The Widower's Wife (19 page)

They spent the evening together, and Nathan finally talked Lorelei into coming back to his hotel room to bid him good-night. He hoped it would finally be the night she gave in to his desires. He even played his final hand and asked her to marry him. He had made pretense of courting her for months, and lately he finally felt her defenses slipping away.

His plan didn’t work out quite the way he wanted. When they arrived at his hotel, Nathan tried to seduce her with his kisses, but when he tried to coax her into his room, she stood her ground. Well, he was through with her. He never had any intention of marrying her. She had a shady reputation, at best, and she was penniless to boot. It had all been a waste of his time and money. As much as he enjoyed the little game of cat-and-mouse, he should have just found himself a nice, sassy tavern maid instead.

After Lorelei left, Nathan let his mind wander to Jillian Grey. She was the real beauty. He had always known she would grow into one. He had watched her transform from a silly, awkward girl, always following him around, into a woman any man would dream of owning. He also knew she was sweet on him and had been for a few years. He had pretended not to notice, but when the timing was right, he turned on just the right amount of charm and stepped in by her side. They were going to be married in a few months. She was just what he imagined he deserved in a wife.

Nathan hadn’t allowed himself to take any liberties with her, even though they were engaged. Restraining himself had been particularly difficult, especially when he could tell she wanted so ardently for him to kiss her fully. He would make her wait in an effort to increase her desire. Deep down, Nathan feared her affection was only an infatuation—that she didn’t truly love him. He feared if he kissed her now, she would realize her mistake and break off the engagement, and she was too good a catch to let go.

Besides her looks, Jillian stood to inherit a great sum one day. Her fortune was a benefit almost equal to the rest of her, especially with some of the habits he had grown so fond of. So he could wait for her affections. Besides, he had plenty of women with whom to fill his time whenever he was in Boston on business, a habit he wasn’t sure he would be giving up, even after he and Jillian were married. He hummed as he thought of it.

He rose early the next morning, despite his late night. The clerk took his time retrieving his messages, irritating Nathan. He liked the evening clerk a lot better, but in his haste the night before to get Lorelei up to his room, he hadn’t picked up his messages, just his key. He usually had at least a few cards or messages having to do with his business, but he knew they could wait. That morning there were three messages. One was from the manager of their warehouse, which probably meant more work for Nathan. The next message had been from Lorelei, which he ignored. He waited to read the final message until he left the hotel lobby. The doorman had greeted him as he held the door open.

“Good morning, Mr. Shaw.” Nathan was not in the mood for pleasantries, so he only gave a slight nod in return. “Looks like it’s going to be another beautiful day,” the doorman continued, but Nathan still did not respond.

When he raised his head, he saw the backside of a nicely shaped woman climbing into an expensive carriage. Something in the way she moved and held her head struck him as familiar. He disregarded the thought and turned his attention back to his third message.

It was puzzling to him. It simply read, “Come to room 35 as soon as you get in. I have a surprise for you.” Just then, a breeze ruffled the paper and he smelled a light, familiar scent. He held the paper closer to his nose to smell it again. “Jillian?” he said out loud. The paper smelled exactly of her.
That’s nonsense
, he thought.
What would Jillian be doing in Boston?
The message probably wasn’t even for him. That simpleton clerk probably gave it to him by mistake. He would have to talk to the hotel manager about that one. Instead of throwing the message away, however, Nathan tucked it into his waistcoat pocket. The strange message gave him an odd, unsettled feeling. “Ridiculous,” he muttered. Miss Jillian Grey was waiting—probably even pining—for him back in Providence.

“My dear little Jillian, not so little anymore,” he said as he thought of her, picturing her shapely figure wrapped in his arms. She would be all his, soon enough. He continued walking up the boardwalk, humming the wedding march like he had done in his hotel room the night before as he’d thought of her.

It wasn’t until later that evening that he had found out that Jillian had indeed come to see him and had actually been staying in the hotel room just a few doors up from his. She had heard Miss Davis and him when they were out in the hall and witnessed the whole interlude. Of course, he hadn’t known any of this until Marcus had burst through the door of the tavern and proceeded to break his nose with one solid punch. Yes, he hated Marcus Grey.

