Wronged (The Cuvier Widows Book 1) (21 page)

For just a moment Marian wanted to join her
in the rain dance, as the prostitute turned her face toward the
heavens letting the rain cleanse her.

If only Marian could wash away the
self-doubts, the years of marriage and Jean’s subsequent betrayal
had bequeathed her.

Marian returned her gaze to the inside of the
coach and her sister. “I must find out if I’m a normal, healthy
woman or doubt myself the rest of my life.”

“Dear God, I never realized how badly he hurt
you until this moment,” Claire said softly to her sister.

Marian glanced down at her hands folded
tightly in her lap, remembering their near kiss.

“For the first time in my life, I want a man
and I don’t know what to do.” She glanced up at her sister, tears
pricking the inside of her lids. “Tell me what to do, Claire. How
can I show Louis I want to sleep with him?”

Claire rubbed her hands together gleefully.
“Oh Marian, this is going to be so much fun. We’ll plan the
seduction together and believe me, dear Louis will be unable to say
no.”

***

Louis hurried down the street to meet Evette
for dinner that evening, wondering why he had agreed to this
meeting. They were friends and often joked about becoming lovers,
but had never taken that next step. Somehow he understood they were
meant to be only friends, as their expectations in life were
different

He walked into Antoine’s Restaurant and saw
her waiting for him.

“
Cheri,
I begin to think that you had
found someone else to dine with tonight,” she said giving him a
sultry smile.

“I’m sorry, Evette. A problem at the office
kept me,” he said, his mind picturing Marian and the way he’d last
seen her.

The memory of her standing there in shock,
trembling, ready for his kiss, haunted him still. Becoming involved
with Marian could be dangerous. When he notified her of a buyer for
the business, she would hate him. Kissing her sweet full lips would
only fuel her revulsion when she realized he’d sold her out. Still
her mouth tempted him, during working hours, but especially when
she haunted his mind in the middle of the night.

“That problem wouldn’t be a young widow who
sits across the hall from you, would it?” Evette asked candidly,
jerking him out of his reverie.

Before he could answer, the maitre d’hotel
approached. “Your table is ready.”

“Thank you,” Louis said, and took Evette by
the elbow.

The man pulled out her chair and seated her.
Louis sat across from her, flipping out the tails of his tail coat
as he sat.

“Could you bring us two glasses of Bordeaux?”
he told the waiter.

“Yes, sir,” he said, and disappeared.

Evette glanced across the table at him, the
comers of her mouth turned up in slight smile, her brows lifted.
“You did not answer my question.”

“Sorry, we were interrupted. No, Marian is
not the reason I’m late tonight. The Captain of one of our boats
that was due to leave today has gone missing.”

“Oh, the trials of the working man.”

Louis waved her words away. “It’s been taken
care of and now I’m here to spend the evening with you.”

She smiled and opened a delicate fan to fan
herself. “I’m glad.”

An awkward silence seemed to envelop them as
Louis sought for something to say, while his mind was filled with
thoughts of Marian.

“What did you think of Marian?”

“I think she’s very beautiful and much too
young to remain a widow for long,” she said watching him
carefully.

“She claims she will never remarry.”

Evette nodded her head. “It’s understandable
for her to feel this way. To face the scandal that has been forced
upon her with Jean’s murder would certainly sour one against the
idea of forever after. Maybe Jean was a terrible lover and she’s
never experienced passion.”

“What do you mean? She was married and had
two children,” Louis said thinking that was unlikely.

Evette smiled and leaned forward, her voice
barely above a whisper. “Yes, but just because you have intimate
relations with a man, does not mean that he has shown you the fires
of pleasure. Many women never experience
le grand orgasms.
“

Louis glanced around at the tables around
them. Dear God, had anyone heard her? “Evette, are you really
saying this to me?”

“Why not
⁵
” She reached over and
slapped the back of his hand with her fan. “You’re not a school
boy, so quit acting like one. You should know this is true.”

“The idea of her and Jean together is
sickening,” he said, as the waiter set their drinks down.

