Libertine's Wife (24 page)

The ugly truth arrived when she was
walking alone in the gardens one afternoon. She was dwelling upon
the matter after the nanny took her son to the park. Garret was
working on estate matters in his study.

Arianne cut flowers for the dinner
table, fretting hearing from her brother. She continued on the path
until a shadow fell over her. She gasped and looked up, the pruning
shears falling to clatter at her feet.

Eustace blocked her way, making her
gasp at his sudden appearance. His arrival reminded her of Julian’s
warnings he would be back for more. Only six weeks passed since he
got the five thousand pounds from her. She could only see this as a
sign she needed to tell Garret the truth and soon.

“
What? No kind greeting for
your only brother, little sister?” He leaned down to pick up the
gardening shears and placed them in the basket laden with
roses.

“
What do you want now,
Eustace?” Arianne hefted her basket in front of her protectively.
“I assume your need for more money brings you here?”

Eustace ignored her sarcasm. He looked
distraught, his nervousness pronounced. “I will require more to
keep my silence. The lenders found me. I had to secure new rooms to
hide from them. You would do well to watch your tone, little
sister. We both know what will happen if I go to your
husband.”

“
What if I should beat you
to it, Eustace?” Arianne enjoyed his face going beet red with
anger. “What then, brother? Oh, come now? Do you think I intend to
continue with this any longer? You won’t stop until you’ve bleed us
all dry. I’m telling you this to allow you enough time to
run.”

“
Run? Why should I bloody
run?” His lips twisted into a sneer as he bore down on her. “I have
the means to make your life quite miserable, little sister. We both
know you won’t tell your noble husband the truth.”

“
When my noble husband
discovers what you’ve been holding over me these last weeks, your
running just might save you from his wrath, Eustace. He doesn’t
like your methods of forcing me to help you.”

Her brother looked shocked at her
words. His disbelief was evident. “You won’t tell Ravensford the
truth.”

“
Won’t I?” Her blue eyes
narrowed in anger as she stood up to him. “I will not live this way
anymore. If he knows; you have nothing else to hold over me. If I
were you, I would find rooms much farther from London.”

“
You’re lying! You haven’t
the nerve!”

She squared her shoulders and raised an
eyebrow. “You’ve given me no choice. Julian will give me no more
money. So you see? You have lost your hold over me. You might
destroy my marriage, but you will get nothing at all
now.”

The news she planned to tell Ravensford
made Eustace rethink his options. She could see it in his desperate
gaze. It disgusted her to see her brother so consumed with his own
addictions, unable to see anything else. He was lost to her. She
could see it in the way he rebounded before her eyes, trying to
hold onto her even now.

“
A pity the men who are
after me don’t care about those matters, Sis,” he said unperturbed.
“They know you’re married to Ravensford. Should they pay you a
visit one night; you might feel differently towards my
plight.”

She gasped at the threat in his words,
her fear obvious. “You will keep me and my family out of this,
Eustace! I will not be set upon by your lenders because you’re too
weak to stop your gambling!”

“
Too late, little sister.”
He gazed over the gardens with a despairing look, his shoulders
slumping. “They are very much in your life too. You might have
noticed the two men who loiter on the walkway from time to time?
They work for a man named Thaddeus Dench. The man’s one of the
worst of the lot. He isn’t above forcing the issue. I tell you this
so you know how serious this is.”

“
What are you saying?” she
demanded harshly, her eyes wide with fear.

“
I came to warn you,
Arianne. They won’t go away. They believe my debt is also yours
now.”

“
What do they mean to do?” A
cold feeling went through her, her heart clenched at his
words.

“
Anything it takes to get
their hands on their money. This threat is to you as well. You
would think you would be glad to see them paid.” Eustace sighed and
stared at her, his look deadly serious.

Arianne stared at him in horror,
knowing he meant every word. Thoughts of these men coming after her
family made her feel panicked. “I can offer you some jewels,
nothing more,” she said quickly. “Stay here and I will
return.”

“
You are wise to do as they
say.” Eustace agreed to wait for her while she ran back to the
house.

Arianne hesitated when she removed the
jewel case from her wardrobe. She grabbed a ruby and diamond
necklace and earring set, ignoring her feelings of guilt as she
took several more pieces she theorized would satisfy the
unscrupulous money lender. Knowing these costly items were not hers
to give away made her feel like a thief as she stole back to the
gardens.

“
There is enough there to
sell for a tidy sum. I can do no more without drawing his notice,
Eustace. If you come back here, I shall be forced to tell him the
truth.”

Eustace took the velvet bag and stuffed
it inside his coat, his eyes filled with relief. “This might tide
Dench over for a time. I don’t know how to thank you.”

“
For a time?” Arianne
repeated in outrage, eyes blazing. “Just how long do you think to
pilfer money from my husband, Eustace? When will this all
end?”

He regarded her with a look of despair.
“When it ends we’ll both be free, little sister. Let us hope it is
soon. Do you a favor and say nothing to your husband. These men are
not ones to be toyed with.”

She watched him leave; dismayed to know
she was caught in a more vicious web of deceit. She returned to the
house, feeling dejected to know she could end this all right that
very moment by going to Garret with the truth.

In the meantime, she fretted to think
Eustace would be back, or the men on the stoop.

Lord Denham stood with the Vicountess
Ainsworth, his eyes amused as he watched his nemesis squire his
lovely blonde bride across the room, introducing her to various
nobles along the way. Lady Bianca watched too, her brilliant golden
eyes narrowed.

“
She’s quite lovely, is she
not?” the nobleman said, his eyes glowing with admiration as he
watched Lady Ravensford on her husband’s arm. “Ravensford has done
well with his marriage. His wife is making a grand
impression.”

