Wronged (The Cuvier Widows Book 1) (28 page)

“Can’t you do that with the shipping
business? Aren’t we hauling their refined sugar to market for
them?”

“Yes.” He gazed deep into her green eyes.
“But this is Cuvier Shipping, not Fournet Shipping. Not even
Cuvier/Fournet Shipping. Jean got into financial trouble and that’s
the only reason I own part of the business now.”

Marian’s eyes widened at this knowledge.
“Jean told me you were an investor who bought into the
business.”

“I did, when he was about to go
bankrupt.”

Marian turned and faced the front of the
boat, the wind blowing tendrils of her hair. “Sometimes I think I
would be better off selling Cuvier Shipping, just to get rid of the
bad memories of Jean that seem to come with this business.”

Louis jumped at the opening.

“You know I’ll buy you out right now. You
could have a fresh start in life with the money.”

Marian considered his comment for a moment,
her face thoughtful, her eyes squinting in the sunlight. She tilted
her head sideways and gazed up at him. “But how would I support my
family? Are you going to pay me enough for us to live on the rest
of our lives? Enough for me to put Philip through school and give
Renee a season? Or will I be forced to remarry just to keep my
children and myself from starving in several years?”

Louis frowned, unable to respond. A month ago
he would have leaped at the chance to convince her that everything
would be all right, but now suddenly he couldn’t lie to Marian and
tell her that her fears were ungrounded. Her concerns were
realistic.

“You’re not answering me, Louis.”

He turned to face her, his eyes taking in her
interested expression. Very little slipped past Marian and
certainly she’d noticed his sudden lack of response.

“No one can promise anything, Marian. I don’t
know if I could pay you enough money to make certain that you could
live the rest of your life on the proceeds from the sale. Maybe you
could buy into another business. Whatever you decide, I would
suggest that you consider your options very carefully.”

Just call him the biggest idiot in New
Orleans. He’d just forfeited an excellent opportunity to persuade
Marian to sell the business. He wondered if he’d told her too
much.

She smiled at him and touched his arm. “Thank
you.”

“For what?” he asked, feeling the soft warmth
of her hand on his flesh. She thought he was being considerate.

She didn’t know the business was in the final
stages of being sold. That any day now, he was going to have to sit
down, tell her the truth, and ask for her signature.

The thought depressed him and left a bad
taste in his mouth. He didn’t like what he was becoming.

“For being honest with your response. I
appreciate it”

The sudden urge to kiss her almost
overwhelmed him. He wanted to pull her into his arms and feel her
body against his own. He wanted to hold her and reassure her that
he didn’t want to hurt her, yet his pride refused to let him give
up the idea of getting the business of his dreams. And owning a
mill and working for the family business again would certainly make
his family happy.

How could he force her into the situation she
feared? But how could he continue doing a job he despised each day?
And how could he give up doing a job that would make him look good
in his father’s eyes?

But most of all, how could he live with
himself knowing how he had hurt Marian?

***

Marian sat in her office going over the
latest shipping manifests, her mind focused on the afternoon spent
with Louis’s family. The time together had showed her many of the
reasons for Louis’s behavior. Like a small boy, he seemed to crave
the approval of his father and even a need to outdo his brother.
Were all men this way and she’d failed to notice, or was she more
observant regarding men’s motivations since Jean’s betrayal?

Determined to finish this stack of work
before leaving today, her eyes returned to the papers before her.
Louis had already left for the day, saying that he had an errand to
run. Several days had passed since their trip to his family’s home,
and they had returned to the easy atmosphere they enjoyed before
being intimate with one another.

Though she couldn’t help but think of that
night every time she glanced at him, remembering the way his broad
shoulders felt beneath her hands, the way he smelled, and the taste
of him upon her tongue.

Since that night he had not made any
overtures toward her. He’d not even touched her. And while she was
grateful in one regard, another part of her missed him. Her sense
of loneliness had awakened like a sleeping giant, roaring for
attention. Now she craved his touch and his body next to hers, but
even more she yearned for the sound of his laughter and the way he
could make her smile.