It was no matter though. He would find out where Jillian had gone. She would yet be his. He had waited too long to have her. She couldn’t just walk away from him. It was of no consequence to him if she was already another man’s wife. He would find her sooner or later and take back what rightfully belonged to him, in spite of her brother. He took another drink of his whiskey and tried to focus on the poker game.

Miss Lorelei Davis was angry. Her thoughts wandered once again to Mr. Nathan Shaw as she waited tables at her new job in a tavern near downtown Providence. She had spent months working him and making him want her, and finally he had proposed. She’d known the first time she’d seen him come into the tavern in Boston that he was the man she’d been waiting for. She was tired of working the tables and having all those drunken men’s hands on her all the time. She hated the smell of whisky. He was her ticket out of this life, and she was catching the ride.

Deep down, Lorelei knew she deserved it too. She’d always known she was meant for finer things. Her mama had always told her, “Lorelei, you’re too beautiful to be wastin’ yer life in a tavern like your old ma. You need to find yourself a rich man so he can treat you like you deserve to be treated.” After she met Nathan Shaw, she surely wasn’t going to miss her chance to do just that.

When Nathan walked into the tavern that day, Lorelei was taking her break in the back room. She’d watched him play cards for a while, more than a little interested in the load of money he had laid on the table.

Lorelei knew she couldn’t let him see her working there if she was going get his attention, so she pretended to become suddenly ill. Frank, the bartender, was upset with her, but she promised she would work longer the next day and hurriedly slipped out the back. She waited in the dark alley until Nathan finally left the tavern hours later, a little too drunk, and watched as he stumbled back to his hotel.

The next day, dressed like a proper lady, she went into the hotel where he was staying. She had to wait almost two hours before he finally left his room and came down the lobby, where she easily caught his attention. After that, she played all the games, letting him kiss her enough to ignite his passion but never giving into his desires. He’d been wantin’ her real bad. She’d had him right where she wanted him, all right.

Lorelei almost ruined everything the night Nathan finally proposed. She was in a good mood when she left him wanting more at his hotel room door. She could almost smell the expensive perfume and feel the satin gowns draped around her body. His wealth would all be hers shortly. But something went wrong that night.

Lorelei dropped by the hotel early the next day, hoping they could talk about their wedding plans, but he hadn’t come down yet. She decided to wait around for him, but after a long while, she left a message at the front desk and went outside for some fresh air. A few moments later, Nathan came through the door. She stepped up behind him and got ready to surprise him when he brought a slip of paper up to his nose and inhaled deeply. Then he said a name, and the name was not hers. He tucked the message in his pocket and threw the others, including the one from Lorelei, away. She watched as he smiled a very satisfied looking smile and heard him say, “My dear little Jillian, not so little anymore.”

Who was Jillian? Was Nathan stepping out on her? She wanted to race across the few feet between them, yank that handsome hair from his head, and slap that smug smile from his face. “Whoever this Jillian is, he better get her out of his mind,” Lorelei thought. She had worked too hard for Nathan, and she was not about to be put off now. She would be Mrs. Nathan Shaw, no matter what!

Just then, Nathan stepped into the street and crossed the road to the tavern. Lorelei knew then that she needed to get him married to her before he left town again. Her eyes narrowed slightly. She thought her plan had worked.

Lorelei simply waited patiently—for hours—before Nathan came out of the tavern. When she approached him, she knew he was well intoxicated, in spite of the early hour.

“Nathan, darling,” she began and slipped her arms around his waist, right in the middle of the street. “I’ve been looking for you all morning. Didn’t you get my message?”

“Message?” She cringed at the smell of alcohol on his breath, “I didn’t have any messages today.” He lied so easily. “Must have been that morning clerk. He can never get anything right.”

“Well, no matter.” She leaned in closely and pressed her body to him. “You’re here now, and that’s all that counts really. But we do have so much to talk about. We are gettin’ married, you know. We need to start makin’ plans right away.”

