Libertine's Wife (51 page)

Because of his former lifestyle, those
he loved were in peril. As much as he wished to deny his wife’s
words, he knew them to be true. There was only one thing to do that
he’d not ever considered; atonement.

~ ~ ~

The servant stood aside as he entered.
The curtains were drawn in the small flat Celeste used to share
with their son. All at once, he paid note to the shabby interior.
He cringed to recall Helms said the children’s dwellings were all
adequate. He looked around the dismal interior and argued what
Helms considered adequate.

He was led to a small shabby salon off
the entrance and waited for Celeste. She arrived looking as
malignant as ever. She was dressed in a too-tight gown, cut for a
much younger woman. All at once, he noted how she’d aged these last
ten years, how poorly suited she was to this life she chose so
rashly long ago.

Celeste stiffened as she saw him, her
blue eyes narrowing. An ugly smile curved her lips. “Have you come
to gloat your victory, my lord? I have plans this evening. Do be
quick of it.”

Garret shook his head. “I don’t come
here to gloat the boy’s decision to go to school, Celeste. He
wishes to see to his future. Instead of fighting it, you should be
proud of him.”

Celeste took a seat on the settee,
gesturing to a chair across from her. “Why have you come? Usually
it’s your servant who does your dirty work, my lord.”

Garret glared at her accurate reference
to Helms’ normal function. “This commanded my
attention.”

“
What is it you want,
Garret?”

“
I know my cousin William
lived here for a time,” Garret stated coolly and saw her guilty
flush. “My cousin’s plans to do away with me have been nipped in
the bud. I came here to discover your part in this
plot.”

Celeste had the sense to cover her
shock. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! I know nothing of
any plot against you. William and I were friendly for a time, but
he left and hasn’t been back here since. I suppose that was your
doing?”

“
Come now, my dear, we both
know Will isn’t smart enough to do this on his own,” Garret
persuaded her dryly. “If you wish your support to continue until
Gregory finishes school; I suggest you start confessing your part
in this. William sits in prison. Thaddeus Dench will be caught
soon. I wonder what his version of this tale will be, and your part
in it?”

Celeste knew she was caught. Her blue
eyes filled with unease. “I knew nothing of any plot to kill you,
Garret. I only knew Will saw a means to make some quick money from
the ransom for your son. He only told me of it after the fact. When
your wife was kidnapped, I told him I wanted no part of it. He was
gone from here after that. I’ve not seen him since.”

“
Why didn’t you come to me
with this?”

“
Why didn’t you come to me
instead of sending your servant here all these years?” Celeste
countered in outrage. “I owe you nothing! I’ve had to take scraps
from you all these years while I raised our son. You then encourage
his defiance to leave me without a thought to how I’m to live when
he’s gone.”

“
So this is about
money?”

Her face hardened. “It isn’t about
love. I can assure you of that, my lord. Whatever I felt for you,
died very quickly when I was sent away in disgrace to have your
child. I believe you said it was the price of passion when I went
to you that day to tell you of my condition, wasn’t it? The price
was paid by me! Never you! Oh no, you walked away and never looked
back!”

“
I never lied to you,
Celeste.” Garret stood and regarded her harshly, his green eyes
filled with anger. “You came to me then knowing I was betrothed to
another. You wanted out of the engagement your father arranged the
only way possible, you said. You ruined yourself deliberately! If
not me, it would have been some other. Spare me your martyred
version of how things were with us then. Explain what you know of
Dench.”

“
Will sought him out after
you brought your wife back. He was angry to learn you had an
heir.”

“
What were his intentions
when he sought Dench then?”

“
He said he found the means
to make sure you paid for his holiday in Paris.”

“
You refer to his aiding
Dench in the kidnapping of my son?”

“
Yes, that was all that it
was at first,” Celeste explained and avoided his gaze. “Then he saw
a way to make more money when he returned to London the following
year. That was when they took your wife.”

“
Let me be more specific.
Will was meeting with Dench at this time, arranging my son and
wife’s kidnapping, and you thought nothing of it?”

“
I didn’t know of it! He
told me nothing until he collected a portion of the ransom for your
son. He had to explain why he had money all of a sudden,” Celeste
explained hotly. “After he left for Paris, I had heard you and Lady
Ravensford lived apart. I saw no need to involve myself in the
matter.”

“
What of your meeting with
Lady Ainsworth to cause problems for my wife?” Garret asked
pointedly. “Don’t deny it. Bianca is at the heart of this, and the
gossip that continues. You of all know better than to think she
feels anything for your situation. She used you to cause Lady
Ravensford grief, and nothing more. She has been here on more than
one occasion as well.”

“
It would seem Lady
Ravensford brought that all upon herself, my lord,” Celeste
murmured with a smug smile that stung Garret.

“
Do you deny her seeking you
out?”

“
She is my friend! She has
compassion for us all, unlike you! You try to control all our lives
as you see fit, and think nothing of what we want!”

“
It would seem all the
others have exactly what they want but you, Celeste,” Garret said
calmly. “Out of all my children’s mothers, you are the only one
crying foul right now.”

“
Lady Ainsworth sought me
out in friendship,” Celeste snapped, her blue eyes filled with
anger. “She has been a comfort.”

“
I would guess the
Viscountess sought you out after I brought my wife back too, did
she not? And you, feeling as betrayed and tread upon as you claim,
bought into her compassion?” he concluded and sighed. “They both
used you to damage me, nothing more. She is no friend to you,
Celeste.”

The woman looked shaken to realize he
was right. “She was so…so…kind to me,” she stammered and looked
devastated. “She has been using me? For what purpose, I might
ask?”

