“Oh, I’ll be victorious in this as I am in everything else I plan.” Silvana packed away the deck of cards and smoothed down the skirt of her resplendent dark blue silk gown. “I need my son in England.”
“You have a son in England.”
“Gerald doesn’t have Nat’s business acumen and he is losing the family money not accumulating it, plus his wife is useless.” She shrugged elegantly as if talking about the weather. “Wives are dispensable, like you and her, but sons are not.”
“My husband will not leave me.” Nicola fought for calm, though it was difficult. “I am soon to have Nathaniel’s first child. He will not want to be parted from me.”
“A child is of no consequence until it’s grown. We’ll send for it then.”
Send for her child as though it was nothing more than a parcel? “You are insane to think Nathaniel will agree.” Stunned, Nicola could only stare.
“Quite the opposite actually.”
“You might have fooled Nathaniel and Frances into believing you have changed from the unfeeling harridan you were, but I could—”
“You could do what?” Silvana stood and glided to the window. “You can do nothing, for my son has always wanted love and attention from his father and me. I know his rebellious behaviour stemmed from his childhood. The silly boy wouldn’t grow up, always wanting a pat on the head like some puppy.” Silvana tossed her head in disgust. “He was sent away to school to make a man out of him and, as you can see, it worked.”
“If he has any decency it is because Frances never gave up on him and loved him through it all. That and the fact he escaped you as soon as he could helped to prevent him from becoming a complete blackguard.”
“You know nothing.”
“I know a lot more than you think. Nathaniel has told me such painful stories of your neglect in your role as mother to him and Frances. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
Silvana waved her away like an irritating fly. “What is done is done. The future will be different. They will come home with me and forget this backwater.”
“And you think I’ll calmly let you do this?”
“Yes. I’ll see that you and the child are generously provided for until the child is of an age. Then it will travel to join us and go to a proper English school.”
“And what of my husband’s love for me?”
“That will soon fade. Distance is a great healer.”
“Nathaniel cannot be ruled and will not simply give up me and everything he has worked for to return to a place where he was unhappy.”
“Ah, you don’t understand.” Silvana gave her a cold look. “What you fail to consider is Nat’s loyalty to his heritage. Gerald didn’t inherit all of his father’s businesses and money, because my husband knew his eldest son well and that Gerald could never cope with such responsibility.” She picked up a figurine and placed it down again with a curl of her lip. “No, Nat showed how he could make money and this impressed his father greatly.” She walked behind the sofa, trailing her fingertips along the top of it. “This morning I gave Nat some letters, letters that will show him how much his father respected him. After reading them he will know his duty.”
“Why didn’t his father write to him in the last few years instead of when he was ill?”
Silvana’s eyes widened innocently. “Oh, my husband didn’t write those letters. I did, at least I paid for them to be written.” She smiled, her expression sly as a fox.
“I will tell Nathaniel all of this.”
“And willingly hurt him?” Silvana frowned and pursed her lips. “Do you want to affirm all those years of…neglect? My son might be in his thirties but he still hasn’t grown up. He still longs for the love of his parents. Now he has it. Answer me this, have you ever seen him so happy as he is now?”
Nicola swallowed. It was true. Nat smiled and laughed continually, content to finally have a complete and loving family around him for the first time in his life.
Silvana’s ugly smirk ruined any beauty she possessed. “Do you want to be the one to dispel his happiness? Do you think he’ll thank you for it?”
“You are truly evil.” Nicola tensed as Silvana walked up very close to her.
“You haven’t even seen the worst of me yet.” Silvana twisted the tender skin under Nicola’s arm, making