Page 61 of Isabelle’s Forbidden Love

Once inside the garage, parked next to a Subaru SUV, Isabelle switched off the engine. Before she could get out of the car, Orlando put his hand on her arm.

She gave him a quizzical look.

“Let me take the lead in there, okay?” he said.

“Of course. You know her.”

He nodded with a smile and they both got out of the car. A door led straight into the foyer of the house. There, Ines was waiting for them.

Now in her seventies, she looked much the same. Her face hadn’t changed that much. Yes, her hair had gotten gray, and she had wrinkles in her face, on her neck, and hands, but he recognized the kind brown eyes, and the benevolent smile that curved her lips upward. He was surprised and pleased to see that smile.

“Orlando,” she said with barely a breath, while she looked him up and down as if to make sure she could trust her eyes.

“Ines.”

“You’re here.”

It looked almost as if she wanted to take a step toward him to hug him, but she hesitated, then stepped aside and ushered them into the house. “Come inside.”

Ines led them into a comfortable living room, where the curtains were drawn so no sun could shine into the room. Orlando appreciated the gesture. He glanced around and saw many photos on the mantle, photos of her and a man, surrounded by children. Ines had made a life here for herself. And he was glad for that.

“Please, take a seat, both of you,” she invited them and pointed to the sofa, while she sat down in a comfortable armchair. “You’ve come during the day; it must mean it’s very important.”

He’d always liked Ines’s no-nonsense approach. She didn’t waste time with chit-chat.

“It is,” Orlando said as he and Isabelle sat down. “I’m looking for a man from back then in Montreal. His name is Dennis LaRuson.”

A visible jolt went through Ines, and all blood seemed to drain from her face. “LaRuson.”

The word sounded like a curse.

Orlando edged forward on the sofa. “You know him?”

She nodded slowly. “I wish I didn’t. I wish he’d never come into our lives.”

Orlando exchanged a quick look with Isabelle, who looked just as curious as he was. “Who is he? Was he a friend of the Arnaud family?”

Ines let out a bitter laugh. “No, he was never a friend. He was a criminal.”

“We figured that much. We found his criminal record. Who is he in relation to the Arnauds?”

“Margarite fell in love with him.”

That news rocked him to the core, and he felt his chest rise and fall rapidly.

“It was before you met her, before you married her,” Ines clarified. “He was a no-good opportunist, who tried to drag everybody down with him. Monsieur Arnaud realized that immediately. He forbade Margarite to see him. But Margarite was so impressionable. She went behind her family’s back and continued their affair. At first, I thought he only wanted Margarite because of her money, but it wasn’t just that. He was obsessed with her.”

Orlando shook his head, not because he didn’t believe Ines, but because Margarite had never mentioned LaRuson, nor had her parents or siblings.

“What happened?”

“They were going to run away together. I knew it, because Margarite could never keep anything from me.” Ines looked into the distance, her eyes brimming with tears. “I told her not to do it. Not to leave with him, but she was adamant.” Ines pulled a tissue from her pocket and dabbed her eyes. “But then, LaRuson disappeared suddenly, without Margarite. At first, I thought that Margarite’s father had paid him off to leave her alone, but I found out later that he’d been sent to prison. I was glad for it.”

“That must have been in 1976,” Orlando said, recalling the information from LaRuson’s criminal record. “He was incarcerated until 1980.”

Ines nodded. “Yes. Margarite was unhappy for a long time, but then she met you.” A smile stole onto her lips. “And I thought all would be well and she would forget LaRuson.”

Ines met his gaze, and Orlando knew instinctively what she wanted to say.