“Well, it’s not a good time right now, Lorelei—I’ve got work to do. But if you want to come by my room tonight, I might be able to find the time to discuss it.” He pulled her in close and kissed her lips. She had to hold her breath.

“I was thinking maybe we could talk over a late breakfast. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?” She was hungry, and she wanted him to buy her breakfast.

“Yes, actually, I ate a bit earlier than usual.” She knew he was lying again, and it made her angry.

“Well, maybe we can get together for a late lunch then?” she asked hopefully.

“To be honest, Lorelei, I think the soonest I’ll be free is late this evening. We could have some dinner brought up to my room.” He tried to kiss her again, but she held him off. So he was going to play it that way, was he? She was better at this game than he knew. She leaned in closer to whisper in his ear. He got an evil grin on his face.

“Why don’t we make a quick visit to the justice of the peace? After all, I told you I don’t like long engagements.” She pressed her body even closer to him this time, saying slowly and seductively, “And when you come home tonight, I’ll be waiting in your room.” She smiled when she heard him groan.

“Well, you do make it hard for a man to wait.” Her heart jumped with delight. “I’ll tell you what. I have some appointments right now that will take me most of the afternoon.” He reached into his pocket, took out a large bill, and handed it to her. “Why don’t you get yourself something nice and spend the day getting all dolled up. After all, it is your wedding day. When I get finished, I’ll get cleaned up myself and meet you at the courthouse at about four o’clock.” Lorelei squealed in delight and kissed him hard before heading for her favorite boutique with the money clutched tightly in her hand.

Lorelei felt anger boil in her veins at the memory. She had spent the rest of the day getting ready and telling everyone she happened across that she was getting married to Mr. Nathan Shaw that afternoon. She had even arrived at the courthouse early, so she didn’t make him wait. She had waited over two hours for him to arrive, until she had finally given up and left, humiliated. Even now, she still couldn’t believe that he hadn’t shown up. She’d wondered if he was sick or hurt or just detained, so she had gone directly to the hotel—only to find that he had checked out earlier that day.

The next day, she had boarded a train headed for Providence. Nathan Shaw wouldn’t get away with doing this. He would regret the day he had ever tried to make a fool of Miss Lorelei Davis.

He may be regretting it already.

Jillian was so excited that even if the wagon hadn’t already been bouncing her around, she wouldn’t have been able to sit still. She and Dalton had dropped off the children at Aunt Betty’s and were on their way to the train station in Darlington to pick up Marcus and Bethany. She thought back with fondness on how pleasant things around the house had been. Everyone had caught on to her good mood. Even Dalton, who was spending more time at home, seemed to enjoy helping get things ready for her guests. Jillian suspected she should thank Aunt Betty for that.

The morning after Jillian had received Marcus’s letter, Jillian discussed their upcoming visit with Dalton. He had told her that he thought it was a good idea and was glad that she would be able to see someone from her family. They had driven with the children over to Aunt Betty’s later that day to discuss plans concerning her brother staying in their home. Dalton had offered to drive Jillian into town to send a telegram back to Marcus, but when they had arrived at Uncle Ned and Aunt Betty’s house, Aunt Betty proposed that Uncle Ned drive Jillian into town instead, suggesting that Uncle Ned needed to get her a few things. She saw Dalton roll his eyes at his aunt, but he obediently stayed behind. Jillian suspected that Betty wanted some time to speak to Dalton alone. Whatever had been said that day seemed to make all the difference in Dalton’s behavior the last few days, and for that, Jillian was grateful.

Jillian stole a glance at Dalton. It never failed to surprise her the way her heart began to race every time she looked at him. Her mouth watered every time she thought of his kisses. He must have sensed her staring at him, because he briefly turned his head her way and smiled. She realized she was being rude. She had been lost in her thoughts for a while.

“Dalton.” He looked at her and smiled again. Her heart fluttered and she almost forgot what she had been about to say. “I wanted to thank you for allowing Marcus and Bethany to come for a visit with us. It really does mean a lot to me.”