For the first time in her life she enjoyed
being with a man and that amazed her. Louis hid his caring soul
behind his teasing nature, but she knew from watching him with his
family that feelings ran deeper in him than in any man she’d met
before. Her thoughts of him being like Jean had not accounted for
the man he hid from public view. He cared profoundly about the
people he loved, and she wondered what it would be like if he felt
concern for her in that same manner.

Quickly, she pushed the thought away. She was
not going to become involved with a man again. After Jean’s death
she’d promised herself she would never marry. Yet now the words
rang hollow and she wondered at their emptiness.

The sound of shouting and running footsteps
drew her attention away from her thoughts.

Jon came running into her office, gasping for
breath, his chest rising and falling in panic. “Mrs. Cuvier—the
dockworkers—have gone on strike and they’re marching this way. A
nasty mob is on its way to the office, Captain Paul sent me to warn
you to get out.”

“What?” she said, stunned. “The workers are
striking? Why? No one’s told me they were unhappy!”

The young boy looked sheepish. “Ma’am they’ve
been upset for months. Since before Mr. Cuvier... passed on.”

Marian grabbed her reticule, intending to
follow Jon, a thousand thoughts floating through her brain.

“No one told me. Did Mr. Fournet know of
this?” she asked, anger swelling within her. Could this be one of
those details that he’d somehow forgotten to mention to her?

“Yes, Ma’am. He met with the workers several
weeks ago.”

He’d known for weeks and never told her? Why
didn’t he tell her or was this just another one of those details
that he’d forgotten to mention? Marian slammed her fist down on the
table making the young man jump. “Is he never going to
understand!”

The boy jumped with surprise. “Uh, understand
what, Ma’am?”

“That I am to be informed on all decisions,”
she said laying her reticule back down on her desk.

“Ma’am, we better be going. This mob is
carrying torches. The police have been called, but the workers are
likely to harm you and burn this place down.”

Burn Cuvier Shipping? Then what would she do?
How could she support her children, and Philip would not only have
no father, but he wouldn’t have the inheritance she was so
desperately trying to hold on to for him.

But Jon was worried they could harm her.
Could she somehow talk an angry mob out of their destruction? She
had to try even though she knew she was putting herself at risk.
She had to try for her children’s sake. Without the income from the
shipping company they would be nearly penniless.

She only hoped her children didn’t lose their
mother, since they’d already lost their father.

Marian glanced up at him, suddenly seeing the
fright in his eyes. “You go on without me, Jon. I’m staying. I’m
the only one who can calm them down.”

“Oh no, ma’am. You can’t do that. We’ve got
to go!” She stood up and smoothed her skirt, rehearsing in her mind
what she was going to say. What would calm a crowd of striking
dockworkers? Why wasn’t Louis here to face this angry mob he helped
create?

“Jon, how long do I have before they arrive?”
she asked ignoring his attempt to persuade her to leave.

“Less than five minutes, Ma’am, that’s why we
need to get going. There’s no time for trying to talk them out of
this. They’re feeling real mean.”

Marian came around her desk and moved past
Jon and out the office door. He followed her.

“You’re going to stay, aren’t you?” he said,
astonished.

“Yes, I am. But thank you for warning me.
You’re free to go.”

“What kind of man would I be if I left you to
face this mob alone?”

She smiled at him. “Probably a very smart
one.”

“Come with me, Mrs. Cuvier. It’s too late and
it’s not your fault.”

“No, it’s not my fault, but I’ve got to clean
up this mess or be blamed for the consequences. I could leave, but
I’m going to stay and do everything I can to save Cuvier
Shipping.”

She sighed and marched down the hall to take
on this unpleasant task. Louis never mentioned trouble with the
unions. Why?

When Marian reached the front office, only a
few employees remained, cleaning out their desks and then hurrying
out the back door.

“Mrs. Cuvier. We thought you had left.” Henry
said coming out of his office.

“No. I’m not leaving, Henry.”

