The Price of Deception (22 page)

He stood to his feet, scooped her up in his strong
arms, like he had done so many times in the past, and took her up
the stairs to his bedchamber.

“Take me,” she pleaded. “Take me and let us be one
again. I shall be damned for doing so.” She rested her head against
his shoulder. He took each step up the staircase with determined
resolve.

“No one will be damned, my love. Our lives were meant
to be one. You’ll see. Let us do away with our past regret and
mistakes.”

He opened the door to a massive suite and walked
toward the canopy bed draped in rich maroon material. He set her
down on her feet and then assaulted the buttons of her dress.
Hastily, he loosened each one and then pulled it down over her
shoulders.

Stripped to her undergarments, Suzette turned around
to face him. His hand gently fondled her breast through the fabric.
Suzette moaned and began shedding herself of her remaining clothes.
Robert fingered the laces of her corset and pulled each string
through the eyelets until they released the prize underneath.

“This is unfair,” she giggled. “You’re still
dressed.”

“Well, do something about it,” he teased, as he
cupped her breast in the palm of his hand and kissed her.

Suzette felt new life flow through her veins. Her
hand pushed off his jacket from his shoulders, her fingers untied
his ascot and pulled it off his neck. The buttons of his vest and
linen shirt released, and Suzette pushed his clothes away from his
firm chest, dragging them down his arms.

Robert could endure the foreplay no longer. He
embraced her naked body and lifted it to the bed. Hurriedly, he
opened his trousers, released his erection, and lay on top of her
with a hunger that needed satisfaction. Suzette spread her legs
apart and received him into her body once again.

The feverish moans and cries between two lovers
filled the room. Robert had never experienced such passion in the
body of a female before. The moment was more than a heated
encounter between a man and a woman; it was a reunion of souls and
a melding together as one.

Suzette cried her words of love repeatedly, and
Robert relished in her confessions. His thrusts of tender love
continued until he heard her cries of satisfaction, and then he
achieved his own bursting from his loins.

When they had expended their ecstasy in groans and a
flurry of wet kisses, the two lay in each other’s arms wrapped in
blending of entwined limbs.

Their breathing slowed, and finally they lay side by
side alone in their thoughts of what had transpired between them.
Robert kissed Suzette. She clung tightly to him, coming to terms
with the guilt of her unfaithfulness.

“We will pay a price for this, Robert. It was
glorious, but our infidelity will cost us dearly.”

“Let us hope not, my love. Let us hope all will work
in our favor.”

Suzette could not think of the consequences. She
pushed the thought away, laid her head on Robert’s shoulder, and
fell asleep. He held her tightly in return and drifted off into a
world of satisfied bliss.

* * * *

Since their indiscreet reunion, Suzette had accepted
the inevitable. No longer did she fight the inappropriateness of
their relationship. She embraced it, trying not to think of the
penalties.

Robert had asked to see his son more often, and
Suzette no longer refused his requests. Almost daily, Suzette would
take a walk in the park, and each day Robert would join them
innocently as if he was nothing more than a friend.

Suzette’s excitement grew when she witnessed her son
begin to bond with him in a special way. Robert had become the
assigned procurer of bread for the ducks, and the two of them would
feed the mass of birds that joined them at the lake’s edge. Robert
taught his son how to identify the various species, and little
Robert devoured the knowledge like sweet candy.

Of course, the matter of a pony was brought up once
more. Robert would tell tales of riding his own horse, which
captured a little boy’s attention for quite some time.

As often as she could slip from her residence,
without gaining suspicion, Suzette rendezvoused with Robert at this
townhouse. Their repeated lovemaking sessions had brought Suzette
back to the arms of the man she loved. Philippe’s continued absence
allowed her to release her husband from her thoughts. What guilt
she entertained, she foolishly refused to face until she learned
Philippe would soon be home.

Suzette had met Robert, as usual, taking the carriage
he sent and arriving through the back servant’s entrance. He kissed
her at the door, and took her hand and walked her down to the
parlor rather than upstairs.

“I have something to tell you, love.” He sat Suzette
down and smiled softly. “Philippe is on a ship heading back to
Paris. I’m afraid our time together must come to an end for
now.”

