Page 74 of Sweet Siren
"Liv's marriage?" He had to learn if she'd gained some peace in it. "Was ithappy?"
"I believe in some ways, yes," Remy said. "David needed to marry a woman of good moral reputation. She needed to be lifted out of the mire of her existence. They had a pact. The two of them came to Paris for their wedding trip. I was young. What? Twenty? Twenty-one? They came to dinner with Mama and me one night and we did enjoy ourselves. Liv seemed relieved to bemarried."
"I think she was," Killian said withconviction.
"David appeared happy, too. Why wouldn't he be? He had legitimacy. He was safe. When they left I recall Mama and I agreed that they might make a good union of it. They must have come to an understanding because later Camille wasborn."
"They became decorators," Killiansaid.
"Oui, partners. David had been trying his hand at it and Liv learned from him. When they began to work with one certain architect, they did verywell."
"Roger Antram. He designs my country house and my townhouses in Brighton. A good man. Ethical. I like himtremendously."
"David and Liv did well with him. They earned a living and gained a solid reputation that overlooked her past andhis."
"And when David died, whathappened?"
"Liv was aggrieved. She loved him as a friend, the man who saved her from disgrace and despair. When I received Liv's telegram that he'd died, I attended the funeral. The least I could do, I thought. Yesterday, I told Marianne that I believed that gentleman with Edouard in the Place du Tertre the other day looked familiar. I do believe he wasthere."
"Hewas."
They sat for a long minute, regarding eachother.
"There is more, isn't there,Remy?"
"I left outmuch."
Killian gripped his glass. He needed two more facts before he could attempt once more to rectify this injustice. "What year was her fatherbankrupted?"
Remy stared at him. Sorrow lined his features. "Killian, you torture yourself. Is thisnecessary?"
"It is. I must verify everything before I go to my solicitor in the City and to the police. So tell me, Remy, if you know when Liv’s father suffered his financialblow."
"Sixty-one. Sixty-two?"
"During our American civilwar."
"Oui.He owned a shipping company that declined from lack of cotton imports when the Federals blockaded shipments to England. He had tosell."
"Do you know the Englishport?"
Remy stared at him with sad eyes. "Ido."
The coincidence is a hellish irony. The perfect reason for Liv to hate me."Liverpool."
Remy nodded once, then drained his glass and took the hand of his wife to help her up. "Come along,ma chèrie. We must leave your uncle to hismemories."
