“Do not think you will get away with this,” she heard Jacqueline say, and she paused, then turned.
“Do you speak to me?” Georgia asked calmly, despite the churning of her stomach at the very sight of the woman. “I am surprised. And quite honestly I have no desire to speak with you at all, save to say one thing. To have accused my mother and my father in the manner you did is alone enough to see you cast off the face of the earth. But everything else you have done since then only indicates to me that you deserve to burn in hell for all eternity. Good day, Lady Raven.”
She continued up the stairs, pleased to hear nothing but sputtering from behind her.
Nicholas closed the door behind Jacqueline. “Would you care to sit?” he asked.
“No, thank you,” she said tightly. “What I have come to say is just as easily said standing.”
“And what might that be, Jacqueline?” he asked. “I somehow doubt this is a social call.”
“Do not think to play with me, Nicholas. You may have taken the first round, but you have by no means taken the match.”
“Haven’t I?” he said, folding his arms across his chest. “And how is that?”
“It is quite simple. You and your wife are in a very precarious position. You only made fools of yourself last night in your desperate ploy to attain respectability. Do you think anyone really will believe your absurd story about a nightmare?’’
“No,” he said. “I don’t think anyone with an iota of intelligence will believe it. I am sure they will guess at the truth, as distasteful and unbelievable as it might seem. However, I am sure that with a little thought it will become obvious that I gave you a way out.”
“You are despicable,” she said, her voice low. “Can you not forget a youthful indiscretion?”
Nicholas looked at her with disbelief. “A youthful indiscretion? Have you so quickly forgotten that your so-called ‘youthful indiscretion’ resulted in your accusation that I’d raped you? You attempted to destroy my life, Jacqueline. You would have very happily continued on that course had your sister not stepped forward. You also attempted to discredit my wife, your own niece, knowing full well who she was, and knowing she was ignorant of the fact.”
“You expected me to acknowledge a girl who grew up in a nasty little village? She is not fit to clean your boots, Nicholas. I don’t know what she told you, but she was married to a pathetic drunken farmer. She doled out pig slops. She waded in manure. She hired out her services to any takers, you fool, in order to make enough money to survive.”
“And how do you know all of that, I wonder?” Nicholas said slowly, wanting very much to put his hands around her neck and wring it. “One is not usually so well-versed in the background of one’s modiste.”
“You really are a fool. Naturally I suspected Georgia’s background. She’s a true example of her disgraceful parents in looks and behavior. I discovered the name of her village from her previous employer and I went there to find out what I could. Go yourself. The vicar and his wife will confirm everything I have said. The girl is a slut, Nicholas. She inherited her mother’s morals.”
“I see. You spoke with Mrs. Provost?”
Jacqueline hesitated. “You know of Mrs. Provost?” she asked warily.
“Jacqueline, I know of everything. It might disappoint you terribly, but Georgia has been completely honest with me in all regards. I know all about Mrs. Provost’s idiotic accusations. I know that she married Georgia off to Baggie Wells because her fool of a husband was chasing after a young innocent girl who had already been turned into a slave in their house. And I know that Georgia’s life with Baggie was nothing but a nightmare. She most certainly did not hire out her ‘services,’ and I really ought to slit your throat for that insinuation.”
“Oh?” Jacqueline said icily. “But did you know about Georgia trying to seduce poor Lord Herton, looking for favors from him? I cannot think she told you about that too.”
Nicholas folded his arms across his chest. “Go on, Jacqueline. I am most interested.”
“Ah, I see I have your attention now. It is quite true. I learned all about it from Lady Herton. And then when Georgia was sent away from London to Ravenswalk, she wasted no time, did she, Nicholas? She fooled you in a matter of days. I am sure she has convinced you she is a sweet innocent. The woman you have married, Nicholas, is a scheming fraud.”
“Funny,” Nicholas said, “that you should use such words. I wonder if you have examined yourself recently, for it seems that the motives you attribute to Georgia very closely resemble your own. It has been my observation that people very often have the tendency to throw off their own faults on those who threaten them the most. I suppose it is the only way they can justify their own actions and make themselves comfortable.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?” Jacqueline asked with an air of boredom.
