Adam came for supper. Hannah served him a piece of the blackberry pie she had made.

"Ah...Hannah you're a good cook. I know now why I keep you." He put his arm around her, kissed her forehead and laughed when she blushed; unintimidated that Jessica was there to see his show of affection for Hannah.

When he was finished eating, he sat on the floor and played with Samuel while Hannah fed Jack.

Jessica embroidered a motive on the baby's dress she had sewn. Samuel laughed and wrestled with his father on the floor. Jessica was astounded by the tenderness Adam showed to his children. She had not expected him to be the patient and caring father that he was.

When Hannah had finished feeding Jack, Adam took him from her and carried him up to his cot. Jessica watched him go quietly up the stairs and when she drew her eyes away, she saw Hannah looking at her.

"It surprises you doesn't it, that he is the father he is?"

"Yes." Jessica nodded with her mouth agape. "It is as though he is two different men."

Hannah grinned at the look on Jessica's face. "I don't very often see his worst side. It becomes less and less as time goes on."

"I am so glad, Hannah." Jessica tweaked up the corners of her lips. "Perhaps with time his aggression to me shall also lessen."

Hannah couldn't reply because Adam came down the stairs and called to Samuel. He held him by the hand and led him up to his bed. When he came back into the room he finished his tea, and then took Hannah's hand. She smiled at Jessica as Adam led her away.

Sitting alone Jessica wondered about Adam. Thus far he had not mistreated her. Fatherhood and Hannah seemed to make him a happy and contented man. Perhaps it really was Millie's influence over him that had caused him to treat her the way he had. She wondered if she could ever forgive him for his past actions. There was a lot to be undone and the horror of being sent away as a convict still lived in her mind.

*****

"Da! Da!" Samuel ran around the side of the house to meet his father as he rode through the gate on his horse.

Jessica was in the garden pegging out the clothes, her stomach had grown larger, and she found it more difficult to bend down. She watched Adam lift Samuel up and onto the horse, and then sit him in front of him. The young boy's face beamed. Jessica couldn't help but smile.

Adam kicked the horse and urged it forward. It pranced on its hooves, nervous of the linen that flapped in the wind. "Where's Hannah?" he asked.

"She's gone up to the dairy for some milk," Jessica said as she lifted a nappy to peg out.

"Tell her I've taken Samuel for a ride." Adam hesitated as if there was something else, he wanted to say.

"Certainly." Jessica shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun as she looked up at him. "I'll tell her when she comes back."

Samuel squealed with delight as Adam reined the horse toward the drive. Jessica could still hear the sound of his laughter in the distance as she lifted the empty basket and walked inside. She placed it on the floor beside the door to hear Jack griping in his cot, so she went to get him. When he saw her, he stopped his grumbling and smiled up at her. She lifted him to discover he was soaking wet. "Oh, Jack you are a stinker." Jessica laughed as his small hand reached out to touch her face. She tweaked his nose with her fingers. "How would you like a wash little one?"

Jack cooed as she carried him into the kitchen and laid him in the basket while she prepared his bath. When it was ready, she undressed him and placed him in the tub. Jack squealed with happiness as he kicked and splashed in the water. Jessica laughed as she washed him clean. "You are such a happy little boy, aren't you?" She didn't hear Adam as he entered through the kitchen door.

"I would say he likes you, Jessica," he said.

She gasped and spun her head. Recovering quickly from her shock she said, "He is a very happy baby." Jessica lifted Jack from the water and wrapped him in a towel.

Adam walked around the table and sat in a chair with Samuel on his lap. He watched as she dried and dressed Jack. When Jessica fumbled with the nappy, he laughed at her, placed Samuel on his feet, and came to stand beside her. "Let me show you how." Adam swiftly secured the nappy with the pin, grinned and said, "Hannah has taught me well." He chuckled seeing the astounded look on Jessica's face.

"I need a little more practice," she said as she gathered the bath things together.

Adam lifted Jack but when Jessica made to lift the tub full of water, he stopped her. "You hold Jack. I'll empty it."

Jessica took Jack and couldn't help but wonder where the Adam she knew was. Could this Adam really be the same man? Lost in her thoughts she felt a tug on her skirt and looked down to see Samuel grinning up at her.

"I hungry," he said. "Cake pease, Jess." He pointed at a tin on the shelf, where he knew the cake was kept.

"So, you want cake, Samuel?" Jessica rubbed his head and laughed.

As she reached for the tin, Adam came back through the door. He hung the tub on its hook on the wall. Seeing the cake tin in her hand he said, "A cup of tea would be very nice, Jessica."

Looking from him, and then back at the cake tin Jessica said, "Hannah has not returned with the milk." She hoped to put him off. Though he was often here with Hannah and his children, being alone with him made her uneasy.

"That is no matter," he said as he came toward her and touched her hair. "I don't have milk in my tea."

Feeling her space was invaded Jessica stepped back so his hand dropped. She moved to where the cups hung on hooks and lifted one.

"Don't walk away from me when I touch you." Adam took a threatening step in front of her.

