Wronged (The Cuvier Widows Book 1) (12 page)

“Damn right it is,” Louis said, determined to
prove he was right.

“You’ve told her you feel this way?” Henry
asked.

“She doesn’t care. I’ve tried to get rid of
her but the men are beginning to acknowledge her.”

Leaning against the doorframe, the accountant
leveled his gaze at Louis. “What are you going to do?”

Louis laughed, his tone more a pathetic
whine. His current ploys were not getting him anywhere. After the
scene today, the men had most definitely accepted her. Only he and
Henry Chatham were resisting the influence of Marian Cuvier. And he
wasn’t too certain that Henry wasn’t ready to give in to her
persuasive personality.

Perhaps the time had come to resolve this
problem in a different way. Maybe it was time to use Marian’s
skills to his advantage. Maybe, just maybe, it was time to let the
lady think she was in control, though of course he would never
relinquish any of the power.

She didn’t understand the scope of the
business and most clients wouldn’t agree to working with a woman.
Yet if he let her believe she was an equal partner in the company,
Louis thought, she would be more likely to agree to his future
plans for the business. While actually she would be no more than a
puppet and he would be the puppet master.

All the while he would be trying to sell the
company and its assets.

He smiled once again, feeling powerful. The
time to solve the problem was upon him and suddenly Louis knew just
how to resolve the dilemma of Marian Cuvier to his
satisfaction.

After a lengthy pause, Louis glanced up at
Henry. “In answer to your question, I’m going to do the only thing
I can do. Accept her. And give her a real taste of what working in
this business is all about. Then we’ll see if the lady still wants
to be a partner in Cuvier Shipping.”

***

Marian walked into the office the next
morning, thinking about her children, who had only two weeks left
of school before vacation. For the first time in their lives, she
wouldn’t be home with them for the summer. Normally, they traveled
to Virginia to see her family, but this time they would be home
alone with the servants and visiting with their Aunt Claire, while
Marian spent her days at Cuvier Shipping.

“Good morning, Mrs. Cuvier,” one of the
employees said as she walked through the main office.

Startled, she stuttered, “G—good
morning.”

For the first time, she had been greeted
pleasantly. Up to now she was met with little more than snickers or
glowering glances.

Jon smiled at her, waved and called, “I put
some mail on your desk.”

“Thank you,” she said, stunned at his
friendliness.

As she walked through the room, greetings
were called out to her, along with smiles and nods of hello. She
did her best to return them though she felt astonished at the
responses.

“Good morning, Mrs. Cuvier,” a slightly
balding man said, blocking her path. “I have to tell you that you
handled Mr. Morgan very well yesterday. I was impressed.”

“Thank you,” she said. “All I did was help
our customer.”

“Some customers are easier than others. Mr.
Morgan has always been difficult. You did a good job,” he said, and
walked away.

Before she could make it to her office, she
was stopped twice more by employees telling her how well she
handled Mr. Morgan.

Her co-workers this morning were warm and
accepting and she almost wondered if she had come to the right
office. Did this mean they had now recognized her as an
employee?

She put her satchel down on her desk and took
off her hat, carefully hanging it up on the coat rack she had
brought from home. Little by little, she had been bringing things
from the house on Josephine Street to make her office more
livable.

An envelope with her name scrawled across the
front lay on her desk. She picked up the missive and glanced at the
handwriting, not recognizing the penmanship. It was written on the
finest quality paper and she wondered who it could be from. The
envelope’s square size looked more like a card than an actual
letter and obviously had been hand delivered.

Picking up her letter opener she sliced open
the envelope with quick curiosity. She pulled out a handwritten
card with the initials GM engraved on the front. Quickly she
scanned the card and dropped it on her desk.

She went to the window and glanced outside at
the people hurrying by on the sidewalk, her mind on the dinner
invitation she had just received from George Morgan.

The tone of the letter seemed casual, though
she feared the invitation was more personal than related to
business. George Morgan’s heart may well be free, but a very thick
gold band around the fourth finger on his left hand proclaimed him
married.

No doubt Mr. Morgan thought that the Widow
Cuvier would be in desperate need of company. She feared he thought
because of Jean, she would be a loose woman, which she found
amusing. Accused of being stiff and rigid by Jean, their marriage
had never been warm.

A rapid knock on the door silenced her
thoughts and she turned to see Louis standing in the doorway. A
gracious smile lit his face and she couldn’t help but be cautious.
Always wary of the charming turn of his lips, Marian watched him
guardedly, unable to ignore the way his white shirt and dark
trousers accentuated the blue of his eyes.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning,” she replied, her response not
as enthusiastic as his because she remembered his irrational anger
of yesterday. Could she expect more today?

She moved away from the window to sit behind
her desk and glanced at him expectantly.

He sat down across from her, settling in like
he intended to stay a while. A smile played on his lips. What was
there about this man that drew her? Yet she couldn’t trust him.

“Yes?”

“I heard from Capitan Mike last night that
the
Ithaca
is loaded and ready to leave. We’re a week behind
on the shipment for The United Fruit Company, but we could make up
that time with good weather.”

She raised her brows. What reasoning prompted
him to volunteer this information?

“All right,” she said.

“Also one of our steamships is being
repaired. Seems the good Captain Marshal hit a sandbar,” he said.
“It should be out of commission for probably three or four weeks.
This is his third accident in six months and I told him one more
time and he was gone.”

“Why would he be having so many accidents?
Does he have trouble seeing?” she asked. “Or is it possible the man
drinks alcohol?”

“Hmm,” Louis said. “I never considered there
was a reason behind his accidents, just that suddenly he’d become
prone to disaster. I thought he was being careless, but maybe
something else is awry.”

“Might be worth asking the hands if they’ve
noticed any changes in the last six months,” she said, responding
to Louis, still wondering what he was doing in her office and
telling her this information.

