"You are a few years older than our mistress, after all. Men prefer a pretty young thing in their bed. That's just the way of the world. Every household has its share of wives and concubines. Why cling so stubbornly to something you've already lost?"
Celeste shuffled forward on her knees until she was right at my feet. She tilted her face upward, lovely as carved jade, and gazed at me. "I beg my lady's mercy."
The moment the words left her lips, she tugged the hem of my skirt from an angle no one else could see, then threw herself backward. Her hands flew to her stomach and she screamed, "My lady, please, spare my child! Don't kick my stomach!"
Agony twisted her features. She crumpled to the ground, both hands pressed tight over her belly, tears streaming down her face.
Nana Burke shrieked. "Mistress! What happened to you?!"
Then she whipped around and glared at me, eyes blazing. "Even if you are the heir's wife, that gives you no right to lay hands on a person! She's about to give birth! You strike now, and you'll be killing two lives. Is that what you want?!"