When Strangers Marry (Vallerands #1)(78)

His lips brushed over hers, and he sat down in the chair, pulling her onto his lap. “Madame, would you care to tell me what happened today?”

Lysette snuggled against his chest. “I did not expect one little visit to the attic to stir up such trouble. Besides, you’ve told me before that I may do whatever I please in this house.”

“Of course you may.”

“Justin was with me.”

“Yes, I heard.”

“All we did was open a few boxes and trunks.”

His warm hand moved over her back in an idle pattern. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

“I wasn’t looking for anything. I was just looking. And Bernard behaved very strangely, Max.” Lifting her head from his shoulder, she gazed at him earnestly. “From the way he behaved, one would think that Corinne had been his wife. He was absolutely furious.”

“I understand. Bernard can be high-handed at times.”

“This was more than high-handed!”

“Let me explain my brother to you, petite,” Max said gently. “You’ve always known him to keep his emotions to himself. But occasionally they do surface, and when that happens they do so with an explosion. Today Bernard had a rare burst of temper. Tomorrow he’ll be his usual glum self. C’est ça. He’s always been like that.”

“But when he spoke about Corinne—”

“Her death, and the circumstances surrounding it, affected us all. I’m certain Bernard has done his share of wondering what happened to Corinne, and whether he could have done something to prevent it. Perhaps that is why he is so protective of her possessions now.”

Lysette pondered his explanation. In that light, the episode seemed far more reasonable than it had this afternoon. But there was a question in her mind that refused to go away, and she had to ask it, even at the risk of making him angry.

“Max, are you certain that Bernard’s feelings for Corinne were not something more than brotherly affection? Whenever Corinne’s name is mentioned, he reacts in what I consider to be an odd manner. This afternoon wasn’t the first time he and I have exchanged words about her. After I went to the old overseer’s cottage— you remember that day?— he told me not to pry into the past anymore, or it would come back to ruin me.”

Max was still, but she sensed a new tension in his limbs. “Why didn’t you tell me about that before?”

“I didn’t know you well enough,” Lysette replied in a subdued tone. “I was afraid it would upset you.” She peered into his face, trying to read his thoughts. “You haven’t answered my question about his feelings for Corinne.”

“As far as I know, there is only one woman Bernard has ever loved. Ryla Curran, the daughter of an American who settled his family in New Orleans after years of running a flatboat up and down the river. The match was an impossible one… she was from a Protestant family. But eventually they had an affair, and she became pregnant with his child. She disappeared without a word to her friends or family about where she was going. Bernard has searched for years, but he has never been able to find her.”

“When did all of this happen?”

“At the same time Corinne was murdered. No, there was nothing between Bernard and Corinne. He was completely involved with this girl. Losing her affected him so deeply that he had never wanted to marry anyone else.”

“I didn’t know.” Lysette actually found herself feeling sorry for Bernard. “Bien-aimé,” she said tentatively, reaching up to stroke his bristled cheek, “are you unhappy about what I did this afternoon?”

He rubbed his cheek against her soft palm. “Actually, I was expecting it, my curious little cat.”

“I saw Corinne’s portrait,” she said soberly. “She was very beautiful.”

“Yes.” He brushed a wisp of hair off her forehead. “But she didn’t have hair the color of a sunset.” His thumb glided over her lips. “Or a mouth I wanted to kiss every time I saw it.” His lips moved to her ear. “She certainly didn’t have a smile that stopped my heart.”

Lysette’s eyes half closed, and she shifted closer to him. As she slid her arms around his neck, her wrist bumped against the back of the chair. She winced at the unexpected pain.

Max looked at her sharply. “What is it? Are you hurt?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Lysette groaned inwardly as she realized that the sight of her bruised wrist was going to bring up more questions about today, when she was now willing to forget the entire matter.

Ignoring her protests, Max unwrapped her arms from around his neck, his gaze raking over her. “Why did you flinch like that?”

“It’s only a little—”

He drew in his breath sharply at the sight of her swollen, discolored wrist. Black finger marks showed against her pale skin. Suddenly there was a look in his eyes that made her uneasy. “What happened?”

“Just a little accident. I was coming down from the attic— the steps are so narrow, and there is no railing— and I lost my balance. Justin was quick enough to catch my wrist and pull me back. Everything is fine now. In a day or two my wrist will be perfectly—”

“Did this happen before or after Bernard appeared?”

“Er… during, actually. Bernard shouted and startled me, and that was when I fell.” Lysette did not tell him how slow his brother had been to offer help. Her perception of things might have been more than a little awry. And Bernard had probably been too stunned to move. Some people were quick to act in such situations, like Justin, while others froze.