Wronged (The Cuvier Widows Book 1) (31 page)

“Don’t be too hard on the boy. He ran to get
away from the scandal of his father. The kids are teasing him about
it and he needs the adults in his life to understand. Tell Marian I
brought him home.”

He walked out the door, not giving Claire a
chance to respond.

***

Marian opened the door of the big house,
exhaustion and fear causing her to shake. The image of Philip
wandering the streets of New Orleans alone brought tears to her
eyes. She was so afraid for him.

It was her fault he’d run away. If she’d been
there for him when he needed her, he would still be at home and not
lost on the street somewhere. She was a terrible mother not to have
realized the depth of her son’s continuing grief at Jean’s
death.

Claire came running around the comer. “I’m so
glad to see you! Louis brought Philip home.”

“Thank God, he’s back! Where is he?” she
asked not giving Claire time to respond, but moving toward the
stairs.

“He’s upstairs, waiting for you.”

She lifted her skirts and ran up the stairs
hurrying down the hall. He was home! Flinging open the door, she
burst into his room to see him, unpacking his suitcase, putting his
clothes back in the chest. He glanced up at the sound of the door
opening, his eyes troubled, his face downcast.

“Hi Mother,” he said meekly.

She went to him and took him in her arms,
hugging his small frame to her own. “Are you all right?”

“I’m okay. Mr. Fournet found me walking and
brought me home.”

Louis had found her son and brought him home.
She felt a sense of relief and overwhelming gratitude for her
partner.

“Philip, you scared me so badly. Why did you
leave, son?”

He stepped out of her embrace. “You found my
note?”

“Yes, I’ve been out looking everywhere for
you.”

He shrugged. “I get tired of everyone telling
me how bad my father was. I miss him. I don’t want the kids to make
fun of him anymore.”

Marian felt her heart plummet for her son.
The urge to scream at Jean almost overwhelmed her, though she knew
she couldn’t reach him beyond the grave. But his selfish acts had
touched more than her life, their children were affected by his
immoral behavior.

“Oh, Philip, you’ll always love him,” she
said trying to soothe her son and temper her anger at her dead
husband.

“Yes,” the boy said. “But how could Papa have
married two other ladies? Didn’t he love you, Mama?”

Marian sat down on the bed and pulled her son
down beside her. “I don’t know why your father did this. I think he
loved me as much as he could. We just have to go on and know that
what he did is in the past and forgive him. We’ll get through this
Philip, I promise.”

“The kids call the other women the Cuvier
Widows,” he said, his big green eyes sad.

“Yes, I know. The adults are calling them
that also. Sometimes people say hurtful things and no matter what
you do, it makes you sad,” Marian said.

“I wish Papa were here and that none of this
had happened.”

“For you and Renee, I wish he were too, but
we can’t change the past, only move forward. Someday soon you’ll
look back and realize this is all behind you,” she said leaning
over and kissing his forehead.

Philip glanced down at his hands, his mouth
drooping.

“What else is wrong, Philip?” Marian
asked.

“Have you been kissing Mr. Fournet?” he
asked.

Marian stared at the boy, her face feeling
frozen. “Who told you that?”

How could he know about her and Louis?

“My friend Tom said his father saw you out
dancing with two men,” Philip said, his eyes not meeting hers.

“Yes, remember that night I went with Louis
and I told you we were taking out our biggest client. Did he tell
you I kissed Louis?” she asked.

“No. I just wanted to know.”

“Would it matter?” she asked.

Philip gazed at her, his forehead wrinkling
in a frown. “Depends.”

She sighed. “I like Louis. Yes, I kissed him.
Does that upset you?”

He smiled. “No. I just wanted to know. Louis
told me this afternoon that he kissed you.”

Surprised, Marian managed to hide her
reaction from her son. “What else did he tell you?”

Her son shrugged. “He told me he likes you
now.” The boy smiled at his mother. “And he wants to kiss you
again.”

Marian shook her head, a warm feeling coming
over her. “That’s nice.”

