Australian Affairs: Seduced. Carol Marinelli

to confirm dates.’ They all sat in silence for a moment, Harry and Marnie waiting for questions as the parents awaited the doctor’s solution. ‘This must come as a bit of a shock,’ Harry offered.

      ‘She’s in her final year at school,’ George said, as if that might change things, then he turned to his wife. ‘I told you that she shouldn’t be seeing him. I knew this would happen.’ His fists balled as he gritted his teeth. ‘She’s got school to think of,’ George said, and then turned back to Harry. ‘She can’t have it.’

      ‘Emily wants to have the baby,’ Harry said, ‘and, as I’ve said, she’s about twenty-four weeks’ gestation and bleeding quite heavily. She’s terribly worried for her baby and frankly so am I…’

      ‘Baby!’ George simply would not accept it and Marnie was pleased this conversation was taking place well away from Emily. ‘How is she supposed to take care of a baby? She’s still at school herself and doing very well. She’s completely messed up her life.’ He started to stand and his wife went to grab his arm.

      ‘George, please.’

      ‘Please what?’ George demanded as he started pacing. ‘How the hell is she supposed to support it?’

      ‘Sit down,’ Harry said. ‘The last thing Emily needs now is to be upset.’

      ‘Well, she should have thought of that. Maybe she should think of that…’ George started heading for the door but then, realising he didn’t know what cubicle Emily was in, he turned to Marnie. ‘You’ll take me to my daughter now.’

      ‘Emily’s not allowed visitors at the moment,’ Marnie responded. ‘At the moment she needs calm.’

      ‘Don’t you tell me what my daughter needs.’

      ‘I really think,’ Marnie continued, ‘that it might help if you go for a walk before you visit Emily, or go to the canteen, or even just sit here and get used to the idea for a little while.’

      ‘What would you know?’ George shouted, and Harry was about to step in, perhaps even get Security, because there was no way he wanted Emily being subjected to her father’s anger. But Marnie didn’t need his help.

      ‘I know plenty,’ Marnie said. ‘I can remember every word my parents said when I was eighteen and I told them I was pregnant.’ She looked at Lucia. ‘My son died when he was two weeks old and, given what had been said, I wouldn’t let my mother comfort me. I still can’t. I can guarantee that your next conversation with your daughter will be replayed in her mind for the rest of her life.’ It was Marnie who stood then. ‘She’s in cubicle seven but, again, I suggest that before you go in there you take some time and really think about the kind of parents you want to be during this difficult time for your daughter.’

      Yes, she loathed bringing her private life to work but she’d loathe even more Emily’s parents speaking in haste.

      Marnie walked into the cubicle, glad that it appeared George wasn’t following. Emily was being seen by the obstetrician but she looked over anxiously as Marnie stepped in.

      ‘How are they?’ she asked, and Marnie hoped it would soon be the other way around—with her parents asking how Emily and the baby were.

      ‘They’re just taking it all in,’ she said. ‘You just focus on yourself for now.’

      Her parents must have been doing some thinking because it was a good half-hour later, when Emily was about to be wheeled up to Maternity, that they came in.

      ‘You could have told me,’ were her mother’s first words.

      ‘I tried,’ Emily said, and now Marnie said nothing as she escorted them up to Maternity and saw Emily settled in. Steroids had been started to mature the baby’s lungs in case it needed to be delivered, but for now the bleeding had slowed down and things seemed a whole lot calmer.

      ‘Thanks, Marnie,’ Emily said, once Marnie had handed over to the midwife taking over Emily’s care and had popped in to say goodbye.

      ‘I’ll pop back and see you when I…’ Her voice trailed off as a very pale and clearly terrified young man came into the ward.

      ‘I told you not to come yet,’ Emily said tearfully.

      ‘I couldn’t just stay at work.’

      Marnie watched as, instead of anger, George somehow found it in himself to go over and shake Reece’s hand, and as Marnie headed back down to the department she knew that of all the things that had moved her about today, Reece had moved her very much. A young man who, instead of letting Emily deal with it alone, had been brave enough to leave work and come and face the music.

      She could still remember the feel of Craig trembling beside her as they’d told her parents. She hadn’t wanted him there but had been so proud that he had insisted on it.

      Was it any wonder they had broken up even before Declan had been born?

      Yet he had still been there for the birth of his son.

      She could see Harry chatting to a colleague and Marnie decided she would go to lunch.

      She was a touch embarrassed that she’d told her tale in front of him, but then, he wasn’t the first colleague that had heard the same. Part of her job, and the reason she loved it, was that you saw people at their most raw and could actually make a difference. It had just felt a little awkward and clearly Harry thought it an issue because a few moments after she’d sat down he knocked at her office door.

      ‘How’s she doing?’

      ‘Better,’ Marnie said. ‘The bleeding has stopped and the parents are a lot calmer. Her young man just arrived and George actually shook his hand.’

      That wasn’t what Harry was there for.

      ‘I’m sorry for what I said yesterday,’ Harry said, and he sat down when Marnie really would have preferred a more fleeting visit.

      ‘It’s really not a problem—believe me I’ve heard that, or similar, many times before.’

      ‘I didn’t know,’ Harry said, then shook his head. ‘Not that that’s an excuse. I’ll be more careful when I say things like that in the future.’

      ‘Good.’ She gave a small smile; he really did look uncomfortable and that had never been her intention. ‘Harry, I don’t broadcast what happened to me to everyone but, on the other hand, I don’t hide it either. I am a mother, I had a son. I felt today that it was appropriate that I tell those parents what had happened to me before they marched into Emily and made exactly the same mistake my parents made…’

      ‘A lot of parents do.’

      ‘Well, hopefully Emily’s parents shan’t now,’ Marnie said. ‘I certainly didn’t tell them to make you feel uncomfortable.’

      ‘They didn’t take it well, then?’ Harry asked. ‘Your parents?’

      ‘No.’ Marnie hesitated. Normally she’d add something sharp here, like, ‘Just because you know about it doesn’t mean that I want to discuss it.’ Except today, right now, she did. Maybe it was because Harry, given he had lost his wife, surely knew grief. Or maybe it was just with Declan’s birthday coming up and Ronan hinting that her mother was upset, it had all been brought to the surface.

      Then she looked up to his green eyes that were waiting patiently and realised that maybe it was just because it was Harry. ‘They’re very strict,’ Marnie said. ‘Or rather they were when we were younger. My mum went crazy when she found out. She said that it would kill my granny and my father…’ She gave a tight smile. ‘Though not till he’d killed the baby’s father.’ Marnie closed her eyes at the weary memory of that time. ‘All the usual stuff.’

      ‘Like?’

      ‘I’m sure you can guess.’ Marnie gave a tight shrug. ‘She also made it very clear that she didn’t think I should