Secrets of Sloane House (32 page)

“It’s a matter of some importance,” Reid said. “Otherwise we would not have dreamed of infringing upon their privacy at this time of day.”

“Please, let me escort you to the drawing room.”

As they followed him across the black-and-white-checkered marble floor and into the almost stark drawing room, its elegance and spaciousness something of a surprise in the current Victorian fashion of excess, Reid thought again about his first visit.

He’d been struck dumb by the grandeur and the pure beauty and quirkiness of the home. Only then did he truly appreciate the place the Sloanes occupied in Chicago’s social circles. Here was a family that didn’t rush to adopt every new fad or trend. Instead, they set them—or ignored them, thumbing their noses at the rest of the world. As a product of two people’s extreme efforts to make him into the mold of a gentleman, the pure disdain for the accepted decorating styles felt both freeing and vaguely scary.

Now Reid realized that he hadn’t had the confidence in himself to trust his own judgment. He’d also been forgetting some very important tenets about who—and what—truly mattered in life.

Hodgeson led them into the formal drawing room. Then, with another curious look at Rosalind, abruptly turned and left. Reid could only imagine how he would approach each family member. After a few minutes, he said, “Rosalind, who do you think will join us first?”

“Mr. Sloane. He is always up first.”

“Do you think Douglass and Veronica will grace us with their presence?”

After a moment’s thought, Rosalind nodded. “They will be too curious not to. Your appearance is rather unusual. I have a feeling by now—even after only a few minutes—every person in the house is wondering why the Armstrongs have paid a visit so early. With a former maid in tow,” she added with a grimace.

After looking at a collection of silver kaleidoscopes, his mother perched on the edge of a dark eggplant-colored velvet settee. “Come sit down, Rosalind.”

“I’d rather stand.”

She clucked her tongue. “I think not. Now’s not the time to waver, dear. You wished to join us? Then join us you will. Please sit.”

With obvious reluctance, Rosalind sat next to his mother.

Reid took one of the chairs on their right. They sat in silence. He supposed each was lost in their thoughts. He, for one, couldn’t help but keep returning to his finding Eloisa in the shadows the night before. He doubted he would ever forget the look of pain and humiliation on her features.

Hodgeson returned. “The family will receive you within the half hour.” His disapproving tone conveyed the disdain both he and the family felt for the timing of their visit. “I was told to ask if you would care for refreshments while you wait?”

“I think not,” Mrs. Armstrong replied.

“Very well.” The butler bowed slightly before retreating.

When they were alone, Rosalind leaned back against the cushions with a sigh. “Oh, he is not happy.”

“Good,” Reid snapped.

“I hope this is the last time I’m ever in this home. Something feels off, don’t you think?” his mother mused. “I don’t want to come back.”

Twenty-eight minutes later by Reid’s count, they heard footsteps and the low murmuring of voices in the foyer. “Here we go,” Reid said as the double doors to the room opened and all four Sloanes entered the room.

He rose to his feet.

His mother straightened but remained sitting. She pressed a hand on Rosalind’s thigh when she made a move to stand up as well.

“Armstrong,” Mr. Sloane boomed. “Carlotta.”

“Hello, Clayton,” she replied graciously. “I apologize for the timing of this visit, but I’m afraid it couldn’t be helped.”

“Hmm.” Mr. Sloane, his wife, and Douglass all took chairs facing Reid. Each wore varying expressions of curiosity and boredom. Veronica sat down on the settee opposite his mother and Rosalind, looking vaguely amused.

None of them acknowledged Rosalind.

“Reid, Carlotta,” Mrs. Sloane said with a patently fake smile. “Now that we are all settled, perhaps you would care to share to what we owe this honor?”

“At this ungodly hour,” Veronica said under a yawn.

“And why do you need to see all four of us?” Mr. Sloane groused.

Douglass looked at Rosalind. “And why is she here?”

“Is someone in trouble?” Olympia Sloane asked.

Douglass eyed Reid curiously. “I must admit that you have us all intrigued.”

An expectant pause descended over their group. Reid knew it would be up to him to begin and to put out the story about Eloisa as circumspectly as possible.