Dear God, was the man crazy? The boy had
enough to trouble him without Louis telling him about them.
“Promise me that you won’t run away again, without talking over
whatever is bothering you. I love you and I was frightened,
Philip.”

He glanced down. “I’m sorry. I promise to
talk to you.”

Marian felt a sense of relief, even if she
knew that the boy could run away again. She’d found her son and he
was safe. She hoped the troubles that sent him running were at
least soothed if not yet solved.

“Okay, I think it’s time for you to go to
bed.”

“Already?”

“Yes,” she said, and walked to the door.
“I’ll come back to tuck you in.”

“I love you, Mother.”

His comment took her by surprise and filled
her heart with love. Since he’d started to grow up, it wasn’t often
he said those three words. She blinked back tears. “I love you too,
Philip. I’m glad you came home safe.”

***

Louis sat reading the newspaper, relaxing
after such a harrowing day, when a knock sounded at the door. The
clock on the wall showed the hour to be late. Cautiously he opened
the door to find Marian standing on his doorstep.

Fear seized him as his thoughts instantly
assumed she’d found him out.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I came to talk to you about Philip,” she
said, her gray eyes worried.

Louis glanced down the darkened street and,
seeing no one, grabbed Marian’s arm and pulled her into his home
and shut the door. She leaned against the door, staring at him with
those smoky gray eyes. The urge to push her against the door and
lean his body into hers almost overwhelmed him, but he
resisted.

He released her and she glanced around the
room nervously. “I came to thank you for bringing my son home.
Philip told me what you did. I was so worried.”

Louis shrugged. “He’s a confused kid.”

She nodded as she walked around his small
living room glancing around at his very masculine furnishings.

He asked me about us.” She raised her worried
eyes to his. “Philip told me you said that we had kissed.”

“I wasn’t going to lie to him,” Louis said
watching her. He saw the pain in her expression and wanted to
comfort her, ease her hurting. “I told him I kissed you and would
do so again. He asked me if I liked you now and I said yes, very
much.”

She smiled at him, her eyes still worried.
“You didn’t say anything else?”

“No,” Louis said with a frown. “Why would
I?”

Marian shrugged and walked around the room,
her hand lightly touching his books. “I don’t know. He seemed all
right with the fact that you and I were kissing, yet he ran away.
He’s still troubled about his father and his friends are teasing
him about the Cuvier Widows.” She paused taking a deep breath. “I’m
so worried about him. I’m such a terrible mother, Louis.”

“What makes you say that?” he asked.

She glanced at him her eyes troubled. “I
didn’t know about the way his friends were treating him. I thought
since the fight at school, things had gotten better. I feel so bad
for not helping him and now he’s hearing gossip about the two of
us.”

He stepped toward her, his voice gentle and
soothing. “People have been talking about me for years. And frankly
you’ve been the center of scandal since Jean’s death. You’re not a
bad mother, Marian, you’ve just been preoccupied with the business
and didn’t notice the absence of his friends around the house.”

She rubbed her hands up and down her arms as
if she were chilled. “But how could I do that to my son? My
children have always been important to me.” She paused, gazing at
him for guidance. “What am I doing, Louis? I’m losing touch with my
children, yet I’m trying to earn a living for them. I’m so confused
about what’s best for them, for me.”

Louis walked over to Marian and put his arms
around her. It felt so right, Marian so warm and tender in his
embrace. The urge to protect and shield her filled him and he knew
this was where he belonged.

“You’re just worried because Philip was
missing this afternoon. He’s a good kid. He understands what you’re
doing, but he’s struggling with the knowledge that his father
betrayed his family and that everyone knows his father’s
shame.”

“But how can I protect him? He’s just a boy.
He doesn’t deserve to be treated this way,” she said leaning her
head against his chest.

His hand massaged her back in a circular
motion, soothing her. “You can’t defend him from life, Marian, no
matter how much you want to.”

She leaned back in his arms and gazed at him.
“I know you’re right, but he’s my son. I want to keep all the bad
things in life away from him. He deserves an innocent childhood and
Jean has taken that away from him.”