Though he knew it was ridiculous, the thought
of Marian disrobing for Jean left him angry. Though she bore him
two children, Jean’s mistresses had received better treatment than
Marian and that bothered him most of all.

He glanced across the table to see Evette
watching him. “Why are you looking at me that way?”

She smiled. “I think things have changed
while I was away. Somehow I get the feeling that you are
different.”

He frowned. “Give me a couple of weeks and
I’ll be myself again. With Jean’s death, a lot of things
changed.”

“Yes, I see that.” She sipped her wine. “I
also heard they arrested one of the wives for his murder.”

“I hadn’t heard. I met them all at the
reading of the will. Layla Cuvier seemed to be in shock at that
time. It’s hard to believe such an innocent looking woman could
kill. She’s hardly more than a child.”

“No, I do not believe it,” Evette said.

“Her servant told the police that Layla gave
Jean laudanum at night to help him sleep. She had the opportunity
to poison him,” said Louis.

Evette shook her head. “Spoken like a man.
Think about this, why would she kill her only source of income? Now
she has nowhere to go.”

“Even if she found out he was already
married?” Louis questioned.

Evette nodded. “The woman was wandering the
streets when they found her. No woman chooses that kind of life.
Not even a wife who has to put up with a husband she detests.”
Evette took a deep breath. “I tell you, they arrested the wrong
person.”

“Marian told her she could continue to live
in the house in Baton Rouge. Why would she wander the streets of
New Orleans?”

“According to my source down at the police
station, the authorities would not let her return to Baton Rouge
and the hotel kicked her out. No money, no home. She’s been
sleeping wherever she could find a place.”

Louis shivered. “I wonder if Marian knows her
plight. I’ll need to tell her as soon as possible.”

He pulled out his pocket watch and noticed
the time, the urge to talk to Marian overwhelming. Evette had
tickets for the opera and they had only an hour to get there. He
frowned. Maybe he should consider skipping the opera tonight?

“What if we miss ..

She stiffened and her eyes grew large. “Don’t
say it!”

He stopped. “I was going to ask you if we had
time to run by Marian’s house and let me tell her.”

“Marian again.” She gazed at him quizzically.
“I think dear friend, that you are much more interested in the
Widow Cuvier than you are letting on. I think your affections have
changed and you are not quite aware of this new fondness.”

Louis didn’t say anything. Could she be
right? He was all too aware of his attraction to Jean’s widow, but
he also realized any tryst would be impossible, especially after he
found a buyer for Cuvier Shipping.

Though lately he’d begun to notice that she
seldom left his thoughts and the realization bothered him.

He reached across the table and grabbed
Evette’s hands. He could still play the rakish flirt. “Evette, my
affections are still my own. Though I must admit a certain fondness
for a very beautiful widow, known for stringing men along.”

She gazed at him, still frowning. She lifted
her chin. “Keep talking and you may yet manage to salvage the
evening. Though I don’t believe a word of the pretty lies you’re
telling me.”

Louis lifted her hand and pressed his lips to
her skin. “Your intelligence and wit, along with your friendship,
are why I continue to see you.”

She laughed.

The words were true, but still he couldn’t
deny that part of him wanted to find some excuse to leave and go to
Marian. To tell her how the police had found Layla Cuvier wandering
the streets. But would Marian care or was his need to discuss
Layla’s troubles just an excuse to see Marian and finish what they
started in her office this afternoon?

O
n Friday of the
following week, Louis knocked on the door of Marian’s home to drive
her to Evette’s dinner party. Anxiety twisted his insides at the
thought of the coming party. More than once, Evette had expressed
the opinion that Louis seemed more than just attracted to Marian.
And while he admitted he admired the widow, his infatuation was
merely a physical thing that he experienced with many women. Why
should Marian be any different?

Intelligent, beautiful, witty, and strong,
she’d attracted him like no other. Yet lately, he couldn’t seem to
get her out of his mind.

The last time he’d been to the house on
Josephine Street had been to tell her of Layla’s arrest for Jean’s
murder, but the police had already informed Marian.

