A Second Chance (42 page)

Her expression showed that she knew what he
was referring to. There had been a long period when she had gone
from one quack to the next, lured into trying ever more bizarre
remedies by the false hope they offered. Some of them had caused
violent purging that had confined Charlotte to the house for days
on end, and left her weak and wretched.

‘I wasn’t going to force myself on you when
you were in that state,’ he said, pleased at the thought of how
considerate he had always been. ‘But that sort of thing’s not easy
on a man, you know. Especially a man with such an attractive wife
as you.’

He thought that might have coaxed a smile
from her, but Charlotte’s cool blue eyes seemed to be looking past
him. ‘And still you speak as if you think I’m a fool. As if I’m
meant to believe those were the only times you went to such women.
As if it was for my sake! I don’t suppose you even remember the
last of those supposed doctors I tried?’

Jimmy searched unsuccessfully for the
memory. ‘There were so many of them.’

‘That one was particularly memorable. I had
to submit to…’ He saw her shudder slightly. ‘I don’t think he even
washed his hands first,’ she murmured. ‘Then he sold me a horrid,
smelly paste I was meant to use. He said it would warm my inner
workings. I used it that very night, and I almost thought I’d die
of the pain.’

‘I think I do remember that.’ It had been a
particularly frustrating occasion, Jimmy recalled.

‘It was so bad that I had to go to the
doctor—the real doctor, I mean. At least he had clean fingernails.
Of course I had to tell him about the man I’d been to. The paste
I’d used had burned the skin so badly that I had blisters. He
scolded me as if I was a naughty child, and told me I should be
content with my lot.’

Her eyes met his, and her gaze bored through
him. ‘When I told you what the doctor had said—about being burned
and blistered—do you remember what you said to me?’

‘I… no,’ Jimmy admitted, wondering whatever
all this had to do with Charlotte’s threat to leave him.

‘I was in agony. I’d been injured and
humiliated, and now the doctor had told me I should give up even
hoping. I remember I came home and started telling you—I wanted to
talk about everything the doctor had said. I wanted you to… I was
foolish enough to think you might be…’

She turned away. ‘I got as far as telling
you about the blisters, and you said, “Well, a lot of good
that’s
going to do us.” After what I’d been through, you
could say such a thing to me.’

‘I don’t even remember… Charlotte, I didn’t
mean…’ Jimmy said helplessly.

‘Yes, you did. You said it to hurt me, and
it succeeded. But it was my fault. I was foolish enough back then
to care about what you thought of me.’ Charlotte had been holding
herself very still; now she moved over to the mantelpiece and
studied the ornaments on it, then turned back to face him. ‘I kept
thinking if only I could have a child, that would make everything
all right. I was sure I’d be happy then, with a child of my own.
And you’d turn into the man I thought I’d married. That’s why I
tried all those horrible things. I’d have tried almost anything.’
She had lapsed back into stillness, her gaze once again
distant.

‘Charlotte, you know I’ve only ever cared
about your happiness.’

‘You’ve only ever cared for your own
comfort.’ Charlotte’s voice dripped with scorn. ‘And I knew you
were paying other women to provide it. Discreetly,’ she added
bitterly. ‘But I don’t call it discreet when you want to bring your
little farm girl to Auckland and take up with her again.’

Jimmy realised that his mouth had fallen
open in shock. Not for a moment had he thought Sarah might know
that particular piece of information; still less that she might
have shared it with Charlotte. ‘Did Sarah tell you that? Charlotte,
you mustn’t believe her!’

‘But I do believe her.’

‘You’d believe that vindictive little bitch
over your own husband?’

‘I believe she told me the truth. I’ve
become an expert at detecting lies over the years I’ve lived with
you. You’ve given me practice enough.’

‘You know that’s not true! You’ve let her
upset you—not that I blame you, having to listen that sort of talk.
Charlotte, I’m sorry. I know I should have told you about her. But
when I found out so suddenly just who she was, I thought I’d try
and get to know her myself a little first, and see if she was
worthy of being introduced to you. She’s shown herself to be
nothing of the sort, and I want nothing further to do with
her.’

Charlotte raised her eyebrows. ‘I’d rather
received the impression it was she who wanted nothing to do with
you. And that you were the one trying to take advantage of the
connection.’

