Wronged (Book 1) Page 8

  Chapter Three

  From her carriage window, Marian saw the docks were teeming with activity. The sun shone bright in the early morning sky and the sounds of shouting as the men loaded the boats reverberated through the air. Before she was ready, the carriage came to a halt and Marian wanted to tell Edward, her driver, to turn the vehicle around and take her back home. But she refused to give in to her cowardice.

  With her knees trembling beneath her black skirt she picked up her reticule and stepped out of the carriage. Edward helped her to alight as she gazed up at the brick building wondering what she could expect inside.

  “What time shall I return madam?” Edward asked.

  “Five o’clock will be fine,” she said, and walked up the steps to enter the building where her husband had conducted his business.

  The sound of the carriage pulling away wrenched at her, but she didn’t call him back. With trembling hands she opened the door. She could do this, she reminded herself and stepped into the shipping office.

  Inside the reception area a counter ran eight feet across the room, with desks scattered throughout the airy space behind the bar. Men glanced up from their work, staring at her, their eyes questioning as she entered the room. What was she doing here?

  A large scruffy man with a week’s beard and a worn cap on his head stood at the counter, leaning against it. His dark eyes gleamed at her, a wrinkle appearing between his brows.

  “A little early in the morning to be gettin lost?” he taunted her, his accent heavy.

  “Excuse me?” she said. “I’m not lost I’m looking for Mr. Fournet.”

  He laughed. “Now I understand, darlin’. He’s gone to the back for a moment, but don’t fret. He’ll soon return.”

  She frowned, feeling uncertain as to the man’s reaction.

  “Tell me darlin’, what do women see in Mr. Fournet that they don’t see in me? I may not have his fancy looks, but I know how to treat a lady decent,” he said, his eyes raking over her. “And you in mourning, too. Shame on you.”

  Feeling more vulnerable than she cared for she took a steadying breath. She glanced at the river man in his rugged waterproof boots, his worn cap, and sleeveless shirt that revealed his deeply tanned arms. Though normally she would have ignored him, maybe it would be better to attempt to be polite, but curt. He could be a customer or even an employee.

  “Yes, I am in mourning,” she said, in a short clipped tone, resisting the urge to run for the door. “Mr. Fournet and I are business acquaintances.”

  “Now don’t be gettin’ yourself all riled up. I just thought you might have been one of Mr. Fournet’s lady friends since you’re pretty enough for the gent and all dressed up to boot,” he said pointing to the material of her dress. “Around here ladies and gents aren’t usually seen until much later in the morning.”

  Marian wished Louis would appear. She felt so uncomfortable standing here talking to this sailor, while everyone in the room looked on. It wasn’t proper, but she couldn’t turn and walk away.

  “Mr. Fournet’s gone back to get me money.” He rambled on. “So what you be doin’ down at the docks?”

  She paused debating whether to be honest with the man and then decided she would not hide the reason for her being here from anyone, not even the sailor.

  With a lift of her chin she told him, “I’m starting work here today.”

  He frowned. “You? I think you have the wrong building, lady. This is Cuvier Shipping.”

  “Yes, I’m aware of that.”

  Just then Louis Fournet came rushing around the counter slightly out of breath. He saw her and frowned. “Mrs. Cuvier, I hoped you would take my advice and stay home.”

  “I said I would be here and I am,” she said defiantly. The noise in the outer office suddenly ceased and everyone including the sailor stared.

  Mr. Fournet shook his head. “Just let me pay Captain Paul and then I’ll be right with you.”

  “Certainly,” she said, feeling more and more uneasy as time went on. The urge to run out the door grew stronger, yet the carriage was long gone and there was Philip’s future to consider.

  Louis turned to pay the ship’s captain but his eyes were fixed on Marian and his stare made her hands sweat.

  “So you’re Jean Cuvier’s wife?” the captain finally said staring at her hard.

  She gave him a haughty look. “Yes, I am.”

  “Why’s a woman like you comin’ to work in a man’s business?” he asked with a sneer. “You should be home mournin’ your husband.”

  “I’m here to learn the shipping business,” she replied pulling her shoulders back and raising her chin. What did the man know about the loss of a cheating husband, the fear of your children starving and your son losing his inheritance? Did he think she’d be here if she had a choice?

  The man made a disgusting snort “You’re wastin’ your time. Women have no head for business.”

