Arian (35 page)

‘Have
I
forgotten?’ she echoed. How dare he act as though nothing had happened.

Sarah entered the room and she was flushed, more with passion than with shame, Arian suspected.

‘He’s yours, Sarah,’ Arian said. ‘Gerald can come and live with you permanently, I don’t want him.’

‘You mean that?’ Sarah said, her eyes shining. She caught Gerald’s arm. ‘Hear that, Gerry? You can come home with me. We can have a proper relationship. I’ll look after you so well. Arian knows all about us now and I’m so glad.’

‘This is my home,’ Gerald said. ‘I have no intention of leaving it.’

Sarah looked up at him anxiously. She had tensed and a frown creased her brow. After a moment, Gerald took her hands in his.

‘Look, my dear, I am an independent sort of man, I don’t want to live on your charity. I’d like to be with you all the time but I can’t, it wouldn’t be proper. Surely you can understand?’

‘No, Gerald, I don’t understand.’ Sarah looked mutinous and Arian leaned back in her seat, watching the little scene, almost enjoying Gerald’s unease.

‘Come home with me. Arian doesn’t want you here. What could be more simple?’ She snuggled up to him. ‘You do love me, Gerald, don’t you? It isn’t just the money, is it?’

Arian saw the warring of Gerald’s feelings. He wanted control of Sarah’s riches and yet he didn’t want to relinquish his control of his wife.

‘Gerald,’ Sarah decided to assert herself, ‘I’m not staying here a moment longer. Come with me. We’ll be happy together. You know we will. She’s no good – she’s cold, unfeeling. She’ll never amount to anything.’

‘If you don’t go, Gerald,’ Arian spoke quietly in contrast to Sarah’s excited tones, ‘I will. It’s over. Salvage what you can. You know what I mean?’

He knew what she meant; he wouldn’t have her, so he might as well have Sarah and her money. He looked at her for a long moment and then, as though he knew he had lost, he turned abruptly away.

‘All right, I’ll go.’ His voice was low with controlled anger. ‘But I’ll be back, I promise you that.’

Sarah cast a triumphant glance towards Arian and as Gerald hurried up the stairs, she spoke softly. ‘You see, I’ve won. He’ll forget you in time. I’ll win him over to my way of thinking and then he won’t want anything to do with you.’

Arian looked at her without expression. ‘It’s a relief,’ she said. ‘I never wanted him to touch me.’

‘I don’t believe that. Gerald is a handsome man, and any woman in her right mind would be happy to be in the same house as him.’

The two women stood in silence for a moment. Sarah glanced anxiously up the stairwell.

‘Gerry, are you coming, I’m waiting.’

She turned to Arian. ‘I’m not sorry to be taking him away from you. You never appreciated what a fine man you had, did you?’

‘I never wanted Gerald,’ Arian spoke flatly. ‘You will make him happy, for a time, at least until your money runs out.’

‘Right,’ Gerald came quickly down the stairs, his eyes alight, he had found a way to hurt her. ‘Money seems to be your obsession, not mine, but as we’re on the subject I assume you won’t need an allowance from me.’ He paused for his words to sink in. ‘You have your income from your business, and would probably prefer to be independent and manage on that.’

When she didn’t reply he shrugged. ‘It won’t be easy living without my support. The day will come when you’ll beg me to come back to you, mark my words.’

Sarah clung onto his arm. ‘But you won’t come back to her at any price, will you, Gerry? You’ve got me, you’ve always got me.’

Gerald caught her in his arms. ‘Of course I have and I’ll do right by you, Sarah, believe me. You’re a warm natural woman and I’ll give you fine sons, all the sons you could wish for.’

He glanced at Arian as though to taunt her. ‘The only surprise to me,’ he spoke slowly, deliberately so there would be no chance of misunderstanding him, ‘is that you, Sarah, my darling are not full with my child already. We’ve made love enough times.’

If he thought to make her jealous, he was wasting his time. Arian, meeting Sarah’s eyes caught the fleeting look of fear and remembered with stunning clarity the day at Calvin Temple’s house when Sarah had flung into the room in tears. She’d miscarried of Calvin’s child, she had cried pitifully that she could have no more children. Arian remained silent. That was Sarah’s secret and if Gerald wanted sons by Sarah, Arian could see problems ahead for her.

