“There’s far more to it than that.”
“Like what?”
He drew a deep breath, knowing he’d already said too much, and the reticence forced upon him felt like more of a stranglehold than ever. “As I explained, I cannot go into details. Suffice it to say that the investigation provided ample evidence that Ritz was abusing his position.”
“Investigation?” She glared at him, the steel in her eyes he knew sowell. “You mean the investigation that has been going on for months while you were acting as a front to cover it up? The audits, the cost-cutting measures, the calls for efficiency—that was all just a hum, wasn’t it, to conceal the real purpose, which was to find a way—any way—for Helen to rid the hotel of Ritz, Escoffier, Echenard, and me. She’s always resented us. There were private detectives following us, spying on us. Did you know about that, too?”
“Not you, Delia. No detectives were following you. In fact, they hadn’t even started investigating you.”
“But you knew they would.”
“Yes,” he admitted quietly. “I knew that.”
“And you never told me. And why would you? You thought I was a thief.”
“I thought there was cause for investigation, if that’s what you mean. But I was keeping an open mind.”
“Is that what you call it?” She gave a laugh tinged with unmistakable scorn. “That business in the laundry makes perfect sense now. Did you really believe I would steal wine and free meals and laundry services?”
“I didn’t know for certain. Others were doing it, and I knew it was possible you could be doing it, too. But I finally concluded you were innocent—”
“Well, that was jolly decent of you. Did you come to this conclusion before or after we made love?”
That question hit him like a blow to the chest. “Before, but—”
“Well, it’s good to know that when you declared your love for me, when you held me in your arms and made love to me, you knew I wasn’t a common little thief. It might have been nice, though, if you had told me that I was about to be fired anyway.”
“I didn’t know if that would happen. Nothing was officially decided until the board voted this morning. I tried to mitigate—”
“You know, there was a time after we met when I thought my job might be in jeopardy, but eventually, I dismissed it. You were so moral, I thought. So honest, so upright and honorable, you’d never be so duplicitous. Itrustedyou, Simon, damn it. And today, I learned how misplaced that trust was.”
He stared at her, wondering how the hell he was ever going to win her back when he could not explain. When he could not give her proof that Ritz, not him, was the villain here.
“I told you things,” she went on. “Intimate things about myself I’ve never told anyone else, not even my own family. I did that because I was sure I could trust you. You could never be, I thought, the sort of man who would keep secrets from a woman, who could lie to her and make love to her at the same time. How wrong I was.” She gave a laugh. “For the fourth time in my life, I’ve been blind to the fact that I’m falling in love with a man who cannot be honest with me. When will I ever learn?”
“Ritz is the one who’s been deceiving you, not me.”
“Ritz isn’t the one who held me in his arms!” she cried. “Ritz isn’t the one who kissed me, made love to me, knowing I was suspected of fraud, knowing I might be fired for it, knowing detectives would soon be following me. Ritz never declared love for me. Ritz never—” She stopped, her lip trembling. “Ritz never broke my heart.”
Her voice wobbled on the last word, a vulnerability that tore him into pieces. “Delia, I couldn’t tell you what was going on. I still can’t. I was a member of the board, and though I’ve since resigned, I am still legally bound to silence.” He could see her face hardening even more against him as he spoke, but he persevered. “I made promises—”
“I don’t give a damn about legal agreements and promises you’ve made to other people. I care about the things you promisedme. I came to you last night; I gave myself to you. I declared my love, andyou declared yours. Is that not a promise? You lay with me. Is that not a promise? Through it all, I thought I could trust you. I had to learn from someone else how wrong I was.”
“Someone else? Ritz, you mean. It’s plain as day that he has filled your ears with lies about his activities, lies I am not allowed to contradict with proof.”
“Ritz may have lied to me. I don’t know. But you certainly have.”
“I did not lie,” he cut in, glad that on that score, at least, he could defend himself. “I was very careful not to tell you a single thing that was untrue.”
“Lies of omission are still lies!”
“Keeping a secret that is not mine to tell isn’t a lie. I was constrained by promises made before I ever met you.”
“For a man who doesn’t lie, you’re awfully good at deception. How many other secrets are you keeping? And how can I ever know? How can I ever believe you trustworthy?”
“So, if I had broken promises made before I met you,thatwould make me trustworthy in your eyes?”
“Yes!”