“You don’t understand. These men are
mean.”

“Can you tell me what they’re upset
about?”

“It’s been almost ten years since they
received a pay raise. They work seven days a week and they’d like
to have a little time off. Most of them are barely keeping their
families from hunger. They’re tired of it”

Marian frowned. “Why haven’t we given them a
pay raise?”

“In the five years I’ve been here, Mr. Cuvier
never gave pay raises.”

Marian swallowed. “So they must think that
I’m a rich widow who has everything.”

“Yes Ma’am, I’m afraid so.”

“God, how am I going to get out of this one?”
she said.

“Just give them some concessions. Give them
one day a week and holidays off. And if you can afford it, a small
increase in pay. That’s all,” Henry said sympathetically.

“Why didn’t Mr. Fournet give them an increase
in pay?”

“Mr. Fournet offered them holidays off, but
nothing else. He told them the business couldn’t afford a pay
increase.”

She stared off into space, her finger tapping
against her lower lip. Their earnings had dropped considerably
during the period right after Jean’s death, but the figures she’d
seen recently showed they were beginning to rise again. No, they
couldn’t afford a huge increase in pay for anyone.

“When was the last time we increased the cost
of our shipments?” she asked.

“It’s been years. We’re the lowest in the
industry. That’s why our business has grown so in the last few
years.”

She glanced at him surprised at this news
since Louis had said he got into the business because it was in
financial trouble. “Then how could the business be in financial
trouble the last few years, if it was growing?”

The man’s face turned a telling shade of pink
and he glanced away from her and then back. “No disrespect to your
late husband, Ma’am, but Jean took a great deal of money from the
business for his own personal use. If you understand me.”

Marian stood there for a moment, stunned. She
knew he was telling her the truth as she’d seen where Jean had
withdrawn cash from the business. And she also knew that money had
been used to support two other households besides hers.

The rage she thought she’d put behind her at
her dead husband’s betrayal once again flared, leaving her shocked
at how many lives his evil actions had touched. Determined to show
the workers that Cuvier Shipping’s owners were caring, she suddenly
knew what she had to do.

“Then we’ll increase the cost of the
shipments and give our workers a raise,” she said resolutely. “I
can understand why they’re upset”

The man smiled. “For a woman, you’ve got a
good deal of business sense. I like you, Mrs. Cuvier.”

She smiled. “Now if I can only convince our
workers not to bum the place down.”

He frowned and tilted his head. “I hear them
coming.”

The sound of angry shouts coming closer
chilled her. “I guess it’s time to see if I’m persuasive.” She
glanced at the man. “Henry, if it gets bad, get out of here. It’s
me they want, not you.”

He shook his head. “No, ma’am.”

She smiled. “Then we just have to hope it’s
going to turn out well.”

“Mr. Fournet is not going to like this at
all,” he said, gazing at her worriedly.

With a shrug she begin to walk toward the
door. “Mr. Fournet should have been here. At the very least, he
should have told me about this months ago. Damn him!” She gasped.
“I apologize. I don’t usually swear.”

Laughing nervously he followed her. “I know.
But that tells me you’re pretty scared.”

She nodded. “Very.”

Outside the voices grew louder. She glanced
at Henry, the gray of his hair shimmering in the dim light. Taking
a deep breath she realized he would be of little help to her if
things became ugly.

Outside the voices were chanting, “Give us a
raise!”

“I guess it’s time,” she said, her voice
shaking, her knees knocking.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, his eyes
compassionate. “They’ll be surprised to see you. You can settle
this.”

He pulled open the front door, stepping
tentatively out onto the concrete stairs that led into the
building. A hundred or more men filled the street, some carrying
torches, some holding signs, and others just shouting.

She stood on the stairs waiting for them to
give her a chance to speak, wondering if they would or if this was
a pointless exercise.

Finally, a man approached her, his face red
with anger as he glared at her. For a moment she didn’t think she
could face him as the men cheered him on. She swallowed and took a
deep breath. If she ran, they would probably destroy the building.
She had to stay.