Chapter 11
Belle
“You don’t look impressed,” Barrett scolds from almost a thousand miles away. He’s in his New York office, but decided at the last minute to join the Zoom meeting he’d scheduled for me with a prospective nanny.
I thought I’d schooled my expression quite well during the interview. “I would have thought the bare minimum requirement for working with children was to actually like them.”
“You don’t know that she doesn’t.”
In truth, she was nice enough, but I don’t need or want help looking after my daughter.
“And once we have a shortlist,” Barrett continues, “we’ll meet each candidate in person. Marina came with glowing credentials.”
“That could just mean the family she’s with are keen to let her go.”
Barrett folds his arms and leans back in his black leather executive’s chair.
He’s in his Manhattan office, but the only view on offer is of the bookshelves behind him.
I’m using his home office and the background in my video feed is almost identical – same bookshelves and reference books, same mahogany furniture.
“Belle, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re being deliberately obstructive. I know you don’t think it’s necessary to hire a nanny, but if you’re intending on homeschooling the child for the foreseeable future, you’re going to need help.”
I glare at Barrett. Did he just call Piper, the child?
He’d been so sensitive and understanding when he stepped in after Ethan died.
Generous to a fault, and never asking for anything in return, not even my affection.
That was the man I’d been dealing with when I entered into this arrangement. Where’s that man now?
“Piper’s in Pre-K, and I’m pretty sure I can teach her well enough on my own,” I argue. “I taught her to read.” In truth, my daughter’s a sponge so it wasn’t that difficult. She absorbs information at the same astonishing rate as her father.
My gaze flicks to the scowl I’m pulling on-screen. The dark circles under my eyes are more pronounced than ever. I’ve been sleeping just as badly in the last week as I did in the run up to our visit to Chicago.
“Your teaching abilities aren’t in dispute, but I don’t think you’ve grasped how demanding your new role as my wife will be,” Barrett continues.
“I’ve been trying to introduce you gradually, but the time will come when you’ll be spending as much time in New York as you do at home.
And the sooner Piper gets used to having a nanny, the less disruptive it will be for her when you’re away. ”
I don’t intend to go anywhere. Ash told me to stay in Poulton Springs for my own safety, and I haven’t heard anything to suggest that situation has changed.
I haven’t heard from him at all, and the only reason I know the need for security persists is because I’ve had Jake tailing me on my rare visits into town.
Barrett refuses to have CCTV at the mansion, but there’s a camera at the guardhouse that shows at least one blacked-out SUV parked permanently outside the entrance gates.
Tandy’s noticed similar vehicles in town too.
It's going to be a while before I feel safe, and if I do have to travel to New York, there’s no way I’d leave Piper behind. “The arrangement with Tandy works just fine.”
“And on that subject, we need more staff to run the estate. I know you don’t want a replacement housekeeper, and no one could replace you anyway, but I would like to make your life easier,” he says, his abrasive tone softening.
“My P.A. is in the process of hiring a cook and two housemaids. They’ll be with you by Thursday. ”
Housemaids? I feel like I’ve suddenly been transported back in time. “Barrett, it’s really not necessary. I can barely find things for Tandy to do as it is.”
“Because you’re doing most of the work yourself,” he reminds me. “But the time will come when you’re be too busy organizing charity events and such like.”
“What charity events?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he says, his patience slipping. “The kind of thing wives of executives do. If the Griffin women can manage it, I don’t see why you can’t.”
“Barrett, I’m not…” My words falter. I want to remind him that I’m not his wife in the real sense, but perhaps there is societal pressure for me to behave like one. “I’m not ready. Can’t we leave things as they are for now?”
Barrett leans forward, and his elbows thump against his mahogany desk. He looks suddenly defeated. “There’s a lot of attention on me at the moment,” he says. “We have to be very careful about the optics.”
“But I went to Chicago with you. Everyone knows I’m your wife now. Isn’t that enough?”
