Miss Taygete’s Sweet Sister’s Society
Page 19
”Elipha, do take the children to the gardens. They’ll much enjoy it,” Lorena instructed.
“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Jennie said.
“I don't mind at all,” Elipha cut in. There was the shuffling of feet and then more than a few footsteps disappeared down the hall.
“Come, Jennie. It’s just in here.” Lorena cracked the door open, but it was Jennie who led the way into the room, though she was looking at Lorena as she did so.
“Lorena, I don’t understand.”
Lorena’s smile was tight as she said, “You will in a moment.” Then she stepped back, and Sudworth appeared, closing Jennie into the room with him, Lorena on the other side.
Jennie remained still, staring at the door, but then she turned around and gasped. Her eyes met everyone’s, but when they saw Titan, there was no mistaking the horror in her gaze. “No,” she whispered. She turned around and tried the knob then started to bang on the door. “Lorena, open this door at once! Please…” Her voice cracked. “Please, open the door.”
“Is it that hard to look at me?” Titan asked from Hugh’s side. He remained in place and didn’t move. The hurt was there for all to see now. He, like everyone else, had been caught off guard by Jennie’s display of fear.
Jennie didn’t turn around or stop knocking at the door. “Lorena, open this door at once. I must return home.”
“Well, it’s clear you’re happy,” Titan said. “You obviously can’t wait to be with your husband again.”
Jennie turned around then, her face crinkled with grief. She hung to the door as though she hoped it would open and set her free.
Hugh wanted to break into the conversation, to steer it to where it needed to go, but the air was so thick he found it hard to breathe, much less find words. He’d never seen so much heartache shared between two people.
Jennie swallowed. “You have to go. You can’t be here.” She looked at the people in the room and said, “You must all go. This was not wise.”
“What do you fear?” Hugh asked, finally ready to speak.
Her eyes moved to him, and she shook her head before letting her gaze fall to the ground. “I fear nothing, my lord.”
“Jennie,” Taygete whispered. “It’s all right. You can tell us.”
Jennie glare at her. “Nothing is all right. You all hate me.”
“Jennie,” Mary whispered.
Jennie’s eyes softened as they met Mary’s.
Mary stood, with Taygete and Electra’s help. She placed her hands in front of her and braved a smile. “You look well.”
Tears fell down Jennie’s cheeks, a bleakness in her eyes as she looked at Mary. “I’m so sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing to her?” Titan took a step forward. “Was it not I you stabbed in the heart?”
When Jennie’s gaze returned to him; it was empty. The anger and pain gone. “I’m sorry, Titan.”
The room was silent for a long time.
“Can I go now?” Jennie asked.
“No.” Taygete moved to her. “We need to know what happened to Maia.”
Jennie’s fear returned. “No. Please, you have to let me go. I can’t be here. I can’t be near you.”
“Why?” Taygete asked.
Jennie covered her face, and the words that left her lips hit Hugh in the gut. “She’s dead because of me. They’re both dead.”
Taygete's lips trembled as she asked, “Why? Why do you say that?”
Jennie looked at her then reached out and touched Taygete’s arm. “You have to leave, Taygete. I don’t want you hurt. I don’t want any of you hurt.” Her eyes moved to Titan. “Take them back to Southampton.”
“I’ll do as I please,” Titan told her.
Jennie took a step in his direction. “Titan, listen to me. London is not safe for the Bellengers.”
“Why?” Titan asked. “Because your husband thinks we’ll steal you away? Tell him to be assured I don’t want you. None of us do.”
Jennie closed her eyes and whispered, “I know you hate me.”
“I wish I never met you,” Titan told her.
She opened her eyes again and a small smile touched her lips as she whispered, “I wish the same, Titan, if only to spare you the pain my leaving caused. Sometimes… I wish I’d never been born.”
The confession came from a dark place that Hugh had known well in the past. It meant that all was not what it seemed for Jennie. She was not as happy as Titan thought her to be.
Titan seemed to lose his anger-fueled momentum and, without a word, he closed the distance between them and asked, “What happened?”
Jennie reached up and touched his cheek, and Titan closed his eyes, sure that Hugh had worn the same expression when Taygete had touched him for the second time in eight years.
Home.
Hugh’s gaze moved to Taygete and saw that she and the other women in the room were weeping softly. Her gaze found his, and he crossed the room to stand by her, needing to touch her. His arms went around her, and she leaned her head into his chest, her arms wrapping around him as well, holding him, telling him she felt the same. He wouldn’t go another day without her.
Jennie’s voice drew his attention. “I tried to stop loving you. I tried every day. I tried when my sons were born, tried to take the love I had for you and give it to them, but while I love them with all my heart, you still have my soul, Titan.” Her tears kept falling as she whispered, “It’s likely you always will.”
Titan lowered his head, but Jennie turned her mouth away before he could kiss her.
“No,” she whispered. “I’m a married woman now. I can’t have you, and I won’t have you disgrace yourself.” Then she turned her head back to him, placing her forehead against his. “But this is more than I ever hoped for.”
