Her expression showed that she knew what he was referring to. There had been a long period when she had gone from one quack to the next, lured into trying ever more bizarre remedies by the false hope they offered. Some of them had caused violent purging that had confined Charlotte to the house for days on end, and left her weak and wretched.
‘I wasn’t going to force myself on you when you were in that state,’ he said, pleased at the thought of how considerate he had always been. ‘But that sort of thing’s not easy on a man, you know. Especially a man with such an attractive wife as you.’
He thought that might have coaxed a smile from her, but Charlotte’s cool blue eyes seemed to be looking past him. ‘And still you speak as if you think I’m a fool. As if I’m meant to believe those were the only times you went to such women. As if it was for my sake! I don’t suppose you even remember the last of those supposed doctors I tried?’
Jimmy searched unsuccessfully for the memory. ‘There were so many of them.’
‘That one was particularly memorable. I had to submit to…’ He saw her shudder slightly. ‘I don’t think he even washed his hands first,’ she murmured. ‘Then he sold me a horrid, smelly paste I was meant to use. He said it would warm my inner workings. I used it that very night, and I almost thought I’d die of the pain.’
‘I think I do remember that.’ It had been a particularly frustrating occasion, Jimmy recalled.
‘It was so bad that I had to go to the doctor—the real doctor, I mean. At least he had clean fingernails. Of course I had to tell him about the man I’d been to. The paste I’d used had burned the skin so badly that I had blisters. He scolded me as if I was a naughty child, and told me I should be content with my lot.’
Her eyes met his, and her gaze bored through him. ‘When I told you what the doctor had said—about being burned and blistered—do you remember what you said to me?’
‘I… no,’ Jimmy admitted, wondering whatever all this had to do with Charlotte’s threat to leave him.
‘I was in agony. I’d been injured and humiliated, and now the doctor had told me I should give up even hoping. I remember I came home and started telling you—I wanted to talk about everything the doctor had said. I wanted you to… I was foolish enough to think you might be…’
She turned away. ‘I got as far as telling you about the blisters, and you said, “Well, a lot of good that’s going to do us.” After what I’d been through, you could say such a thing to me.’
‘I don’t even remember… Charlotte, I didn’t mean…’ Jimmy said helplessly.
‘Yes, you did. You said it to hurt me, and it succeeded. But it was my fault. I was foolish enough back then to care about what you thought of me.’ Charlotte had been holding herself very still; now she moved over to the mantelpiece and studied the ornaments on it, then turned back to face him. ‘I kept thinking if only I could have a child, that would make everything all right. I was sure I’d be happy then, with a child of my own. And you’d turn into the man I thought I’d married. That’s why I tried all those horrible things. I’d have tried almost anything.’ She had lapsed back into stillness, her gaze once again distant.
‘Charlotte, you know I’ve only ever cared about your happiness.’
‘You’ve only ever cared for your own comfort.’ Charlotte’s voice dripped with scorn. ‘And I knew you were paying other women to provide it. Discreetly,’ she added bitterly. ‘But I don’t call it discreet when you want to bring your little farm girl to Auckland and take up with her again.’
Jimmy realised that his mouth had fallen open in shock. Not for a moment had he thought Sarah might know that particular piece of information; still less that she might have shared it with Charlotte. ‘Did Sarah tell you that? Charlotte, you mustn’t believe her!’
‘But I do believe her.’
‘You’d believe that vindictive little bitch over your own husband?’
‘I believe she told me the truth. I’ve become an expert at detecting lies over the years I’ve lived with you. You’ve given me practice enough.’
‘You know that’s not true! You’ve let her upset you—not that I blame you, having to listen that sort of talk. Charlotte, I’m sorry. I know I should have told you about her. But when I found out so suddenly just who she was, I thought I’d try and get to know her myself a little first, and see if she was worthy of being introduced to you. She’s shown herself to be nothing of the sort, and I want nothing further to do with her.’
