Libertine's Wife (28 page)

Garret held her tightly to his chest,
staring at her with an urgent expression. “I’ll admit they tried,
Arianne. I’ll not lie and say that was the first time either.
Nothing came of it and they left. It was you I wanted then, and you
I want now. I have been with no other woman but you since you came
back with me, this I swear on the life of our son. You are all I
need,” he confided, his green eyes never wavering, his hand
touching her cheek. “For the first time, I feel as though I can
truly be happy with only one woman, Arianne. Never have I found
someone to share these things with who accepts me as I am. It was
always something I paid for; hiding it from whatever mistress I had
at the time.”

“
You’ve asked me to trust
you and hold back nothing.” Arianne’s eyes filled with tears. “You
must know how hard that is? I worry you will cast me aside for
another when you grow bored of this.”

Garret reached out and touched her
cheek. “I think I knew what I wanted when I brought you back,
Arianne. I haven’t had to struggle to be faithful to you, if that’s
what is bothering you?”

Arianne was delighted to know he never
brought any other woman here before her. She saw the look in his
eyes and knew her husband was beginning to care for her deeply. She
could feel it every time he touched her, kissed her. The feelings
were bubbling upon the surface. She ached to hear the words from
him.

“
I don’t know what to say.
You ask for me to trust you but none of this makes me feel like I
can.” Arianne stared at him, silently begging him to say the
words.

“
This is the way it has to
be for me, Arianne,” Garret admitted and stroked her cheek softly.
“I know it isn’t something you’re completely comfortable with yet.
Promise me you will never accept anything you cannot live with? I
would never ask you to compromise your morals.”

Arianne smiled and raised a delicate
golden eyebrow. “Since I married you, I seem to question what is
right and wrong, Garret.”

“
I don’t expect you to do
anything that sickens you, Arianne,” Garret replied and anger
appeared in his gaze. “You can always refuse. I would never force
you to do anything that would make you feel ashamed of what we do
together.”

“
I feel no shame,” Arianne
said quickly, her eyes meeting his without wavering. “I enjoy this
as much as you. I know that now.”

Garret appeared delighted, kissing her
fingers, his lips parting and sucking on her fingertip. “So if I
brought home a woman for us both, you would be appreciative of
it?”

“
I’d kill you, most
definitely,” Arianne said with narrowing eyes. “I think watching is
about as far as I wish to go with this, ever, Garret.”

“
I’m glad to hear you say
that.” He wore a pleased expression. “I wouldn’t want to share you
with anyone either, my sweet.”

“
Nor I you,” Arianne said,
her eyes meeting his with mutual understanding.

They left soon after. She allowed him
to blindfold her until they got to the coach, mindful she was in a
brothel by then. She was leery of her surroundings and glad she
didn’t see anything else.

They rode in silence, her sitting in
his lap; her head against his chest. She listened to his steady
heart beating under her ear, wondering what lie within it. He still
didn’t say how he felt, even if she saw the emotions stirring
within his gaze. Knowing what loomed over her head made her
desperate to know his heart, hoping his love for her would keep her
secret from destroying them.

Arianne vowed to tell him tomorrow,
certain she’d let nothing else keep her from it. The danger to her
family was growing while she did nothing. She’d never forgive
herself if something happened to Garret. She snuggled close to him
on the ride home, closing her eyes in dread of tomorrow.

~ ~ ~

Garret got up earlier than usual.
Arianne dressed and went down to breakfast, disappointed to learn
he was meeting with Thomas Helms over some business venture he
mentioned. She brooded her telling him the truth upon his
return.

Jaime was eating his breakfast in the
dining room. The nanny was readying to take him to the park that
day. She needed time alone to work on her nerve to say what needed
to be said. She could put it off no longer. Thaddeus Dench and his
hirelings posed too serious a threat for her to remain silent any
longer.