“It is not so complicated. Let me see if I can clarify for you: we are dealing here with greed, avariciousness, jealousy—certainly manipulation of circumstances to make matters appear very differently from what they are in fact.”
“I do not understand you in the least,” Jacqueline said.
“Do you not? Then I must add stupidity to the list. What a shame. I had thought that despite all of your other faults, at least you had inherited intelligence from the de Gives. You see, from my understanding, your sister Eugenie was a sweet, good person, not unlike her daughter. You have chosen to make them both out to be exactly like yourself. And if you think for one moment that you can malign Georgia in my eyes, you are very much mistaken. I know you and your techniques far too well, Jacqueline. Furthermore, I love my wife. No—that’s not quite correct. I not only love my wife, I also respect her and I honor her, and I count myself damned fortunate to be married to her at all. That all came about without knowing anything about Georgia’s early life. I could have cared less that she had been married to Baggie, or gathered manure, or whatever other absurd points you brought up. Georgia has more heart and more soul, not to mention true character in her smallest finger, than you will ever have in your entire body.”
“You fool! How dare you compare me to that filthy, uneducated girl? You didn’t know a thing about her, it is true, but you married her, didn’t you, and only to spite me.
“I married Georgia, but not to spite you, Jacqueline. I married her because she struck a chord in me. Yes, at the time it might have been convenient, but I should never—but never—have taken a woman to be my wife if I hadn’t felt a sense of kinship with her. Georgia and I, as you might have noticed, suit each other very well indeed, in every respect.”
Jacqueline turned her back on him.
“Do you know, what amazes me is that it wasn’t enough for you to destroy Eugenie, you had to go after her child as well. You had to see that she suffered, that she had a miserable life, even after knowing what a misery her life had already been. It is little wonder you were so damned upset when I married Georgia. I thought at the time that your reaction was a bit extreme for merely losing a servant. I knew that any woman I married would be met with extreme disapproval by you, and we both know why. But Georgia—that was a bit much, wasn’t it, given the circumstances? You couldn’t bear the fact that Georgia was welcome in my bed where you weren’t and never will be. In a peculiar way, Eugenie won out over you after all, didn’t she?”
She spun around. “That is enough! You make assumptions that are untenable! And now you think you can spread your gossip? I am telling you, no one will believe you!”
“No? It seems to me that virtually everyone believes us, if the number of visitors we had today is anything to go by. Not a one had anything but support to offer. I am sorry to have to point this out to you, but you are ruined, Jacqueline. You have ruined yourself with your lies, your insinuations, your hunger for revenge. It worked quite well for a number of years, but it is over.”
“It is not. It has only just begun. I will fight you. I will accuse you of things you haven’t even dreamed of. And I will make them so convincing that there will be no hope for you. I came to make peace with you, to offer a truce, but I can see that there is nothing else than to take you down all the way. I will do it, Nicholas. Believe me, I will. I have influence in high places you have not even imagined.”
“Really?” Nicholas said mildly. “And what will happen when I tell the world what you have been doing to Cyril for the last two years?”
Jacqueline tensed. “What nonsense are you talking about now?” she said, attempting to sound amused.
“I only wonder how all these influential people will feel when they hear that you have been seducing your young stepson. Cyril has been quite candid about the matter, Jacqueline.”
“You lie!” she cried, her skin turning the color of chalk. “He would never say such a thing!”
“Because in doing so he would incriminate himself as well? But he has, Jacqueline. He has told me everything. He has told me how, and why, you first took him. He has told me how you used the Close for your sordid little encounters. He has told me all about it. And I don’t think he would hesitate to tell the rest of the world if he had to, if that is what it would take to stop it from ever happening again.”
“And did your precious Cyril tell you why his father had an apoplectic stroke?” she spat, seeing there was no use denying the truth. “When Cyril was telling you everything, did he bother to mention that his father went into his bedroom and found Cyril buried between my legs? Did he tell you how we laughed at the fool after he had staggered out the door? Can you picture it, Nicholas? Picture it, please do. It would give me such pleasure.”
