Libertine's Wife (53 page)

~ ~ ~

Arianne eyed her husband in approval.
“After all those apologies, one would think you a bit more humble,
Garret.”

He chuckled and snatched his wife off
her feet and into his lap. He sat on the divan in her room,
sprawled before the fire, feeling the weight of the world
disappeared about his neck. The meetings with the women seemed
pointless when he set out that day.

He felt better knowing whatever hard
feelings were now mended with a careful word and a thoughtful
exchange. Then, his unexpected discovery of who stalked his family
was unearthed by Celeste and Bianca.

All of the pieces were starting to fit.
Discovering Denham was as much of a coward as he ever was relieved
him somewhat. Realizing the man’s hatred was well-founded was
unsettling.

“
Humbling, you say? Is that
why you pushed me to go grovel to all of them? You want a more
sensitive man in your bed, do you?” Garret kissed her neck,
inhaling the jasmine scent there with a sigh. “All of this humble
apologizing has me thinking of other ways to atone to womankind, my
dear.”

“
You are impossible,
Garret!”

“
No, I’m overwhelmed with
sensitivity, my sweet,” he nipped softly at her throat. “Let us
adjourn these talks.”

Arianne chuckled as he
stood, swinging her up into his arms as he bore her to her bed. She
sighed as she leaned her head back to look up at him. “Enjoy this
while you can, my love. I see these moments being fewer and far
between when we leave here. You recall we will have five
older, impressionable
children among us then?”

“
I caught Deidre looking at
the naughty book I had in my bedside table at my apartments,” he
told her dryly. “When I told her it wasn’t appropriate for a girl
her age, she informed me the one at home had better
pictures.”

Arianne chuckled despite herself. “I
forget that none of them have been very sheltered by their
mothers.”

Garret smiled as he tossed her onto the
bed. “I only see us being more creative, my love.”

Arianne thought of that creativity for
the remainder of the day, sighing in delight as she went about her
few duties overseeing the packing of her household. Elliot found
her in the library and informed her she had a visitor. She
straightened and frowned. Visitors at Ravensford Manor were few
these days, and those for her, spelled some sort of trouble of
late.

“
Who is calling on me,
Elliot?”

“
Lady Vale awaits you in the
salon,” the butler informed her. “I took the liberty of sending for
tea, Your Ladyship.”

Arianne wondered what Julian’s mother
wanted. She doubtless wished her to parley some treaty between her
and her son. She set down the books she packed and went to see to
her. She drew up short at the doorway of the salon.

Seeing the tall, willowy redhead in the
pale green silk gown standing in wait made her tense. She cringed
inwardly to know the wrong Lady Vale was there. Taking a deep
breath, she squared her shoulders, imagining a very ugly
scene.

The woman was lovelier than she
imagined upon closer examination. The stories of the woman’s looks
had to be exaggerated. There were few signs of that awkward girl
all once lauded ‘the eyesore’. Drusilla St. Ives was exceptionally
attractive, and angry, by the tight-set of her porcelain features.
The fury she saw in the woman’s blue-green eyes gave her
pause.

“
Lady Ravensford, I
apologize for this visit,” Drusilla St. Ives said in a clipped
voice. “It is as awkward for me as it is for you, I would
imagine?”

Arianne gestured to the settee. “Would
you care for tea, Lady Vale?”

Drusilla raised a delicate red eyebrow.
“I’d care to know why my husband deeded your former home to your
son, Lady Ravensford. Then I will be on my way.”

Arianne froze, her eyes meeting the
other woman’s with little sign she was taken off guard. She cursed
Julian silently for not telling her of Jaime. “Have you spoken to
Julian of this?”

Drusilla smiled condescendingly and
sat, perched on the edge of the settee. “If I thought he’d tell me
the truth; I would have asked him. Trust is such a fragile thing
with us these days, as well you know?”

Arianne winced at her pointed jab.
“Yes, I do, unfortunately. As you are here and asking me; I can
only assume you already know the answer to your
question?”

“
I would hear it from you,”
Lady Vale said and her eyes narrowed. “Do me the favor of not lying
to me. I’d like to think you are better than that, even if you were
my husband’s mistress for a time.”

“
It’s not my place to tell
you anything, Lady Vale.”

“
Oh please, we both know
Julian adores you. He’d never betray your secrets. I came here for
the truth.”

“
I think you need to speak
with Julian,” Arianne insisted, unwilling to be the one to tell
Julian’s wife the truth.

Drusilla glared at her. “I will have no
secrets in my life, Lady Ravensford! I will not begin my marriage
as you did yours! I have seen what those secrets can do. I will not
have this!”

Arianne could see why Dench and his men
found Julian’s wife so intimidating. She was glad the lady left her
pistol at home. “What do you wish to know?”

“
Is your son my husband’s
child?” Drusilla demanded irately, her eyes boring into hers. “I
would know the truth, for once.”

“
Yes, Jaime is his,” she
admitted reluctantly.

Drusilla had a pained look in her eyes
tore at Arianne’s heart. “How long has he known of the child’s
existence? Did he know of him when we married?”

Arianne gazed at her in surprise. “I
never told him of it. He only found out when Dench’s men kidnapped
him last year and we needed the ransom.”

Drusilla absorbed the information
without expression. “So Julian allows you to maintain the boy is
your husband’s son?”

“
We thought it best for all
those involved,” Arianne replied softly. “Julian worried you
wouldn’t accept this.”

Drusilla looked contrite. “I accept the
truth well enough, Lady Ravensford. Lies never go over with me, I’m
afraid.”

“
I did encourage him to tell
you.”

“
My husband doesn’t trust me
to share this, obviously.”

