Read Online The Price of Deception by Vicki Hopkins - Free Book Online

hold a child in her
arms. She’d rock back and forth and blindly stare into the distance
at only God knows what.
    When his sister gave birth, a new kind of obsession
entered his wife’s way of life. She became an aunt that overstepped
the boundaries Marguerite tried to maintain. He constantly worried
over Jacquelyn’s sanity.
    His sister married shortly after their father’s
death. Lord Chambers, who always gave Robert an uneasy sense, had
proposed to Marguerite. Reluctantly, he agreed to the match after
his sister begged and confessed her undying love for the rich and
handsome Lord of Yorkshire.
    Robert struggled with jealousy that his sister had
the opportunity to marry for love, while he, on the other hand, had
married for duty. The couple quickly bore two children—a boy named
Geoffrey, and two years later, a girl named Nora.
    Robert found their children to be well behaved. His
sister had hired a talented governess who had done well, and he
held no hesitation in inviting them to the estate. Nevertheless, he
had committed himself to the invitation upon return to England to
give his wife an opportunity to play with their children.
    To keep his earlier promise, he picked up his pen and
wrote a request to Marguerite to join them upon their return in a
fortnight. Fourteen days. It seemed like such a short amount of
time. Robert feared he would not have an opportunity to look
thoroughly into the matter of his accidental encounter.
    He took a few more sips of his brandy and
contemplated his intended visit to Rue des Moulins. He decided
against another private mistress, but he had not given up his
occasional trips to the brothels of France. Robert justified his
actions simply. He deserved the comforts of a passionate woman to
pacify his dreary sexual life.
    His marriage to Jacquelyn had proven physically
frustrating, to say the least. He held no passion for his wife—none
whatsoever. He had tried to teach her new ways of ecstasy, but to
no avail. On his wedding night, Jacquelyn presented herself as a
woman committed to fulfill her wifely duty and nothing more.
Lately, she only lay beneath him for one thing—his seed. It
frustrated the hell out of him.
    He finished the note and inserted it into an
envelope, addressed it, and set it aside to give to his butler to
post in the morning. Satisfied he had fulfilled his promise, he sat
down to relax for a moment when he heard a knock.
    “Come in.” The door opened, and his wife sheepishly
stood in the threshold.
    “Dinner is served in the dining room, Robert.”
    He had no appetite whatsoever for food. “I don’t
think I’ll dine this evening, Jacquelyn. Do so without me.” He
anticipated her reaction with disdain.
    “Why, might I ask? Are you not hungry?”
    He pulled out his watch from his vest pocket, flipped
the golden lid open, and glanced at the time. “Six o’clock. I’m
late for a poker game at the Jockey Club with some friends.”
    “We’ve barely arrived in Paris and already you are
off with your men friends?” Jacquelyn questioned in anger. “Why
must you go out nearly every evening when we are in Paris?”
    Robert observed the ire in his wife’s eyes and
returned his own gaze of disapproval. “I come to Paris to relax,
Jacquelyn. I’ve told you that before. We spent the day together.
Must I spend every waking hour of my life with you, as well?”
    “No doubt you spend it in the arms of some
Mademoiselle,” she flipped back in his face.
    “And what is that supposed to mean?” He hurriedly
slipped his arms into his jacket.
    “You know what I mean,” she spat. “If you spent more
time in our marriage bed, perhaps I would get pregnant. Instead,
you choose to play poker games and God knows what else every
evening!”
    Robert’s jaw clenched. He hated these moments of
confrontation with Jacquelyn, but he knew if he didn’t smooth
things over, she’d make his life hell for the next few weeks. He
straightened the suit coat on his tall frame, and then