Nicholas turned his back on her, feeling as if he had just been kicked in the gut. He could picture it far too well. And it explained far too much. “Dear God,” he said, turning around again. “How evil you are. You are truly, truly evil. I think I understand now why you have been poisoning my uncle. Had he recovered, he would have seen you out of Ravenswalk so fast that you wouldn’t have had time to draw breath. And naturally you wouldn’t want him dead, for then Cyril would have thrown you out as soon as he realized you had no more control over him. A little pinch of monkshood every day was just perfect, wasn’t it?”
She just stared at him.
“Oh, Jacqueline, there’s no use in looking at me with such surprise. There are a number of things we know about your nasty activities. And one thing you don’t know is that your dear husband is on the road to recovery. Your so-called medicinal tisanes have been stopped. Marguerite and Georgia have seen to that. Soon enough my uncle will be back to normal, and when he is, I do not think you will be welcome at Ravenswalk. I fear your dark reign is over, Jacqueline. There is only one course left to you.”
“What is that?” she said shakily.
“Exile. Permanent exile, as you once wished on me. You seem fond of Italy. Will that do? Of course, you might need to go just a bit farther, once word spreads, which no doubt it will. However, I will make you one condition. If you leave England within twenty-four hours, then I will never speak a word against you beyond what I said last night. What Cyril might say, or your husband, or even what the
ton
might guess at, I cannot promise. I would imagine that neither Cyril nor your husband would ever want a word spoken. I know I would prefer not to have your disgraceful behavior come out. It is up to you, Jacqueline. Your call.”
“I hate you, Nicholas Daventry!” she hissed. “I hate you! You have been nothing but a thorn in my side from the first!”
“I rather consider it the other way around. And remember that I never did a damned thing to provoke your unwelcome attention. Nor did Cyril. You have brought everything down on your own head. You slandered your own sister, Jacqueline, and you most probably murdered your first husband, poor devil, although sadly I’ll never have any proof of that. You poisoned your second husband, you’ve been sleeping with his son, never mind attempting to seduce me, and you’ve attempted to drag your own niece’s name through the dirt. It’s really not a very attractive picture. Twenty-four hours, Jacqueline. That should give you ample time to pack the things you need. Everything else I will see is sent after you. No doubt you have been siphoning money off my uncle for some time, but I am nevertheless prepared to offer you an income of five thousand pounds a year—provided you never set foot back in England. And you will sign this letter I have drawn up, relinquishing all claim to the Raven estates.” Nicholas pulled a letter from his pocket and held it out to her.
Jacqueline snatched it out of his hand and quickly ran her eyes over it, her fingers shaking. “Do you think I am a fool?” she said with disgust. “This document says this money comes from your own pocket. You have no money, everyone knows it.”
“You are quite wrong. But if you doubt me, do turn down my offer. You will receive no other offer from my family, of that I can assure you.”
“But how can I be sure that I will continue to receive this money? Suppose you should die before me?”
“My God, you are cold-blooded and calculating, aren’t you? In fact, there is a provision in there. Read the last paragraph more carefully. It guarantees the income to you for life, regardless.”
Jacqueline snatched up a pen from the escritoire and signed it, blotting her signature. She threw the document down on the desk. “There. Have it your own way. I find I no longer care. I have never liked the English climate anyway.”
“Then allow me to bid you farewell, Jacqueline. And take note. That document you have just signed also provides for the immediate cessation of monies should you ever again set foot upon British shores. The other condition, you’ll have noticed, is that it never reach my ears that you have continued to slander any member of my family, or yours, in any fashion.”
She inclined her head in agreement.
“Good. As for your sudden departure, it occurs to me that your health might be frail and you need a fortifying climate.”
“I can come up with my own reasons,” Jacqueline snapped. “And I must say, I will be happy never to lay eyes on any of you Daventrys ever again. You are a pitiful lot. Not a one of you has any spine.”