A ripple of tension washed over Jessica. She looked down at the cup in her hand and murmured, "I was merely getting a cup, so I might make your tea."

Adam took Jack from her and then tilted her chin with his finger to make her look at him. "Good. It does not please me when you walk away from me."

Picking up a hint of his darker side and wanting to tread lightly Jessica held his gaze and said, "I am sorry, Adam. It wasn't my intention to offend you."

He moved his thumb along her jaw, studied her face, smiled and said, "Please don't do it again. You make me feel like a leper."

"I won't," she whispered. Jessica wanted to push him away and ask him why he thought he had the right to touch her but she was afraid for her child. Adam's mood changed so quickly. She had never been able to read him, so she pacified him with her agreement.

He moved his hand and placed it on her stomach. Jessica gripped the cup. If it was made of hay she would have crushed it.

"Your stomach has swollen these past few weeks," he said as he moved his palm over its roundness.

"Yes." Jessica bit back the urge to knock his hand away.

"I think your child will be born soon."

She fought to remain where she was. "Yes," she murmured.

Adam cupped her face and made her look at him again. "Your child's father. Would he want a daughter or a son do you think?"

"I do not know, Adam." Jessica swallowed hoping he would walk away.

"And you, Jessica, would you want a daughter or a son to present to this man?"

His questions made her feel sad. Jessica gasped back her grief and said, "It is of no matter, Adam. I shall never see him again." She held her head high and drew in a breath as she added, "A healthy child is what I want."

Adam tilted his head and smirked. "And should I allow you to keep this child?"

Jessica's mouth dropped opened. Her breath left her as her eyes widened in fear at his words. Before she could say anything, he said, "Perhaps it would be best to place the bastard with one of the village families."

"No, Adam! I wish to keep my child."

"It will not be your decision." He chuckled, stroked her cheek and took a step back. "If your child is a girl, you may keep her. If it is a boy, well?" He shrugged. "I shall decide his fate."

Jessica couldn't believe what she was hearing. Tears filled her eyes. "Why?" she whispered. "Why would you say or do this? What is it that I have ever done to you other than reject your advances?"

"I already have two sons. There is no need for another boy. Perhaps if you stopped resisting my advances, I may change my mind." Adam took her by the chin again. "You have always lived in the fantasy that love was a necessity to marry. You have fought and defied me at every turn. I ended up with the closest I could get to you. Millie," he huffed. "Because of Millie, I sent you away. My greatest regret, but now I have you back. I'm not an evil man, Jessica; just a man who wants you." He leaned down, kissed her cheek and then whispered in her ear, "If you want to keep this child then stop pushing me away." Adam straightened up to see tears in her eyes. He stared at her, and then said, "Defy me again and the child will be taken from you. Do you understand me, Jessica?"

There was nothing she could say. Jessica needed time to think. She wiped her eyes and said, "Yes, Adam I understand."

"Good, now make my tea. I shall be in the sitting room." He took Samuel by the hand and led him through the door.

Jessica wiped her tears away. Her hands shook so violently that she spilt the tealeaves as she scooped them from the tin and into the pot. She stared at her trembling hands through blurred vision and then clasped them together to try and stop them from shaking. What was she going to do? Just when she thought there could possibly be another side to him. He didn't want to love and care for her, but to possess her. Jessica remembered her father telling her once that the more a man couldn't have something, the more he wanted it. This is what she felt was happening with Adam. Was there a way she could convince him that he didn't really want her?

He was on the floor with his sons when she entered carrying the platter. Jessica put the tea tray on the table and poured him a cup. She was about to place the cup and saucer at the seat where he usually sat when he turned to look at her.

"I shall have it here." He touched the occasional table that was beside him.

Jessica nodded and watched as he added a block to the house he and Samuel were building. Jack lay between Adam and the blockhouse. He sucked on his fingers and reached out to grab the gold chain that hung from his father's pocket watch. Jessica put the cup with a plate of cake onto the smaller table.

"Where is your cup?" he asked.

"I wasn't having one. I must prepare lunch."

"You're not making a great start, are you?" Adam raised his eyebrows and peered at her. "Get yourself a cup."

Jessica didn't argue. She rushed to the kitchen got another cup and went back into the parlour. As she was pouring her tea an urgent knock sounded on the door. She looked over at Adam in surprise. He nodded for her to answer it.

"Miss Jessica!" Jane, one of the housemaids gasped. "Is Lord Loxton here?"

"Yes, he is. What is it?"

Jane waved her aside and stepped into the room. "I must see him. It's Hannah!"

Adam stepped into doorway that divided the sitting room and the entrance hall. "What is it, Jane?" he growled.

Jane rushed a curtsy, stared up at him, swallowed and gushed, "It's Hannah, sir! She's dead!"

Copyright © 2019 Donna Fieldhouse. All rights reserved.

Sorry for the long chapter but it was one I couldn't cut up.

I'm getting close to finishing this story. Maybe five or six chapters more.

Thanks for all your support. xoxo