‘I felled off the tree,’ he told her importantly, ‘and now my arm is being mended.’
It was obvious that he at least was none the worse for his ordeal, but Briony badly needed the reassurance of feeling his small body in her arms. He wriggled impatiently when she hugged him, his eyes sliding past her to Kieron.
‘Who’s that man?’ he demanded warily.
Kieron was staring at Nicky in total disbelief and shocked comprehension. There would be no more comments about Matt fathering her child, Briony knew.
She ignored Nicky’s question. ‘Can I take him home?’ she asked the nurse.
‘Of course. The doctor will want to have a word with you about the plaster and so on. He’s got a rather unusual blood group, did you know?’
Briony had known, and suspected that it had come down to him from his father, a suspicion which Kieron’s expression confirmed.
The nurse went to attend to a crying child, and they were alone by Nicky’s bed.
‘God, why didn’t you tell me?’ Kieron swore bitterly. ‘My child, and you keep it from me!’
‘He’s not.…’ Briony began, but the look on Kieron’s face quelled her.
‘Don’t lie to me,’ he demanded harshly. ‘That’s my child and you damned well know it. We’ve got things to talk about, you and I. You’re not simply going to walk away from this, Briony.’
The doctor’s arrival halted their conversation. It galled Briony that he should so constantly address his remarks to Kieron instead of herself. In view of the likeness between father and son it would have been pointless to deny their relationship, she realised, but she could not help reflecting bitterly on the unkind twist of fate that had brought Kieron into her office just when she was at her most vulnerable. The moment Paolo had told her that Nicky had had an accident she had simply ceased to register anything else, even the fact that she had dropped the receiver in the middle of his explanation. It was ironic to think that if it had not been for that simple mistake Kieron would never have known about his child.
The doctor had finished and Briony bent to pick up Nicky.
‘I’ll carry him,’ Kieron announced firmly. ‘He’s too heavy for you.’
‘No!’
‘For God’s sake,’ Kieron swore angrily, ‘I’m not going to tear him out of your arms and make off with him! What sort of man do you think I am?’
Her eyes gave him the answer. Just because Nicky was so precious to her it didn’t necessarily mean that Kieron would feel the same way, and yet there had been something in his eyes when he looked at Nicky which made her heart pound with fear.
The moment Nicky saw the car he was wide-eyed with awe. Kieron insisted on holding him while Briony got in the back, handing him to her when she was sitting down.
‘Okay, son?’ he asked as he closed the door. The words were commonplace enough, but the look in his eyes made Briony go ice-cold with dread.
She was too concerned with Nicky’s comfort to pay much attention to their surroundings, but when the car came to a stop outside an imposing block of apartments in the heart of Knightsbridge she glanced angrily at the back of Kieron’s head. In the driving mirror his eyes met hers.
‘We’ve got
things to talk about,’ he said softly.
Briony shivered. For a moment he had looked angry enough to kill her. ‘I want to go home.’
He leaned behind her and opened the door. ‘Out!’
They were in the lift before he spoke to her again, his eyes meeting hers over Nicky’s curly head. The little boy had asked curiously where they were going, but had seemed quite satisfied with her answer that they were going to see Mr Blake’s flat.
‘I’ll say one thing for you,’ Kieron said curtly. ‘At least you care about the child.’
‘More than you could possibly know,’ Briony breathed, not caring what she was betraying and missing entirely the thoughtful look in his eyes as he punched the buttons and the lift soared upwards.
His apartment was large and surprisingly comfortable. Kieron told her to make herself at home in the huge living room and disappeared into what she guessed to be the kitchen, emerging several minutes later with a glass of orange juice and a tray of coffee.
Nicky accepted the drink shyly. He had been unusually quiet in the car and Briony had put it down to his accident. Now, though, as she watched him staring solemnly at Kieron, it struck her that he must be shy. He was sitting on her lap and Kieron squatted down beside them, his eyes on a level with his son’s.
‘Are you a daddy?’ Nicky asked him gravely.