‘I’m sorry you missed the birth, Tom,’ she said, not for the first time.
He leaned towards her, stroking the hair back from her forehead.
‘We both did, darling – but none of that matters as long as you’re both doing well. You know that. And you’re both amazing.’
He moved his hand towards his son, who was lying contentedly in his mother’s arms, and stroked his cheek gently with the back of his finger.
‘Did you call Lucy?’ Louisa asked.
‘I wanted to check that you were both okay first, but I’ll call her now and try to arrange to get her here.’
Tom picked up his mobile from the bedside table. She answered after the first ring.
‘You’re not checking up on me, are you, Dad?’
‘No, I’m not. I’m calling to let you know that you have a baby brother.’ Tom pulled the phone away from his ear as Lucy squealed. ‘Sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner. It was all a bit quick.’
Lucy was babbling about when she could come, and Tom interrupted her. ‘We want you here now, Lucy. I’m going to send a taxi for you. Can you put me on to Connie’s mum so I can explain to her?’
As Tom and Louisa waited for Lucy to arrive, they talked about names. Louisa hadn’t wanted to choose in advance; she had said from the start she wanted to wait until he or she was born, but Tom had a strong feeling there was only one name that was totally right for this baby.
‘Harry?’ he said, hoping Louisa would feel the same.
Louisa smiled and reached out a hand to squeeze Tom’s. ‘I love it. Harry it is.’
A few minutes later the door burst open and Lucy ran into the room. ‘Where is he?’ She gazed down at Harry, lying peacefully in Louisa’s arms. ‘He’s gorgeous.’ She leaned down and kissed him tenderly. ‘Hello, little brother.’
Tom felt a rush of emotion. That was exactly what Jack had always called him, and now Lucy was doing the same thing.
The moment was shattered by a knock on the door, and the last face Tom was expecting appeared in the opening.
‘Hello. I hope I’m not interrupting.’
Louisa glanced quickly at Tom and pasted a smile on her face. ‘Of course not, Kate. Come in.’
Tom stood up and moved towards the door, effectively blocking Kate from coming further into the room. It was an instinctive gesture, but he didn’t want her spoiling the moment. Lucy’s eyes flicked to her mum, to Tom, to the baby. She didn’t know where to look.
‘What a big baby, Louisa. My word, I bet you’re glad you didn’t have to give birth to him naturally.’
It was clear that Kate’s illness and her prolonged holiday had done nothing to lessen her careless insensitivity.
‘What are you calling him?’ she asked.
‘Harry,’ Louisa said, trying to look pleased to see Tom’s ex-wife.
‘Goodness, Tom. I didn’t have you down as a royal follower. Middle name William, no doubt.’
‘He’s named after Louisa’s grandfather, who sadly died recently before he had a chance to meet his great-grandson.’
Kate greeted Tom’s words with a nod but no apology.
‘Kate, this isn’t such a good time for a visit,’ Tom said, with what he considered to be spectacular restraint, as he indicated the door with his arm.
‘No, but when I called Lucy and she said she was heading here, I thought maybe I should come and take her off your hands. You’ve got enough to deal with now with your new baby. You don’t need a teenager banging around making life difficult.’
‘Ouch!’ The cry came from Louisa on the bed, her face screwed up in pain. ‘Lucy, come here, love, and take your brother. I’m struggling to hold him.’
‘Me?’ Lucy said in surprise.
‘Please, sweetheart.’ Louisa held Harry out towards Lucy, who looked both terrified and thrilled as the baby was placed in her arms. ‘Just sit with him, talk to him so he’ll know your voice, your smell.’ As Lucy moved away, Louisa adjusted herself in the bed with slightly more theatre than Tom suspected was entirely necessary. ‘Tom, can you and Kate talk outside, please? I’d like Harry’s first few hours to be as peaceful as possible.’
Tom didn’t need asking twice and ushered Kate out of the room. She was speaking before the door was even closed.
‘Let’s be sensible. You’ve got a new family now. Lucy can come with me – live with me when I make my home in Australia. We can leave you to your new-found bliss.’
‘Lucy has lived with us for six months. We’ve always known that in the future she would split her time between you and me, and I understand that. It’s fine. This is a really sensitive moment for her, though, and we’re working hard to make her realise that Harry’s arrival doesn’t reduce her importance in our family. The next few weeks that she spends with us, together as a family, will impact hugely on her. If she feels in any way pushed out, it could affect her deeply.’
‘Heavens, what a speech.’
Tom blew out a long slow breath. ‘Kate, this isn’t about you and me. It’s not about a battle for supremacy between us. It’s about our daughter and what’s best for her. Fine, if you want to marry someone you’ve met while you’ve been away, I genuinely hope you’ll be very happy. But why does it have to be next week? Why drag her away now, when we have a chance to make her realise that she’s every bit as important as Harry? Put her first, please. Get on with your trip, and maybe think about it again in a month, when she’s established a relationship with Harry and is confident that she’s wanted as much as ever.’
Kate looked at him for a moment longer and then moved past him and pushed open the door. Louisa glanced their way, but Lucy’s eyes never left Harry’s face. They could just hear her voice, singing softly, ‘You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.’
‘I used to sing that to Lucy when she was a baby,’ Kate said.
‘You did indeed. It worked every time.’
They were quiet for a moment, and Tom felt sure Kate was remembering – as he was – those happy days. She dropped her head so he could no longer see her face.
‘Tell Lucy I’ll speak to her tomorrow,’ she said quietly.
‘And?’ Tom asked.
‘And nothing. As I said, I’ll speak to her.’ Kate raised her eyes to his, but he couldn’t read her expression.
Before he could say another word, a nurse bustled towards them.
‘I think Mum needs some rest now, folks. She’s just had major surgery. Dad, you can stay if you like, but to be honest, Mum and baby will be sleeping so maybe say goodnight and come back tomorrow. Enjoy your last good night’s sleep for a while!’
Tom thought sleep was highly unlikely given where they were up to with the Millie Palmer case, but for now he needed to say goodnight to his family and then head back to the office. His paternity leave could start when Louisa came home in a few days’ time.
77
I’ve been babbling away as I try – and fail – to explain coherently to Steve what’s going on. All I can think about is finding out where Ash is, where he’s going, and if he’s going to lead me to Millie. I’m conscious that everything I say about her abduction puts Ash in a bad light, which I don’t want to do, however much I find myself blaming him. What chance is there of Steve agreeing to the adoption if he believes Ash is the reason Millie is in such danger? I can’t help wondering if it’s what I want now, either. I haven’t given myself time to focus on Ash’s betrayal and what it might mean for the future. It doesn’t seem important right now.