“I know. But he has you and his sister to
help him through this difficult time.” He paused. “And you’re
working to keep a business for him. You can’t be all things to
him.”

She sighed heavily and returned her head to
his chest. “Since that trip we took to see your family, I can’t
help but think that he may not want Cuvier Shipping at all. You
don’t want your father’s business. What if I’m forcing my son into
something he never wanted?”

“Then you sell it or you give the business to
Renee. Whatever you decide, accept your decision and realize you
are making the best evaluation you can at the time. Quit
second-guessing yourself,” he said tenderly, enjoying the feel of
her in his arms.

Leaning back in his arms, her hand reached up
and stroked his cheek with her fingertips. “Why is it that you
always soothe me and make me feel good about the decisions I’ve
made? How is that?”

He placed his fingers beneath her chin and
lifted it up to within inches of his lips. Gazing deeply into her
smoky gaze he felt as if he were lost in the depths. “Maybe it’s
because we’re good together. Maybe it’s because we complement one
another. Maybe it’s because I care about you more than any woman I
know.”

His mouth covered her parted lips seeking the
soft, sweet recess of her mouth. Since the day that Marian came
into his life, she had challenged him in ways that constantly kept
him hurrying to keep up with her. Intriguing and interesting,
she’d changed him. For only the second time in his life, he’d found
a woman he could spend the rest of his life with.

He suckled her lower lip, teasing her mouth
as his hands molded her body against his hard one. She pushed back
and stepped out of his arms to stare at him, her gaze wary. “This
is not another one of your pranks? Not another one of your attempts
to acquire Cuvier Shipping?”

“God, no. No matter what happens, never
forget I care about you. I’ve never felt so much fear as when they
said that you were there in front of those strikers all alone.” He
ran his hands through his hair; he should tell her about the sale,
but not yet. He wanted and needed this moment with Marian. Not yet.
Just a little more time.

“I was such a fool, Marian, for placing you
in a position that put you in so much danger.”

He ran his fingertips down her arm and when
his fingers touched her hand, he skimmed them across her palm and
then entwined her fingers with his. He drew her to him and this
time she leaned her body into his, touching him in all the
pertinent places.

“I want you so badly,” he said putting his
lips against her ear.

“God,” she said, with a sustained sigh. “You
drive me crazy with need.”

Louis laughed, his lips brushing against
hers. He’d tell her about the sale of Cuvier Shipping in the
morning, just give him tonight.

Grabbing her by the hand, he began to pull
her toward his bedroom.

“Where are we going?” she asked, her eyes
shining with pleasure.

He raised his brows. “We’re alone and you’ve
told me I drive you crazy with need. Now I need you to show
me.”

Just as they reached his bedroom, he pulled
her tightly against him securing her hips with his. She felt his
passion, her eyes widening in surprise.

She glanced at his plantation bed in the
center of the room. “You do have good taste in furniture.”

“I’ve dreamed of you lying in that bed. Now
we’re going to experience it,” he said, as his lips savored hers
once again, pouring out his passion, making her his. Her arms
wrapped around his neck and she hung limply onto him, his fingers
moving over the buttons on the back of her dress.

She clung to him, her hands reaching up to
run her fingers through his hair. She gripped his head, pressing
his obliging lips against her own.

Kissing had always been something he’d done
mostly to lead women to bed, but with Marian, he craved the taste
of her. He longed for the touch of her sweet lips and he found in
them his claim of absolute possession.

They broke apart and for a moment stared at
one another, their breath sounding harsh in the darkness. Without a
word they begin to shed clothing, hurrying to feel fevered skin
against skin once more.

She turned around and he undid the buttons on
her dress, his fingers shaking as he hurried. When all the buttons
were freed, he tugged on the shoulders of her dress, which fell to
the floor in a puddle of cloth. She turned to face him and he gazed
at her soft curves outlined by her camisole, shadowy in the
moonlight. He bent over to put his lips to the material and suckled
her sweet bud, loving the way her nipple puckered in response. He
laved her breast, holding it soft and heavy in his hand.