
it's a temporary effect of carrying my child.”

“I know. I'd
already thought of that as well. I'd understand if it changed your
mind about the wedding date. If you wanted to postpone it until
after we know either way.” She lowered her eyes, wanting to hide
the prickle of tears that the offer created.

“No. This changes
none of that. I would marry you either way now. And I do believe I
told you I'd take care of you. The wedding is just a public
declaration of the same promise.”

“Thank you,” she
replied, leaning into the hand still against her cheek and allowing
herself to look at him again. While her eyes swam in grateful
tears, she saw his soften and show her a tenderness only borne by
one emotion: love.

~

Thank you for reading The Ambitious Orphan. The sequel,
.
While you wait you might also like to try
my fantasy works beginning with a free short,
Wandering to Belong
.

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Already
published

Historical
Adventure:

With Proud
Humility (#1 in the Hearts of the Seas series)

Chains of
Freedom (#4 in the Hearts of the Seas series)

Fantasy (Tales
of Ethanar):

Wandering to
Belong (Tale 1)

Innocent
Hearts (Tale 2 & 3)

For Such a
Time as This (Tale 4)

A Fire's
Sacrifice (Tale 5)

The Hope of
Winter (A short story in the anthology 'Flights of Fantasy' - Tale
6.05)

Sci-Fi:

Sherdan's
Prophecy (#1 in the Sherdan series)

Sherdan's
Legacy (#2 in the Sherdan series)

Sherdan's
Country (#3 in the Sherdan series)

Sherdan's Road
(A short story in the anthology 'The End of the Road')

The Slave
Who'd Never Been Kissed (A novella in the anthology 'The Kiss')

Find Purchase links here

Historical
Adventure:

Victorious
Ruin (#2 in the Hearts of the Seas series)

Fantasy (Tales
of Ethanar):

The Fire of
Winter (#1 in the Winter series, Tale 6.1)

The Tales of
Ethanar anthology - containing:

The Tales of
Ethanar 1-6.05

A Brief
History of Ethanar

Maps of
Ethanar

A Note on
Dragons

A Note on the
Humanoid Races of Ethanar

Fantasy
(other):

Angel of the
Sands

Already
Published

The Hundred
Year Wait (#1 in the Mycroft Holmes Adventures)

The Boy Next
Door (A short story in the anthology 'The Bitten')

The Unexpected
Coincidence (#2 in the Mycroft Holmes Adventures)

The Invisible
Amateur (#3 in the Mycroft Holmes Adventures)

The Female
Charm (#4 in the Mycroft Holmes Adventures)

The Reluctant
Knight (#5 in the Mycroft Holmes Adventures)

The Ambitious
Orphan (#6 in the Mycroft Holmes Adventures)

Coming
soon

The Honeymoon
Surprise (#7 in the Mycroft Holmes Adventures)

Jess was born
in the quaint village of Woodbridge in the UK, has spent some of
her childhood in the States and now resides near the beautiful
Roman city of Bath. She lives with her husband, Phil, and her very
dapsy cat, Pleaides.

During her
still relatively short life Jess has displayed an innate curiosity
for learning new things and has therefore studied many subjects,
from maths and the sciences, to history and drama. Jess now works
full time as a writer, incorporating many of the subjects she has
an interest in within her plots and characters.

When she's not
working she can often be found with friends, enjoying a vast array
of films, ice skating or trekking all over the English
countryside.

You can find out more
about the author and her upcoming projects by following her
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www.jessmountifield.co.uk