Charlotte raised her eyebrows. ‘I’d rather received the impression it was she who wanted nothing to do with you. And that you were the one trying to take advantage of the connection.’
‘I was trying to show an interest in the girl! See the thanks she’s given me for it? Trying to make trouble between you and I.’ He took a few steps towards her. ‘Don’t let her succeed. Don’t let her ruin things for us.’ He grasped at what seemed an increasingly flimsy lifeline. ‘You know, I think you’re quite right. We need to get away from Auckland and all its petty gossip.’ And its troublesome creditors, he added to himself. ‘I’ll come to Melbourne with you. Hang the business, they can just manage without me for a while. We’ll get away from all this nonsense, and it’ll be like it was when we were first married.’ He reached out a hand towards her face. ‘You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Lottie?’
He had not used his pet name for her in years; at the sound of it, she recoiled as if she had been struck. ‘I’d like you to get out of my sight,’ she said in a low voice. ‘I’d like never to hear another of your lies.’
‘Charlotte, you’ve let her poison you against me!’
‘No, I haven’t. You did that all by yourself. It’s been a long, slow poisoning, but I’ve decided to draw the venom.’
‘But…’ Appealing to her affections was clearly not working; he tried another tack. ‘You speak of being indiscreet—it’d be a scandal if you were to leave me. Aren’t you worried about what people would say?’
‘So I should stay for appearances’ sake? That’s just what I’ve been doing for years.’ She took a few aimless steps around the room, one hand trailing along the back of a sofa. ‘The trouble with appearances is that they’re such shallow things. You scratch the surface and you find what’s underneath. And it might be something ugly—something that needs covering up. So that things appear to be as they should.’ She turned to face him. ‘Father didn’t want me to marry you, you know.’
‘No, he made that clear enough to me at the time.’
‘He thought I was marrying beneath myself. But I coaxed and wheedled, and he let me have my own way. I remember exactly what he said to me. “It appears he’s the only man who can make you happy, my dear. And that’s all I want.” Appears, do you see? Do you see how deceptive appearances can be? I don’t remember the last time I was happy.’
All the sharpness had drained out of her voice. Jimmy had never seen her looking so wistful. There was a fragility about her that roused something as close to tenderness as he had ever felt towards her. ‘Charlotte, what do you want me to do?’ he asked desperately. ‘I’ll do anything you want.’
Charlotte picked up a notebook and pencil that lay on the nearest sofa, and walked past him to stand closer to the window. ‘Get out of my light, Jimmy.’
She began writing in the notebook. ‘I’m making an inventory of the furnishings before I have the house closed up. If there’s anything I want to keep, I’ll have it sent over to me later. Though I doubt if there is.’ She gave the room a brief glance. ‘There’re one or two things here from your old house, or gifts from your parents. That clock, for one.’ She indicated a fine clock on the mantel. ‘I’ll leave all those for you. Let Henry know where you want them sent.’
She walked around the room, writing rapidly. ‘I’m going to move into a hotel until I can get a passage home, and I’ll appoint an agent to sell the house as soon as I’ve moved out. I spoke to Henry today, and told him I’d be leaving Auckland almost at once. I didn’t f
eel the need to share the details of your connection with Miss Millish, I’ll leave that up to you. Henry recommended I engage a lawyer of my own before I leave, as it’s awkward for him to have both of us as clients. My lawyer and Henry can deal with any questions you might have.’
She spoke of it as a thing settled beyond any need of discussion. ‘And where am I supposed to live?’ Jimmy snapped.
‘That’s no longer my concern. It’s not as if you could have stayed on here, anyway, even if I’d allow you to.’
“Allow” him! Jimmy felt his temper rising, but he managed to bite back the words that came to his lips.
‘I gather from Henry that there are several options for you,’ Charlotte went on coolly. ‘You mightn’t find any of them particularly palatable, but again, that’s not my problem.’
‘What on earth do you mean, “options”?’
‘You’ll need to discuss that with Henry. I don’t wish to speak of it further. I don’t wish to think about any of it. Perhaps Henry can give you some advice on where you should stay tonight, because you’re not going to spend another night under my roof.’
