Wronged (The Cuvier Widows Book 1) Read online

  She looked stunned. “But . . . but, I was married to him. I loved him. We were ...” She jumped up and before anyone could reach her, she crumpled to the floor in a dead faint

  Marian rushed to her side, where Louis joined her. “Get some smelling salts!”

  The woman moaned. “No ammonia! I’m all right Just give me a moment to clear my head. I must have stood up too quickly.”

  Nicole moved, trying to sit up, but Louis touched her shoulder. “Lie back and give yourself a few more minutes.”

  She looked up at Marian. “He left me nothing? I didn’t dream that part, did I?”

  Marian glanced away and swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat. She felt awful for feeling relieved that the bulk of the estate had been left to her and her children. “No, you didn’t”

  Finally Nicole rose and dusted off her skirt. She glanced around the room and sighed. “I’m going back to the hotel. I can’t believe he did this to me. That bastard left me nothing.”

  “I’m sorry,” Marian whispered.

  Nicole sighed. She started to leave and then turned to Marian. “Mrs. Cuvier, this must be extremely difficult for you.”

  Marian nodded. “No more than it’s been for you.”

  “I must be going. Goodbye.” The woman walked out of Drew’s office, her head held high, her back straight. When she opened the door to the outside world, the sound of a crowd intruded. Drew went to the window and glanced out at the crowd of reporters who surrounded the front steps vying for attention.

  As the door closed, Marian breathed a sigh of relief. She turned and found both men gazing at her, their expressions stunned. “What? Why are the two of you gazing at me like I’m some kind of ogre?”

  “Close the door and take a seat, Mrs. Cuvier.” Drew’s voice was serious, so intense that a shiver ran up her spine. He returned to his desk.

  She swallowed, suddenly quite nervous.

  “What I didn’t tell the women while they were here is that while you are not broke, running three households has certainly put a drain on your personal finances and even hurt Cuvier Shipping,” Drew informed her.

  “Are you trying to tell me that I have no money? How bad is the situation?” she asked.

  Drew stood and walked around the room, his hands in his pockets. “You still have money, but you must be careful until either Cuvier Shipping recovers, or you remarry.”

  She laughed. “Remarry? You assume too much, Mr. Soulier. I have no intentions of ever remarrying.” Louis gazed at her and she thought she could feel his disapproval and for some reason that irritated her. “Do I need to sell the house? Get rid of the servants? What?”

  “No. I would advise you to be conservative. Maybe consider selling Layla’s house.”

  “Not right away. I just couldn’t do that to her,” Marian said with a grimace. “Give me your definition of conservative.”

  “It means you have enough money to live on, but nothing extra. Nothing extravagant. No redecorating the house or buying another house. You have enough to live at your current expenditure for a couple of years. By then I hope the business will have recovered.”

  “What about the business? How is it doing?” she glanced at Louis Fournet.

  “Last quarter profits were up, but I don’t know how the scandal will affect our customers. We’ll have to wait and see,” he said.

  Marian swallowed, her mind racing with fear. She needed some time to think about her situation, decide what she was going to do. She needed to get away from these two gentlemen and be alone to think.

  “I must go,” Marian said, standing and picking up her hat and firmly fastening it on her head. “The children will be returning and I don’t like to leave them alone with the servants for long.”

  “Fine. We’ll talk more about this later,” he assured her. “But I wanted you to know Jean’s other domiciles took their toll on your finances.”

  “Mr. Soulier, everything about my dead husband has taken its toll on my life in one way or another.” She took a calming breath. “Now, I really must go.”

  She hurried into the front office area, the men trailing behind her. A quick glance out the window confirmed her worst fears. Her carriage sat alongside the curb, surrounded by newspapermen. “Good heavens, isn’t there any other dreadful news breaking in this city? Now what am I going to do?”

  Louis stood beside her, his hands in his pockets, and gazed out the window at Bienville Street. “You’re never going to get out of here through that crowd.”