“How do you know?” she pressed.

“My brother-in-law owns the plantation that Philippe
visited. A deal has been struck between Moreau Shipping and
Chambers Plantation. Philippe has won the bid, as I instructed, and
should be arriving home within a few days.”

“A few days! What shall we do?”

“Let everything return as it was before, Suzette. I
will return home to England and face my wife telling her of my
adultery. Where it leads from there, only God knows. I have no idea
how she will react, but I believe she already suspects my former
indiscretions.”

Robert sighed and lowered his eyes. “I wasn’t quite
truthful with you about visiting a brothel since we departed. It is
true I’ve never returned to the Chabanais, but I have, when here in
years past, sought comfort at another local establishment.” He
grasped her hand and squeezed it tightly. “Forgive me,” he pleaded.
“I shall never touch another woman again as long as I live,
Suzette. I vow to you my eternal devotion.”

His confession did not shock Suzette, as much as she
anticipated. He had, after all, been unhappy in his marriage. They
had been separated, and he thought her dead. Though it bothered her
somewhat, she saw in his eyes the truth of his vow of fidelity and
believed him, nevertheless.

“Oh, Robert, I do not blame you. I know you’ve been
unhappy. Shall I be angry with your indiscretions of the past, when
here we are adulterers together? I am no less without guilt, for I
have broken my vow of fidelity to Philippe.”

Suzette leaned in and kissed Robert. “If our time
together is to end today, then take me until I can bear no
more.”

Robert did not give Suzette a moment to speak, but
kissed her deeply and laid her down upon the divan.

“How about someplace different?” he teased in heated
desire. “The bedchamber is becoming unexciting. Besides,” he said,
lifting up her skirt, “We’d never be able to do this with servants
around.”

Suzette giggled like a school girl and fingered the
buttons of his trousers unfastening them one by one. Her breast had
spilled out over her bodice, and Robert began sucking her nipple,
knowing it would drive her to a place of pleasure.

“Robert,” she laughed, “You’re incorrigible!”

She watched his lips encircle her flesh, which sent
goosebumps of pleasure coursing through her body. His hand crawled
up her inner leg and pulled down her bloomers. Suzette moaned with
delight when his fingers reached their destination and started to
fondle her intimately. Their sexual playfulness and location
screamed outrageous inappropriateness, but she loved every moment
of it!

Suzette couldn’t help but encourage Robert into a
further frenzy by giving him pleasurable touches in return. Lost in
the capture of her body by his hand and mouth, her frenzied desire
teetered on the verge of an explosive release. Instead of her
screams of pleasure filling the room, a screeching female voice
bellowed from the entrance of the parlor door. Suzette recoiled in
horror, feeling as if a bucket of cold water had drenched the
raging fire in her veins.

“You son-of-a-bitch! You damn unfaithful bastard! Get
off her!”

Robert stiffened and quickly removed his hand from
between Suzette’s legs. He released his lips from her fully exposed
breast and glanced up. Suzette saw the horror upon his face.
Instinctively, she knew it was his wife, who glared at them in
revulsion and rage.

Suzette scrambled to push her breast back into her
bodice and hurriedly pulled down her skirt. Suddenly, she’d felt
doused in disgrace.

“My God, Jacquelyn, what in the hell are you doing
here?” Robert roared.

He jumped off of Suzette’s body and rose to his feet.
Likewise, Suzette stood, mortified as she swiftly pulled up her
bloomers. She retreated behind his body to shield herself from his
wife’s view.

“I’m your wife, this is my home, and I came from
London to find out where in the hell you’ve been! Now, I know.
Who’s the whore?”

The woman’s eyes blazed with hatred, and Suzette
cringed. A maid stood behind Robert’s wife, viewing the scene with
surprised shock. Suzette wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

“Jacquelyn, for God’s sake!” he implored, as he
quickly fiddled with the buttons on his trousers and tucked in his
shirt. “Not now. We’ll speak of this later.”

“Later? Who’s the whore, Robert?”

“She’s not a whore.” He took an angry step in her
direction. “Now go upstairs,” he pointed, “and we’ll talk
later.”

