The irony of the situation was so apparent it was almost funny. That he should impregnate his own father’s widow with an unwanted child—and thereby repeat the old man’s crimes.
Except he wasn’t laughing. Nothing about this predicament was amusing.
‘Are you using contraception, Cara?’ he asked, surprised at his ambivalence when her head jerked up, and he deemed the answer from the abject misery on her face.
She shook her head.
‘When did you last have a period?’
Embarrassment scorched her cheeks, which would almost have been charming if the possible consequences of their foolishness weren’t so dire. ‘A few days ago.’
He nodded. ‘Then at least we are not in the middle of your cycle.’
There was still a chance their recklessness would have a far higher price than either of them was willing to pay, however. And there was only one solution that he could see which would ensure that didn’t happen.
He would take Cara Evans as his mistress. That way, they could arrange for her to take the necessary precautions now to prevent an unwanted pregnancy and he could offer her a place to live while he demolished La Maison—at Château Durand.
Strangely, the thought of supporting Cara and inviting her to live in his home didn’t make him as uncomfortable as he would have expected. He had never invited a woman before her to share any of his homes. And he’d never taken a mistress. Up until now, he had always kept his dating habits casual.
He had a business to run. He didn’t have time for romance. And he saw no benefit in long-term commitments of any kind. But Cara, for a number of reasons, was different.
Not only did he need to ensure there was no pregnancy, and find her an alternative home, to finally break the last of her ties to his father—but she was the first virgin he had ever slept with, and they shared an insane chemistry which he could see no good reason not to indulge, once all the other issues between them had been resolved. It made sense therefore to have her live at Château Durand and—once this insane chemistry had run its course—he would give her the pay-off he had already offered her.
She had been reluctant to take his money earlier, because she wanted to stay at La Maison, but surely she could see her marriage to his father would never hold up in a court of law now he knew what a sham it had been?
‘If there’s a...’ She sighed. ‘If there’s a consequence, I can take care of it,’ she said, her voice unsteady.
She didn’t look him in the eye, and he found his usual cynicism returning. However innocent she might appear, he was not about to trust any woman to ‘take care’ of the consequences, as she had so coyly put it.
He was a wealthy man and, although she had been unaware of his father’s true motives for suggesting marriage, the fact remained she had already married one man she didn’t love. What if she were setting her sights on trapping him into marriage too?
Weirdly, the prospect didn’t appal him quite as much as it should. But he suspected his magnanimity would disappear once the afterglow still washing through his system had subsided.
‘If there are consequences, it is as much my responsibility as yours,’ he said, broaching no argument. ‘I think the best solution is for you to live at Château Durand. I can arrange for a doctor to attend you as soon as possible to ensure no pregnancy occurs.’
Her head rose, her blue eyes so luminous anticipation surged in his chest.
The truth was, she would make him an excellent mistress. Not only was she exquisite, and surprisingly forthright, but he couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman this much. Just thinking of all the things he could teach her, all the pleasure they could share while he did, was making the blood pound straight back into his groin.
But then she said the most ridiculous thing.
‘You’re offering me a job? As a housekeeper?’ she said, sounding wary but hopeful. ‘That’s... That’s amazing and it could solve our problems,’ she continued, her voice eager with hope now as he struggled to get his head around her misconception. What had he said to give her the impression he was planning to employ her? ‘I’d be happy to give up my right to the de la Mare estate, if you’d just reconsider your plans to demolish La Maison? I know you need the land, but there must be a way to save...’
‘I am not offering you a job, and my plans for La Maison will not change.’ He interrupted the frantic flow of excited words, allowing his impatience to show. ‘I have no need of a housekeeper,’ he added, gentling his voice as he watched the hope in her eyes die—and suddenly felt as if he had kicked a kitten. ‘And you do not need a job as you will have a generous allowance.’
‘But... But what exactly would you be paying me for if I’m not working for you?’ she asked, sounding confused.
He frowned. This was ridiculous, she could not be this naïve? Surely.
‘Cara,’ he said with a sigh, dialling down his impatience—her cluelessness was quite captivating in its own way. And another thing that made her unique. ‘I would not be paying you for anything, I would simply be supporting you while you are my mistress.’
CHAPTER SIX
‘YOUR...MISTRESS?’ THE WORD came out on a horrified gasp as Cara struggled to contain her shock, not just at Maxim Durand’s bold offer but the pragmatic way in which he delivered it. As if it were perfectly rational to offer to pay a—how had he put it?—‘generous allowance’ to a woman he was sleeping with.
Perhaps it was perfectly rational in the world in which Maxim Durand lived.
What did she know of that world? A world of lavish parties and show-stopping events, of elegant balls and expensive soirées, held on enormous super yachts on the Côte d’Azur or grand hotels on London’s Strand or picture-perfect white-sand beaches in the Bahamas. All she’d ever done was read about Maxim Durand’s extravagant world in magazines. Perhaps the women he dated—the glamorous supermodels and actresses, the sophisticated hostesses and smart, stunning career women she’d seen on his arm at those events in those same magazines—didn’t think there was anything amiss with expecting Durand to foot the bill. And maybe there wasn’t, for them. Because they had money and status and agency too. They would never be dependent on his largesse because they belonged in his rarefied world and knew how it worked. And if they’d ever been powerless, they certainly weren’t powerless any more.