Lyra held up a hand, palm out. “Please don’t say it.”
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t dream of saying I told you so, because I never actually said that. I just tried to drop a few veiled hints to the effect that Hamilton might not be quite as perfect as he appeared.”
Lyra raised her eyes heavenward and sighed. “Yes, you did. But I ignored them.”
“Did you confront him with your suspicions?” Vivian asked. “It’s only fair to give the man a chance to explain.”
Lyra gave her a steely-eyed look. “There wasn’t any explaining to do. I found them in bed together.”
“Ah.” Vivian winced. “I’m so sorry. I know you cared for him.”
“Not anymore. In hindsight, I don’t think I ever felt any genuine passion for him. I just kept telling myself that he was the right man. Mother and Father approved of him. And he is so handsome. Great dancer. Great kisser, too. We had fun together. Enjoyed the same things.” Lyra heaved a tragic sigh. “It was all just too good to be true. Perfect.”
“I understand,” Vivian said gently. “What did he say when you found him with another woman?”
Lyra looked very fierce. “The other woman was Emily Parker.”
“You’re joking. Your best friend? The woman who was going to be one of your bridesmaids?”
“For the record, Emily and I are no longer best friends.” Lyra sniffed. “Hamilton actually had the nerve to try to tell me she meant nothing to him. He claimed he had not wanted to pressure me into intimacy until our wedding night but that he had to find some physical relief in the meantime. He explained in great detail that it was very unhealthy for a man to be congested.”
There was a hoarse cough from the other side of the patio. Vivian and Lyra turned to glare at Nick. He cleared his throat.
“Sorry,” he said. “Cucumber sandwich went down the wrong way.”
He grabbed his teacup.
Lyra turned back to Vivian. “Hamilton claims his doctor told him that regular sexual exercise is good for the health, at least it is if you’re male.”
There was another rusty cough from the other side of the patio. Vivian and Lyra turned toward Nick again. He assumed a somber expression.
“It’s a good thing you discovered the truth about Merrick before you married him,” he said. “Much less messy this way.”
Lyra ignored him.
“You should have seen poor Emily,” she continued. “She was standing there next to the bed, in her robe, listening to Hamilton tell me he had just been using her to satisfy his physical needs. She was furious. She grabbed a heavy crystal perfume bottle off the dressing table and hurled it straight at him. I swear, I was positively inspired. I saw his trousers hanging over a chair. I threw them out the window into the street.”
“Brilliant,” Vivian exclaimed. “I’m proud of you.”
“Emily refused to lend him a pair of pants from her father’s closet,” Lyra continued. “Hamilton had to run out onto the sidewalk in his underwear. It was very entertaining.”
Nick looked impressed. “You two are a couple of extremely dangerous women.”
“I may not have been dangerous before,” Lyra said, “but I am now. I am a changed woman. I’m going to follow in your footsteps, Vivian. From now on I am a free spirit. I will never again be bound by the boring conventions of society. I shall never marry.”
“It’s probably best to never say never,” Vivian cautioned. “Regardless, I am very glad you discovered the truth about Hamilton in time to call off the wedding.”
“Consider it a stroke of luck,” Nick offered.
Lyra studied him, deep interest sparking in her eyes. “You sound like you’ve been through a divorce, Mr. Sundridge.”
“Annulment.” Nick tossed a small sandwich to Rex, who caught it neatly in midair.
Shock flickered in Lyra’s eyes. She recovered quickly. “I see.”
The phone rang inside the villa.
Nick grabbed another sandwich and stood. “I’ll get it. That will probably be Luther Pell.”
He disappeared inside the villa.
Lyra turned back to Vivian, eyes wide.
“An annulment?” she whispered. “Dare I ask about the grounds?”
“It’s not my story to tell.”
“I see,” Lyra said. She nodded in a commiserating way. “You must have felt sorry for him. That is very kind of you, but pretending to be married to him is probably not the best way to cure Mr. Sundridge. Impotence is a serious affliction for a man. He ought to see a doctor.”
“Hold on, I think you misunderstand—”
“Mother has assured me a woman can always fake things in bed if necessary. But a man, well, a man must perform or be labeled incapacitated or something. You are a very capable woman, Viv, but you don’t have any medical training. Mr. Sundridge should seek help from a physician.”
“For pity’s sake, Lyra, you have got this all wrong. Mr. Sundridge is not impotent—”
She broke off because she realized Lyra was looking past her.
“Don’t let me interrupt,” Nick said. “The conversation just keeps getting more interesting by the minute.”
Vivian pulled herself together. “Was that Mr. Pell on the phone?”
“Yes,” Nick said. Satisfaction heated his eyes. “He said the Broker called to inform him the buyer who is eager to acquire the journal has agreed to Pell’s price.”
“No negotiation?” Vivian asked.
“None.”
Lyra glanced from Nick to Vivian. “What are you two talking about?”
“I’ll explain in a minute,” Vivian said. She looked at Nick.
“The buyer must want that journal very badly,” she said.
“Evidently, but he’s not going to get it tonight,” Nick said. “Luther and I agree that we need to drag things out a bit to make sure the buyer is hungry enough to meet us on territory we control.”
Lyra was following the conversation very intently but she did not interrupt again.
“Is Mr. Pell coming here to help put this strategy together?” Vivian asked.
Nick shook his head. “No. If the buyer is watching, and we must assume that he is, another visit to the hotel by Pell might make him skittish.”
“What do we do now?” Vivian asked. “Sit around and wait?”