Jacquelyn ignored his command. She unexpectedly
pushed by Robert in a gruff stride. It caught him off guard, and he
failed to block her steps. Suzette shocked that she headed her way,
tried to retreat. It was too late. The palm of Jacquelyn’s hand
slapped her hard across her cheek leaving a distinct red mark.

“Get out of my house you piece of French trash!”

Suzette reeled from the blow and brought her palm to
her cheek, now drenched in hot tears. Jacquelyn raised her hand to
strike again, but Robert quickly grabbed her wrist.

“Stop now!” he growled. He saw Jacquelyn’s horrified
lady’s maid in the doorway and dragged his wife over to her. “Take
her upstairs immediately, and get her out of her before I do
something rash,” he ordered. “Now!”

“You’ll pay for this, you bastard, and so will that
whore,” she spit at Robert. She glared fiercely over his shoulder
at Suzette.

Visibly shaken, Suzette sat down on the divan. She
thought she’d faint at any moment from embarrassment. As soon as
Jacquelyn had reached the top of the stairs, Robert turned toward
Suzette and gathered her in his arms.

“My God, Robert. My God!” she wailed. “Your wife, of
all people!”

She wept inconsolably on his shoulder, while Robert
attempted to comfort her. “Let me hire a carriage to take you home.
I’m afraid, Suzette, we’ll have to separate for now.”

He kissed her on the forehead.

“Will you contact me?” she clamored, in
desperation.

“I’ll write.”

“Oh, Robert, I shall never get over this humiliation.
Should Philippe find out, I don’t know what he’ll do.”

“We’ll deal with it when the time comes, my love. Now
let me get you home.”

He walked Suzette to the coach outside being unloaded
with his wife’s trunk. Robert paid the fare for her return, and
then turned to give her further instructions.

“Watch for a package to arrive by courier to your
home. It will come from a store, but will actually be from me. When
you receive one, you’ll know that I am sending you word. Act as if
it’s simply an order being delivered.”

He gave her a quick kiss upon the cheek, helped her
inside, and closed the door. His hand banged on the carriage side,
and the driver pulled away down the street. Robert turned around.
He lifted his head and glanced at the upstairs windows in
mortification. Judgment day had arrived.

Chapter Eighteen

Philippe disembarked from the ship and hailed a
hansom cab home. It seemed like an eternity since he had stepped on
French soil. His skin, tanned and tone, set off his hair that had
grown longer than usual. He sported a full beard and wondered what
Suzette would think of his appearance after two months of basking
in a sun-kissed paradise.

Things were going well. He had won the account. Soon,
his ship would transport sugarcane to European ports, making more
money than he had in prior years. He felt saddened that his former
partner would never know that he had turned the business around. Of
course, he owed much to the anonymous investor for saving him from
the brink of bankruptcy—that he could not deny.

Confident that Suzette would be ecstatic over his
return, he exited the cab and with a joyful step headed for the
front door. Monsieur Leroy greeted him with a welcoming smile when
he entered.

“Monsieur Moreau, we are grateful for your safe
return.”

“Ah, Leroy, good to be back.”

“Welcome home, sir. It is delightful to see you. I
assume you’ll be looking for your wife. She’s upstairs in her
quarters, I believe. The Madame seems to be under the weather
somewhat.”

“Nothing serious, I hope.”

“I cannot say. It seems to be related more to her
spirits than her body.”

“Well, she’s probably been lonely since I’ve been
gone so long,” he concluded, as he turned and headed for the
staircase. Leroy gave him an odd look, but Philippe shrugged it off
for the moment.

Philippe climbed the stairs and knocked on the door
to their bedchamber. Finding it ajar, he pushed it open and saw
Suzette sitting in the window seat staring outside. She hadn’t
heard his knock apparently, because she failed to turn her
head.

“Suzette, I’m home.”

She spun around and looked at him. Her face looked
pale, and immediately Philippe grew concerned.

“My God, Suzette, you do not look well. Are you all
right?”

“Oh, Philippe, you’ve returned,” she said, with
half-hearted enthusiasm.