The door swung open and he gazed in at
Marian, looking radiant in a low-cut gray silk dress that reflected
the color of her eyes, showing her enticing cleavage. He couldn’t
help but stare at her, openmouthed.

“Do I know you?” he asked.

She smiled. “Of course you do, silly.”

“I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m here to pick
up Marian Cuvier. You must be her younger sister.”

Marian laughed and then spun around for him.
“Claire and I did a little shopping for tonight.”

“I see that.” He reached over and kissed her
cheek, the sweet seductive smell of magnolias tempting him. “You
look beautiful.”

She blushed. “Thank you.”

“I didn’t expect to see you answering the
door. Where are your servants?”

She smiled. “I gave them all the night
off.”

“Who’s watching the children?” He glanced
down at his hand. “I brought Philip a new baseball. I thought I
might get a couple of pitches in with him before we left.”

“Sorry. Claire took Renee and Philip to stay
at her house overnight. I’m the only one here.” She opened the door
wider. “We’re still early if you’d like to come in and have a
drink.”

“Thanks, but no. But let me leave this
baseball here. I don’t think Evette would be pleased if I started
to pitch the ball at her party.”

“Good idea,” Marian said stepping back to let
him in.

He stepped inside and laid the baseball on
the hall stand in the entry way, as Marian moved close to his side.
He gazed down at her, noting her hair was gathered loosely in a
clasp, the dark curls cascading past her shoulders. Tonight was the
first time he’d seen her hair loose and her face looked younger,
softer, and more feminine than he’d recalled.

She walked past him into the den and turned
out the gas lamps. When she came back into the entry hall, she
picked up a gray silk shawl that matched her dress. He helped her
place the silk folds around her shoulders, a sudden rush of
protectiveness toward her catching him off guard.

“If you’re ready, I think I am,” she
said.

With no lights burning in the house, a dark
quietness penetrated the atmosphere. He cast a worried glance
around the shadowed hallway. “Maybe you should leave a light
on?”

“I considered it, but I just hate to leave a
lamp on when there’s no one at home. If you don’t mind, I thought
that when you brought me back, you could come in while I lit the
gas lamps.”

“All right,” he said. He could understand why
she would not want to come into a darkened house alone, but it
seemed strange that she’d let the servants off for the night.

They walked out the door and Marian turned
the key in the lock and slipped it into her handbag.

“You know Evette only lives three blocks
away. There’s a cool breeze tonight, if you’d like we could walk
instead of riding in the buggy.”

“I didn’t know she lived so close. That
sounds lovely.” Louis took her hand and placed it in the crook of
his arm and they set off at a leisurely pace, strolling down the
street, taking care to stay away from any puddles left from an
early afternoon shower.

“Who does Mrs. Simone invite to these
dinners?”

“All kinds of people. Her parties are usually
entertaining and the people interesting.”

They crossed Josephine Street and turned on
Magnolia. “I’ve missed going to parties. When I was a girl, Claire
and I went all the time. But once the children were born, I never
attended many parties.”

“But Jean liked parties,” Louis said.

She turned her big gray eyes on him and
smiled, her rosy lips full and inviting. “Let’s not talk about Jean
tonight I want to have fun and when I think of him, pleasure is not
what usually comes to mind.”

He chuckled. “All right, I won’t mention his
name again this evening. Let’s have a good time.”

Louis didn’t blame her. In fact, he wanted
nothing more than to spend the evening with her. They didn’t have
to go to Evette’s party, he just wanted to be with Marian.

Again, he felt physical attraction to Marian
that he didn’t know what to do with. Well, that wasn’t exactly
true, there was one thing he wanted to do, but he was desperately
trying to keep the thoughts and images of Marian, his business
partner, in check. Tonight he was her escort for the evening, and
tomorrow he would return to trying to sell the business she clung
to. Being with Marian would only complicate a difficult situation.
For just a moment he felt a sense of guilt tinged with sorrow, but
he quickly pushed the feeling away.