  She turned and gave him an irritated look. “Thank you, Mr. Fournet, for that brilliant observation. I need to get home to my children.”

  He raised a brow at her and smiled. “I have an idea. Drew, do you have any more sacrificial law clerks?” Drew frowned at him. “I think James is still left in the building. Why?”

  “Let’s send him out to Mrs. Cuvier’s driver and tell the man to pull the carriage around back. My own carriage is sitting across the street. Most of the news hounds should follow Mrs. Cuvier’s carriage and then I’ll take her home.”

  She glanced at him, an awkward smile on her lips. It really was a good idea. She just hoped it worked. ‘‘Thank you.”

  “Now you’re going to have to go through those doors on the far wall, so it appears you’ve gone to the back of the building while we send James out.”

  Marian frowned, but did as they told her. In a few moments she heard her carriage pull around back. Shouting voices could be heard in the distance, following her driver.

  Drew hurried into the back room where they’d placed her. “Hurry up, I think we have drawn them to the back.”

  She ran back into the lawyer’s reception area, where Louis stood waiting impatiently for her. “Come on, we’ve got to get out of here now, before they realize they’ve been tricked.”

  Louis opened the front door and the three of them stepped outside. The number of newspapermen had dwindled down to a manageable size, and Drew and Louis hurried her out the door, one on each side.

  Marian felt a moment of sheer panic when the reporters turned their greedy gazes on her, seeing their lead story right before their eyes. They began running toward her, like an unruly herd of cattle.

  “Mrs. Cuvier? Mrs. Cuvier? Who killed your husband? Can you tell us anything about the will? Did Jean leave the other women any money?” they shouted at her.

  “Don’t say anything,” Drew said sharply as they all but ran down the steps to the waiting carriage across the street.

  Drew protected her right side, while Louis kept the reporters at bay, shielding her with his big muscular body. A sense of gratitude overwhelmed her as she realized the risk the men had placed themselves in, shielding her.

  When they reached the carriage, Marian was completely winded. Louis handed her up into the vehicle and then climbed in after her. The moment he slammed the door shut, Drew hit the side of the carriage and immediately they pulled away from the curb, just as the other reporters rounded the street comer behind them.

  “Good Lord, please don’t tell me it’s going to be like this until this is resolved. I can’t live this way,” she said glancing out the window at the reporters who ran behind their carriage.

  “No. I think it will become old news in a day or two. At least until whoever killed Jean is brought to trial,” he said, gazing out the window at the reporters.

  “The trial.” Marian shook her head. “How am I going to protect my children from the sensationalism of a trial?”

  “Maybe it would be better to tell them than to keep the information a secret,” he responded.

  She glanced at the handsome man, her new business partner, who sat across from her. “Are you married, Mr. Fournet?”

  “No, I’m a widower,” he replied.

  “Do you have children?”

  The comers of his lips turned up in a smile. “No children. So you can tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about and to quit making suggestions that affect your children.”

/>   “Thank you, you’ve saved me a great deal of trouble.”

  They rode along the edge of the Garden district, the warm breeze blowing off the Mississippi making the air damp and humid. For the next couple of blocks they sat in silence, Marian trying not to notice the way his shoulders looked broad and firm beneath his suit coat, how clean his hands were, his nails clipped, and the fingers long and strong.

  Clearing her throat, she looked away. What was wrong with her? She’d noticed men before, but previously the barrier of her marriage had stood like a wall defending the fort. That hurdle no longer stood in her way, though it made little difference. She had no use for a man, no matter how handsome he appeared.

  Finally, the carriage pulled up in front of Marian’s home and she breathed a sigh of welcome relief. The morning’s revelations had left her exhausted and she still needed to think about her finances.

  Louis opened the door to the carriage and stepped out to help her alight. His hand gripped her fingers and held her steady as she descended the carriage steps.

