Post by Meomi on Aug 6, 2012 17:41:46 GMT -7
ADULT CONTENT, PLEASE BE ADVISED
A WICKED PROPOSITION
..::Chapter 17::..
Gabriel read the message he received from Lillianne's footman that morning with a frown. He crumpled it in his fist and wondered at his wife's motives. They had not spoken in months. Gabriel enjoyed his mistress's company more than anything else of late. She was a delight. It was too bad he could not marry her once he was free. His mother was appalled when he let her know his intentions. She would not be accepted in his world, and their future children would be scorned and mocked. Still, the vision of her as his wife persisted until he gave into it. He realized he loved her. Gabriel must meet with Lillianne to divine what her terms to a settlement entailed.
Catherine was enjoying the warmth of the fall day as she gathered roses for their table. She had been working with Cook on all Gabriel's favorite dishes, and decided to surprise him this night at dinner. It would be their last night together. Catherine regarded her pregnancy as a secret she would take with her when she left London. She would love the child, no matter who it's father, and swore she would protect it. Her trunk was packed and ready. When Gabriel left to attend his morning business call tomorrow, she would leave as well. Catherine knew the matter of Thomas Sullivan posing as Edward was unresolved. She felt the matter was out of her hands and she had other considerations now. She had a child to think about and Jaime and Cullen's welfare as well.
Gabriel had dismissed Edward Thornton. Thomas Hines was now pushing the matter forward.
Catherine left the money she owed Gabriel in his desk in his room, with a note attached to it. He would find it when he looked for her. Catherine had taken only five hundred pounds of the money Nicholas had given her. She reasoned she had enough to see her home and see to their needs until a long term solution was found.
Nicholas had arrived to see Gabriel several times these last weeks, and she had stayed out of sight during those visits, pleading a headache to avoid those knowing brown eyes. A part of her knew he came to see her. She was right. He found her in the library the last time he was there.
Catherine: What do you want Nicholas?
Nicholas: End this now, Catherine. Come away with me tonight. He need never know.
Catherine: I am going home, Nicholas. I meant what I said. I have no plans to trade arrangements here. You got what you wanted! Be happy of it!
Nicholas: I am not happy of it. I cannot stop thinking of you, Catherine. You feel the same!
Catherine: I don't!
Nicholas: You do! You might care for Gabriel, but you care for me as well. Don't bother to deny it.
Catherine: I have ruined any chance for anything good to come of my time here, Nicholas. I could never forget how we met, or what I did to Gabriel, or you.
Nicholas: I don't care, Catherine. I take you knowing all of that.
Nicholas left her with that, and said he would be waiting for her at his ship the following week. She watched him leave and felt her heart catch. A part of her wanted to go with him, the other part wanted to stay with Gabriel. She could have neither.
Mrs. Whitley found Catherine's ticket to Dublin while she was tidying up her room. She knew such information would insure more money from Lady Iverleigh, and made sure the Countess learned the girl was planning to leave. She wrote down the date and time the ship was to sail and sent a message to Lady Iverleigh.
The ring Gabriel had been prepared to give her that night remained in his pocket. Gabriel was more than sure what he wanted. He no longer cared about what anyone thought. Gabriel planned to ask her to be his wife. He knew the divorce would take another year at least, but knowing she would wait for him made him eager to see Lillianne and reach a settlement. Gabriel decided a note would suffice. He would meet Lillianne directly after his meeting with Hines today.
Catherine pulled her trunk down the backstairs. Her ship left in two hours. The servants were taking their midday meal in the kitchens, and thought her to be napping upstairs. She ignored the feelings of regret filling her for leaving this way. She had to go. Everything she had with Gabriel was based upon a lie. Nicholas offered her much, but he didn't know what he involved himself in. He would hate her if he knew who she was. She had undeniably confused feelings for both men, and knew the choice was clear. She must return to Dunleavy.
Catherine was so engrossed in her own woeful feelings she did not realize the man who now sat upon the perch was not the same man she hired. The destination had changed as well. She didn't realize something was truly wrong until they arrived at the docks. Instead of taking her to the ship's ramp, the driver had stopped in fron of a nearby warehouse. She frowned as she looked out.
