Wronged (The Cuvier Widows Book 1) (29 page)

“We’ve come to tell you that we’re on strike
until our demands are met!”

“I understand that you’re upset,” she said
nodding her head. “Did you recently speak with Mr. Fournet about
your requests?”

“Yes ma’am,” he said with disgust. “It was a
waste of my time.”

“What did he tell you?”

“He said that there was no way that the
company could meet our requests for a ten-cents-an-hour raise. He
did concede us holidays off.”

Marian frowned, thinking that after so many
years without a pay increase, their demands didn’t seem
unreasonable, yet it would increase the company’s costs. “Your
name, sir?”

“Richard Vanderhom, ma’am.”

She nodded her head and glanced at the crowd,
noticing they seemed to have grown quieter as they watched her. Yet
their expressions were not friendly and if she didn’t offer them
something, maybe they would tear her limb from limb and bum the
building. And how could she blame them after what Henry had told
her?

“Mr. Fournet is right in telling you that the
company could not afford to give you a ten-cents-an-hour increase
in pay. But I am willing to raise the cost of our shipments, which
will in turn give us the money to give you a five- cents-an-hour
increase. Plus, I’m willing to give you holidays and Sundays
off.”

The man stared at her for a moment in shocked
surprise, and then quickly recovered and asked, “You can’t give us
ten cents more an hour?”

“Not without raising our costs higher than
the other companies in the area. If we do that we threaten the very
existence of Cuvier Shipping.”

He scratched his head, thinking over her
response.

“Of course, that’s with the condition that
your workers return and finish loading the boats today. After all,
I know we had several cargos due to go out this evening.”

“If we accept your conditions, will we get
another pay raise anytime soon?”

“I’ve been told about what’s happened in the
past and I promise you I will do my best to make sure that you’re
given regular pay increases. I will meet with you and two of your
co-workers to determine a fair way to give increases in the
future,” she said meeting the man’s intense gaze, refusing to show
weakness.

He rubbed his chin and nodded his head.
“Seems fair. How do I know you won’t change your mind?”

“Will a handshake suffice for our agreement
or do you want it in writing?” she asked raising her chin.

“I think a handshake will do,” he said.

They shook hands and the crowd grew silent.
Marian breathed a sigh of relief. “Now Mr. Vanderhom, I expect you
to disperse this crowd and somehow get them back to work.”

He grinned. “Your business is what feeds
their families, but the time for a pay raise had long since
passed.”

Marian nodded her head. “I agree.”

She watched the man hurry down the steps and
begin speaking to the crowd. Her knees felt so weak she feared she
would collapse. She turned and went back into the building where
she found the closest chair and sank into it.

Louis had conveniently forgotten to tell her
about the strike. They could have lost everything and then what
would she have done? She started to shiver uncontrollably.

***

Louis drove his carriage recklessly toward
the docks, so afraid of what he would find. While at the attorney’s
office regarding the sale of Cuvier Shipping, he’d been told the
dockworkers were marching on the company.

The image of Marian’s face appeared before
him and he urged the horses faster. The workers would tear her
apart if they got their hands on her and it would all be his fault.
He had hoped to sell the business before the labor problems became
an issue. Now all he wanted was to get Marian to safety.

His heart pounded in his chest and he took
the whip to the horses urging them faster. Panic rode him hard as
the carriage sped around a comer and rocked, almost tipping over.
Louis didn’t even flinch as he focused on reaching his partner.

There were no crowds, no shouting angry men
as he pulled the horse to a halt in front of Cuvier Shipping. An
eerie quiet surrounded the building.

Louis jumped out of his carriage, tethered
his horse and then took the stairs two at a time. Fear sent him
running in the front door, glancing around wildly for Marian.

She stepped out into the hall and glanced up
staring directly into his eyes. Fury darkened her eyes and sparked
their smoky depths.

“The crisis with the dockworkers is over,
Louis,” she said. “But you have a much larger fiasco on your hands
right at this moment”

He hurried down the hall and took her by the
arm. He pulled her into her office and into his arms. She
stiffened. “Thank God, you’re safe. Are you all right? I hurried
over as soon as I heard. I was so worried. What happened?”