He’d gone over several ways of breaking the news in his head, each one sounding more jumbled and convoluted than the next.
Finally, he let his heart and instincts guide him. “Over the last several months, rumors have been circulating about you, Douglass.”

“Me?” His dark eyes narrowed.

Reid folded his hands together. “I’m sure you’ve heard them. Your behavior has become more volatile. Your activities and proclivities more dark. More shocking.”

To Reid’s surprise, it was Veronica who came to her brother’s rescue. “And?” she asked in her trademark bored way. “I fail to see how Douglass’s affairs affect you at all.” She raised a brow. “Unless the two of you now make it a habit of calling on homes for the sole reason of spreading malicious gossip?”

“It is not mere gossip,” Reid retorted.

Douglass glared at Rosalind. “If you are referring to a little harmless flirting with housemaids . . .”

“It was more than flirting,” Rosalind said, already breaking her promise to leave the talking to Reid.

“Can you prove it?”

“We came over because the rumors have spread from Douglass forcing his attentions on housemaids to something far different,” his mother interjected. “As much as it pains me to admit, it seems his behavior has finally crossed the line.”

“Which line is that?” Mr. Sloane asked.

Reid sat down and looked directly at the man he’d once called his best friend. “A young lady of good quality informed me last night that you, Douglass, violated her.”

Before his parents could shrug off Reid’s statement as outlandish, Douglass leaned forward. “And when did this violation happen?”

“At the gala held last night in the McCormick mansion.” He paused, then added succinctly, “In one of the empty rooms.”

“I have no idea why this ‘woman’ would say such a thing,” Douglass scoffed. “Anyway, it’s only my word against hers.”

Reid held his temper in check . . . barely. “I saw the bruises around her neck, Douglass. I also believe her.”

“If you believe her, then you’re a fool.”

“What does she want?” Veronica interjected, her voice sounding like it was on the verge of breaking. “I still don’t see why her misfortune concerns you. I know of no lady who would dare make such accusations aloud, even if they were true.”

Reid’s mother leaned forward. “It has been my experience, Miss Sloane, that most women are afraid to admit such things occur because they fear they will be blamed.”

“Perhaps that is because they should be blamed,” Mrs. Sloane said with a sniff. “I don’t mean to disparage this, uh, lady, but if what she says is true, then she must have put herself in a bad situation.” Brushing a nonexistent crumb off her skirts, she added, “Not all women take as much care with their reputation as they should.”

“This lady is of the highest tier in our social circle. Furthermore, she did nothing wrong. Nothing.”

Yawning rudely, Douglass leaned back, folding one leg over the other. “Again, I am mystified as to why you are here. If she is so perturbed about my supposed vicious attack, then I would have thought she would want to be here,” he drawled.

Mr. Sloane was looking slightly pale. “Carlotta, did you speak to this woman?”

“I did, Clayton. I also have seen her bruises. She was badly injured.”

“Why are you here, Reid?” Douglass demanded, his face ruddy with anger. “No matter what happened, it doesn’t concern you.”

“I am here because I can’t let this incident be overlooked,” Reid said quietly. “She is a lady of quality, a lady of much esteem. And you,
Douglass, have ruined her. That is unforgivable. It is unforgivable for any woman to be violated.”

A muscle twitched in Douglass’s jaw, but that was the only indication that he took any of Reid’s accusations seriously. “I’d like to see her try to blacken my name.” He looked around at his family. Glanced at his mother. Stared hard at Reid. “I’m a Sloane. That name carries a significant amount of weight in some circles. In most circles.” He raised a brow and stared meaningfully at Reid. “Or have you forgotten?”

“I haven’t forgotten anything,” Reid retorted. But this time, he didn’t back down. He stared hard at Douglass. “If you are referring to the way you lied for me back in boarding school, I believe I can safely assure you that that debt has been repaid. Tenfold.”

For the first time, Douglass looked a bit nervous. He pulled out an immaculate handkerchief and wiped his brow.

Veronica paled. “This woman, will she be all right? And does anyone else know about what happened to her?”

“I don’t believe anyone else knows. As for her future? I’m afraid I do not know that answer.”

She leaned forward. “Mr. Armstrong, who was it?”

“You know I cannot divulge that information, Veronica,” he said gently. “Once more, I think you know why.”

