Page 62 of With Good Grace
Molly beamed, apparently satisfied with that explanation, whereas a dozen questions sprang to Olivia’s mind, none of which she bothered to voice. ‘Course I have,’ Molly said casually. ‘No trouble. Told you there wouldn’t be.’
‘Hand them over, if you please, Olivia,’ Hubert said politely.
Olivia hugged the file tighter to her bosom. ‘Only when I have Tom.’
‘Go and get the child, Molly,’ Hubert said, ‘and let us be done with the matter.’
Olivia tried to quell her erratic breathing as Molly disappeared into the back of the cottage. She had nothing to fear, she told herself repeatedly. She would grab Tom, then throw the fake file at them and run. It was as simple as that. And if one of them happened to catch up with her, she would use her hat pin, or her defensive skills, to protect them both. Somehow. The important thing was to pretend passivity, and not rile Hubert.
‘Charming accommodation,’ she said, wondering why her mouth and brain never seemed to be in accord with one another. ‘A perfect backdrop for a blackmailer. How the mighty have fallen.’
Hubert glowered at her, but there was also a feral light in his eye as his gaze lingered on her tight-fitting breeches that made her skin crawl. ‘And whose fault is that?’
‘Certainly not mine.’
‘Don’t think I am unaware of your activities, you little whore! You were quick enough to open your legs for your fancy earl, but I was not good enough for you.’ Hubert spat on the boarded floor, his expression a combination of disgust, jealousy and desire. ‘We could have had it all, you and I, yet you turned your pert little nose up at me like I was beneath your notice.’
Olivia was appalled by the fact that he still carried a torch for her. She had always known that he desired her, despite the fact that she was his brother’s wife. Mind you, when that brother died, he didn’t lift a finger to help her, even though he knew she was innocent of involvement in his death. He was more interested in inheriting Marcus’s wealth, or managing it until Tom reached his majority; the vile, self-centred opportunist!
Olivia adjured herself to forget the past, put Hubert’s lustful intentions to one side, and concentrate on the here and now. She noticed in the periphery of her vision that Molly was lingering behind the door, listening and frowning. Perhaps she could use that knowledge to her advantage; open Molly’s eyes to the true character of the man she had thrown her lot in with.
‘So you turned Molly’s head with empty promises and a little flattery,’ Olivia replied conversationally. ‘Does she really think you will keep her with you once she has outlived her usefulness? Well, I dare say she does; she is rather naïve.’ Lady Marchant had yet to open her mouth, but was following the conversation between Hubert and Olivia with interest, a slight frown creasing her brow. ‘Apart from anything else, she appears to have overlooked the fact that you already have a wife and children.’
‘Molly will do as she is told.’
Don’t count on it.
‘Why did you join forces with him?’ Olivia asked, sending Hubert a scathing glance and focusing her attention on Lady Marchant.
‘I just want my letters back,’ she said softly.
‘And you were responsible for both Marcus and a night watchman losing their lives in your search for them?’
‘No,’ Lady Marchant replied decisively. ‘I had nothing to do with that at all.’
Astonishingly, Olivia believed her. She turned towards Hubert. ‘It was you,’ she said aghast as the truth dawned. ‘You had your own brother killed. I did not think you quite so dissipated as that.’
‘It should not have happened,’ Hubert replied, not a flicker of emotion passing across his handsome face. ‘If we had stayed at the party at the theatre, as we were supposed to, then no one would have been hurt. If Marcus had not taken that whore Verity upstairs in front of you and caused you to argue with him, the men I hired would have escaped with the documents I set them to look for.’
Olivia shook her head, too disgusted to speak. Hubert really did seem to think he was not culpable.
‘I knew nothing of this,’ Lady Marchant said. ‘I will admit that your husband and I…well, if you have seen the letters I foolishly wrote to him at the height of our grand passion, then I do not need to tell you what happened between us. I am very sorry about that. He promised me that he could help my career. Since he already had so many famous actors under his management and everyone wanted to be with him, I was flattered. I did not realise at the time that he attracted them in the first place by such underhand tactics.’
‘He told you about that?’ Olivia asked, unable to hide her surprise.
She shrugged. ‘He seemed proud of his achievements.’ Olivia nodded, perfectly sure that he had been. ‘Anyway, I do not expect you to believe me but it was the first, the only time, I had known a man, until I met my husband.’
‘Marcus could be very charming, very persuasive,’ Olivia admitted, aware that Molly was still listening avidly. No one seemed to recall why she had left the room, or that she was even still in the cottage. Aware that Tom must be, or Molly would not have been sent to fetch him, Olivia would prefer it if he was not brought in immediately. If Lady Marchant had no violent proclivities, it made a big difference to her chances of escape.
‘Even so…’
‘I was not aware that your letters existed until a few days ago,’ Olivia said. ‘It was my intention to return them to you. All of this was unnecessary. As a matter of interest, whydidyou become involved with Hubert?’
‘When your husband died I lived in fear of my letters surfacing. When they did not, I assumed, rightly it would appear, that you did not know about them or had not found them. As time went on I began to relax, thinking I was safe. If someone intended to use them against me, they would have done so by then.’ She inhaled and then released her captured breath slowly. ‘Marchant’s children hate me, find me an embarrassment, and constantly seek ways to undermine my position. They think I married their father for his money and status, seeming to overlook the fact that none of them have done an honest day’s work in their lives and rely upon his very generous nature.’
‘I can imagine,’ Olivia replied, well aware how badly some families behaved when large sums of money were involved; especially her own.
‘Oh, I will not deny that his position and wealth attracted me at first, but we have grown very close, I believe I make him happy and that, I am sure, is what his children cannot abide.’