  Marian glared at the sailor. “Then I guess you’re in trouble, as I intend to help Mr. Fournet run Cuvier Shipping.”

  The room grew silent enough to hold prayer service, until Louis broke the stillness.

  “Paul, your money,” Louis said, handing the man an envelope.

  The sailor took the envelope and jammed it into his pants pocket and strolled out the door, giving Marian a parting glare. Was this how her days at Cuvier Shipping would be? Unaccepted by everyone, a struggle every day to find her place in a world dominated by men? She wanted to cry, but refused to show any weakness.

  Louis watched the captain walk out the door. He ran his hand through his hair and released a long breath. Marian’s first morning at the office was beginning exactly the way he’d feared. He resisted the urge to slam his fist down on the counter, knowing the pain would outlive the pleasure. Just what he needed, a woman helping him run a business he wanted to sell!

  He’d watched the exchange between Marian and Paul, hoping that the sailor would frighten the widow and send her running. But Marian held her ground like an embattled army, refusing to surrender. While Paul had stuck to his guns to the end, he’d been as effective as a popgun. Quiet and gentle were not words used to describe Marian Cuvier. She could take care of herself and he’d do well to remember this interesting facet of this woman.

  Several days of sitting in an office, not being accepted would surely break down her resistance. He just needed to bide his time and Mrs. Cuvier would soon want nothing to do with the shipping business and would hurry home to her rightful place in life.

  Marian turned and glanced at Louis, her face looking strained. “Well, I must say I’m starting off on a positive note. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the day unfolds.”

  He tried to hold it back, but the chuckle that bubbled up from his chest refused to cooperate and he laughed out loud at her wry acceptance of how her day had begun. “Welcome to Cuvier Shipping, Mrs. Cuvier. Come around the gate and I’ll introduce you to the rest of the staff.”

  “I’m glad I’ve made your day entertaining,” she said walking through the open gate and into the back office area.

  “Indeed you have, though I had hoped you would come to your senses and stay home.”

  She looked beautiful, with flushed cheeks against the paleness of her complexion. Her dark hair piled high on her head showing off her long and graceful neck. He frowned at the observation. Just what he needed to be noticing on her first day in the office. All the desirable places on her neck to place his lips.

  With a shrug she strolled past him, her black skirt brushing against his legs. “Staying home was not possible. I knew I had to be here.” She glanced around the office. “Where is my husband’s desk?”

  Louis frowned at her. “Jean had his own office, which someone else has since taken over.”

  “Then I suggest you have him removed, so that I may occupy that space,” she said, in such a way that he knew it would be useless to argue with her.

  “You’re definitely going to be popular with th
e employees,” he remarked, shaking his head reminding himself to let her sink her own boat. “Follow me and I’ll show you around and then take you to Jean’s office.”

  She followed Louis through the office area, while he pointed out where different people who worked for the business sat. It was still early enough that most employees had yet to arrive. When they stopped in front of her new office, a man sat at a desk scribbling in a leather- bound ledger.

  “Henry,” Louis called. The man glanced up. “Mrs. Cuvier, this is Henry Chatham, our accountant. Henry, I’d like to introduce you to Mrs. Cuvier, Jean’s wife.” The man jumped up and hurried around the desk. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Cuvier. My condolences regarding your husband.”

  “Thank you,” Marian replied, glancing at Louis expectantly.

  “Henry, Mrs. Cuvier is going to be taking Jean’s place.” The man’s jaw dropped and Louis couldn’t help but smile. “We’re going to need Jean’s office for her.”

  “But...” he glanced up at Marian, his face reflecting the surprise Louis’s announcement had brought.

  “If you’d be so kind as to vacate his office, then I can move in,” Marian said with a smile.

  The man frowned. “Mrs. Cuvier what...what are you going to do for us?”

  Marian shrugged. “I’m not certain yet. Mr. Fournet is going to teach me the business.”

  There were a lot of things Louis would like to teach her, he thought, none of which had to do with shipping, but rather a different kind of exploration. Marian Cuvier’s curves were definitely an interesting attraction that his eyes were naturally drawn to. The thought caught Louis off guard before he could put a halt to the wayward idea. She hadn’t been here an hour and already he was thinking about things he had no business considering.

  Jean had been his partner and Marian was the dead man’s wife. It wouldn’t do to become involved with the pretty widow, especially considering the brief time she would be here.

