by Bobbi Smith
Chapter 29
After leaving Espri in the dining room, Catherine returned to her bedroom and began to pace like a caged tigress. Playing the helpless, misguided wife didn't sit well with her, but she had no real choice in the matter for she was determined to try to salvage her marriage. Though she loved Roland, Cat knew she had no future with him. Her future was with Jon . . . she hoped.
The sound of a carriage drew her to the window. Brushing aside the heavy velvet drape, she glanced out, nervously surveying the scene below. Relieved to discover that it was only a passing vehicle and not Mitch or Jon returning early, Catherine sighed and let the drape fall back into place. What was Jon going to do—or say—when he found out? A chilling thought came to her, and she knew she had to speak with Roland immediately. She had to tell him what had happened before Jon found out about him. Her husband might seek to avenge himself.
Calling Florence, Catherine ordered her carriage brought around, and taking great care not to be seen by Espri, she quickly left for Roland's office. Pleased to find that he was in, she swept past the guards, hurrying to him.
"Roland, darling, something terrible has happened," she cried, rushing to him and throwing herself in his arms.
Roland was totally stunned by her appearance, and he assumed that she had heard about his argument with her husband. "Yes, Cat, I know."
"You know!" She blanched. "How did you find out?"
"Jon just left here, not half an hour ago. I suppose he went straight home to tell you the news, eh?" His tone was sardonic.
"News? What news?"
"You mean Jon didn't rush back to tell you that he'd ended our business association?"
"Oh, no." Catherine assumed that Jon had found out about their affair. "How did he find out?"
"From Captain Clark, damn him to hell!" Roland was seething.
"Captain Clark?" Catherine was confused. She wondered how the captain could have found out about their affair. "I don't understand."
"I made a tactical error," Roland admitted angrily. "I confided in the man and offered to cut him in on my dealings with the Chinese girls."
"And?"
"And he went to Jon and Mitch with what I'd told him." Roland raked a hand through his hair.
"Oh, no."
"There's got to be a way out of this. I've got to think of something. Do you have any ideas? Do you think you can influence Jon not to cancel our contracts?"
"A few hours ago, maybe, but now . . . no," she told him bitterly, and when he looked at her inquiringly, she explained. "I didn't come here because I'd heard about your run-in with Jon. I came to tell you that we were seen embracing in the study Saturday night."
He looked at her in dull amazement. "I didn't hear anybody—"
"Neither did I, but Espri saw us and she confronted me about it this morning. Luckily, she hasn't told Jon or Mitch yet."
"Why?" he wondered.
"I think she didn't want Jon to be hurt and she hoped she could warn me off. She's rather naïve about these things, darling."
"Obviously." He sneered. "What excuse did you give her for our 'intimate' moment?"
"I didn't have much time to think." Considering his present mood, Catherine was not anxious to tell Roland the lie she'd invented. "Espri caught me completely off guard."
Roland sensed she was hedging and he pressed. "So? What did you tell her?"
Realizing how totally devastating her fabrication was, she girded herself and answered truthfully. "I told Espri that you'd blackmailed me into being with you, that you had some kind of information that would ruin Jon's business and that you would use it against him if I didn't sleep with you."
His eyes icy with rage, Roland regarded her. "Do you realize what you've done? Of all the stupid, damned lies . . ." He stared at her incredulously, finding it hard to believe that his whole world was crashing down around him. His business dealings were in ruins; his love affair with Catherine was over. "When Jon hears that, he's going to come back here looking for blood—mine! Why the hell did you do it, Cat?"
"It was a matter of survival, darling," Catherine told him calmly, turning away from his vicious glare. "And I am a survivor."
"You seem to forget, my dear, that I am a survivor too." Roland's eyes narrowed as he considered his alternatives. His present position left him little room to maneuver. "There has to be some way I can turn this situation to my advantage," he said thoughtfully, realizing that it was futile to berate Catherine for her tale of blackmail. "I can't just stand by and let them ruin me. I wouldn't be in this position now if Jon had agreed to sell Williams Shipping to me. Damn! If only I had gained control of the company—"
"You said you had enough money to buy them out. Why don't you just start your own line?"
"That could take years." He was disgusted. "The demand must be filled now. I wish to hell Mitch had been killed! If he had, none of this would have happened."
"Well, it's too late to worry about that. At least you've still got your money. Right now, I'm walking a very fine line. If Jon decides not to believe my story, I'm ruined," Catherine pointed out.
Roland regarded her levelly. "Unless we can figure out a way to protect both of us."
"What do you mean?"
"I have an idea." A devious plan was taking shape in his mind. "I must have control of Williams Shipping if I'm to continue my present, very profitable, pursuits."
"Right."
"And you need your husband's acceptance of your story that I blackmailed you, and his subsequent forgiveness—or financial security, should he decide to throw you out. Correct?"
"Callously, but accurately, put," she answered, irritated.
"This is hardly the time to worry about semantics." Roland turned a frosty gaze on her. "The point is that we are both in a difficult situation that demands immediate action. The Aurora is due to arrive at any time and she's carrying my cargo. I have no intention of backing off and letting Jon and Mitch take charge of it. I want what's mine, and I mean to get it."