Titan’s hands went to her waist, clutching her skirts. “Jennie...”
Mary spoke, and when she did, it was done with command. “Jennie, tell me what happened to my daughter.”
Jennie looked at the woman who should have been her mother-in-law. Her hands remained on Titan. “I killed her. I approached her when I’d been told not to.” Jennie shook her head. “But I couldn’t help myself. Maia was my best friend, and she hated me for what I’d done to Titan. I had to tell her the truth and make her see that I’d had no choice. That’s the reason she’s dead.”
“Darling, you’re not making any sense,” Titan told her.
Jennie smiled at him, but it didn't last. “I told Maia why I married the duke and instead of keeping it to herself, she left for Southampton to tell you.”
Hugh felt Taygete tighten just as he did, his heart racing as the truth of the past came unlocked. Hugh had never known why Maia had left in such a hurry. He’d thought she’d simply had the urge to visit her family. Now he knew she’d gone to speak to Titan and wondered why she’d not told him. He’d have gone with her had he known. He’d have kept her safe.
But she’d never told him.
It was too late to question her decision. She was gone.
“Why did you marry the duke?” Alcyone asked.
Jennie looked at her. “Adenburg’s cousin married my sister.”
“Jessie married?” Alcyone asked in surprise. “I didn’t know.”
Hugh spoke in a low voice to Taygete. “You know Jessie?”
Taygete looked up at him and nodded. “Jessie is Jennie’s younger sister.”
Sadness filling Jennie’s face again. “But her husband was not good to her. He was beating her and said he’d only stop if I married Adenburg.”
“You should have told me,” Titan said.
“Why?” Jennie asked. “What would you have done? It’s a husband’s right to beat his wife.”
“I would have stopped it,” Titan said.
“How?” Jennie asked. “There was no way to stop it. I was the only one who could, and I would not let that man kill my sister.” Her face crumpled then as she stared into Titan’s eyes. “I had no choice.”
“We could have taken her,” Titan said with anger. “She could have run away.”
“And left her baby?” Jennie asked. “Jessie would never do that and besides, Livingston would never let her go anywhere. He kept a close eye on Jessie and the baby as did the servants. I didn’t know at the time it was all a plot. Livingston had only married Jessie to get to you.”
“To me?” Titan asked with a frown. “Why?”
Jennie shook her head. “I don’t know, but he wanted you to suffer.”
Titan shook his head. “I don’t know anyone named Livingston.”
“That’s because he stopped being important a long time ago,” Mary said.
Everyone looked at Titan’s mother.
“You know this Livingston?” Titan asked her.
Mary looked saddened. “If he’s any relation to Guy Livingston, then yes.”
“Guy Livingston was his father,” Jennie said.
Mary nodded in understanding and looked at Titan, anger burning in her eyes. “This isn’t about you. This is about your father. Theodore destroyed Livingston’s company and then stole his mines. It was the way your father worked. He was not a good man,” Mary said. “He loved you and in his own way, he loved me as well, but he was not kind to anyone he thought in his way.”
“Father stole Livingston’s mine?” Titan asked in disgust.
Mary nodded. “It started with accidents in the mines. It made the workers slower, wary. They started fighting and eventually everyone left to work for your father, weakening Guy to the point that he was forced to sell.”
“And it sounds like the son has decided to act like your father,” Hugh said to Titan. “Livingston is probably behind the attacks at the mines.”
Mary’s eyes widened. “The mines are under attack?”
Titan frowned. “I wasn’t sure until this conversation.”
“Do you think Fortiere is involved?” Hugh asked him.
Titan shook his head. “Fortiere actually came to me two nights ago with the young Samuel. He changed his mind about buying me out and offered to help. He knows I’m young and don’t have as much experience as my father. I didn’t know at the time Samuel was behind it. He must have great feeling for Alcyone.”
Alcyone smiled to herself.
Hugh smiled as well, glad there was some good in all this mess, but there was still too much pain to celebrate.
Titan said what Hugh was thinking. “Livingston will not be happy until he destroys my entire life.”
Jennie looked lost. She stepped away from Titan and looked around the room. “Oh… I didn’t know.” She looked at Titan and shook her head. “I didn’t know. If I’d known, I’d have told you.”
Titan stepped toward her cautiously. “It’s all right, Jennie. None of this is your fault.” Then he cursed and said, “Had the man simply told me what had taken place, I’d have given the mine back.”
“I know you would have,” Mary said. “You’re nothing like your father.” She said those words with pride.
“So, what now?” Orion asked.
“We find evidence against Livingston and put him away,” Hugh said. “Then Jessie is free.”
Titan turned to Jennie. “And then we can be together.”
Jennie smiled, but it was bittersweet. “No, we can’t. I won't leave my children.”
Titan shook his head. “No, there must be something we can do. There has to be a way for us to be together.”
“There isn’t,” Jennie said. “I’m the duke’s wife.” Her eyes had become bleak again. “Don’t you see? Livingston must have known this would happen. To steal the duke’s children could get you killed, and though my children are not his heirs, I’ve fallen in love with his children as well. He is not a kind father, and they need me, Titan.” She choked on her tears and whispered, “Either way, you’ll never have me.”
