A Momentary Marriage(106)

“What drivel. I was nothing to Sir Laurence but a daily reminder of his wife’s infidelity.”

“Then why did he claim you as his own even though it would make you the heir?”

“He would never have shamed Mother that way. He loved her.”

“He didn’t have to set you up to run everything, to oversee the trust, to manage his money, the businesses. That would have been no shame to her. He did it because you were his favorite. Because you are the one who resembles her. Every time he looked into your eyes, he saw the woman he loved more than anything else in the world.”

“You don’t know anything. Vincent was the child he loved. You weren’t around when he died. I was. I saw the way Sir Laurence looked at me. I watched him weep for Vincent. I heard him say, ‘Now I have no son.’ I have no idea how he felt about you. But I know how he felt about me. I was, much to his chagrin, the one most like him in thought and temperament. The one he knew who would take care of the finances properly, even advance them. The only one he trusted to be hard enough to handle the trustee’s duties. He gave me the responsibility, but he never gave me his love.”

James looked away, all the anger that had carried him gone, leaving him exhausted. Claude, too, seemed out of words and wrath. The brothers were silent the rest of the way into London.





chapter 39


Laura awoke feeling sore all over. Looking at the emptiness beside her, she wished she could close her eyes and go back to sleep. How completely her life had changed in the course of one night.

James’s words had pierced her. She suspected he was lying—whether to her or to himself, she wasn’t sure—but it had cut deeply to hear him say he didn’t love her. Worse, he didn’t want to care for her. He wanted to be far away from her.

She was tempted to avoid breakfast, but she knew she had to face the aftermath of last night’s events. Besides, she was mundanely hungry—clearly she hadn’t the makings of a tragic heroine.

Breakfast was as bad as she feared it would be. Adelaide, unsurprisingly, was sullen and quiet. Tessa, red-eyed, kept dabbing her handkerchief to her eyes while Netherly tried to console her with poetic words. Archie seized the chance to hold forth on James’s unfairness, Claude’s slyness, and the unlikelihood that anyone had tried to kill Laura.

Walter finally slammed the butt of his knife down on the table. “Stop! Good Gad, Salstone, can’t you keep your mouth shut?”

The uncharacteristic outburst so startled Archie that he lapsed into silence. Adelaide gave a sob and jumped up from the table and ran from the room. Patricia followed her, presumably to provide comfort. After that the others began to leave, as well.

Laura started to rise, too, but Walter said, “No, Laura, please stay. I’d like to talk to you, if I may.”

“Of course.”

Walter moved over to sit beside her. “I am so sorry about . . . everything.”

“Thank you.”

“Please don’t take it amiss, but I cannot believe that Claude tried to kill you.”

Laura gave him a soft smile. “That’s only natural; he’s your brother. I’m not sure myself. I hate to think that James’s brother would try to kill either of us, but he is the one who would profit most by our deaths. And he was upstairs when it happened.”

“But there were other people who weren’t in the ballroom, including me. The party was breaking up.” He sighed. “I do wish James hadn’t taken off with Claude like that. It’s not like him to be so impulsive.”

“I’m not sure James was thinking clearly last night.”

“No, of course not. He was distraught about you. The thing is, I don’t believe Claude did it, which means whoever did it is still here. And James is gone! I don’t know what to do. You’re in danger, and God knows how much help I’d be.”

“James left Dem here.”

“Yes, I saw him in the hallway. But Dem couldn’t have protected you from those other ‘accidents.’ ”

“Neither could James,” Laura pointed out.

“That’s why we must find the culprit before he tries again. Even worse now, if he succeeds, it’ll mean two deaths, because James will blame Claude.”

“You really think James would do that?”

“I imagine so,” Walter said matter-of-factly. “He’s rather fierce, you know, about the people he loves.” He gave her a half-sad smile. “I tell myself that’s why he gets angry with me for getting into trouble.”

Laura wasn’t sure she qualified as one of the people James loved right now, but she said only, “I’m sure he loves you. James just . . . isn’t very good at showing it.”