Just then, the ragged, feral-looking man opened the door to the coach and jumped inside. A scream lodged in her throat before the man drew back his fist and hit her in the side of the head. Blackness descended, the taste of blood permeated within her mouth, and then she knew no more.
Gabriel arrived at Iverleigh Manor early that evening. He found Lillianne in her salon and eyed her coldly as he approached.
Gabriel: This is no social call, Lillianne. You have decided to meet my terms and I am here to discuss it. Let us get this matter behind us. Mr. Hines will take care of your lesser concerns. I believe you wanted to discuss a settlement. There is no need to drag this out any longer. I want this marriage over. You will find I will be far more generous if you do not fight this proceeding.
Lilly scowled at his rudeness but remained calm.
Lilly: Can we not dine first? I have had Cook make all your favorites, my lord. We will dine first, and then we will discuss my terms. Surely you cannot begrudge me one final meal with my husband before you cast me aside?
Gabriel rose and escorted her to the dining room.
Gabriel accepted a glass of brandy and nodded favorably.
The meal was over. He followed her into the study and noted how his brandy glass had been refilled. He drank it obligingly, wanting nothing more than to be out of this house and away from this woman who had made havoc of his life for the last ten years.
Gabriel: Let us get to the point. We have lived apart for most of our marriage. Neither of us is happy. You have to agree this cannot go on.
Lilly: It is just like you to rush right to the heart of the matter, Gabriel.
She said with a smirk and refilled his glass.
Lilly: One would think you are eager to be away from me. I have heard through my sources you have a new mistress installed in your home. Dartmouth claims you found this new one in a brothel. How utterly scandalous!
Gabriel: I did not come here to talk of her.
Lilly: Oh yes, you wish to justify your setting aside.
Gabriel: You arrived in England pregnant by another man! You nearly died trying to rid yourself of the proof! I forgave you for that, and then you went to Lyndon's bed. I nearly killed the man over you! I cannot even begin to accept or forgive you for that.
Lilly: You loved me once! You could love me again, Gabriel!
Gabriel: I didn't know what love was then, Lillianne. I believed all your clever lies. Now I just want to put this all behind me. You might wish to as well.
Lilly: So you wish to be free of me so you can enjoy the favors of your little tramp, do you?
Gabriel: Call her a tramp one more time, and this interview is over! You could give her instructions on that, madam!
Lilly: How dare you speak to me that way? I am your wife, while she is nothing but some harlot you bought!
Gabriel: Lillianne, I have personal knowledge of dozens of men who claim to have gone to your bed these last ten years. You have hardly been discreet. It is a pity you didn't charge for your favors then, and I wouldn't have to pay you off now!
Lilly stared at her paws and resisted the urge to toss the brandy in his smug face, but the drugs were not working yet. She needed him to drink more of the brandy.
Lilly: Insults from you, my love? Is this what we are reduced to? I am prepared to offer you terms you will find most fair. You will have what you want at last. I do not ask for your forgiveness! You dare to judge me for what I did to spare you the truth, even at the cost of my own life? You may divorce me, but you will be ruined as well!
Gabriel: I never gave a d**n about society, Lillianne. I am not the one with the most to lose here, it is you.
Gabriel sat back in the chair. He felt a sudden wave of dizziness and his head felt light. Gabriel's vision blurred and his heart was beating so fast he felt as though the sound was roaring in his ears.
Lilly rose from the corner and rang for her footmen. Gabriel didn't hear what she said, but soon two burly footmen arrived. He tried vainly to push them away as they tried to carry him, but he soon gave up. He hadn't the strength to fight them off.
Gabriel soon found himself lying upon his wife's bed and his blurred gaze saw that she was approaching him, naked. He could not move. Lilly raped her husband. Afterwards, she left him there as he slept, smiling as she slipped from the room. She donned a cloak and left the house. She had a little matter to attend to.
Gabriel felt like he was in hell when he came to consciousness. Lillianne was gone or he would have cheerfully strangled her. Gabriel staggered out of the house. Gabriel arrived home, got into bed and lay awake a mere moment before he passed out wondering if Catherine was angry he did not return home last night. He fell asleep, vowing to make it up to her in some way.
To be continued...