‘Charlotte, don’t be ridiculous. You can’t throw me out of the house!’
‘I believe I’m doing just that.’
‘You can hardly remove me bodily.’
‘No,’ she agreed. ‘But I’ve had your bed stripped and your clothes packed away. I’ve told the servants they’re to take instructions from no one but me. Are you going to find the bed linen and make the bed up yourself?’ She held his gaze, staring back with a composure he found infuriating.
Jimmy looked away. ‘You’re clearly too upset to talk sensibly. I think it might be a good idea for me to stay away tonight.’
‘I’ve had the maid pack you a suitcase with the things you’re likely to need in the next few days. You can send for it when you know where you’re staying tonight. I’ll leave instructions to have the rest of your belongings sent on later once it’s settled where you’re to live.’
‘All right, I’ll go and see Henry and see if I can get any sense out of him. We’ll speak again tomorrow.’
‘I doubt that.’ She turned her back on him. ‘Goodbye, Jimmy.’
19
Henry was clearing his desk with a view to going home for the day when Jimmy was announced.
‘Oh, you’ve decided to turn up at last, have you?’ Henry said, not bothering to keep the irritation out of his voice. ‘I’ve been sending you messages for days.’
‘Henry, can you make any sense of what’s going on? Charlotte’s being ridiculous—she’s threatening to leave me—and she’s talking some nonsense about where I can and can’t live. She seems to think you know all about it.’ Jimmy flopped into a chair in front of Henry’s desk.
Where to begin? Henry thought to himself. ‘Have you taken leave of your senses, Jimmy? What possessed you to think you could get away with claiming a connection with Sarah Millish?’
Jimmy had the cheek to look affronted. ‘What’s that to do with you?’
‘Unfortunately, I happen to be your lawyer—not to mention your brother-in-law. At the moment I’m not particularly happy about either of those facts. But if you choose to indulge in criminal activity—’
‘Criminal!’ Jimmy snorted.
‘The last time I checked, fraud and slander were both crimes. And that’s what your actions amount to. Miss Millish has documentary evidence and witnesses willing to testify against you, and she’s quite prepared to press charges unless you—’
‘Oh, this is absurd. The silly little bitch has taken it into her head to cause trouble for me, and now she’s even got you taking her seriously.’
‘If anyone’s being absurd, Jimmy, it’s you. And I’ll thank you to show proper respect for the lady in question. Rather than calling her names, you should be grateful that Miss Millish is showing such forbearance. I certainly am.’
‘Forbearance! Is that what you call threatening to charge me over this nonsense?’
‘I do indeed. Rather than go ahead and press charges, she’s indicated an alternative solution that she’d find acceptable.’ Henry felt a profound gratitude towards Sarah Millish; it had been all he could do not to fawn over her when she had suggested that charges were not inevitable. ‘Have you any idea how embarrassing it would be for me to have a convicted criminal as a brother-in-law? Particularly one who’d attempted to take advantage of a valued client. But she said she’d rather avoid scandal if she could, and that’s why she specifically asked me to deal with it. I don’t usually look after her affairs, you know. I can only assume she meant avoiding scandal for myself, as the case hardly reflects badly on her.’
Jimmy gave him calculating look. ‘I wouldn’t be so sure about that. But what’s all this talk about these supposed options I have?’
Henry wondered briefly what was behind Jimmy’s odd remark, but decided to ignore it in favour of the matter at hand. ‘You had three, but I suspect that one of them has already slipped from your grasp. All three involve removing you from the possibility of doing more of the sort of harm that’s brought you to this pass.’
Jimmy rolled his eyes. ‘Must you lecture me, Henry?’
‘Yes, I believe I must, since you show no sign of taking this seriously. Miss Millish said that if she could be assured you were about to settle permanently in Australia, she’d take matters no further. I don’t know if that’s because she doesn’t much care for Australians, or if she thought Charlotte and her family would keep you on a tight rein.’ Jimmy scowled at him. ‘That would have been the best outcome for you, but Charlotte made it rather clear to me when she called earlier today that she had no intention of taking you with her, and I gather you failed to win her over this evening.’ A deeper scowl was the only response.