"How?"
"I'm going to force them to sell the shipping line to me."
"Force them? How? You know they'll never part with it. It's a family business."
Roland's smile was wolfish as he faced her. "Espri is the answer."
"Espri?"
"Suppose I hold her for ransom—the ransom being the legal sale of the company?"
"That's going to be difficult. Mitch will come after you!"
"Of course he will, but if he wants his wife back, untouched, he'll sell out to me. I'll offer him fair market value. He'll have plenty of money and his wife back, and I'll have the ships I've been wanting for almost a year."
"They can't be aware that I'm involved," Catherine insisted.
"Naturally. Now, tell me, when's a good time to catch Espri alone? Does she go anywhere regularly?"
"No. Although Mildred Clark is a good friend of hers, and she might go out if she received a note from her."
Roland nodded in silent acknowledgment.
"I've got to get back, but I want one thing understood between us."
"Yes?"
"When this is over, I want a share of Williams Shipping."
He considered her demand. "We'll discuss that later."
"We'll discuss it now, or I'll reveal your plan to kidnap Espri."
"You're a hard woman, Cat, but I suppose that's why I love you." He went to her and pulled her roughly into his arms, kissing her passionately. "We're alike, you and I."
"Indeed we are. I want it in writing that I get twenty percent of Williams Shipping, or the cash equivalent, for my part in this."
"Done." He agreed as he went to his desk and wrote out the note she'd demanded. Signing it with a flourish, he handed it to her and said, "I'll deposit the funds in a separate account for you at the bank."
She smiled as she tucked the note into her handbag, pleased by his capitulation. "I really do have to get back now." She grimaced at the thought of the upcoming scene. "This is goin
g to be the most miserable night of my life."
"I can appreciate your sentiments, but remember, you're going to be financially independent when this is all over."
"That thought has merit." Cat looked up at him sadly. "I'm going to miss being with you."
"Perhaps later, when things settle down, we can arrange something." They kissed again and then moved apart.
"I'll be in touch. Don't have the note delivered to Espri until after Jon and Mitch are gone."
"When do they usually leave?"
"I'd say between eight and eight-thirty. Have your man keep watch just to be sure."
After one last desperate embrace, they parted.
Catherine ordered her carriage to let her out in front; then she hurried up the steps and into the house. She had not even considered that Jon might return early from the office, and when she went through the door, she was shocked to hear the sound of his voice raised in anger. It was coming from the sitting room.
"I refuse to believe that!" he declared heatedly, and Catherine's heart sank at his words. Though she didn't want it to be true, she felt certain that Espri had just told him of their discussion that morning.
Usually, Catherine was very confident in her dealings with Jon, but today she was worried. She knew that Jon loved her; however, she didn't know whether his love was strong enough to withstand the humiliation he would feel when she confirmed Espri's painful revelation. Nonetheless, without further hesitation, she walked into the room to face them.
"Catherine!" Espri's surprise was evident, and Catherine could feel all eyes in the room boring into her. "Where have you been? I thought you'd gone—"
"No. I didn't run away, Espri."
"But where did you go? You told me that you were going to your room."
"Yes, Catherine," Jon put in frigidly, "where did you go?"
Cat glanced at Espri before answering him. "I suppose you've told them everything?"
"Yes. I told them of our conversation this morning."
She sighed. "I had hoped to return before you had the chance, but . . ." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I went to see Roland, to tell him that I was no longer afraid of his threats and that it was over between us."
"You what?" Jon looked stricken. "Then it is true that you've been sleeping with him?"
"Yes, but let me explain." Catherine started across the room toward him, but he turned away from her, his movements jerky.
"I don't want to hear a thing you've got to say right now," he told her.
"You must listen to me, Jon! I did it for you," she pleaded.
He turned to her, his expression vicious. "You whored for me! Think again!"
"Please, understand. I didn't know what information he had, but he said it was enough to shut Williams Shipping down completely and to disgrace you before society. I still don't know what information could be so damaging, but I realize now that it doesn't matter. All that matters is our love!"
Jon stood rigidly before her, his face an expressionless mask as he listened to her words.
"Jon! Please, say something to me!" she begged, knowing that her situation was far more desperate than she'd originally thought. She had expected some rejection from him, but not this total disdain.
"Catherine . . . I'm sorry." Jon gave her a cold, penetrating look and then walked from the room.
Catherine watched in disbelief as he left. She wanted to run after him, but she knew there was no point in doing so right now. She must wait and hope that he'd come back to her. When she heard the front door open and then slam shut, she rounded angrily on Espri and demanded, "Why didn't you wait until I got back to tell him? Why did you have to ruin everything?"
Espri was so startled by her verbal attack that for a moment she couldn't respond, but Mitch quickly spoke up in her defense.
"Catherine. The truth would have come out anyway, and the results would have been the same."
"But maybe if I'd been the one to break it to Jon, he wouldn't have been so upset," she argued.
"Don't try to fool yourself, Catherine." Mitch was disgusted by the whole situation. "No matter who told him, it would hurt."
"He's got to realize that I did it for him," she protested, turning a tear-filled gaze on her brother-in-law.
