Girls! Tears swam into Karen's eyes. Hal brushed his lips gently over hers. 'Just like their beautiful mother,' he whispered huskily.
And Kirsty, she thought happily. Kirsty who had given her Hal's child and brought her to him, the one man who was the love of her life. All the miseries of her marriage faded into insignificance. They meant nothing against the incredible wonder of Hal's loving her.
She felt totally exhausted, but it was an exhaustion that held a marvellous fulfilment. She was truly the mother of Hal's children now. The doctors showed them to her-such little babies, but so beautiful. And with Hal's black hair. Karen was too choked with emotion to speak. She was given an injection and drifted into sleep, sublimely at peace with her world.
The scent of roses teased her awake. It was dark, but dim floor lights lent visibility to the room. She turned her head to look at the roses she knew must be there, but the dark figure sitting by her bed caught her gaze first. He was slumped in the chair, his head dipped forward. He was dozing, and Karen wondered how long he had been sitting beside her. A warm pleasure curled around her heart.
'Hal?' she called softly.
He jerked upright. 'Karen, are you all right? Shall I ring for a nurse?'
She smiled reassurance. 'No, don't ring--I'm fine. Thank you for being here.'
'The babies are fine too. The star attraction of the hospital, one might say,' he added wryly. He stood up and gently sat on her bed. 'Are you really all right, Karen?' he asked with urgent insistence.
'Yes, truly.'
He sighed and reached out to stroke her hair away from her forehead. 'I couldn't bear to lose you,' he murmured, his voice deep with emotion. 'I know I can't expect you to feel the same way about me, but I love you, Karen. If there's anything ..'
'But I do love you, Hal. I've loved you for a long, long time,' she said joyously.
'You ... love me?' His voice was almost strangled with incredulity.
'Since soon after we were married,' she confessed gently.
'Oh, God, no! No!' He bent his head down andrested it on hers. 'How can you forgive me all I've done?' he whispered hoarsely.
Karen lifted her arms and wrapped them around him. 'We're together, aren't we?' she Soothed. 'Kiss me, Hal. Please?'
'Karen...Karen...' His mouth carried his deep yearning for her into a kiss that held a wealth of tenderness and wanting, and responded with all the giving in her heart.
'I don't deserve you, my love,' he sighed, laying his cheek against hers. 'I should have known better than to marry you like that. I should have known that Kirsty would only speak the truth when she was dying. I was too damned bitter and twisted afterwards to find out what she meant, but she knew all right. She knew what you would mean to me.'
'Kirsty?' Karen did not understand what Hal was talking about. 'What did she say?'
He propped himself up to look down at her. His eyes glinted with intensity in the dim light. 'Don't you know?'
'How Could I?'
'You described what she was feeling. I thought you two were telepathic.'
'Only about some things. Not anything we didn't want each other to know,' she explained.
He shook his head sadly. 'It was a terrible, terrible night, Karen. I can't even remember the explosion. When I came to, Kirsty was sobbing my name over and over. I opened my eyes and she was trying to staunch the blood from my chest wound. I didn't know that she was bleeding to death as she spoke to me. She said I had to live, and she toJd me about David. Her words became slower, more slurred, and she slid on to the ground beside me. I struggled up, and only then did I see the huge gash in her thigh. People were running around. I called out for help and someone came. Kirsty clucked at my arm...'
He lifted his hand and rubbed it across his eyes. 'She asked me to hold her, hold her tight. Then she said..."You got the wrong mirror, Hal, but I had to keep you. I loved you too much to let go. I gave her the baby, but I couldn't give you up. Promise me now ... promise me you'll marry Karen."'
'The wrong mirror,' Karen echoed sadly. 'Poor Kirsty. How that must have hurt!'
'I could feel her slipping away from me, but her eyes kept pleading, so I promised. She smiled then, smiled as if her soul was at peace. And she died in my arms, that same smile lingering on her face. I can't remember being taken away from her. the next thing I knew I was being carried into a hospital.'
Hal hesitated, then continued with quiet deliberation. 'I think she had a death wish that last year, Karen. Not consciously, but when I look back now... she knew that you were the woman I needed. There were times when the feeling I had for her was very akin to love--almost, but not quite. I think what she had kept from both me and you was tearing her apart; I'd never seen her look so serene until I gave her my promise to marry you at the end.'
'And that's why you married me?'
'Part of it. Mostly I wanted David. If I got you, I got David. I didn't feel I had to honour the promise to Kirsty after I found out about David, yet I couldn't forget I'd given it either. At the time the idea of making you marry me gave me a lot of satisfaction, like finally collecting the payment for a longstanding debt I was owed. Yet there was something compelling about you, Karen. At first I thought it was because you looked like Kirsty, but when I made love to you...'
'Yes,' Karen agreed dreamily, 'it confused me too. I thought I hated you, but I didn't.'
Hal's sigh was full of regret. 'I thought you couldn't possibly feel anything but hatred for me.'
'I tried to show you, Hal.'
'I just couldn't believe it. I'm sorry, love. I knew I was falling in love with you and I was going crazy, thinking of how badly and meanly I'd treated you. After that argument we had about Kirsty I just about gave up all hope of you ever loving me. Until Professor Bellamy prompted you into saying that you and Kirsty had been mirror image twins. Then everything Kirsty had said fell into place, and I knew I couldn't give up, because she'd believed that I was right for you too. And that gave me hope.'
Karen gurgled with happy laughter. 'And I thought you had a lust for pregnant women!'
Hal leaned over and kissed her very lustfully. 'Only for this woman,' he concluded in a tone of rich satisfaction.
'Hal?'
'Mmmmh?' His mouth hovered teasingly over hers.
'Is it all right with you if we call our first-born twin Kirsten?' she whispered hopefully.
'Whatever you want, my darling. If it's possible, I think that would keep Kirsty smiling, and I guess we owe her that. We might never have met at all.'
Karen sighed in relief. She had wanted that very much, and she was so glad that Hal had forgiven Kirsty for everything. 'And I thought Rowena would be nice for the second twin. Owen would like that.'