Arianne took a walk in the gardens,
lingering on a bench next to the fountain, dreading this interview
with her husband. She didn’t know how long she sat there, turning
the matter over in her mind. No matter what excuse she gave, Garret
would be hurt.

He wouldn’t care that she’d been in
love with Julian then, wanting only what was best for him. He
wouldn’t care she’d learned too late she was with child. Garret
wouldn’t care how she felt for him now. Either way, he would be
hurt to learn the truth of who fathered Jaime.

Sighing, she got up from the bench.
Determination glowed in her eyes. He would learn the truth, today,
before Dench came after them.

When she arrived back to the house, she
saw the nanny sobbing in the foyer. Garret was there now, home from
his appointment. He was hitting the girl with a barrage of
questions. All at once, she knew something was very
wrong.

Garret gazed at her calmly as he
approached, taking her into the study. She could see the worry in
his handsome face. His eyes were bleak as they met hers.

“
What is it?” Arianne
demanded as she looked up at him in alarm. “What’s happened?
Where’s Jaime?”

“
The nanny was attacked in
front of the house on the street on her way to take Jaime to the
park,” Garret told her, raking a hand through his auburn hair in
fury. “Jaime has been kidnapped, Arianne. We received a note. They
threaten to hurt him if I call the authorities.”

Arianne paled in horror, her gaze
unblinking. Eustace’s assertions these men meant to extort her were
quite clear. The lender, Thaddeus Dench, kidnapped her son until
Eustace’s debt was paid. “Who would have done such a thing?” Her
hand went to steady herself on the desk. Her tortured expression
grew to know exactly who did such a thing. Her eyes blurred with
tears. The thing she feared the most had come to pass.

“
They ask for a ransom. He
won’t be harmed if it’s paid by the end of business today.” Her
husband cursed under his breath, his eyes meeting hers with real
fear in them. “They want fifty-thousand pounds,
Arianne.”

Arianne stared at her husband with a
terrified look. “Do we have it? Do we have that much on
hand?”

“
I have it, but it will take
time to get it together,” he replied tightly. “I invested heavily
this last year, Arianne. I thought of the future, not today. My
cash assets are tied up. Perhaps I can get a loan against the
proceeds from my investments?”

Arianne was devastated to realize she
waited too long to tell Garret the truth. While she upbraided
herself of that, her husband rushed away to meet with his bankers.
She paced within his study, waiting for word from the kidnappers.
The tears would not come. She waited too long to tell her husband
the truth. Now, they had her son. She had no choice in what she
must do.

She sent an urgent message to Julian,
unable to put it off any longer. He arrived within the hour,
grim-faced as he walked in. He shut the door to Garret’s study and
stared at her in silent fury.

Julian sat as she tearfully told him
the truth. His condemning dark eyes never wavered during her
confession, reminding her that she failed them all, and now their
son was taken. Her guilt was profound.

“
He is mine?” Julian looked
devastated. “You knew from the start? Why Arianne? Why did you not
tell me?”

She bit her lip in anguish, hot tears
sliding down her cheeks. “I did it for you! I couldn’t bear to see
you lose everything for me! I knew you would never marry Drusilla
if you knew the truth. Then, Eustace found the means to trap
Garret, and you know the rest.”

Julian regarded her without judgment,
knowing she felt trapped into the lie after what Eustace did to
Ravensford. “Why didn’t you tell us the truth and be done with all
of this, Arianne?” Julian raged and shook his head in fury. “Now
our son is in danger! I told you this would not be the end of
it!”

“
Quit shouting at me! I must
think!” She cried in near hysteria to know he was right. Thinking
of her young son held hostage by such uncouth brigands was enough
to set her teeth to rattling.

“
Even if Ravensford manages
to get his hands on such a sum today, it won’t end here, Arianne.”
Julian’s dark eyes were bleak. “Now do you see why Edmund took his
own life finally? There was no way out for him.”

“
What am I to do?” She sank
to a chair. “How do I get free of Eustace? He will not stop! Even
if Garret pays them off today, by next month, we will be back to
this again.”