“
Consider what she’s asked
you to do for her? It was a means to cause trouble for my wife.
Does that sound like advice a friend would give? Waylaying my wife
with my past sins should have told you of her intent all
along.”

“
She introduced me to
William, Garret,” Celeste disclosed with a sick look. “I told her
he was much too young for me. She encouraged me. I believed he was
smitten. Now I see he merely used me too.”

“
The question I would ask is
why did they need you at all, my dear?”

“
I don’t see the
reason.”

“
Don’t you? Should William
have succeeded in this; you and Sir Dunne would have been set to
take the fall for them. Given our bitter disagreement over Gregory;
you rather set the tone for such speculation.”

Celeste realized all at once how she’d
fallen for such a scam and grew pale. “I never considered he wished
to get to you, my lord. I was alone and needed a friend. I didn’t
think it more than that.”

“
Did William meet with
anyone while he lived here? Anyone you can recall?”

Celeste pondered his question. Suddenly
her eyes lit up. “There was a man who came here several times. I
thought it odd.”

Garret stiffened, eyes narrowed. “This
man, what did he look like? Did you see him?”

Celeste shook her head. “I didn’t see
his face. He had his back to me. I heard something and woke up.
They argued for some time.”

“
What did they argue over?”
Garret demanded.

Celeste cringed and looked down at her
hands. “The man was angry Will was unable to find certain documents
while he stayed with you.”

Garret tensed, his eyes narrowing.
“What documents were these?”

Celeste fidgeted, looking perplexed to
recall the argument. “It was a long time ago, Garret. I thought
nothing of it then.”

“
Please try to recall what
they argued over, Celeste,” he encouraged.

Her blue eyes lit up then. “It was a
deed, I believe. Will wasn’t able to find it while he went through
your study. The man was angry and called him an idiot. He was quite
upset.”

“
Yes, I can imagine he would
be.” Garret was thinking very quickly, his demeanor calm except for
a tightening of his jaw. “Thank you for telling me all this,
Celeste. You don’t know how much you’ve helped me.”

“
I apologize for falling for
Lady Ainsworth’s games, my lord. She was quite convincing in her
sincerity.”

“
Bianca is quite clever when
she wants to be,” Garret assured her and stood. “You are not the
first to believe she is harmless until you find her knife embedded
in your back. I will instruct Helms to move you to other
accommodations more comfortable than these. I will also encourage
our son to include you in his life. You must let him grow up,
Celeste, or you will lose him. He’s no longer a child. He is not
much younger than I was when he was conceived, if you
recall?”

Celeste nodded sadly and bit her lip.
“I’m sorry if my actions caused you and Lady Ravensford grief, my
lord.”

“
If Lady Ainsworth
approaches you, send word to me,” Garret told her, his eyes filled
with understanding. “I will make sure Gregory sees you before he
leaves for school.”

Her eyes filled with gratitude. “He is
much like you, our son.”

Garret looked thoughtful and smiled.
“He is better than me, and we both know it.”

He left and was infuriated as he sat
within his coach. He was livid to know Bianca plotted against him.
She was like a spider lurking in wait for one to fall within her
web. Celeste was ripe for the picking. He could see how she could
be swayed by his young cousin and Lady Bianca’s hand of friendship.
He was satisfied Celeste played a minor role in whatever his cousin
planned. He felt relief, knowing how their son would suffer to
think of his mother languishing in prison.

He made another few stops that day,
looking in on the mothers of all his children who were available.
They appeared confused by Ravensford’s personal visit to inquire
after their welfare. He made his apologies to them brief. He wanted
to know if he’d hurt them in the past.

Confusion met his inquiry. No, the
arrangement was understood by them, they all said. Wide eyes
watched the marquis leave, questioning what made him seek them out
in the first place. Such was a matter for Thomas Helms, not Lord
Ravensford himself.

~ ~ ~

Merry blue eyes met his as he entered
her salon. Still as elegant as ever, the dowager Countess of
Cosgrove allowed him to kiss her bejeweled hand. She smiled
charmingly and bent her graying head to him in ascent. She had a
half dozen Yorkshire terriers lying around her. She swept them off
the settee to allow him to sit down. The yapping little dogs soon
took off for treats in the kitchens, their collar bells jingling as
they went.

“
You look quite lovely, as
always, Amanda,” Garret complimented her as he leaned back on the
settee to regard her with real affection. “If I didn’t have a wife,
I might think you a worthy pursuit these days.”

The lady chuckled in wicked delight at
his words, her blue eyes filled with pleasure. “I just turned
sixty-two, Garret. I should take that as a compliment I don’t look
quite so decrepit yet.”

Garret smiled. “You’re ageless in my
eyes, my dear.”

“
Out with it. Whenever you
get all charming on me; I know you are about to ask me for
something. You haven’t changed at all, Garret.”

“
For shame, my lady, I only
said you look as lovely as you ever did, and you accuse me of
having another purpose entirely,” he complained with a roguish
smile.

“
What are you up to, you
incorrigible scamp?” she asked, her eyes twinkling in merriment.
“Martin always said you could charm the birds out of their
feathers, much like ladies out of their—um, well, you
know?”

“
Lady Ainsworth is behind
this campaign against my wife. Her vicious muddying of my wife’s
name has gone over and beyond what such a scandal should be. I wish
it to stop,” he confessed. “Anything you might be able to do to
influence matters would be greatly appreciated.”

Lady Cosgrove rang for more tea and
listened, her eyes filled with compassion.

“
I have done all I can for
our dearest Arianne, Garret. A good word here and there by me used
to be all it took in the past to clean up such dreadful matters.
Lady Ainsworth has a more firm influence these days. Perhaps after
a few years, they will all forget the scandal? Time will only
tell.”