Quick, Amanda - Slightly Shady.txt by Slightly Shady Page A

so foolish as to allow him to seduce me." "I see," Lavinia said quietly. "He brought me to London and set me up in a small house. All went well for a few months. In my naivety, I assumed that we would be married." Joan's mouth twisted wryly. "I discovered my mistake when I learned he was already contracted to wed a wealthy heiress. He had never had any intention of marrying me." Lavinia tightened one hand into a fist. "Dreadful man." "Yes," Joan said. "Quite. But a rather common story. in the end, of course, he cast me aside. I was desperate and without funds. He stopped paying my rent. I knew I would be forced to move out of my home at the end of the month. My lover had given me nothing in the course of our affair that I could pawn or sell, and I had not thought to extract anything except promises from him. I could not obtain another position as a governess because I had no references." "What did you do?" Lavinia asked softly. Joan looked past her toward the window, as if there were something in the steady rain that fascinated her. "It is difficult to think about it now," she continued quietly, "but at the time my spirits were very depressed. Every night for a week, I walked to the river and considered ending the nightmare. But every night, I walked home before dawn. I suppose one could say I lacked the courage." "On the contrary," Lavinia said firmly, "you displayed remarkable strength of will in resisting the river. When one's spirits are extremely low, one sometimes cannot imagine getting through another day, let alone a lifetime." She felt Tobias's gaze slide to her, but she did not look at him. Joan flashed her a quick, unreadable look and then once more fixed her gaze on the rain. "One night on the way back from the river, I found Fielding Dove waiting for me in the doorway of my house. I had met him a few times in the course of my connection with my lover, but I did not know him well. He made it plain he was interested in forming a liaison. He said he had paid my rent for me and I was not to worry about it." Joan smiled wryly, "I understood he meant to become my new protector." "What did you do?" Lavinia asked. "I can hardly credit it now, but from out of nowhere, I recovered my pride. I told him I was not in the market for a lover but I would very much appreciate a loan. I promised to repay him as soon as possible. To my amazement, he merely nodded and asked me how I planned to invest the funds." Tobias lowered himself somewhat stiffly into a chair. "Dove gave you the money?" "Yes." Joan smiled wistfully "And some investment advice. I put the money into a building venture he recommended. We met 0 0 A! 0 C,n5 115 _9 Al 5 77
    AM71rNDA QUICK and talked many times while the houses and shops were being built. I came to think of Fielding as a friend. When the properties were sold a few months later, I received what seemed like a fortune at the time. I immediately sent a note to Fielding telling him I was in a position to repay him." "How did he respond?" Lavinia asked. "He called upon me and asked me to marry him." Joan's eyes were shadowed with memories. "By then, of course, I was deeply in love, I acceptedhis offer." Lavinia felt the'inoisture gathering in her eyes. She sniffed twice in a vain attempt to keep the tears from streaming down her cheeks. Tobias and Joan looked at her. "Forgive me, Mrs. Dove, but yours is a very affecting tale," Lavinia said. She yanked a hankie out of her pocket and hastily blotted up the tears. When she was finished, she blew her nose as discreetly as possible. She lowered the little square oi embroidered linen and saw that Tobias was watching her with a derisive gleam in his eyes. She gave him a disgusted look. Obviously the man possessed no refined sensibilities. But then, she was already well aware of that fact, she reminded herself. She wadded up the hankie and stuffed it back into her pocket. "Forgive me, Mrs. Dove, but may I conclude that Holton Felix threatened to expose the liaison