‘You’d better go, both of you.’ Arian’s voice was cold. ‘I don’t think there’s any point in delaying, do you? We’ve said all we have to say, we’ve both made our positions entirely clear.’

Gerald left the room without a word and Sarah followed him, glancing back with something like gratitude in her eyes. At the doorway she paused. ‘I’ll look after Gerry, and don’t forget, if you need any help,
any
sort of help, I’m not short of money.’ It was a sop to Sarah’s belated conscience and Arian knew it.

After the outer door had closed the house fell into a dreaming silence. Arian sank into a chair, relief flooding over her. She was just glad that the unpleasantness was over.

It was true that now she had the responsibility for maintaining the house as well as the business but she would think about that later. For now, it was enough to be alone.

She felt suddenly sick and ill, perhaps she had a chill coming on. Still, whatever it was, she must shake it off. Somehow, she would have to make a living for herself. As for Gerald Simples, she only hoped she would never set eyes on him again.

Sarah lay in Gerald’s arms. He was still now, his passion spent – if you could call what had happened an act of passion. Sarah caught her breath on a sigh as she looked at Gerald’s dark head, turned away from her. He had taken her as a stallion takes a mare, with no sensitivity, no feeling except the need for his own release.

She had come to the conclusion over the last week or two that Gerald Simples loved his wife. He dallied with Sarah, had enjoyed her when theirs was an illicit arrangement but now that they were together permanently, their coupling had nothing of romance about it. He even complained about the old ‘aunt’ she’d hired to chaperone them.

And yet she was grateful to have him in her house, in her bed, for Gerald was the man she was in love with. She sighed softly. Why did she spurn worthy men like William Davies who once, when they were both young, had been her lover? Why did she fall for tough, hard-nosed villains like Gerald Simples? For he was a villain, she’d learned that much about him, and it made no difference to her feelings, she still loved and wanted him.

She reached out her fingertips. His strong neck and broad shoulders were exposed by the bedclothes and his dark hair curled on the nape of his neck in the most beguiling way. Oh yes, he was a crook, a crook of the first order. He had taken her money, quite a lot of it, and salted it away somewhere in so-called stocks and bonds.

But Sarah was no fool. In spite of her love for Gerald, she saw him clearly for what he was. Still, she reckoned it was a small price to pay and she would go on paying it for as long as necessary. It was ironic really. Her husband Geoffrey Frogmore was the one who was really paying and that seemed entirely fitting to Sarah, serve him right for leaving her alone. What he would do when he found out that she was living with Gerald she didn’t know but neither did she care any longer.

She ran her hands over Gerald’s back. His skin was like silk. His hair touched the back of her hand and a great tenderness filled her. He moved suddenly and rose from the bed, and stood looking down at her with an expression in his dark eyes she did not quite understand.

‘I have to go out,’ he said, standing naked and magnificent beside her. ‘Send for the maid to bring water, would you?’

She stared up at him longing to snap at him that she wasn’t his servant but she bit back the angry words, frightened that he would leave her if life proved difficult for him.

She rose, pulled on a robe and rang the bell for the maid to come.

‘Ill see you sometime tomorrow,’ Gerald said and she looked at him sharply.

‘Tomorrow?’ she asked anxiously. ‘Won’t you be back home tonight, Gerald?’

‘No,’ he said shortly. ‘I have a business meeting that’ll take quite a long time and I will probably stay at the club.’

‘The club.’ She echoed his words, dismay evident in her voice. ‘But Gerald, there’s the dinner party. It was for you I arranged it.’ She was aware that her words sounded silly and trivial. He walked from the bedroom without answering.

‘In any case, if you do have to go out, if your appointment is urgent, can you please try to come back? I don’t mind how late it is. Please come home to me.’

‘That’s not what you said last time I was late.’ There was the sound of water from the elegant bathroom and Gerald’s voice rose above it. Sarah knew he was punishing her.

‘I’m sorry if I was angry,’ she said quickly. ‘I was worried, frightened that you’d had an accident. I won’t be like that ever again, I promise you.’

She hated herself for the abject pleading in her voice but she couldn’t help herself. ‘Please Gerald, come home. You can sleep in your own bedroom in the servants’ quarters if you like.’

‘All right,’ he said quickly, too quickly. ‘That way I won’t disturb you however late I am.’