Please press the thumb up if you enjoyed and thumb down if you didn't. I want to see how many read these. Thank you.
A WICKED PROPOSITION
..::Chapter 17::..
Gabriel read the message he received from Lillianne's footman that morning with a frown. He crumpled it in his fist and wondered at his wife's motives. They had not spoken in months. Gabriel enjoyed his mistress's company more than anything else of late. She was a delight. It was too bad he could not marry her once he was free. His mother was appalled when he let her know his intentions. She would not be accepted in his world, and their future children would be scorned and mocked. Still, the vision of her as his wife persisted until he gave into it. He realized he loved her. Gabriel must meet with Lillianne to divine what her terms to a settlement entailed.
Catherine was enjoying the warmth of the fall day as she gathered roses for their table. She had been working with Cook on all Gabriel's favorite dishes, and decided to surprise him this night at dinner. It would be their last night together. Catherine regarded her pregnancy as a secret she would take with her when she left London. She would love the child, no matter who it's father, and swore she would protect it. Her trunk was packed and ready. When Gabriel left to attend his morning business call tomorrow, she would leave as well. Catherine knew the matter of Thomas Sullivan posing as Edward was unresolved. She felt the matter was out of her hands and she had other considerations now. She had a child to think about and Jaime and Cullen's welfare as well.
Gabriel had dismissed Edward Thornton. Thomas Hines was now pushing the matter forward.
Catherine left the money she owed Gabriel in his desk in his room, with a note attached to it. He would find it when he looked for her. Catherine had taken only five hundred pounds of the money Nicholas had given her. She reasoned she had enough to see her home and see to their needs until a long term solution was found.
Nicholas had arrived to see Gabriel several times these last weeks, and she had stayed out of sight during those visits, pleading a headache to avoid those knowing brown eyes. A part of her knew he came to see her. She was right. He found her in the library the last time he was there.
Catherine: What do you want Nicholas?
Nicholas: End this now, Catherine. Come away with me tonight. He need never know.
Catherine: I am going home, Nicholas. I meant what I said. I have no plans to trade arrangements here. You got what you wanted! Be happy of it!
Nicholas: I am not happy of it. I cannot stop thinking of you, Catherine. You feel the same!
Catherine: I don't!
Nicholas: You do! You might care for Gabriel, but you care for me as well. Don't bother to deny it.
Catherine: I have ruined any chance for anything good to come of my time here, Nicholas. I could never forget how we met, or what I did to Gabriel, or you.
Nicholas: I don't care, Catherine. I take you knowing all of that.
Nicholas left her with that, and said he would be waiting for her at his ship the following week. She watched him leave and felt her heart catch. A part of her wanted to go with him, the other part wanted to stay with Gabriel. She could have neither.
Mrs. Whitley found Catherine's ticket to Dublin while she was tidying up her room. She knew such information would insure more money from Lady Iverleigh, and made sure the Countess learned the girl was planning to leave. She wrote down the date and time the ship was to sail and sent a message to Lady Iverleigh.
The ring Gabriel had been prepared to give her that night remained in his pocket. Gabriel was more than sure what he wanted. He no longer cared about what anyone thought. Gabriel planned to ask her to be his wife. He knew the divorce would take another year at least, but knowing she would wait for him made him eager to see Lillianne and reach a settlement. Gabriel decided a note would suffice. He would meet Lillianne directly after his meeting with Hines today.
Catherine pulled her trunk down the backstairs. Her ship left in two hours. The servants were taking their midday meal in the kitchens, and thought her to be napping upstairs. She ignored the feelings of regret filling her for leaving this way. She had to go. Everything she had with Gabriel was based upon a lie. Nicholas offered her much, but he didn't know what he involved himself in. He would hate her if he knew who she was. She had undeniably confused feelings for both men, and knew the choice was clear. She must return to Dunleavy.
Catherine was so engrossed in her own woeful feelings she did not realize the man who now sat upon the perch was not the same man she hired. The destination had changed as well. She didn't realize something was truly wrong until they arrived at the docks. Instead of taking her to the ship's ramp, the driver had stopped in fron of a nearby warehouse. She frowned as she looked out.