Julian gazed at her with a dark look.
“I will deal with your brother, Arianne. I am done allowing the man
to destroy you time and time again. This has gone way beyond a mere
thrashing. Ravensford will kill him if he figures it all out, you
realize?”

“
Garret doesn’t know Jaime
was taken because of Eustace!” Arianne exclaimed and saw Julian’s
doubtful look.

“
He’s had time enough to
figure it out if he hasn’t already, Arianne. Eustace might wish to
run. The man’s a crack shot.”

“
They have my son! I have no
sympathy for my brother anymore!” Arianne cried and bit her lip as
tears of anguish and helpless rage flowed unchecked. “Garret may
not have the funds, Julian. What if he can’t get it?”

Julian stared at her calmly, but rage
grew in his dark eyes. “I will pay it. We do this my way now. It is
clear you cannot bear to revisit your husband’s anger. Our son
could die, Arianne! While you muster your nerve to face him, my son
is on the rack!”

She buried her face in her trembling
hands, knowing he was right. She felt hollow in her misery, biting
her trembling lips. Each second that passed reminded her of her
failure to face these truths.

Garret had to know her secret. He would
wonder why Julian paid the ransom. Lord Vale left to see his own
accountant. He assured her she would have a draft within the hour.
Arianne was on pins and needles until Garret arrived
home.

He appeared white-faced and stricken as
he entered his study. His tortured gaze met hers. She covered her
mouth to stem the cry that was lodged in the back of her
throat.

One look told him told her he didn’t
have such a sum available. She saw his shoulders slump in defeat.
He sat behind his desk, his head in his hands. The torment he felt
at that moment was almost her undoing, knowing she had no choice in
what she must do now.

“
Lord Vale has come forward.
He offered to pay the kidnappers for us,” Arianne told him as she
wiped at her eyes. “He left to see to it. We need not
worry.”

Garret’s head came up from his hands.
He stared at her in surprise. Sudden suspicion entered his green
gaze. “Why would he do that for us? That’s quite generous for a
mere childhood friend, Arianne.”

“
He and I were to be married
once,” she admitted softly. At his surprised gasp, she bit her lip
and looked away from his suddenly keen expression. “I was foolish
to allow him liberties before we announced our intentions to
marry.”

“
This is the same man who
disgraced you?” Garret looked at her in outrage, his green eyes
boring into hers. “The same man you’ve been going to see for weeks
under the pretense of being friends with his wife?”

“
Julian didn’t disgrace me!
It wasn’t like that! We thought we would be married! He’s not to
blame for any of what happened!” She paced in agitation, gazing at
him in worry.

“
Explain to me how you
failed to mention this connection until now, Arianne?” Garret stood
up and came around his desk. “I would know why my wife spends time
with her former lover behind my back and lies of it!”

“
His brother Edmund was much
like Eustace. He lost everything and killed himself before we got
to announce our engagement,” Arianne continued on in a wavering
voice. “After that, it was realized Julian needed to marry a
wealthy heiress or he would lose his estate.”

Garret just stared at her, listening to
all, his gaze narrowing as she proceeded to tell him the
tale.

“
I suspected I was with
child soon after we arrived in London, before that night Eustace
drugged you,” Arianne whispered quietly. She heard his harsh
indrawn gasp. She couldn’t look at him. “I knew Julian would give
up all if he knew of the child, so I said nothing. Then Eustace saw
a way to cover his debts by using you. It was too late to stop it
by then.”

“
Jaime is not my son?”
Garret asked numbly. She flinched from his look of shattered pain.
His eyes misted before they narrowed in anger once more.

“
No, he is Lord Vale’s son.
I never meant for any of this to happen. When you left me at your
estate, you said you never wished to see me again. I never thought
you would ever come back.” Arianne felt drained once she finally
unburdened herself, fearful of the cold look that entered Garret’s
eyes.