"She's delicate. The young master never lets anyone cause our mistress the slightest distress. You stand there ignoring her, leaving her to kneel in the dirt. If something happens to the baby because of you, can you bear that responsibility?"
Whispers rippled through the crowd. I signaled my handmaid to draw back the curtain, then fixed a cold stare on the beautiful woman kneeling below the carriage. "How far along are you?"
Celeste answered with a demure blush. "This humble woman was taken in by the heir nine months ago. The child in my womb is eight months along."
I looked at her with undisguised contempt. "So for nine months, the heir hasn't brought you into the estate. Why is that? Is your background too shameful to speak of? Or is the child not his?"
"If he truly treasured you, why would he keep you hidden away as a secret mistress?"
The crowd murmured in agreement. It was a fair point. If a man truly cherished a woman, he would have brought her home and given her a proper title long ago. Why wait until she was nearly due?