One Sinful Night

by Kaitlin O’Riley

  Again, Aidan was stunned speechless. His mother’s scheming knew no bounds. It was unbelievable that she would go to such lengths to keep him from marrying Vivienne.

  The implications of Finley’s confession were devastating. His mother, his mother, had deliberately ruined his life.

  “I’m sorry,” Finley said with quiet resignation, his head hung low. “I’ll pack my things and leave the house tonight.”

  Aidan shook his head. He knew Finley had only been following his mother’s orders and at the time was not in a position to refuse her. “No, you don’t have to leave. There has been enough unhappiness caused by this. I’m just thankful you told me the truth now. We’ll talk more about this when I get back though. Right now, I have to find Vivienne.”

  “Thank you, Aidan.”

  Aidan left Finley and raced back down the stairs, calling to his mother. As he suspected, she had not left yet, for she was waiting to see what he was going do about Vivienne.

  “Is it true, Mother?” he demanded angrily.

  Regally, she turned her head toward him, her expression mildly curious. “Is what true, Aidan?”

  “Is it true you ordered Finley to arrange for me to find Nicky Foster with Vivienne before we left Galway?”

  Her gray eyes widened the slightest bit, but she rallied well. “I have not the faintest idea to what you are referring,” she responded coolly.

  “You deliberately made Vivienne look unfaithful to me all those years ago, didn’t you? And you have conspired to keep her from me today. I knew you disliked her, but for the love of God, Mother…I never thought you capable of such malice. Where is she now?”

  “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. How could I possibly know where that little harlot is or who she is with? It’s good riddance as far as I’m concerned.” She turned her back, dismissing the conversation and him.

  For the first time in his life Aidan put his hands on his mother and spun her around to face him. Anger seethed through every vein in his body. Rage, betrayal, and fear for Vivienne. Especially fear for Vivienne. If anything happened to her due to his mother’s hatred and his own blindness he would never forgive himself. “You arranged for someone to take her this afternoon, didn’t you? Because you certainly didn’t invite her to tea! Tell me who has her and where she is, Mother, or I swear to God you will never see me again.”

  Suddenly fearful, Susana Kavanaugh was aghast at her son’s behavior. “Has Finley been talking—”

  That sealed it. She was behind all of it, without a doubt. “Tell me who has her,” he ground out between clenched teeth, giving her a little shake. “Is it Jackson Harlow?”

  Maybe she finally felt remorse for once in her life. Maybe she feared losing contact with her only child. “Yes,” she choked out on a bitter sob.

  He released her in disgust, his worst fears confirmed. Before his eyes, his mother suddenly appeared weak and old, not the queenly, imposing figure she usually portrayed. She was his mother, but she had cruelly betrayed him. Not just once, but twice. “We’ll discuss this later, and for your sake, you had better hope that I find Vivienne unharmed.” He stalked away from her.

  “Aidan,” she called after him piteously, her sobs echoing in the high-ceilinged foyer. “I’m sorry…I just wanted what was best for you. I love you…”

  He glanced back only to ask, “Do you have any idea where he was taking her?”

  She shrugged with a sniffle, her thin shoulders sagging. “I…I didn’t ask specifically, but one would assume he left London.”

  Now Aidan was positive that Harlow had left London with Vivienne. He just had to figure out where.

  “You won’t reach her in time,” she cried to him as he opened the front door. “He’s going to marry her.”

  His pulse quickened at her chilling words. Aidan would not let that happen, but now he knew time was of the essence. “No, I’m going to marry her.” With that parting shot, he charged out of the house.

  By the time he reached the Cardwell residence, the Earl of Whitlock was calculatingly calm, his mind having weighed various scenarios and possible outcomes between Harlow and Vivienne, but he needed more information. He followed the Cardwell butler into the comfortable parlor where Lord and Lady Cardwell paced frantically.

  “How can this have happened?” Gilbert Cardwell blustered when he stopped pacing and noticed that Aidan had entered the room.

  “Oh, Aidan, where can she be?” Lady Gwen Cardwell wailed, her pretty face drawn in concern.

  “I don’t know, but Vivienne did not go with Harlow willingly,” Aidan answered without hesitation.

  “I didn’t believe so either. I’ve seen the two of you together and Vivienne is quite taken with you,” Lady Cardwell continued. “But there was a note from Jackson Harlow stating they wanted to elope together.”

  Aidan shook his head. “It’s a lie. A ploy to throw us off. Where are Gregory and George?”

  “They went to Harlow’s office first, hoping to find out more, and then went looking for you,” Lord Cardwell said.

  Lady Cardwell rambled on in nervousness. “I never would have suspected Mister Harlow of doing something so underhanded as to run off with Vivienne. He seemed such a nice gentleman. So charming. I knew he was quite smitten with her and disappointed that she was marrying you, but this…This is too much! I can’t imagine the scandal this will cause. Do you think they are truly eloping?”

  Aidan certainly hoped not yet anyway. “I think it’s Jackson’s plan, but definitely not Vivienne’s. And not mine.”

