Part 19 (1/2)
”You have to apologize,” Max said firmly.
”I have.” A cool note sounded in Adrian's voice. The two men sat in a secluded corner in the dim recesses of Adrian's club, a far better place to meet than at the Mayfair house. The old friends had once spent a great deal of time here and no one would comment, or even notice, Sir Maxwell Osgood and Lord Waterston engaged in quiet conversation late in the afternoon.
”Not well apparently. Your wife has moved out.”
”I do not intend to allow that to continue for long. It is nothing more than a temporary state of affairs.” Not temporary enough, however. Evie had barely been gone a day and already he missed hearing her voice, her laughter, having her beside him in his bed. He found it difficult to sleep if she was not there. Although her absence was not the only thing interfering with his sleep. This scheme he had devised, and all the ways it could go horribly wrong, preyed on his mind. Plus, there was the fact that, depending upon the strictness of one's own moral standards, his plot could be considered the tiniest bit wrong. ”How do you know about that?”
”It's my job, remember? I know all sorts of interesting things.” Max raised his gla.s.s. ”And any number of things that are quite dull.”
”All-knowing, all-powerful,” Adrian said under his breath.
”You know better than anyone that's not true.” He chuckled. ”Although I do like to maintain certain illusions.”
”Anything new on the file?”
”Since yesterday? Come now. Something like this takes time.” He paused. ”Our man at Fenwick's says the file simply appeared behind the counter. He saw nothing out of the ordinary. I daresay, anyone could have put it there.”
”So until there is a new development, we are at a standstill?”
”Frustrating to be sure, but it is the nature of the game.”
”Always has been.” Adrian sipped his whiskey.
”Regardless, I hate waiting for someone else to make the next move.” Max studied him over the rim of his gla.s.s. ”Speaking of the next move, what is yours? Or should I say Sir's?”
”Sir sent Eve roses and a note.”
”Did he?” Max nodded in a thoughtful manner. ”And what about Adrian? Did he send flowers to his wife?”
Adrian stared.
”A token of his affection perhaps?” Max's brow furrowed. ”A letter of abject apology declaring his love and vowing to make her happy for the rest of her days?”
”b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l,” Adrian muttered.
”Perhaps you are incredibly stupid after all.” Max snorted. ”What were you thinking?”
”I was thinking about how to pursue her as Sir without being too obvious. d.a.m.nation.” He tossed back the rest of his whiskey and signaled for another. ”It completely slipped my mind that ongoing groveling was called for.”
”By her husband.”
”Yes, by her husband,” he snapped. ”Although I do not grovel.”
”You know even the most loyal of women, even those most in love with their husbands, might be lured into temptation by a mysterious stranger if their husband is not appropriately attentive.”
”I fully intend to be appropriately attentive, I have simply not yet begun.” He winced to himself. This failure on his part was a huge mistake. How could he have been so stupid? He didn't want to force her into the arms of another man, even if the other man was him. ”It's probably best to give her a day to realize her anger was out of all proportion to my crime.”
”Oh yes, because that's what women do.” Sarcasm sounded in Max's voice. ”They come to such realizations without any a.s.sistance. It's not as if they dwell on a man's transgressions, exaggerating misdeeds out of all proportion, although in your case I am not sure exaggeration is possible. No, that would be irrational.”
”Evelyn has always been a rational sort,” Adrian said under his breath.
Max stared in disbelief. ”You used to be so clever when it came to women. Good G.o.d, man, what has happened to you?”
”Marriage is what has happened to me.” Adrian clenched his teeth. ”It makes fools out of even the most intelligent of men. I tell you, Max, it is far easier to deal with a flock of women than one single wife.”
”Only if one loves the wife in question.”
”That does indeed complicate everything.” He thought for a moment. ”I shall have flowers delivered as soon as I return home. I have a conservatory, you know. And first thing tomorrow I shall select an appropriate-no-an extravagant piece of jewelry-something symbolic and meaningful-to be accompanied by a note.”
”It had better be an excellent note.”
”Oh, it will.” Adrian cast him a smug smile. ”I have always been skilled with the written word.”
”I thought it was Sir who was so skilled,” Max said wryly.
Adrian ignored him. ”I shall pour out my heart to her. I want her to have a choice.”
”It seems to me she had a choice once and she chose you.”
”Did she choose me or did she choose the life I offered?”
Max stared. ”Surely you're not talking about wealth and position?”
”No,” he said quickly. ”She is not the kind of woman to barter the rest of her life simply for wealth. But security and family and belonging, that appealed to her.”
Max nodded. ”She has no family, no one to turn to, and certainly no financial resources.” He chose his words with care. ”But it was my observation that the true reason she chose you was love.”
”That's what I am counting on.”
”It's not too late to stop this right now.”
Adrian raised a brow. ”Are you being the voice of reason again?”
Max grinned. ”I am trying.”
”My wife's decision to reside elsewhere, though, does mean this has to be done quickly.” He shook his head. ”The longer she stays away, the more she will become used to living without me.” He drew his brows together. ”I do not intend to lose her.”
”And yet-”
”I will not lose her,” Adrian said firmly. ”And considering this all in a realistic manner, I can't really. If she were to choose Sir, I will simply have to confess that I am Sir and we can continue on from there.”
”You are mad.” Max snorted. ”Do you mean to tell me that you truly think that she will not be furious when she discovers that you originally met her as yourself to determine if she were working for someone else? And that said fury will not be exacerbated by this ruse you are perpetrating on her now?”
”She will forgive me,” he said with a confidence he didn't quite feel.
”Are you sure?” Max leaned closer and lowered his voice. ”You do understand you run the risk of losing her altogether?”
”I won't.” He drew a deep breath. ”If-when-she chooses me, my doubts will be at an end and she will never know the truth of it all.”
Max settled back in his chair. ”Because secrets of this nature never come to light?”