She pulled out of his arms and glared at him.
“Tell me Louis, did you know the workers were about to go on
strike? Is this one of those details that you forgot to tell me?
Another one of those business decisions that both partners need not
know about?”

He threw up his hands in the air, his words
spilling out in a rush. “Marian, I never thought it would go this
far. I didn’t believe they would strike.”

“Have you forgotten to tell me anything else,
Louis? I need to know, because I promise you I won’t be so
understanding next time.” She placed both hands on her hips, her
voice shaking with fury. “I could have been killed by those men
today.”

“I know. I’m sorry, Marian. I should have
told you, but I didn’t believe they would really go on strike. You
were new to the company and I didn’t want to worry you.” She turned
to face the window and stood looking out the glass. He walked over
and put his hands on her shoulders.

“How can I trust you, when I keep finding
you’ve not told me what’s going on?” she said, her voice shaking
with anger.

“You’re right. You have every right to be
angry with me. Believe me, Marian, I’ve never been that frightened
for anyone before.” He squeezed her shoulders and then whirled her
around to face him. “I hurried as fast as I could to get here.
Thank God, you’re all right!” She gazed up at him, her gray eyes
searching his and then she sighed and leaned her head against his
chest. “Call me a fool, but somehow I believe you. I think this
time it really was unintentional.”

He smoothed his hand over her hair, loving
the feel of the silken strands beneath his hand. “God, I’ve never
been so afraid.”

“They wanted to burn the place down. I didn’t
know what to do,” she said with a weary sigh.

She shivered in his arms and he tightened his
hold on her. Remorse filled him as he realized he’d left her here
to face that angry mob all alone. “Why didn’t you leave?”

“I wanted to, but I couldn’t.” She sighed.
“Someone had to stay and try to stop them. With you gone, it could
only be me.”

He was the biggest damn fool. He’d risked her
life because of his stupid sense of pride and wanting to own his
own business. When would he put an end to this constant struggle to
achieve this goal?

“How did you stop them?” he asked trying to
keep her in his arms. She felt so good, so right in his
embrace.

“I gave in to their demands, but not to
everything that they wanted. I gave them only a five-cent-an-hour
raise, with holidays and Sundays off. I also agreed to meet with
them regarding creating a pay increase schedule.”

“How can we afford that?” he asked.

“We’ll have to increase our shipping rates,”
she said. “I know it’s not the best solution, but given the time,
it was all I could do.”

He put his finger beneath her chin and tilted
her head up to gaze deeply into her gray eyes. “I don’t care. I’m
just glad you’re safe. I wouldn’t have cared if you gave them
Cuvier Shipping.”

His lips covered hers in a fierce and
demanding kiss, fed by fear and hunger. He’d come close to losing
her and somehow until that moment he hadn’t realized just how much
she’d come to mean to him.

Until this afternoon, Marian had been an
interesting woman who intrigued him and now he realized just how
much he needed her. How much he desired her.

She leaned into his kiss, responding with the
press of her body against his hardness, gripping his shoulders like
a vine clinging to life. She moaned in the back of her throat, the
sound heady and thrilling, as he gripped her buttocks through her
skirts, pulling her even closer to him.

The sound of someone clearing his throat as
he walked past her office had them jumping apart.

They looked at one another, their expressions
locked in a stunned gaze. The kiss they’d just shared left Louis
reeling.

Their one night of passion, he feared, could
possibly be made of the stuff that lifetimes were created from. And
suddenly he realized he was in more trouble than even he knew how
to elude.

***

Two days later, Marian sat beside Renee,
reading a book with her daughter when her servant, Edward, walked
in the room. She glanced up.

“Yes?”

“A Layla DuChampe is here to see you,” he
said.

A tremor of fear swept through her. What did
the woman accused of Jean’s murder want with her? While she didn’t
know if the young woman had actually killed Jean, she didn’t want
her visiting them at home.