‘I was trying to show an interest in the
girl! See the thanks she’s given me for it? Trying to make trouble
between you and I.’ He took a few steps towards her. ‘Don’t let her
succeed. Don’t let her ruin things for us.’ He grasped at what
seemed an increasingly flimsy lifeline. ‘You know, I think you’re
quite right. We need to get away from Auckland and all its petty
gossip.’ And its troublesome creditors, he added to himself. ‘I’ll
come to Melbourne with you. Hang the business, they can just manage
without me for a while. We’ll get away from all this nonsense, and
it’ll be like it was when we were first married.’ He reached out a
hand towards her face. ‘You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Lottie?’

He had not used his pet name for her in
years; at the sound of it, she recoiled as if she had been struck.
‘I’d like you to get out of my sight,’ she said in a low voice.
‘I’d like never to hear another of your lies.’

‘Charlotte, you’ve let her poison you
against me!’

‘No, I haven’t. You did that all by
yourself. It’s been a long, slow poisoning, but I’ve decided to
draw the venom.’

‘But…’ Appealing to her affections was
clearly not working; he tried another tack. ‘You speak of being
indiscreet—it’d be a scandal if you were to leave me. Aren’t you
worried about what people would say?’

‘So I should stay for appearances’ sake?
That’s just what I’ve been doing for years.’ She took a few aimless
steps around the room, one hand trailing along the back of a sofa.
‘The trouble with appearances is that they’re such shallow things.
You scratch the surface and you find what’s underneath. And it
might be something ugly—something that needs covering up. So that
things appear to be as they should.’ She turned to face him.
‘Father didn’t want me to marry you, you know.’

‘No, he made that clear enough to me at the
time.’

‘He thought I was marrying beneath myself.
But I coaxed and wheedled, and he let me have my own way. I
remember exactly what he said to me. “It appears he’s the only man
who can make you happy, my dear. And that’s all I want.”
Appears
, do you see? Do you see how deceptive appearances
can be? I don’t remember the last time I was happy.’

All the sharpness had drained out of her
voice. Jimmy had never seen her looking so wistful. There was a
fragility about her that roused something as close to tenderness as
he had ever felt towards her. ‘Charlotte, what do you want me to
do?’ he asked desperately. ‘I’ll do anything you want.’

Charlotte picked up a notebook and pencil
that lay on the nearest sofa, and walked past him to stand closer
to the window. ‘Get out of my light, Jimmy.’

She began writing in the notebook. ‘I’m
making an inventory of the furnishings before I have the house
closed up. If there’s anything I want to keep, I’ll have it sent
over to me later. Though I doubt if there is.’ She gave the room a
brief glance. ‘There’re one or two things here from your old house,
or gifts from your parents. That clock, for one.’ She indicated a
fine clock on the mantel. ‘I’ll leave all those for you. Let Henry
know where you want them sent.’

She walked around the room, writing rapidly.
‘I’m going to move into a hotel until I can get a passage home, and
I’ll appoint an agent to sell the house as soon as I’ve moved out.
I spoke to Henry today, and told him I’d be leaving Auckland almost
at once. I didn’t feel the need to share the details of your
connection with Miss Millish, I’ll leave that up to you. Henry
recommended I engage a lawyer of my own before I leave, as it’s
awkward for him to have both of us as clients. My lawyer and Henry
can deal with any questions you might have.’

She spoke of it as a thing settled beyond
any need of discussion. ‘And where am I supposed to live?’ Jimmy
snapped.

‘That’s no longer my concern. It’s not as if
you could have stayed on here, anyway, even if I’d allow you
to.’

“Allow” him! Jimmy felt his temper rising,
but he managed to bite back the words that came to his lips.

‘I gather from Henry that there are several
options for you,’ Charlotte went on coolly. ‘You mightn’t find any
of them particularly palatable, but again, that’s not my
problem.’

‘What on earth do you mean, “options”?’

‘You’ll need to discuss that with Henry. I
don’t wish to speak of it further. I don’t wish to
think
about any of it. Perhaps Henry can give you some advice on where
you should stay tonight, because you’re not going to spend another
night under my roof.’

‘Charlotte, don’t be ridiculous. You can’t
throw me out of the house!’

