The Guilty Wife Read Online Free PDF Page A

laugh at the fears she'd had then, knowing that marrying Seton was the best thing she'd ever done.
    They had been such happy years; she knew herself to have grown in confidence, to have blossomed in the certainty of Seton's love for her. At first she had been almost afraid to trust this happiness, so many bad things having happened to her in the past that she'd felt it too good to be true, had been petrified that something would happen to take it all away from her. But as time passed, when Seton didn't suddenly change, when his parents were so warm and welcoming, treating her like a loved daughter, when she met his friends and found they accepted her as one of themselves, and—most of all—when she soon became pregnant and gave birth to Sam Lucie finally put aside her fears and became the happy, contented woman she now was.
    During the first year of their marriage, she and Seton had lived in London, in his old flat which was within easy reach of his chambers, but they'd begun house-hunting as soon as she'd become pregnant, spending their weekends driving around the countryside, and had found this house almost by accident. It was an old dower house that had been empty for some time: Georgian, built of ivy-covered stone and set in almost an acre of ground on the edge of a pretty village. Lucie had fallen in love with it at once, even though it had been neglected and would need a lot of tender, loving care lavished upon it. But she had love in abundance now and together they had transformed the house into a beautiful home set in an even lovelier garden. Seton still had to go away quite a bit, whenever the courts were in session, but he was at home as often as possible, openly delighting in his marriage, as much in love with Lucie as ever. He was away now, not due home until that evening. Glancing at her watch, Lucie saw that it was only four o'clock, nearly three hours before he would be home, but already she was impatient to see him.
    'I'm thirsty.'
    Sam climbed onto her knee and made a grab for Lucie's glass of wine but was firmly given some orange juice. 'No, this is yours.'
    'When can I have wine?'
    'I've told you—when you're as tall as Daddy.'
    He smiled at her, knowing that she was fobbing him off, not believing that he would ever be as tall as the father who towered above him. His smile was so like Seton's in the way he looked at her sometimes that Lucie's heart lurched, overpoweringly full of love for them both. Having drunk his juice, Sam slipped off her lap and went over to the nearby sun-lounger, lay on it and was almost instantly asleep.
    Getting up, Lucie moved the parasol until the shadow it cast protected him from the sun's rays. Raising her hand, she pushed her hair off her cheek.
    She wore it shorter now, only down to her neck, but it was still straight, just curling inwards to frame her face. Looking down at her son, she felt a great wave of love and protectiveness. She was so glad she'd married Seton. So glad. Her eyes filled with tears of gratitude, and she lifted a finger to wipe them dry.
    'Hey, what's this?'
    Lucie turned at the sound of his familiar voice and found her husband framed by the open French windows. 'Seton!'
    With a joyful cry she ran to him and he caught her in his arms, lifting her off her feet and spinning her round, then bending his head to kiss her, still holding her off the ground.
    'Daddy! Daddy!'
    Looking down, Seton saw that Sam had woken and he, too, had come running to greet him, clamouring for attention by pulling at his trouser leg. Laughing, he put Lucie down but kept his arm round her waist as he stooped to lift Sam so that his little face was level with his own. He was rewarded with a kiss on his cheek and the clasp of two chubby arms that went round his neck.
    'You're home so early! I didn't expect you for hours.'
    "They agreed to settle out of court, thank goodness. So I was able to get away and surprise you. And I find you in tears! What on earth's the matter?'
    She