“Renee, Momma has to see someone. Why don’t
you run upstairs and play with your dolls for a while?”

The girl frowned. “Why can’t I stay?”

“Because this is grown-up talk. Now go on
upstairs and we’ll finish reading later.”

“All right,” she said, her face drawn in a
pout. The little girl trudged up the stairs, expressing her dislike
by stomping on every step.

Marian stepped into the entry hall where
Edward had left Layla standing. Most of their guests he would have
shown into the parlor, but obviously he knew of Miss DuChampe and
had left her standing in the hall.

“Miss DuChampe,” Marian said, her voice
coolly receptive.

The young woman stood there looking nervous,
with a canvas bag in her hand. Marian recognized the worn sailor’s
bag as Jean’s.

“I’m sorry for coming without sending you
notice, but I feared you wouldn’t see me.”

“Yes, I understand,” Marian said, not denying
that she would have refused to see the woman. There was no reason
to see her again and, though she felt sorry for the young woman,
she wanted nothing more to do with her. Just as she wanted nothing
more to do with Nicole.

She held up the bag. “I’ve brought you some
of Jean’s things that I thought you might want back. Or at least
his children might someday want. I had my servant send them from
Baton Rouge.”

Marian took the bag out the girl’s hand, a
feeling of gratitude at her thoughtfulness making her uneasy. She
didn’t want to feel a sense of obligation toward the girl. Layla
had slept with Marian’s husband. A husband who hadn’t wanted his
own wife. “Thank you.”

Marian knew she was being rude though somehow
she couldn’t seem to help herself.

“Could we sit and talk for a moment?” Layla
asked. “I know you don’t want to have anything to do with me. But
this may be my only chance to explain my side of things to you,”
Layla said, her voice strong and sure.

Marian frowned. “I’m not sure I want to know
your side. I’m trying to put the past behind me. Jean is dead and
I’m ready to move on with my life.”

“At least you have your life. Mine could end
very soon, so I’d like to at least attempt to tell you what
happened,” Layla said, her voice insistent as she stepped toward
Marian.

Marian felt a chill go through her at the
girl’s solemn acceptance of her likely fate.

“Let’s go into the parlor where we can talk
privately. I’m trying to protect my children as much as possible
from hearing the details of their father’s deceit. Already, my son
has been involved in fights at school and I just hope this all ends
very soon.”

“I understand,” Layla said, and followed
Marian into the parlor.

Marian shut the door behind them, pointed to
the loveseat and then took a seat across from the girl in the
wingback chair. Normally, she would have offered her guest
something to drink, but she wanted Layla to leave as quickly as
possible.

They sat there awkwardly, staring at one
another. Layla glanced around the room, her hands folded in her lap
shook slightly. She turned her gaze to Marian. “You have a nice
home.”

“Thank you.”

Layla sighed. “I want you to know I did not
kill Jean. I could never deliberately harm another person. I
couldn't do it.” She took a deep breath. “Also, I didn’t know that
he was married. I never loved him and didn’t want to marry
him.”

“Then why did you?” Marian asked leaning
forward, the girl’s comments angering her. Why did she still feel
anger, when she herself had not loved Jean for years?

Jean’s betrayal was more about Marian’s pride
than love, she suddenly realized. By ignoring her as his wife, she
felt less valued and that had hurt. Then, finding out he had
married two other women magnified the pain of his disregard.

“My father arranged my marriage to him. It
seemed that Cuvier Shipping had taken away all of my father’s
business, causing him to go bankrupt. Jean acquired Father’s
company with the agreement that he would marry me.”

“But if your father knew Jean, surely he
realized Jean was already married. Granted I didn’t go out much,
but I would have thought people would know of Jean’s wife and
children.”

Layla shifted uncomfortably on the couch. “My
father asked and Jean told him that you died of yellow fever and
that the children moved to Virginia to be with your family.”

“What a liar!” Marian said. “And your father
believed him? What if you and Jean had run into someone we both
knew?”