Page 35 of With Good Grace
Olivia could stand those long, capable fingers untangling her knotted muscles all day, but the delivery of the tea trolley forced her to move away from Jake. He waited for her to reseat herself, then resumed his own chair and glanced through the contract she had just given him whilst she poured the tea. He looked totally in control of himself, relaxed and undisturbed by their brief moment of intimacy. She, on the other hand, felt oddly let down, incomplete and quite out of charity with her handsome companion for agitating her passions and then leaving her frustrated.
‘I am no lawyer,’ he said, ‘but even I can see that anyone wishing to extricate themselves from such a loosely worded contract would not have a great deal of difficulty in doing so.’
‘Then I wonder why none of them did.’ Olivia handed Jake a cup of tea. ‘We have not found any incriminating documents that would prevent them from so doing; if indeed Marcus employed blackmail in order to become their manager.’
‘Perhaps we have only found the documents pertaining to Lady Marchant because he had not used them.’
Olivia stirred her tea with more vigour than the simple ritual required; her body still humming with the aftereffects of Jake’s ministrations. ‘Possibly,’ she absently conceded.
‘Emily Black married at the height of her fame and then quit the stage when she became Lady Marchant.’ Jake selected a cake from the stand on the table between them and bit into it. ‘Was she managed by your husband when she was still acting?’
‘No, actually she was not.’
‘So those letters would have been no help to him at the time,’ Jake mused. ‘She was unmarried and the scandal attaching to an affair would not have damaged her reputation beyond recall—not would they have been sufficient to tempt her away from her existing manager, I would imagine. The letters would have shown your husband in a bad light though, if Emily defied his attempts at blackmail and made them public herself.’
‘From the tone of their correspondence, and its inflammatory nature, I think they were genuinely fond of one another. Their passion would explain why she did not turn to Marcus for career advice and why Marcus did not use the letters to try and persuade her. Even so, he clearly anticipated that they might be of use to him one day, which is why he hid them away instead of returning them to her or destroying them, as any gentleman ought to have done.’
‘I am sorry you are involved in this distasteful business,’ Jake said, his voice soft, full of compassion.
‘Nonsense, Jake.’ She sat a little straighter and clicked her tongue. ‘I am fully conversant with the true character of the man I so foolishly married. I had personal evidence of Verity Aspin’s feelings for Marcus. In fact, she took pleasure in flaunting their affair in front of me, as though she had something to prove.’
‘I am willing to accept that Marcus’s physical charms might have persuaded Miss Aspin and Cecelia Fortescue to place themselves beneath his care in terms of their career advancement. We have written evidence that he also stirred Lady Marchant’s passions. But that does not explain why Michael Danton and other leading male actors stayed with him. Nor does it explain why they remain with Barber. The man is physically repellent.’
‘Ah, I see what you mean.’ Olivia tilted her head, annoyed to realise that she was trying to think of excuses for Marcus; not to salve her own pride but because she was still trying to protect her precious son from the knowledge that his father had made his fortune through such disrespectable means. ‘Presumably, Barber’s inherited stable of actors imagine he now holds whatever Marcus once did; information to their detriment.’
‘Yes, although he assures me that none have asked him about it, and I believe him. He seemed genuinely surprised by the question.’
‘You said he comes from a theatrical family himself. Perhaps he is a good actor.’
Jake lifted one impossibly broad shoulder. ‘Somehow I doubt if he isthatgood. In fact, he told me that he attempted acting but admits he was not good at it.’
‘They might have stayed with Marcus because he put money into some of Madame Céleste’s productions which, presumably, meant he had a say when it came to casting, I suppose,’ Olivia remarked reflectively.
‘Yes, but Barber is not a backer.’ Jake put his cup aside and stretched his arms above his head. ‘Unless we find Sir Hubert, I doubt we shall ever know.’
Olivia smiled. ‘Which will niggle away at you like a sore tooth. I know how much you dislike unsolved mysteries.’
He fixed her with an absorbed look. Olivia felt herself fall further under his compelling thrall as she noticed the manner in which his eyes glowed with passionate determination. ‘My primary…my only concern, is for your safety and peace of mind.’
‘Thank you, but I—’
‘Lord Warbeck’s here,’ Parker said, entering the room.
‘Hopefully he has news. Show him in, Parker.’
‘News of what, Jake?’
‘Simon was with me in Scotland, chasing after a rogue by the name of Barnard. He eluded us, but vocally expressed his determination to exact revenge against me in particular for putting a stop to his traitorous activities.’
Olivia widened her eyes. ‘And you think he might be in London, trying to get to you through my son. Surely that would be the height of stupidity? He would be better advised to leave these shores while he still can.’
Jake shrugged. ‘Barnard is an arrogant and very convincing man, which is how he got away with trading state secrets for so long. No one suspected him for a moment.’
‘Other than you?’
Jake grunted. ‘I have a suspicious nature.’
Simon Warbeck entered the room and offered Olivia a flamboyant bow. ‘I am sorry to hear that you have been troubled again,’ he said, ‘but at least I can put your mind at rest insofar as Barnard has not been seen anywhere in the capital.’