  “Henry, if you’d move your work out, then I’ll get Mrs. Cuvier settled in here,” Louis said.

  The man sighed, clearly not happy with this turn of events. “I’ll start packing.”

  Before lunchtime, Louis had Marian ensconced in her own office and given her a tome to read called The Merits of Trade in the New World. The book was large enough to occupy her for quite some time and keep her busy and out of his way, at least until he took care of some pressing issues.

  All morning a steady stream of employees casually strolled by the office, gazing upon the Widow Cuvier. Business would be slack today, because of the constant foot traffic in front of her office. Not to mention the employees that flowed continuously into his office asking questions regarding the widow.

  At first he’d been polite and explained that Mrs. Cuvier would be in the office for a few days. Or at least he hoped that’s all it would take before she’d become discouraged and give up this foolish notion of working in her dead husband’s place.

  “Excuse me, sir. I have some papers that need your signature,” his clerk said, stepping into his office and disrupting his thoughts.

  Louis glanced up and frowned. “Leave them on the comer of the desk and I’ll sign them.”

  Jon peered out the doorway, across the way to where Marian sat reading the book. “What’s she doing here?”

  The frustration that had been building for most of the day engulfed him. “Hasn’t everyone filled you in yet? She’s taking Jean’s place.”

  His voice came out louder than he expected and he saw Marian glance up at him, a quizzical look on her face. Not only did he get to show her around, but their offices were located directly across the hall from one another. Unless their office doors were closed, they could see each other at any time.

  Just what he needed, to look up and see Marian’s smile. The woman could be pure vinegar one moment and then suddenly with just one look, have your nerve endings standing up and taking notice. And he’d already taken more notice of the widow than he considered wise. After all, he still intended to sell the business.

  “Sorry, sir. I’ve been out of the office most of the day.”

  Louis shook his head. Now he was taking out his frustrations on his employees. “No, I’m the one who should apologize. It’s not your fault.”

  “No need, sir.” The young man all but ran from his office.

  Louis bent his head and tried to work once again. If he continued to disregard her, would she take the hint and leave? Yet to overlook a beautiful woman in his direct line of sight was difficult at best. Several days of avoidance should do the trick and Mrs. Cuvier would never darken his door again. Until the sale he hoped for would bring them together one last time to sign the final papers.

  A shadow fell across his desk and the smell of lilacs alerted him that she had walked into his office. He glanced up and felt as if his insides were being squeezed. For a moment he wanted to reach out and touch her skin to see if it were as smooth to the stroke as it appeared. Annoyed for taking notice of her complexion, he gave himself a mental slap. It would be better to avoid sensuous ideas involving the widow.

  She smiled. “I’m finished for the day.”

  He shook his head, the frustration of the day once again rearing like an ugly sea serpent’s head. “Mrs. Cuvier ... may I call you Marian?”

  “Since we’re going to be working together every day, I think that would be a good idea,” she responded, with a smile that left him stunned, but only irritated him more because she was both cheerful and beautiful.

  “Marian, do yourself a favor, stay home tomorrow. There’s no need for you to come in here every day like this. I give you my word that your part of the business will be fine,” he said, his voice sounding sharper than he intended.

  She tilted her head. “But Louis ... I can call you Louis?”

  “Yes.”

  She smiled. “Louis, it’s very necessary that I come in here and work each day. Maybe it’s not my share of the business I’m concerned about, but yours? After all I will be here looking out for mine.”

  “Damn it, woman!” he shouted, jumping up from his desk, staring at her. At the sound of his voice, some women would have run for the door or at least broken down in tears at his outburst. But not Marian, who just took one step back.

  “I have tried to keep my patience with you, but I don’t know how to help you to understand,” said Louis. “You’ve disrupted the office, upset the employees, and totally confounded this whole place. Have some consideration and stay home so that at least a small measure of work will be done! You are not needed here.”

  Her eyes grew wide and dark and furious. And then she turned on him. “Don’t you curse at me! Get accustomed to seeing me at the office, Mr. Fournet. I own part of this business. I’m going to protect my interest. Get used to seeing me every day.”

  She whirled around and walked out of the office, her black skirt swishing angrily as she left, her head held high.

  Louis glanced out and saw everyone watching her as she proceeded toward the door. One steely look sent the employees quickly back to work.

  He slammed his fist against his desk. “Damn!”

  A more stubborn female he’d never met!