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“So how did Rowena become a Millstone?” Colette was curious as to the means the obvious parasite had used to worm her way into the Millstone family.
Clive let out a guffaw. “Among other things, Arthur was a scoundrel when it came to women. He would go to his club, where a few of his buddies would meet up with”—he cleared his throat—“ladies of the evening.”
“You mean prostitutes.” Colette wasn’t a prude, nor was she naïve.
Clive cleared his throat again. “Well, yes, I suppose.”
“So was Rowena one of those ‘ladies of the evening’?” Colette made air quotes.
“Not according to Arthur. She was a business colleague of one of his poker pals. Or so he said.”
“But how did she get him to marry her?”
Clive smirked and tilted his head. “You mean aside from giving him genital herpes?” Clive couldn’t resist punctuating Arthur’s lack of decency with the incurable socially transmitted disease. Plus, Colette was a big girl.
Her eyes widened to the size of saucers. “What?” She was incredulous.
“Yes. It’s true. When she told Arthur, he had to tell Sylvia, which is one of the reasons she divorced him.”
“I see.” Colette was zooming in on the picture Clive was painting for her. It wasn’t pretty.
“Once the divorce was final, Arthur decided if he ever wanted to have sex again, he’d have to marry Rowena. That is, if he didn’t want to be a total snake and not tell his sexual partners. Apparently, he hadn’t been practicing safe sex. Why start?” he asked sarcastically.
“For the other person’s safety?” Colette was both amused and horrified. “Wow. I often wondered why there was so much animosity between Rowena and Mr. Randolph.”
“Randolph believed Rowena did it on purpose. She had a loaded pistol and waited for a good target. It was criminal if you ask me,” Clive added.
“So Arthur went along with it because he felt he had no other choice.” Colette made it a statement, not a question.
“Correct. Listen, I don’t feel one iota of pity for him. He made that bed. No pun intended.”
Colette chuckled. “This has been a highly informative conversation, sir. It explains a lot of things. There was always tension between Rowena and Arthur. A feeling of resentment. Often hostility. Now it all makes sense.”
“I always felt that was the reason for Randolph’s heart condition. It was one disappointment or bailout after another.”
“That’s terrible.”
“Arthur never showed any remorse for being a bounder; nor did he show any appreciation of his father. He acted as if bailing him out of his messes was what Randolph was supposed to do. Save his arse. Each and every time.
“A sad, pathetic story. I always felt bad for Randolph. He lost his wife and blamed himself. He changed his life to focus on his family, which was the absolute right thing to do. But then he pampered Arthur to the point where Arthur acted like he was invincible. Spoiled rotten, if you ask me. Instead of being grateful and wanting to make his father proud, it was as if Arthur’s mission was to take advantage of every situation.”
“This is so much to absorb.” Colette finished her port and proceeded to get up. “I don’t know if I am going to be able to sleep tonight.” She smirked.
Clive stood. “Colette, I cannot tell you how much your courage means to me. You were quite brave to come here.”
“I had to do it for Mr. Randolph.” Her eyes began to mist.
Logan came bounding into the room. “Got some Internet service back. I wouldn’t push it, though.”
“What do you mean?” Clive looked up.
“Don’t download any movies, music, big files. It’s like trying to thread a needle with a sausage.”
Colette chortled. “That could be very messy.”
Logan snorted. He thought she was charming, and there was a lot more to learn about this attractive, enigmatic woman who had appeared on their doorstep a few hours earlier. He had heard her name mentioned in passing but never had the opportunity to meet her. And she was far from ordinary-looking. Logan surmised she was also very bright. She had to be if she had been working for the Millstones. Either that or she was a total idiot and liked to be bossed around. He was certain it was the former.
Clive walked toward the kitchen. “I don’t plan on downloading anything tonight, but I am going to take a look at that file Rowena sent. Probably should do it now. I downloaded it before the lines went down, but in case I need to do any quick lookups, it would be hugely helpful. Thanks, Logan.” Clive patted his son on the shoulder.
