AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Henri sent her a sour frown. “I was there, but not as a person,” he complained. “I was just another tool, like a pitchfork or a shovel. When someone wanted something they expected me to rush in and take care of it. Otherwise they ignored me.” He returned his attention to Niko. “In the beginning it pissed me off. And then I realized I could use it to my advantage.”
“What does that mean?” Niko asked.
“The stables were the one place the nuns rarely visited. It made it a favorite spot for the girls to gather so they could whisper and tell each other secrets. Sometimes I would overhear what they were saying.”
“You were eavesdropping?” Rayne demanded in revulsion.
Henri’s jaw tightened. “I was negotiating a business deal.” He jerked his head toward Niko. “I’m sure Scantlin can appreciate that.”
Niko attempted to disguise his distaste. He was an entrepreneur, not a petty criminal who extorted little girls.
“What did your negotiations involve?”
“It was simple,” Henri said. “I promised that I would keep my mouth shut in return for a few bucks.”
“Blackmail,” Rayne insisted.
Henri shrugged. He obviously didn’t feel any regret for squeezing money out of schoolchildren. “Most of the stuff they did was just bending the rules. Sneaking out after curfew. Or cheating on tests. I never charged more than fifty or a hundred dollars.”
Niko silently wondered if the discounted amount was supposed to make it better. “Did you blackmail Brooke into giving you a job?”
A nasty smile curved the man’s lips. “Ah, Brooke. She was my . . .” He paused, as if searching for an elusive word. “What is the saying? Pot of gold. Yes, that’s it. She was my pot of gold.”
Niko studied the man in confusion. The Orwells were wealthy, but they weren’t in the same league as some of the families who sent their daughters to St. Cecilia’s School for Girls. Including Rayne Taylor. Her father numbered his wealth in billions, not millions. It had to be because the Orwells owned a horse farm. Henri’s childhood dream.
“I assume she broke some rule?” Niko asked. “Or did she cheat on a final?”
“Neither.” The nasty smile remained. “I caught her in one of the stalls having sex a few weeks before she was supposed to graduate.”
Ah. The pot of gold wasn’t referring to Brooke’s ability to pay more, but the potential worth of her offense.
“I can’t imagine that would have made the nuns happy,” Niko acknowledged in dry tones.
Henri shook his head. “She wasn’t worried about the nuns. She was terrified of her parents.”
Niko paused, trying to remember back to his senior year in high school. His parents had made vague attempts to maintain control over him. Especially because he was destined to take over the family business. But they’d understood that he was no longer a child. He was becoming independent, with the need to make his own decisions. And his own mistakes.
“She had to be eighteen by then.” He spoke his disbelief out loud. “Her parents might have been disappointed, but I can’t imagine it was that big of a deal.”
“It wasn’t the sex she was concerned her parents might find out about.” Henri deliberately paused. “It was the person she was with.”
Niko made a sound of impatience. “One of the staff?”
Henri leaned forward, his eyes glowing with a wicked anticipation. “Natalie Scantlin.”
CHAPTERSEVEN
Rayne had heard the phrasethe silence was deafening, but she’d never truly understood what it meant. How could silence be deafening? Now she shifted in her seat, the thick air seeming to press against her.
She’d known that Nat and Brooke were close. Sometimes they seemed inseparable, but she’d never thought it was more than friendship. They’d obviously gone to a great deal of effort to hide their relationship. A fact she appreciated, but at the same time she couldn’t deny a small sting of betrayal.
Rayne had assumed that she and Nat had shared everything when they’d huddled beneath the blanket together to keep warm on icy winter nights. They’d gossiped about the other girls, bitched about their parents, who didn’t understand anything, and fantasized about the future that they were convinced was filled with an inevitable artistic success.
Surely Nat knew that Rayne would support her no matter who she fell in love with?
At last it was Niko who broke the silence.
“That’s why Brooke convinced her father to give you a job?” he demanded, his voice tight, as if he was struggling to leash his emotions.