‘So you’ll be staying in New Zealand, but with the requirement that Miss Sarah be assured of your incapacity to do further damage. That means leaving Auckland—’
‘Oh, that’s out of the question,’ Jimmy interrupted. ‘All my business contacts are here.’
‘That hardly matters, considering that very shortly you will no longer have a business.’ Henry sat back and waited for his comment to sink in.
‘Eh? What the devil are you talking about?’
‘Miss Millish informed me that she spoke to you after the first of these unfortunate incidents. She told you that the consequences of any further lapses on your part would include being ruined financially. It was not an idle threat, Jimmy. She took steps to ensure she’d have the ability to follow through if necessary. She holds various debts against the company, either directly or through some of her financial interests, and they’re substantial enough to bring down the business if called in. Which is exactly what she’s in the process of doing.’
‘She can’t do that!’ Jimmy protested. ‘I won’t allow it! Surely we can put a stop to it?’ He looked outraged rather than concerned; Henry could see that Jimmy had not yet comprehended just how grave a situation he had created for himself.
‘No, we can’t. And that’s your doing—you’ve allowed the business to get into such a state that it’s vulnerable to such action. Without Charlotte’s assistance to prop it up, it would probably collapse even without Miss Millish’s intervention. Although she’s hastening the process somewhat.’
‘That’s not true! I’ll admit we’ve had trying times lately, the market hasn’t been the best, but—’
‘Don’t waste your breath, Jimmy. I’ve a fair idea of the state of your books. If we manage the process carefully, what assets the business has should clear the bulk of its debts. And speaking of debts, we’ll need to see what we can do about your personal liabilities. I’m going to need a comprehensive list of your creditors. I realise it might be rather long. How much do you have in the bank?’
‘Ah… not a large amount,’ Jimmy said, looking away as he spoke.
That meant somewhere from a zero balance downwards, Henry was sure. ‘Any other assets? Apart from the busi
ness, that is, which we must assume to be worthless.’
‘Not really,’ Jimmy admitted. ‘There’s… well, some of the furniture belongs to me. Things from the old house.’
‘Hmm, you’ve one or two nice pieces. I’ll see we use a reputable dealer so you’ll get a fair price.’ If Constance had a sentimental attachment to any of the items from her childhood home, Henry thought, he might well buy them off Jimmy himself. ‘I doubt if that’ll cover your debts, given your style of life, but I’ll do my best to persuade your creditors to accept so many shillings in the pound. I don’t particularly want a bankrupt for a brother-in-law, either.’
‘Bankrupt! But… look here, Henry, I’m not going to put up with this. I don’t see why I shouldn’t defend myself in court. Let a judge and jury hear this nonsense of hers—surely there’s a fair chance it’d be thrown out?’
‘It’s not easy to predict the outcome of any particular case with certainty. But I’d give you an extremely low chance of success. Miss Millish has convincing evidence, and quite frankly she’d cut a more impressive figure in court. A young woman alone in the world, trying to defend herself against an unscrupulous businessman, et cetera, et cetera. You’d be battling against their natural sympathies before you even stepped into the courtroom.’
‘I’m inclined to chance it. I don’t see how it could make things much worse. Even if I lost and got some sort of fine—’
‘A fine! Jimmy, have you still not got it into your head how serious this is? We’re not talking about a fine—you’d be thrown in jail, man!’ Henry took a grim pleasure in seeing Jimmy’s composure slip. ‘Yes, jail,’ he repeated. ‘With hard labour, I’d imagine. Do you know what that means? I expect you’ve seen men working at the harbour reclamation—pick and shovel work, breaking rocks and hauling them about in barrows. How long do you think you’d last at that sort of work?’ Henry was aware that he was painting the worst case scenario, but he felt no compunction in doing so.
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