Veronica’s eyes widened. “Why would you say that?”

Reid looked around the room, feeling as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. As each face stared back at him, in various stages of anger, disbelief, and pain, he knew he had made the right decision.

This was one of the hardest things he’d ever done, but it was a choice he would never regret.

“You and I both know that this has happened before to other
ladies of quality, and the reputation of any woman he violated would be ruined as well if what happened became known.”

He went on. “But we also both know that this is not as big of a shock to you as you are pretending it to be. Douglass’s behavior has ruined your chances for a successful match as well. No man of good standing wants to be tainted by such an association.”

Mrs. Sloane clenched her hands together. Mr. Sloane looked stunned. Veronica paled further, and his own mother looked shaken. Rosalind looked dazed.

Only Douglass sat complacently.

And that, Reid believed, was the most telling reaction of all.

CHAPTER 33

B
ut Douglass’s apparent complacency was soon replaced by a dark look.

“I had no idea your gifts included such oratories, Armstrong,” Douglass murmured with a tightness in his voice. With wooden movements, he stood up, crossed the room, opened a cabinet, pulled out a bottle and snifter, and poured himself a shot. When he sat down again, Reid noticed that the muscles around his lips had loosened, but there was an increased amount of stress looming at the corners of his eyes.

For the first time since they’d arrived, Reid felt a small amount of relief. At last, Douglass was rattled. Maybe far more shaken than any of them realized.

Mr. Sloane coughed. “Forgive me if I am mistaken, Douglass, but you have not once denied either Reid’s or Carlotta’s claims. Why not?”

“I don’t believe this is the time or the place, Father.”

“Forgive me, but I disagree,” Mr. Sloane said. “You are here with your family.”

“And with the Armstrong family. And with a . . . a maid.” Douglass rolled his eyes. “Forgive me if I don’t harbor the same allegiance to them that you feel toward yours.”

His father closed his eyes with a sigh. When he opened them again, anger lit his features. “Douglass, did you violate this lady?” he barked. “Do you know what Reid is alluding to?”

“He knows,” Veronica said, her eyes flashing. “Everything Reid said is true. Douglass is the reason I’ve become the laughingstock of our social circle.” Bitterness poured through her voice. “And because no one in polite company will dare mention what Douglass has done, they only point out that the wealthiest woman in their midst is slowly becoming an old maid.”

After shooting a spiteful glare her way, Douglass shrugged. “I might have been a touch too eager with my attentions. But it is certainly nothing to be concerned about. It’s not like I have really harmed anyone.”

His father slumped. “So the allegations are true.” Turning to Reid, he said softly, “How much does this woman want?”

Reid exhaled. The family’s response wasn’t too much of a surprise, but it was still disappointing. Here Douglass wasn’t even bothering to refute Eloisa’s claims, and yet all his parents were worried about was saving his reputation.

“She is not asking for anything,” he said at last. “I, however, would like Douglass to tell us about the other women he’s ruined.”

“The other women were of no account.”

“I believe one of the others was a maid in your household.”

Douglass lurched to his feet, frustration evident in the lines of his face. “That blasted girl! I gave Nanci more than enough to keep
her silence. She took every penny and promised not to tell. So what did she say, Armstrong? Or was it Rosalind who talked?” he sneered. Turning to her, he glared.

“What did you learn? Did she tell you all about Wooded Island? Did she tell you how she went with me easily enough? Did she lie and tell you she was with child?”

Reid stared at Douglass, stunned as his worst fears came to light. “I wasn’t speaking of Nanci.”

“You hurt Nanci too?” Veronica was on her feet now. “She’d been with me for years!”

“She was nothing. Just an uppity lady’s maid.” His voice lowered, took on a far more bitter tone. “And she knew she was in good looks too. Every day, she taunted me. Teased. It wasn’t my fault that I could no longer ignore her.”

Warily, Reid glanced at Rosalind. Her face was ashen but she remained composed. His mother was holding her hand. She looked shocked. Mr. Sloane sat motionless while the lines around his wife’s lips increased.

As Douglass and Veronica continued to argue.

“Douglass, you should have left her alone,” Veronica said with a fierce glare. “After all, she was a servant in our home.”