The Duke's Affair

XXVII

Lauren followed Henry back through to the room where Lydia and Aurelia were waiting. He reached back for her hand and she took it willingly. She touched the tape in her pocket once more, just to make sure it was there. She felt guilty that she hadn't just told Henry outright, but she had to know that he would be willing to give it all up for her. If she was going to have his child, she needed to be sure that he loved her enough...

And what if Tony was wrong? What if this wasn't the only copy? When she had called him just now, he had seemed certain, and she wanted to trust him. She wanted to see Lydia's face when she realised that she had nothing.

When they entered the room, still hand in hand, Lauren registered the surprise on Lydia's face as she turned to look at her. Aurelia continued to stare vacantly ahead of her.

"What's going on?" asked Lydia.

"I'll sign your papers," said Henry, releasing Lauren's hand and stepping forward, "but on one condition."

Lydia turned in her seat to face him. "Name it."

"I won't marry Annabel. I won't ever agree to that because there's only one woman I want to marry."

Lauren watched, glancing up at Henry as he stood by her side. Lydia looked from one to the other of them, realisation spreading across her features. And then she laughed. "You would give it all up for her?" She clapped her hands together and rocked back and forth. "This is brilliant!"

Henry stepped around the sofa and sat down, taking his pen from his pocket and taking off the lid. He stared up at Lydia. "If you agree, I'll sign wherever you want."

His pen hovered over the papers, and Lydia stared at him. Lauren knew time was running out; she had to step in and stop him signing everything over. He was willing to do it; he was willing to give the whole lot to Lydia and Aurelia. Everything he had ever known as a child; everything his father had wanted him to have. Here he was, ready to give it up, just so Lauren would take him back.

Lydia reached over the table and took his pen from his hand, shuffling through the papers. She laid them out on the table in front of her and scratched out certain paragraphs, which no doubt referred to the betrothal to Annabel. Then she passed them back and handed him the pen. "Go ahead. Sign them, and the two of you can run off and live like peasants. It'll be blissful."

Lydia's words lit a fire in Lauren, and just as Henry leant forward, his pen almost to the paper, she stepped up to the back of the sofa and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Wait." He turned to look at her without speaking, his eyes questioning. "We should watch this tape first." She pointed at the laptop, it's screen surprisingly large, almost like a small tv. "I would like to see what you've got on us," said Lauren, resisting the urge to smile.

"Why certainly. It'll be like a home video session for all the family," said Lydia, tapping Aurelia's knee.

Henry was still twisted around, staring at Lauren, and she knew he was wondering what she was playing at. But she didn't look down at him, and continued to stare at the screen instead.

As the images flicked over the screen, Lauren felt a moment of doubt as she watched Henry, his image small, walking towards the door. The door through which she was about to walk. Was Tony telling the truth? Had he actually switched the tapes? Lauren crossed her fingers behind her back and waited.

The first indication something wasn't right was the film beginning to wobble. And then the camera swung round and Tony's grinning face filled the screen. Lydia gasped and Henry turned to Lauren, his eyes wide. And Lauren smiled despite the pain in her lip, realising what Tony had done. He had filmed the moment that Annabel had watched the tape from his own footage, zooming right in on her tiny tv screen. It explained why the shot was so blurred. And then Tony began to speak.