The ballroom was packed. They were on
the other side of the room. They were able to find a spot to talk
near a potted palm that obscured their meeting. Lady Denham was
never far away from her husband; and for that reason alone, they
sought a secluded place.

The lady kept her husband on a short
leash these days. The rumors of his liaisons with Lady Ainsworth
kept the pair apart all evening.

“
Who would have ever thought
Garret would marry?” Lady Bianca asked dryly as she assessed the
new Marchioness of Ravensford, dismissing her blonde angelic beauty
with a shrug. “She looks far too young for him. When has Garret’s
tastes ever leaned towards children?”

Lord Denham chuckled in amusement,
regarding the chestnut-haired beauty with a raised eyebrow at the
bite in her words. “Do I detect a hint of jealousy,
Bianca?”

“
That’s ridiculous!” the
lady said in growing irritation, her perfectly-powdered face
betraying only a hint of unease. “Jealous? Of that insipid little
twit? Hardly!”

“
Come now, don’t tell me the
fact she has the coveted title that was once to be yours doesn’t
sting a bit? I know you better than that, my dear,” Denham replied
with amusement. “When you have to curtsey to the insipid little
twit, let us hope you can form such a bend without showing
it.”

Bianca fumed and regarded her lover
under her dark lashes. What Lord Denham said was true and more. She
was infuriated when she learned Garret married three years ago. He
married some nameless country girl. The gossip about their marriage
died away but was regenerated recently, enough for him to unveil
his bride at last. The favor she was receiving made her gnash her
teeth.

Seeing him dote on the younger woman
aggravated her to the extreme, recalling his lack of courtesy to
her when they were betrothed years ago. He made little pretense of
hiding his lack of desire to marry her, or anyone then. He used his
wily solicitor to try and buy off her father to get out of the
agreement. She recalled the means he finally used to disengage
himself from her and stiffened.

Lord Cosgrove seemed to enjoy taunting
her over her losing her rich marquis. He was Garret’s best friend
and hated her on sight. He found himself alone with her in the
gardens quite by accident one weekend at Ravensford Hall. It was
during a weekend party where she learned Cosgrove was encouraging
Garret to cry off.

She set about to compromise him and end
the friendship, throwing herself at him boldly. Martin spurned her
and said nothing of it to Garret. She went to Garret to say his
friend forced liberties. Both men laughed at her. She left the
estate in a fury.

She hired ruffians to attack Lord
Cosgrove’s coach when he left the next evening. They were to have
merely scared him. It went too far. He overheard the men she hired
mention her name, and how much they were paid by her. Martin lived
to tell the tales, ending her subsequent betrothal.

The next she knew her and her father
were called to Ravensford Hall. Her father, the Earl of Shereford,
held his ground. Bernard Satterly was a long-time friend of
Garret’s father. He meant for his daughter to wed the marquis. He
wouldn’t accept any monetary compromise. Lord Shereford sat
red-faced to learn of his daughter’s actions. Thomas Helms was
there and a wounded Lord Cosgrove.

She could still recall the fury and
contempt in Garret’s gaze as he confronted her. She tried to deny
it. The men she hired were brought forward. In exchange for
informing on her, they were let go. Her father had no means to hold
Garret to the betrothal after that. He slithered off the
hook.

To add further insult, he publically
ended their engagement in the London Gazette. She could have been
ruined by the gossip and scandal that followed. Her father found
her the means to recover quickly. Only marrying the aged, ailing
Viscount Ainsworth repaired her reputation.

Now she was married to an invalid who
refused to die. The man had to be in his eighties. He had four sons
from his first marriage who waited to be the first to evict her
from the residence when their father took his last
breath.

Jealousy was the least of how she felt.
She would be pensioned off by her husband’s greedy sons with a mere
pittance. At thirty and four, she was well past childbearing. There
was no avoiding the fact she was also nearing an age where she was
considered a matron.

Ainsworth’s sons would see to it she
had nothing. Furious was more like her feelings to be brought so
low. She vowed Garret would pay for forsaking her. Because of him,
she would have to find a rich protector, suffer the life of a petty
courtesan, to maintain her current lifestyle. Fury filled her
golden eyes to think of being passed around by men like Denham
until she was too old to garner any notice. Yes, Garret would
pay.

A smile curved her lips as she watched
him dance in attendance on the petite blonde woman at his side. The
lady refused her invitation to tea recently; a snub she would pay
for. Bianca knew several ladies who would enjoy seeing Garret’s
marriage fail.

She was dear friends with five of his
former paramours who bore his children. Those ladies were all
furious at his defection after he brought his wife to town. She
engaged each of them with sympathy.

It was then she decided it time the
Marchioness of Ravensford learned every sordid thing about her
husband. The fact he had so many illegitimate children would no
doubt shock the woman. Garret would hardly tell his wife all his
tawdry little secrets. No, she would see to it she learned all
firsthand.

“
We will see how long it
takes to send the country mouse running, Lord Denham,” she purred,
enjoying the game she played. “I see a cat moving in for the
kill.”

“
I have little doubt you
seek to cause trouble, Bianca. I can almost pity the
girl.”

“
I have made it my life’s
work to see Garret pay for his actions long ago. Because of him,
Ainsworth was the best I could do.” Bianca’s golden gaze swung to
his. “I mean to find out all I can about his precious little wife.
Nobody seems to know anything about her. Her father was merely a
baronet. I will find out all I need to know of her. Lady Vale was
close with my mother. She resides next to the girl’s family estate.
She has to know something about the twit that I can use to disgrace
them both.”

“
Disgrace? That is all you
seek? That is very unlike you, my dear. You would have wanted his
head served on a platter years ago. You appear to have
mellowed.”