"I want nothing for myself. But as a mother, I have to fight for my child."
"The heir's wife has never borne a child, so naturally she wouldn't understand a mother's heart."
I watched the tears stream down her face, but there it was, that faint glint of triumph in her eyes. How quaint. These little tricks.
"If you truly wanted nothing, why make such a spectacle of stopping my carriage in the middle of the street?"
"If you wanted a title, you could have come to the estate and discussed it properly. There are ways. So why drag this out for the whole world to see?"
"You're using that child in your belly as leverage to force me into letting you through those gates. Isn't that right?"
The woman called Celeste shook her head frantically, cradling her belly. "No, my lady, Celeste knows nothing of such things. It was the heir who looked after Celeste all along."
"Before he left the capital, the heir promised he would give Celeste a proper title when he returned. But the date has passed and he hasn't come back. My time is nearly here, and I'm terrified."
"I beg the heir's wife to be generous. Give this child a birthright."