Arianne could see the fact Julian kept
it from her distressed her. She knew the cause and cursed him again
for being such a coward. The woman could handle the truth and did.
The lies she couldn’t forgive. Her look spoke volumes. Arianne
worried she’d created more problems for Julian now.

“
I find it unacceptable my
husband is expected to walk away from his child, Lady Ravensford,”
Drusilla stated suddenly without blinking an eye. “He has been very
good at walking away at your request, hasn’t he?”

Arianne felt her anger stirring at the
way the woman baited her. Her eyes flared in outrage. “I did what I
did for him, Lady Vale! I won’t apologize for my actions then. I
thought I was doing what was best for him, and I still
do.”

“
I do not argue why you
denied him his child then. I argue why you continue to. He goes
without his son when there is no need.” Drusilla snorted
indelicately to make her point. “We are quite aware of one another
now, Lady Ravensford. I see no need for this secrecy for my
benefit.”

“
My son deserves better than
to be scorned for our youthful mistakes, Lady Vale. Garret wishes
to keep him as his heir. My husband adores Jaime.”

“
My husband deserves to know
his son,” Drusilla persisted stubbornly. “I’ll not let him walk
away again out of deference to your feelings now, only mine! I
would have the child in his life, as not. He can remain your
husband’s heir, but he should know Julian as well.”

“
This decision was made by
us already,” Arianne protested.

“
It would appear you forgot
to allow me my say in this, Lady Ravensford,” the woman argued.
“The boy should know who his father is. It isn’t fair to Julian to
concede you his son as he would because of his feelings for
you.”

Arianne could see she was determined to
have Jaime in their lives, even went as far as to demand it from
her. “I must speak with my husband. I cannot just tread upon his
toes to suit you, Lady Vale.”

“
Your husband will doubtless
agree with me,” Drusilla albeit purred and smiled smugly.
“
We
have like minds
in
many
things,
Lady Ravensford; I can assure you of that. I only wish what’s best
for the boy, and for my husband. I’ll not be responsible for
keeping them apart, and neither should you.”

Arianne was annoyed at the way the
woman emphasized her words. The blue green eyes seemed to mock her.
She felt some intuition the woman knew her husband quite well. She
felt outrage. She cursed Garret silently, wondering if he dared
what she thought she detected in Drusilla’s subtle undertones. To
think of the pair consoling one another while she was— he wouldn’t
have. Or would he? She glared at Lady Vale under her lashes,
wanting to rip her red hair out by the roots.

“
I will discuss the matter
with my husband, Lady Vale,” Arianne allowed without letting the
other woman see her simmering anger. “It appears we all assumed how
you would feel. Naturally, your willingness to have my son in your
life changes matters now.”

“
Naturally, Lady
Ravensford,” Drusilla demurred and smiled cattily before she rose
gracefully from the settee and took her leave. “Good day, Lady
Ravensford. Please make it a point to give my
warmest
regards to Lord
Ravensford.”

Arianne waited until she heard the
front door close. She let out an outraged shriek and went looking
for Garret. She found him perusing his accounts in his study. “Just
how well do you know Julian’s wife, Garret?” she demanded as she
slammed the study door shut, hands on her hips, eyes flashing in
anger.

Garret looked up at her, unperturbed.
“Lovely woman, don’t you agree? I met her several times during her
stay in the city. She and I got on quite well at the theatre one
night. Why do you ask?”

Arianne felt foolish. She shrugged off
her immediate reactions. Garret would never do something so
diabolical as to seduce her lover’s wife. She shook her head,
feeling ridiculous. “She just left,” she said and saw little
reaction from him. He appeared to wait for her to continue. “She
knows about Jaime. She asks—no—she demands, that Jaime be allowed
to be in Julian’s life now.”

“
And what did you
say?”

“
I said I must discuss it
with you,” Arianne said and slid into a chair.

“
And so, you have discussed
it,” Garret observed, smiling. “Lady Vale is aware of all now. I
see no harm in Jaime spending time there in the future. She and I
appear to have like minds in most matters.”

There it was again. His use
of wording goaded her to think he and Lady Vale had been more
acquainted than either would admit. His green eyes wore no trace of
deceit in them either.
Lying
bastard
!

Arianne fumed to know he
would tell her nothing. If he harbored his own secrets, those would
remain such.
Fine!
She’d not make a fool out of herself. She’d only put her own
foot in her mouth given her prior relationship with
Julian.

“
Was there anything else
troubling you, my love?” Garret asked without the faintest trace of
guilt in his expression.

“
No, there was nothing
else.” Arianne left the study, feeling as if her husband laughed at
her too.

Later, she felt foolish for such
thoughts. Garret would never go after Julian’s wife. She read too
much in the lady’s words.

She noticed Helms and the detective
arrived once more.

Garret told her little about what the
detective uncovered of late. His meetings with Thomas Helms were
also conducted privately. She resented she wasn’t privy to whatever
information was discussed. Dench threatened her children. She had
every right to know what was going on with the investigation. A
look of fear filled her gaze, wondering if the man’s identity was
discovered yet.

Lady Cosgrove had to get a closer look.
She cursed her failing eyesight under her breath. She excused
herself from her companions, making her way across the crowded
ballroom. Yes, there was no doubt.

She stared at the glittering ruby and
diamond necklace adorning Lady Denham’s neck and avoided staring as
she came forward. “Lady Denham, you look positively glowing this
evening.” Amanda beamed as she met the Countess of Denham’s gaze.
“I was admiring your necklace. It’s quite lovely, my
dear.”

The woman laughed nervously. Her hand
went to her throat. “The set was a gift from my— husband. They have
been in his family for many years. He only just found them at one
of his estates. They’d been lost for many years, you
see.”