  Gregory charged through the front door at that moment, with George close on his heels. Both of their ruddy faces were more flushed than usual and their expressions worried. Another man followed behind them.

  “Aidan, thank goodness you’re here!” George said in obvious relief. “We kept missing you. We stopped by your office and then your house, but you had just left ahead of us.”

  “Did you go to Harlow’s office?” Aidan asked impatiently. “What did you find out?”

  “His brother Miles was there, and just as anxious to find Harlow as we were,” Gregory explained hurriedly, his usual easy-going manner now tense and troubled. “He’s come here with us.”

  An older, slimmer looking version of Jackson Harlow stepped into the room. Miles Harlow stood shorter than his younger brother, seemed less vital, and wore thin wire spectacles. He removed his hat politely and nodded to the room in general. “Forgive my intrusion, but it seems this is an emergency. My brother has caused some serious trouble.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Aidan muttered in disgust. “What’s going on? Do you know where he is?”

  “I will try to be brief, since I know that Miss Montgomery’s safety is at stake, and that is my main concern at this piont.” Miles Harlow cleared his throat nervously and began to explain the complex story to them. “It has only recently come to my attention that my brother Jackson had been involved with some rather unsavory characters. He has plotted to destroy our competitors. He has spent wastefully, lavishly redecorating our offices and he has run up huge debts on his personal spending. His many creditors have begun hounding us. And he has just about bankrupted our family’s business with his underhanded deals and has ruined our company’s good reputation.”

  Aidan interrupted, “I was aware of that. I believe he arranged to steal a large cotton shipment of mine and had my storage warehouse burned to the ground.”

  Miles nodded his head wearily. “That does not surprise me. I’m sorry. It seems my brother has shown his true colors. I regret that I did not notice his wrongdoings sooner and put a stop to them. I’ve had my suspicions of him for some time, but did not want to credit him with this sort of behavior. But just this afternoon Jackson made off with all the cash from our business safe. Every last cent.”

  “How does Miss Montgomery figure into all this?” Aidan questioned with an increased sense of urgency. It was obvious to him that Jackson Harlow was a desperate man, and desperate me
n commit desperate acts. The thought of Vivienne with him turned his stomach.

  Miles continued in his quiet and earnest manner. “Apparently there was a falling out between our other brother, Davis, and Captain John Montgomery over some land they had claimed in South Africa. Captain Montgomery informed me of this situation and told me he was giving the land to his only child for her future. Unfortunately, I was very ill for many months, and not keeping up with the shipping business, and most of the duties fell to Jackson. During that time, Captain Montgomery’s ship sank off the coast of Africa in a terrible storm. When I was finally recovered enough to resume my duties, I realized that Miss Montgomery probably had no idea of her father’s wishes. Captain Montgomery was one of our best sailors and a fine man. I owed it to him to see that his daughter was taken care of properly. Because I was still too unwell to travel myself, I sent Jackson to Galway to find Vivienne Montgomery to inform her of the property her father owned in South Africa and allow her to claim it.”

  “You are referring to the diamond mines?” Lord Cardwell questioned.

  Aidan’s eyes narrowed at this bit of information. “What diamond mines?”

  “Today Vivienne found deeds belonging to her father that showed ownership of diamond mines in South Africa,” Lord Cardwell explained in amazement. “She just gave them to me this afternoon, before she left to visit your mother. I sent them to my solicitor to have them verified.”

  Aidan turned to Miles, “And Jackson knew about these diamond mines, which now belong to Miss Montgomery?”

  Miles concurred. “Of course he did.”

  “Then that’s why he is so eager to marry her!” Gregory stated emphatically. “Vivienne told me that when she went to his office this week that Jackson offered to marry her even after—” His voice trailed off, but everyone knew the incident he referred to.

  “What was her response?” Aidan’s eyes pinned on Gregory.

  “That she couldn’t marry him, because she was marrying you.”

  At those simple words, Aidan felt relief wash through him. “I thought he was just trying to ruin my business and had a personal vendetta against me. But now I see that he has an even greater motive for taking Vivienne. He wants the diamond mines,” Aidan stated with a deadly calm.

  “So where do you think he went?” Gregory questioned urgently. “We have to move fast. He already has a good lead over us.”

  Miles spoke up first. “I’ll bet he’s headed to our family estate in Fair Haven. It’s a little village north of here. But it’s a two-day journey, and with getting such a late start, he’d have to stop for the night. Especially in this weather.”

  “Then let’s get going,” Aidan prompted them into action, for there was no time to lose.

  Chapter 21

  The Trip from London

  It seemed their short trip to Jackson’s office was taking longer than she expected. Vivienne was not familiar enough with London to know exactly what was wrong, but nothing outside the window looked familiar to her. She became concerned that not only had she missed tea with Lady Whitlock, but by now she would miss supper with the Cardwells.

  “Where are we going, Jackson?” she had asked, perplexed by their northerly direction. She was positive his office was south of Aidan’s mother’s house. Perhaps she had simply become confused. “I thought we were going to your office.”

  “There’s been a slight change in plans,” he stated affably, grinning at her. “I must leave London and I need your help.”