She had played into his hands, Sarah realized at once. This is what he’d wanted all along, an excuse to sleep alone. The club, of course, cost him money, his own room did not. A taste of bitterness filled her mouth, the feeling that she wasn’t wanted, that she was nothing more than a whore but instead of being paid for her services she was the one doing the paying.

She turned away from him when he returned to the room, too hurt to speak, and she heard him close the door behind him with a feeling of dread. She should tell him to go, she should salvage what little was left of her pride but she knew she would go on taking the crumbs Gerald offered for as long as he was willing to provide them.

She watched from the window as he strode away down the drive, nodding curtly to old Peters who opened the tall gates for him. Then he was gone from sight. Sarah sank into her chair with tears streaming along her cheeks. She was hurt, so hurt she thought she would die of it.

What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she find a man to love and cherish her? It was not much to ask, was it? She closed her eyes and thought for a moment of all the men who had, briefly, been part of her life. None of them, not even Sam Payton, the first man she had really loved, not one of them came up to Gerald Simples’s shoulder. She wanted him and so she would put up with whatever treatment he meted out. Unless the scales fell from her eyes and she saw him for what he really was. But that day, she felt, would be a long time coming.

Gerald strode from the town towards his house in the hills. He had been kept informed of Arian’s comings and goings. He paid his informers well. The young village girl whom Arian had employed to help her in the house would do anything for a few pennies. Women, they were all whores, all to be bought – all, that is, except Arian.

He smiled. Soon she would ask him to come back to her. The business was falling deeper into debt, she’d given up her office, and even let old Vincent go. And now it seemed she was unwell, suffering from some sort of chill. She was vulnerable; this perhaps was the time to forgive her and go back to her.

Gerald had made it his business to buy out her debts, so it was to him she owed the money now though she didn’t realize it. He would catch her at a weak moment and he would get what he wanted, just what he wanted.

He entered the house without knocking; it was his house still and Arian was lucky to be living in it.

She looked up startled as he entered the kitchen. She was flustered. Her hair was tangled around her face and she was still dressed in her night clothes. He felt his pulses quicken, God how he wanted her. But he must bide his time, he would get her back on his own terms.

As for Sarah, he’d taken almost all he could from her. He had supplemented his income very nicely from her funds and enjoyed the luxuries of her home but, by way of repayment, he’d had to act the stud and had found Sarah a very demanding woman. Now he’d had enough of her cloying, clinging, nature to last him a lifetime.

Arian was always dignified and, strangely, her lack of passion for him enhanced his enjoyment of her. He loved lying with her, caressing her, forcing her into an unwilling response. It gave him a sense of power that was heady and satisfying. And he loved her too, in his own way.

‘What do you want?’ She spoke baldly, with no welcome in her voice.

‘I want to help you.’ He smiled, ‘I heard you weren’t feeling too well. Are you worried about business?’

‘You heard? You mean you’ve been spying on me. Well you won’t hear any more. I sacked the girl a few days ago. She didn’t do much work anyway, as you can see.’ She didn’t look at him and he moved closer, determined to get her full attention. She was very thin, worryingly so.

‘Are you getting enough to eat?’ He resisted the urge to take her into his arms.

‘Eat?’ she appeared vague. ‘I don’t know, I suppose so.’ She rubbed at her eyes wearily. ‘I’ve just finished doing the books, it’ll all come right given time. Don’t you worry about me, I don’t need your help.’

Gerald took her arm. ‘Sit down,’ he said. ‘I shall cook you breakfast and then I shall put you to bed.’

‘No!’ She sounded almost panic stricken. ‘I don’t want anything from you,’ she said, ‘but I would like to sleep, just for a while. I was up most of the night finishing a pair of boots. The money comes in straight away for repairs, you see.’

Arian moved towards the door. She seemed half asleep already. She stumbled and Gerald caught her arm, holding her around her slim waist with a feeling of such protectiveness that he knew he must have her back, whatever it cost him.

‘Go to bed,’ he spoke softly, knowing he had to play his cards carefully. To frighten her now would be the worst thing he could do.

‘Thank you, Gerald. Please go, I’ll be all right.’ Arian mounted the stairs without a backward glance and crossed the landing into her room. There, she fell upon the bed and drew the tangled clothes over her.