  He held onto her hand a little longer than necessary and turned her toward him, before releasing his hold.

  “Mrs. Cuvier, regardless of the fact that I know nothing about children, I’m looking forward to calling on you next week regarding Cuvier Shipping.”

  She paused, staring at him, and tilted her head. “Of course you know nothing of children. Though I do expect you to know my husband’s business. I look forward to speaking with you on a subject you’re well acquainted with, Mr. Fournet”

  He smiled and stepped back up into the carriage. “I shall be well prepared in that case so as not to disappoint you.”

  A smile spread across his face and then he winked at her, before shutting the door and driving away.

  Marian frowned and watched the carriage pulling away, wondering why he winked. Did he think he was being flirtatious or just trying to lighten the mood? The last time a man flirted with her she had been poised on the brink of motherhood and certainly still serious about her vows of matrimony. He must be trying to lighten the mood, but still there was something about Mr. Fournet that she didn’t quite trust.

  ***

  In a quaint courtyard cafe on Rue Royale, Louis met Daniel Comeaux, a gray-haired gentleman who had been a friend of his father’s for many years. Louis had met the man only in social settings, but today he met him for lunch with the express purpose of doing business with him.

  “Louis, you’re looking well. How’s your father?” Mr. Comeaux asked as he sat watching Louis from across the table.

  “He’s well, thank you.”

  “I haven’t spoken with him much since I shut down the mill and moved to New Orleans. I don’t get to spend much time with him anymore.”

  “He still says you handled his sugarcane better than any mill he’s ever used before or since,” Louis responded.

  The gentleman smiled contentedly. “When you enjoy what you do, you hope the people you’re working for reap the benefits.”

  “Papa always did,” Louis replied.

  “And the plantation? It’s doing well?” Daniel asked.

  “Yes, my brother is more or less in charge, with my father overseeing things. They had a record crop last year,” Louis informed him.

  “Splendid. I guess you’ve heard that I’m retiring and trying to sell the mill. It’s way past time for me to retire. I think I’ve earned some time to spend with my grandsons and my wife. I’m going to do some traveling and just enjoy life for a while.”

  “Yes, my father mentioned your decision not to reopen the mill. That’s why I wanted to meet with you. Have you sold your business yet?”

  The man looked at Louis puzzled. ‘‘No. Why?”

  “I’m interested in buying your company.”

  “But I thought you were a partner in Cuvier Shipping.”

  “I am. But with your business I could tie in with my family’s plantation and help not only them, but their neighbors, just as you’ve been doing for years.”

  The man gazed at Louis, sizing him up. “Does your father know you want to do this?”

  Not wanting to disappoint his father if he were unable to buy the business, Louis had decided not to tell his father until the deal was complete.

  “No. Before I left home, he tried to convince me to stay at home and work on the plantation. He kept telling me there was plenty of work, but I didn’t want to be my brother’s lackey.”

  The man chuckled. “You were much younger then.” Louis grinned. “Yes. Now I see this as an opportunity to work with my brother and father again. But I want to do it on my terms.”

  “That’s understandable.” The man picked up his wine glass and sipped from it “Do you have the capital to finance the business?”

  Stalling for time, Louis picked up his own wine glass and sipped. The alcohol soothed its way down his throat “I own half of Cuvier Shipping and I intend to sell the business as quickly as possible. That’s where my capital will come from.”

  The man laughed. “Don’t you think you’re going to have a hard time selling now that Jean has not one but three women going after his money?”

  “No, according to law only the first wife owns part of the business. The other two received nothing.”

  “Damn! Didn’t they know about the other women?”

  Louis shook his head. “Apparently not. It seems Jean kept them in different cities. The day he died was the day they found out about one another.”

  “Damn shame.” Daniel shook his head. “Couldn’t you borrow the money from your father? I’m sure he’d be happy to help you.”