“I wish it were that simple.”
I grit my teeth. “There was nothing simple about that trip, but it’s done now. Surely I can just stay here, out of the headlines. People can forget I even exist.” Most people at least. Ash isn’t going to let me slip back into the shadows a second time.
“Belle, I know this hasn’t been easy for you, but I still need you to work with me on this.
I…” He drags his hand across his face. “I’ll be home this weekend, and I’ll be bringing Ray and another guest. And well, let’s just say they’re very influential.
If we can’t sell ourselves as a happily married couple, I’m going to be under even more pressure. ”
The thought of spending an entire weekend playing the doting wife fills me with dread. “I don’t understand. What pressure?”
“The Vasili Barkov kind,” he grumbles. “He still wants me to marry Katarina.”
“But you’re already married!” I say, my voice rising an octave.
“Divorces can be arranged,” he says. “Especially ones built on weak foundations, which is why we have to accept a degree of scrutiny to prove the doubters wrong.”
“And exactly who’s going to be doing the scrutinizing? Have you invited Vasili?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he snaps. “Belle, I only need you to do this one favor. Two nights. That’s all. But…”
I don’t like the way his cheeks redden. “But what, Barrett?”
“I can’t have us sleeping in separate rooms while we have guests. That would definitely send the wrong message.”
I recoil so fast that my chair rolls back from the desk. “I’m sorry, Barrett, but I made it clear I wouldn’t be sharing your bed.”
“And I would never demand anything physical from you, not unless it was what you wanted,” he agrees. His voice is syrupy sweet when he adds, “I appreciate this is something you weren’t expecting, and I’ll sleep on the floor if it makes you feel better. Please. At least consider it.”
I’m shaking my head, more in disbelief than a complete refusal.
I never envisaged things getting this complicated.
As worried as I was about Ash, I could have simply disappeared again.
I didn’t. I stayed for Barrett because he was a good man who needed my help.
But it’s getting harder to remember that.
“If I do this, where does it end? How long do we have to keep this up, Barrett?” I ask. It’s something I’ve asked him before, but he’s always been vague. I’d imagined it would be for a matter of months, but from the way Barrett talks, I could be playing the part of Mrs. Emerson for years.
My husband smiles. “I’d be happy to continue the arrangement indefinitely, but if it’s not what you want, and you think you can manage to support yourself and Piper on your own, then it ends whenever you say.
You know that,” he promises. “I am hopeful that we won’t have the Barkovs nipping at our heels for much longer.
It won’t take Katarina long to snare another eligible bachelor, and according to Vasili, her date with Ash went exceedingly well. ”
My stomach hollows, and I try not to dwell on why it does that.
Ash is free to do whatever he likes, and if he did marry Katarina, not only would I be free to end my sham of a marriage to Barrett, but Ash might give up this idea that he could be a part of Piper’s life.
He’d made it clear that he doesn’t want the Barkovs knowing he’s her father.
Unless they know already.
Could the Barkov’s use Piper to blackmail Ash into marrying Katarina?
“Does Vasili know Ash is Piper’s dad?”
Barrett scowls. “I’m Piper’s father,” he corrects. “And no, he doesn’t. I don’t ever intend on sharing Piper’s genetic lineage with anyone. The only way they’ll find out is if Ash decides to stir up trouble and put his… to put Piper at risk for his own petty reasons.”
“He wouldn’t do that.”
“I’d be careful who you’re defending, Belle,” Barrett warns. “It almost sounds like you still have feelings for him.”
I simply stare at Barrett in response. I don’t know how convincing I’d sound if I tried to deny it.
Barrett checks his watch. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. I have a meeting. We can talk about it later when you’ve calmed down.”
Calmed down?
I slam the laptop shut. “Fuck off, Barrett,” I mutter.
I hear someone clear their throat, and for one horrible moment, I think my meeting with Barrett is still live. I pick at the corner of the laptop lid, preparing to open it and check.