  “Jackson, this is hardly the time for me to leave town!” she scolded in exasperation. “I was supposed to be meeting Aidan’s mother and I’m getting married the day after tomorrow.”

  “So is that your answer to my proposal to you? You’re getting married the day after tomorrow?” he asked quietly, pinning her with his steady golden gaze.

  Confused by his tone, she responded uncertainly, feeling slightly guilty for she never did give him a definitive no when he asked her to consider his offer of marriage. “Well, yes…I truly appreciate your offer. It was very gallant of you to ask me given the circumstances and I’m honored by it. But I’m sorry, Jackson. I am going to be married to Aidan on Saturday.”

  “Do you love him?”

  Now there was a loaded question. She definitely had feelings for Aidan and supposed she never did stop loving him after all that had happened. Especially during the past week. Seeing him again brought all her buried feelings back to the surface. “Aidan and I have a history together,” she explained attempting to break the awkward silence. “We were engaged once before, but it didn’t work out…” Her voice trailed off in hesitation. “Could you please turn the carriage around?”

  “Aidan Kavanaugh doesn’t love you.”

  Vivienne refused to be baited by that. “It’s late and I really should be getting back home now. My family will be very worried about me. Please, Jackson, take me home.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that.” He grinned at her, shaking his head.

  “This is not the time to jest with me. I insist you take me home this instant!” she cried in frustration and a growing sense of alarm. He could not truly mean he was not going to take her home.

  “I’m not jesting, Vivienne. I’m actually quite serious.”

  He was not going to take her back to the Cardwells? Then where was he planning on taking her? Suddenly Vivienne was very afraid. She did not know the man sitting across from her in this fine carriage. Aidan’s warnings sprang to mind too late. Ruthless and dangerous were words he had used to describe Jackson last night. Harlow is not interested in helping you. At least not in the way you think he is. He is set on ruining me and he’ll ruin you to get to me. She had dismissed Aidan’s warnings as the ravings of a jealous man. Now she wished she had heeded his prophetic words. He had been trying to protect her.

  “You deceived me, didn’t you?” she said, willing her voice to remain neutral. “You have no news about my father.”

  “One of the things I admired most about you, Vivienne, aside from your exquisite looks, is your quick wit. In answer to your question, yes, I deceived you.”

  She nodded her head in response to his grinning face. She shivered to think she had once thought his features handsome. Now she found them blatantly menacing. “May I ask why?”

  “You’re a wise girl, too. No hysterics on your part. I knew I was right about you.”

  Silence reigned in the carriage as she regarded him warily. An elegantly dressed gentleman in a fine carriage. He looked as if he were out making casual calls upon friends, not abducting a woman against her will. He carefully removed his top hat and gloves and set them on the seat beside him, next to his long, silver-handled black walking stick, and settled back in his seat across from her.

  “Because you have behaved well so far, I shall answer your question. I told you once, Vivienne, that I play to win, didn’t I? That day at the picnic?”

  The day she had innocently flirted with him beneath the shade of an elm tree and they talked about finding her father. She had felt pretty and engaging in her pink and white-striped dress and he had been dashing and charming. Such a contrast to how she felt now. “Yes, I remember that.”

  “I made up my mind that day to win you. The night of the masked ball I even asked your uncle for permission to court you honorably. Which, I will have you know, is something I have never done before. It just goes to show the extent of my feelings for you. You’re a very beautiful and desirable woman.”

  His penetrating gaze moved over her appreciatively, causing her heart to pound in fear. She could not speak.

  “I must say,” he continued in the light tone he had been using, “that I was quite disappointed when I discovered you in bed with Whitlock. I had thought you a chaste young lady.” He shook his head in disapproval. “Tsk, tsk, Vivienne. Who knew you were such a naughty girl? I despise the idea of Whitlock having had his hands on you first, but…that can’t be helped now, can it?”

  She did not know if h
e expected her to answer that, but in either case, she could not. Her throat was too tight. She felt the palms of her hands sweating inside her white gloves.

  “Whitlock, that self-righteous, pompous, straitlaced mama’s boy, managed to ensnare you into marriage before I could ask for you myself. That was hardly fair, Vivienne. Still, I wanted you. In good faith I offered to marry you, in spite of seeing you in bed with another man.” He gave her a lopsided smiled, which chilled her to the bone. “Although I have to admit, that only spurred my interest in you, knowing you are not the prudish sort and that you would be a willing partner in my bed eventually.”

  Panic began to rise in her and she fought the desire to scream at the top of her lungs. The predatory gleam in his eyes terrified her. She needed to get him on another topic immediately.

  “What about helping me? What about my father?” she croaked.

  “I’m sorry, Vivienne, that I haven’t better news for you.” The look on his face changed to one of concern. “Your father did drown when his ship sank off the coast of South Africa. Before that happened however, he had a falling-out with my brother Davis. They had been partners in a land deal. Your father had the deeds to the diamond mines. My brother wanted them. So he sent them to you for safekeeping until he got home. Unfortunately he died before he could tell you about them.”