  “Probably. But I’m thirty-five years old and I want to do this without my father’s help. Call it my foolish pride, but I don’t want his money,” Louis said, the memory of his father telling him he wouldn’t amount to anything still vibrated through his head even after all these years. “In fact, I would appreciate your not saying anything to my father about our conversation.”

  Daniel nodded and sat his wine glass back down on the table. “Okay, let’s meet with my lawyer and we can draw up the specifics of the sale. In the meantime, I’ll give you several months to sell Cuvier Shipping.”

  Louis smiled and held out his hand. “It’s a deal.”

  The older man glanced at his hand. “You’re sure this is what you want and that you’ll be able to sell the shipping company?”

  “There won’t be any problem selling Cuvier Shipping,” Louis said, thinking of how Marian would probably jump at the chance to sell the business and bring in money to replenish the family coffers.

  The older man shook his hand and then lifted his wine glass. “Here’s to a quick sale of Cuvier Shipping.”

  ***

  Jean had been dead for almost two weeks and the newspapers had yet to forget about the three women. After the incident with the newspapermen, Marian had kept her children home from school. The thought of her babies surrounded by a crowd of men shouting questions left her shivering with fright. Soon there would be some new scandal to report and hopefully the newspapers would forget about Jean Cuvier’s wives and her children could return to school. But until she thought they were safe they would stay home.

  Marian looked up from her correspondence to see a servant in the doorway.

  “Mrs. Cuvier, a Louis Fournet is here to see you,” the maid announced.

  “Thank you, show him into the study. I’ll be right there,” she said. The servant nodded her head and backed out of the doorway.

  Marian stood and brushed a piece of lint from her black skirt. She wore the color of mourning in deference to her children’s feelings, not because she was honoring Jean’s memory. Philip and Renee would know the truth regarding their father soon enough, but for the time being she would protect them and their memory of Jean.

  Pulling her hem aside, she made her way down the hall to the study.

  As she entered the room, Louis Fournet stood, his back to her, gazing out upon Josephine Street.
/>   “Good morning, Mr. Fournet,” she said, standing behind him. He turned and glanced at her, his dark blue eyes assessing her with a look that reminded her of warm, lazy, summer days. The compassion of that look seemed to linger, spreading through her.

  “Mrs. Cuvier, I hope you are well and have recovered from our carriage ride the other day?”

  “Of course, though I still worry about newspapermen. I do hope this dreadful business dies away soon.” Oh God, how could she have used the word “dies” in the same sentence as Jean’s scandal? Inside, Mr. Fournet, must be laughing at her.

  He smiled showing even white teeth, the cleft in his chin prominent. “There will be some other event to take their attention away soon enough. But today I came to show you I’m more knowledgeable in regard to business than I am to children.”

  “Oh yes, now I remember. We were talking about children that day and you made a suggestion that I found rather lacking in merit.”

  He shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a widower, not a father. You seem very close to your children.”

  “Yes, I am. Please take a seat and tell me about my husband’s business. I want to know everything.” Marian sat across from her new partner. A man she had yet to decide she could trust.

  For the next thirty minutes, Marian listened as Mr. Fournet described how the scandal that had jolted her life was also wreaking havoc on the shipping business that might save her from having to remarry. The business that was going to support them in future years and keep her son’s inheritance alive had seen a reduction in customers since Jean’s death.

  After Mr. Fournet finished speaking she sat gazing at the polished and distinguished looking, dark-haired man. Was his character as good as his appearance?

  “So what are your suggestions, Mr. Fournet? You’ve told me the negatives, now what do you consider the solutions?” she asked, watching his expression closely.

  He stood and walked across the room to the bookcase and then turned to face her, leaning against Jean’s liquor cabinet. “Considering the fact that Mr. Cuvier’s extra households have put such a drain on your family’s resources, I would suggest that we sell the business and end our partnership. This way you would have a healthy bank balance once again and I would be free to consider other business pursuits.”