Just then, the ragged, feral-looking man opened the door to the coach and jumped inside. A scream lodged in her throat before the man drew back his fist and hit her in the side of the head. Blackness descended, the taste of blood permeated within her mouth, and then she knew no more.
Gabriel arrived at Iverleigh Manor early that evening. He found Lillianne in her salon and eyed her coldly as he approached.
Gabriel: This is no social call, Lillianne. You have decided to meet my terms and I am here to discuss it. Let us get this matter behind us. Mr. Hines will take care of your lesser concerns. I believe you wanted to discuss a settlement. There is no need to drag this out any longer. I want this marriage over. You will find I will be far more generous if you do not fight this proceeding.
Lilly scowled at his rudeness but remained calm.
Lilly: Can we not dine first? I have had Cook make all your favorites, my lord. We will dine first, and then we will discuss my terms. Surely you cannot begrudge me one final meal with my husband before you cast me aside?
Gabriel rose and escorted her to the dining room.
Gabriel accepted a glass of brandy and nodded favorably.
The meal was over. He followed her into the study and noted how his brandy glass had been refilled. He drank it obligingly, wanting nothing more than to be out of this house and away from this woman who had made havoc of his life for the last ten years.
Gabriel: Let us get to the point. We have lived apart for most of our marriage. Neither of us is happy. You have to agree this cannot go on.
Lilly: It is just like you to rush right to the heart of the matter, Gabriel.
She said with a smirk and refilled his glass.
Lilly: One would think you are eager to be away from me. I have heard through my sources you have a new mistress installed in your home. Dartmouth claims you found this new one in a brothel. How utterly scandalous!
Gabriel: I did not come here to talk of her.
Lilly: Oh yes, you wish to justify your setting aside.
Gabriel: You arrived in England pregnant by another man! You nearly died trying to rid yourself of the proof! I forgave you for that, and then you went to Lyndon's bed. I nearly killed the man over you! I cannot even begin to accept or forgive you for that.
Lilly: You loved me once! You could love me again, Gabriel!
Gabriel: I didn't know what love was then, Lillianne. I believed all your clever lies. Now I just want to put this all behind me. You might wish to as well.
Lilly: So you wish to be free of me so you can enjoy the favors of your little tramp, do you?
Gabriel: Call her a tramp one more time, and this interview is over! You could give her instructions on that, madam!
Lilly: How dare you speak to me that way? I am your wife, while she is nothing but some harlot you bought!
Gabriel: Lillianne, I have personal knowledge of dozens of men who claim to have gone to your bed these last ten years. You have hardly been discreet. It is a pity you didn't charge for your favors then, and I wouldn't have to pay you off now!
Lilly stared at her paws and resisted the urge to toss the brandy in his smug face, but the drugs were not working yet. She needed him to drink more of the brandy.
Lilly: Insults from you, my love? Is this what we are reduced to? I am prepared to offer you terms you will find most fair. You will have what you want at last. I do not ask for your forgiveness! You dare to judge me for what I did to spare you the truth, even at the cost of my own life? You may divorce me, but you will be ruined as well!
Gabriel: I never gave a d**n about society, Lillianne. I am not the one with the most to lose here, it is you.
Gabriel sat back in the chair. He felt a sudden wave of dizziness and his head felt light. Gabriel's vision blurred and his heart was beating so fast he felt as though the sound was roaring in his ears.
Lilly rose from the corner and rang for her footmen. Gabriel didn't hear what she said, but soon two burly footmen arrived. He tried vainly to push them away as they tried to carry him, but he soon gave up. He hadn't the strength to fight them off.
Gabriel soon found himself lying upon his wife's bed and his blurred gaze saw that she was approaching him, naked. He could not move. Lilly raped her husband. Afterwards, she left him there as he slept, smiling as she slipped from the room. She donned a cloak and left the house. She had a little matter to attend to.
Gabriel felt like he was in hell when he came to consciousness. Lillianne was gone or he would have cheerfully strangled her. Gabriel staggered out of the house. Gabriel arrived home, got into bed and lay awake a mere moment before he passed out wondering if Catherine was angry he did not return home last night. He fell asleep, vowing to make it up to her in some way.
To be continued...
Please press the thumb up if you enjoyed and thumb down if you didn't. I want to see how many read these. Thank you.