She took a deep breath to relieve the tension
she felt in her shoulder blades and breathed in the tempting aroma
of sandalwood. The spicy smell of his soap was delicious and she
felt her pulse quicken as she listened to him continue about their
customers.

“I also negotiated a contract with that new
broker, Jim Florin, and we should get some business from him soon,”
Louis said.

Louis never just came into her office and sat
and talked with her about customers or employees like this. What
brought about this change? Imparting this type of information he
was treating her like a real owner, one that he accepted.

Could the incident yesterday with Mr. Morgan
have gained his respect? Certainly the confrontation changed the
way the employees in the front of the office viewed her. Louis must
have also been affected.

“Why are you telling me this?” she finally
asked, staring at him, unable to keep from inquiring another
moment

He shrugged. “What do you mean? I thought you
would like to know what’s going on.”

“I would, but you’ve never been forthcoming
before,” she said, gazing at him. “So why is it different now?”

She watched him squirm uncomfortably in the
chair across from her. For a moment she believed he really felt
awkward. But then when he looked up and stared into her eyes, she
saw the mischief dancing in his gaze and couldn’t help but be on
guard. There was something in that gaze she never could trust.

“I’m giving up,” he said.

“What do you mean you’re ‘giving up’?”

“You’re my new partner,” he said, not looking
at her directly, but patting his leg with a nervous hand. He
glanced up, gazing at her as if he was surprised that she would
inquire about his actions. “I had wished you would just let me buy
you out, but you obviously want to hold onto the business. So, I’m
accepting your position within the company. You’re my new partner,
for now.”

For a moment, Marian sat back astounded,
feeling a little distrustful. “What changed your mind?”

“Yesterday. The employees were all talking
about what a great job you did handling Mr. Morgan and it’s obvious
you saved the account”

“But last night when I left, you seemed angry
with me.”

Louis nodded. “You’re right. That was last
night. Today I’m not angry.”

“What’s changed your attitude?”

He shrugged. “Last night I wasn’t ready to
accept you. I thought about it some more and I guess I just grew
accustomed to the idea.”

She raised her brows at him and slowly
smiled. “So does this mean that we’re going to work together for
the good of Cuvier Shipping?”

He smiled, but his eyes didn’t change.
“Yes.”

Marian could hardly contain her happiness.
Finally they were going to quit fighting each other and get down to
real business.

She wanted to throw her arms around his neck,
but feared how he would take her spontaneity. So instead she sighed
with relief. While she knew there may still be difficult moments,
at least they were making progress. “Thank you. I’ll try to do a
good job.”

Louis shrugged one shoulder, his face
impassive. “That’s up to you. It’s your company, too.”

Marian felt as if someone had released the
chain that had been tied around her ankle, releasing her from a
heavy burden. Hopefully they would get along better now that they
were working together, rather than against one another.

“I realize that I know very little about this
business and you’ve been doing this for years.” She paused and
gazed deeply into his eyes wishing she could see his thoughts.
Would he take her seriously or would he scoff at what she wanted to
ask? “Would you teach me everything you know about how this company
operates?”

For a moment he sat there and returned her
stare as if he were unable to move. Then he slowly smiled and
reached out and patted her on the arm. “Of course, Marian, I’ll
teach you everything I can about Cuvier Shipping.”

“Thank you!” she said, and breathed a big
sigh of relief. Things were going to be fine. “I’m so happy we’re
going to be working together.”

“Yes, me too,” he said, but his gaze didn’t
meet hers and his tone seemed cool.

She picked up the envelope and handed it to
Louis. “I received this invitation this morning. I think it would
be wise if we both attended the dinner.”

Louis quickly scanned the card, frowning.

“Since his account is our largest, I think we
should go together,” she said. “You could guide me in handling this
man. He is quite forward and I still have so much to learn about
this business.”

Louis laid the card back on Marian’s desk.
“It probably would be a good idea for me to go with you. This way
we’ll be seen together.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Louis. I’m sure I’ll
learn so much from you.”

“I’m certain you will,” he said, the comers
of his mouth lifted in a smile.

Marian felt like she had won a small victory,
yet she still had her doubts about which side Louis was on.
Sometimes a certain glance left her uneasy. Something about him
wasn’t quite trustworthy, at least not yet.

***

On Monday of the next week, Louis walked into
Marian’s office early that morning and announced, “Gather what you
need. We’re going on a learning excursion.”

“A what?” she asked, annoyed that he just
bounded into her office and expected her to drop everything.

“I’m taking you down to the docks to see how
Cuvier Shipping operates,” he explained. “To understand this
business you need to see it from start to finish.”

“Oh,” she said looking bewildered. “But the
docks. Do I need to go see men loading our boats? I’ve been down
there before.”

“If you want to understand how the business
works you’ll come with me. After all, this is what we’re all
about.”

She gazed at him, a frown furrowing her
forehead. “It’s not that I don’t want to learn, it’s just not a
place I feel safe.”

He smiled. “Don’t worry. You’ll be safe with
me.”

“Somehow your reassurances don’t make me feel
any better.” She sighed. “Give me five minutes and I’ll meet you up
front.”

“Jon is bringing the carriage around, so
hurry.” Marian cleared her desk and closed with a snap the journal
she was working on. She picked up her hat and pinned the bonnet in
her hair and then grabbed her reticule, heading out the door.

She met Louis at the front door and watched
as his eyes roamed over her and then returned to the top of her
head, where her favorite bonnet sat perched. “Are you going to wear
that thing?”

“What’s wrong with my hat?” she asked
him.

“It has feathers in it. We’re not going for a
stroll, mind you.”

She raised her eyes heavenward, trying to see
the pointed brim of the mauve hat that sat at an angle on her
head.