"Somehow, I don't think he's going to see it that way." Mitch was brutally frank.
"But he has to! I love him!"
"Espri, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go after him," Mitch murmured quickly to her as he started from the room. "I don't want him to try anything foolish."
"Of course. I'll be here if you need me," she answered softly.
As soon as Mitch had left the house, Catherine faced Espri. "If Jon doesn't come back to me, I'll see that you pay for this!"
"Catherine, I had nothing to do with what happened here tonight. This was all your own doing. You should have gone to Jon in the very beginning, trusted him to handle Roland Stuart."
"You don't know what you're talking about!" she hissed. "I was protecting Jon! Saving him from ruin! And now you've all turned on me!"
Espri knew Catherine's upset was real, but she could offer few words of comfort or encouragement. The news had been devastating to Jon, and she had no idea how he was going to deal with it. She hoped Mitch would stay with him until he'd had time to think things through.
"I don't understand why you went to Roland's this afternoon," she challenged. "If your relationship with him was forced, as you say, it seems ridiculous that you would want to face him alone. Unless, of course, you wanted to warn him that Jon was about to find out about it." Espri was becoming more distrustful of Catherine. The memory of the "private invitation" her sister-in-law had sent to Roland for the ball came to her mind, as did the secretive trip Catherine had made in the previous week.
"I don't have to listen to your groundless accusations!" Catherine declared. Then she stormed from the room.
As Espri watched her go, she wondered if she'd discovered the truth. It all fit, but why had she done it? Espri frowned. Jon was handsome, intelligent, and rich; and he obviously adored Catherine. Why would she jeopardize her marriage for Roland Stuart? Unless . . . perhaps Catherine had been involved with Stuart before her marriage, and this was just a quickly invented lie to cover up the discovery of their affair.
Remembering Mitch's original misgivings about this woman, Espri felt certain that blackmail had not been involved. Catherine had been caught in a compromising situation. Faced with the knowledge that she'd been discovered, she'd come up with an explanation that she hoped would save her position. Sadness filled Espri as she considered the outcome of Catherine's selfish pursuits, and she wanted to discuss her thoughts with Mitch when he returned.
Jon did not notice the carriage that had pulled up alongside him until Mitch called out to him.
"Jon. Get in."
Numb from the emotional shock he'd just suffered, he did what he'd been told to do.
"Where do you want to go?"
"It doesn't matter, but I could sure use a drink right now."
Mitch ordered the driver to take them to the saloon near their office. After getting a bottle of bourbon and two glasses from the barkeep, they took a table near the back to afford themselves some privacy.
"Do you feel like talking?" Mitch asked sympathetically.
"No." Jon tossed down a full glass of bourbon, then looked at Mitch, his eyes cold and deadly. "I feel like killing Roland."
"There's nothing to be gained by using violence."
"I'll feel better," Jon retorted quickly, refilling his glass.
"You won't if you end up in jail on manslaughter charges."
Jon snorted indifferently. "Do you think I really care what happens to me?"
"Jon." Mitch's voice was deep with concern. "I care."
Pain evident in his eyes, Jon glanced at his brother. "How could Catherine have done it, Mitch? How could she have let him use her that way?"
Knowing that Jon wasn't thinking clearly, Mitch r
emained silent. He had his suspicions about what had gone on between Catherine and Roland, and he firmly believed that blackmail had had no part in it.
"Damn!" Jon slammed his fist down on the rough-hewn table, drawing curious looks from the other customers. "What the hell am I supposed to do?"
"You've got to think this through carefully," Mitch declared. "There's no point in going off half-cocked. If you want my advice, I'll give it, but only if you ask."
Through the numbing haze of his pain, Jon understood what his brother was saying. Their days as big brother and younger brother were over. They were equals. They were contemporaries. They were family.
"I'm asking," he said stiffly.
Mitch regarded him for a moment as he took a sip of bourbon. Then he asked, "Do you love Catherine, Jon? After all that you've found out today, can you sit there and honestly tell me that you still love her?"
The question seared Jon's soul. It was the same one he'd been asking himself since he'd left the house. Did he love her? "I don't know anymore," he answered truthfully, his mind and heart in a turmoil.
Mitch nodded in understanding. "That's the first and only question you've got to come to grips with."
"But Roland," he protested, "what do you think he knows about the business? What could he use to threaten us?"
"Nothing," Mitch answered succinctly.
"Nothing?" Jon was astonished.
"If he had something he could use against us, he would have used it this morning when we cut him off."
Jon frowned as the pieces began to fall into place. "He had nothing. But why did he threaten Catherine that way?"
Mitch fixed him with a piercing glare. "Think, Jon. Do you really believe he blackmailed her?"
Jon paled. It was true. If Roland had had some damaging evidence against them, he would have used it that morning to ensure that his own business arrangements remained intact. He wouldn't have let them close his operation down without a fight of some kind.
"My God . . . I'll kill them both!" Jon started to get up, but Mitch reached out and grabbed his arm, forcing him back into his seat.
"Think, Jon. Don't let your emotions rule you. We've already taken care of Roland. There's no way he can hurt us now. We've destroyed him."