Tandy laughs. “It was me,” she says, coming into the office with a tray. Coffee and cake. “Was that your first argument?”
My friend doesn’t know all the grisly details about Barrett and I, but she started work at the Emerson mansion at the same time I did. She’s seen enough of my interactions with our lord and master to know that our marriage isn’t a love match.
“Apparently we have a guest for the weekend,” I say, only now realizing Barrett hadn’t said who it was. I doubt it matters. I’m more concerned about the sleeping arrangements while Barrett’s home. “And to make our marriage more believable, we’re going to be sharing the same bedroom.”
Tandy makes a face as she hands me my coffee. “Can you ask for danger money?”
“I probably should have thought of that when I agreed to marry him,” I admit, although Barrett is paying me a generous monthly allowance in lieu of the salary I gave up as his housekeeper.
My goal is to build enough of a nest egg so that Piper and I can set up a new life somewhere else. Every time I try to imagine what that might look like, a vision of Eastham Grove springs to mind.
“Are you worried he might try something?” Tandy asks.
The truth is, I don’t know. Barrett would never force himself on me, but he might see it as an opportunity for us to get closer. “He did say he’d sleep on the floor, and given our last conversation, I might just hold him to it.”
“As annoying as he is, I think he’d do whatever you told him.”
I choke on a laugh. “Not quite anything. He’s insisting on more staff. We have a cook and two housemaids arriving by the end of the week.”
Tandy raises an eyebrow. “Very Downton Abbey,” she says. “Should I start curtseying and calling you m’lady?”
“Try it and I might just throw something at you,” I say. “Where’s Piper?”
“She’s currently serving her gardening apprenticeship outside with Chris and Dan, but don’t worry,” she says as my eyebrows rise, “I’m going straight out there to supervise. Knowing that child, she’ll try to convince them she’s old enough to drive the ride-on lawnmower.”
I smile at that. “She would too if she could reach the pedals.”
Tandy pushes the cake towards me. “Do you need anything else before I go?”
“No, I’m good. And thank you. You’re a good friend.”
At this precise moment, Tandy’s my only friend, and as much as I appreciate her, I need more allies.
“Actually, there might be something you can do,” I say, still thinking it through as I speak. “It’s about time I reached out to Quinn so we can clear the air.”
“I hate that you two fell out,” she says. “So, what do you need from me? Are you going to invite her here?”
“No, not here.” I can’t bring Quinn to the mansion without Barrett spotting her arrival at the gates on CCTV. He’s already complaining about my friendship with Tandy. He’d have a fit if he knew I was reaching out to Quinn. “If I can arrange to meet her in town, could you watch Piper for me?”
“Sure. And once you’ve kissed and made up, all three of us can get together. And if Quinn wants to bring along some of the Griffin commandos who’ve been lurking around town, that’s fine by me too. Mom’s had a few of them in her coffee shop, but just my luck I keep missing them,” she complains.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I promise. “And thanks, Tandy.”
“It’s no bother. Now, eat your cake, decompress, then come find us.”
Decompressing is the last thing I do as I pick up my cell and open my contacts.
Amber is the first name to appear, and it’s the amber in Ash’s eyes that comes to mind.
Maybe I should talk to him, but he’s just going to spin another version of the stories I’ve heard from Barrett.
And how the hell am I supposed to know which of them to believe?
I’m feeling more inclined to believe Ash right now, but I don’t trust my judgement. It’s failed me before.
And it’s not as if Ash has reached out to me.
Maybe he’s simply giving me some space to process our conversation like he said.
Or maybe he’s otherwise engaged with the Russian princess from hell.
I keep scrolling through my contacts until I find Quinn’s number.
When I hit dial, I honestly don’t know if she’ll answer.
From her actions last week, it’s clear her loyalties remain with the Griffins. She might not answer. She might–
“Hey, Belle,” Quinn says. “We were just talking about you.”