‘I believe I’m doing just that.’

‘You can hardly remove me bodily.’

‘No,’ she agreed. ‘But I’ve had your bed
stripped and your clothes packed away. I’ve told the servants
they’re to take instructions from no one but me. Are you going to
find the bed linen and make the bed up yourself?’ She held his
gaze, staring back with a composure he found infuriating.

Jimmy looked away. ‘You’re clearly too upset
to talk sensibly. I think it might be a good idea for me to stay
away tonight.’

‘I’ve had the maid pack you a suitcase with
the things you’re likely to need in the next few days. You can send
for it when you know where you’re staying tonight. I’ll leave
instructions to have the rest of your belongings sent on later once
it’s settled where you’re to live.’

‘All right, I’ll go and see Henry and see if
I can get any sense out of him. We’ll speak again tomorrow.’

‘I doubt that.’ She turned her back on him.
‘Goodbye, Jimmy.’

Henry was clearing his desk with a view to
going home for the day when Jimmy was announced.

‘Oh, you’ve decided to turn up at last, have
you?’ Henry said, not bothering to keep the irritation out of his
voice. ‘I’ve been sending you messages for days.’

‘Henry, can you make any sense of what’s
going on? Charlotte’s being ridiculous—she’s threatening to leave
me—and she’s talking some nonsense about where I can and can’t
live. She seems to think you know all about it.’ Jimmy flopped into
a chair in front of Henry’s desk.

Where to begin?
Henry thought to
himself. ‘Have you taken leave of your senses, Jimmy? What
possessed you to think you could get away with claiming a
connection with Sarah Millish?’

Jimmy had the cheek to look affronted.
‘What’s that to do with you?’

‘Unfortunately, I happen to be your
lawyer—not to mention your brother-in-law. At the moment I’m not
particularly happy about either of those facts. But if you choose
to indulge in criminal activity—’

‘Criminal!’ Jimmy snorted.

‘The last time I checked, fraud and slander
were both crimes. And that’s what your actions amount to. Miss
Millish has documentary evidence and witnesses willing to testify
against you, and she’s quite prepared to press charges unless
you—’

‘Oh, this is absurd. The silly little bitch
has taken it into her head to cause trouble for me, and now she’s
even got you taking her seriously.’

‘If anyone’s being absurd, Jimmy, it’s you.
And I’ll thank you to show proper respect for the lady in question.
Rather than calling her names, you should be grateful that Miss
Millish is showing such forbearance. I certainly am.’

‘Forbearance! Is that what you call
threatening to charge me over this nonsense?’

‘I do indeed. Rather than go ahead and press
charges, she’s indicated an alternative solution that she’d find
acceptable.’ Henry felt a profound gratitude towards Sarah Millish;
it had been all he could do not to fawn over her when she had
suggested that charges were not inevitable. ‘Have you any idea how
embarrassing it would be for me to have a convicted criminal as a
brother-in-law? Particularly one who’d attempted to take advantage
of a valued client. But she said she’d rather avoid scandal if she
could, and that’s why she specifically asked me to deal with it. I
don’t usually look after her affairs, you know. I can only assume
she meant avoiding scandal for myself, as the case hardly reflects
badly on her.’

Jimmy gave him calculating look. ‘I wouldn’t
be so sure about that. But what’s all this talk about these
supposed options I have?’

Henry wondered briefly what was behind
Jimmy’s odd remark, but decided to ignore it in favour of the
matter at hand. ‘You had three, but I suspect that one of them has
already slipped from your grasp. All three involve removing you
from the possibility of doing more of the sort of harm that’s
brought you to this pass.’

Jimmy rolled his eyes. ‘Must you lecture me,
Henry?’

‘Yes, I believe I must, since you show no
sign of taking this seriously. Miss Millish said that if she could
be assured you were about to settle permanently in Australia, she’d
take matters no further. I don’t know if that’s because she doesn’t
much care for Australians, or if she thought Charlotte and her
family would keep you on a tight rein.’ Jimmy scowled at him. ‘That
would have been the best outcome for you, but Charlotte made it
rather clear to me when she called earlier today that she had no
intention of taking you with her, and I gather you failed to win
her over this evening.’ A deeper scowl was the only response.