Hugh moved from Taygete right before Titan could reach a vase that was sitting on a side table, intending to throw it and possibly destroy everything in the room. He wrapped his arms around Titan and held him tightly just as the large man let out a beastly howl.
“Orion!” Hugh called.
Orion had tears in his eyes, but he moved to his brother and held him, wrapping his arms around Hugh’s. The extra arms helped, but Titan fought, screaming and shouting, driven mad with grief.
The doors opened, and Lorena and Sudworth stood there in shock.
“Remove the women,” Hugh said.
Sudworth moved at once. Everyone was in tears, and Hugh was holding his own back. Taygete’s tear-stained face turned to him and he stared at her hard, all the while trying to contain Titan, hoping she understood that he would not let the same thing happen to him. He’d kill anyone who got between them. He’d not think twice. He’d not live without her.
Taygete fled the room and the door closed behind them.
Titan, who was being powered by his emotions, broke loose, but Orion and Hugh took the beating so that Lorena’s sitting room would not. They didn’t fight back, they simply tried to contain him and dodge the blows. Hugh and Orion both received various hits, and Hugh was sure his lips were bleeding, but it didn’t matter. Eventually, they had him under control again, but the howling would not cease.
It was nearly an hour later that Titan’s knees gave out, tired of fighting both Orion and Hugh. Neither Orion nor Hugh had managed to keep their tears from falling. Only a heartless man could listen to a man’s heart being ripped to pieces and not be moved.
It was a day Hugh would remember for the rest of his life.
When Titan hit the floor, he closed his eyes and curled in on himself.
Hugh stood and watched Orion wipe his eyes.
“You need to watch him,” Hugh told Orion.
Orion nodded absentmindedly, still staring at his brother.
Hugh put a hand on Orion’s shoulder and said, “You need to watch him.”
Orion looked at him and then started crying, but he sucked it back and said, “I understand.”
Hugh hoped the man did, because he’d hate for Mary to lose another child. “Let’s get him next door to Francis’. We'll drink tonight and let him numb the pain for a bit, but then he is to have no more for a while.” He didn’t wish to risk the chance of Titan becoming dependent on the drink.
Orion nodded and helped get Titan up and out the house.
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CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
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A rough knock sounded on the front door and shouting was heard from where the women sat in the parlor. They’d been weeping for the last hour, Titan’s screams having carried through the entire house. Lorena stayed with them. Electra, being the only one who could manage to find words, told Lorena what had happened, which prompted Lorena into weeping herself.
For as long as Taygete lived, her brother’s shouts of pain would remain with her. Every day she planned to be thankful that her mother had stepped in when she had for her and Hugh.
To have lived without him all her life? To have suffered the news that he’d married another woman. Taygete didn’t think she’d have made it. Like Hugh’s mother, a part of her would have died, and she’d have been but an empty vessel roaming from one hospital bed to another.
The screaming had moved through phases, becoming loud and then silent, while the women heard the room rattle from obvious violence. Then the screaming would come again. Finally, all went quiet, and Taygete knew they’d left.
None of the women had moved, however. Jane passed around cups of brandy. Even the maid’s eyes were red, and she’d even placed a hand on Mary’s shoulder before saying, “You let me know if you need anything.” Then she’d left.
Now there was noise again, and two male voices could be heard.
Jennie straightened. “It’s the duke.” She stood. “I'd better leave.”
The door to the parlor was opened by an angry Sudworth, who didn’t even bother to announce his presence before leaving.
The Duke of Adenburg looked at Lorena and said, “Your staff offends me, my lady.”
If Lorena could, Taygete was sure she’d have shot daggers across the room at him with her eyes. Instead, she said, “I will let Lord Ashwick know how you feel.”
He nodded and looked around the room, not seeming to recognize anyone until his gaze fell on Taygete. Then they narrowed before he swung his eyes to Jennie. “I thought you said you were taking the boys to the park.”
Jennie bowed her head. “Your Grace, I’m afraid I explained myself incorrectly. I simply meant that the boys were going to play with Lorena’s nieces. They’re in the garden as we speak.”
Taygete’s stomach rolled, and she wondered if this was Jennie’s life. Nothing was ever the duke’s fault. She’d obviously never said they were to go to Hyde Park. Nonetheless, she would not tell her husband that.
“Go get them,” he told her in a voice that all but called her incompetent.
Jennie passed him, flinching as she did, and ran down the hall. That triggered another reaction in Taygete’s stomach.
The duke stared at Taygete again then looked around the room before turning to Lorena. “My lady, who are your guests?”
Lorena smiled brightly. “Well, you already know my friend, Taygete Bellenger. The rest are my family from my mother’s side, my aunt Harriett Lawrence and her daughters Sarah and Violet.” She lied well, and she did so without blinking. “We were just discussing a new charity I’ve started for orphans whose parents died in tragic situations,” she said to explain away the obvious tears in everyone’s eyes.