Page 49 of Everyone’s a Liar

“I wasn’t going past the wall,” Livia assured her. “I just wanted to smell the flowers.”

The woman pointed toward the road. “That’s private as well.”

“Really? I thought the pathway was open to the public?”

“The Benoits had the road closed to vehicles years ago and Winston recently requested the closure be extended to pedestrians after his father became ill. Mr. Durand gets agitated if he sees strangers near the house.”

So who agreed to the outrageous request? Livia silently wondered. Probably the mayor, who had always been in the pockets of his rich citizens.

“I heard Mr. Durand was unwell. I’m so sorry.” With an effort she kept her disgust leashed. Trust a rich man to block off an entire road because he didn’t like having the public near his house. “Do you work for Winston?”

“I’m Mr. Durand’s nurse, Tara Warner. Who are you?”

Livia tried not to judge. After all, there were plenty of beautiful women that worked hard in their chosen professions.

“Livia Benoit.”

The woman’s eyes widened. “Livia? You’re the …”

Livia’s lips twisted. Her reputation had obviously preceded her. “Black sheep of the family? Yes. That’s me.”

Tara cleared her throat, swiftly regaining her composure. “I was going to say you’re the cousin who lives in New Orleans. Winston mentioned you were staying at the Willows for the next couple of weeks.”

“The return of the prodigal granddaughter. Or something like that,” Livia admitted. “I didn’t realize my cousin was freshly engaged and that we’d be hosting endless events.”

“Everyone is very happy,” Tara said.

Not everyone, Livia silently acknowledged, easily detecting the edge in the woman’s voice. It would have been wrong to jump to the conclusion that Winston had hired this particular nurse because she was gorgeous, but she sensed that Tara looked at him as more than an employer.

Was that because she’d hoped to land a rich husband when she took the job? Or because the two of them were lovers?

Livia shook her head. Did she care? Not really.

Right now she was there to get information on Winston. If she couldn’t get inside the house, then maybe the nurse could share some insight.

“And Mr. Durand? Is he happy about the engagement?”

“Of course, although he can’t be involved in any of the celebrations.” Tara glanced back at the house, her attention focused on an upstairs window that overlooked the pond. “He’s bedridden.”

“How awful. I didn’t know it was so bad,” Livia lied. “It must be hard on him to be missing all the fun.”

“I suppose.”

“And then Celeste mentioned that Winston does a lot of traveling. It must be very lonely for him. No wonder he hired a nurse to keep him company.”

Tara shrugged. “Mr. Durand understands. He depends on his son to keep his business running smoothly.”

“But it’s not always business, is it?” Livia pressed. “Doesn’t he travel overseas to visit his mother’s family?”

“Only when necessary. He tries his best to be here for his father.” Tara allowed a smug smile to curve her lips. “Lately he prefers to spend his evenings close to home.”

Livia ignored the less than subtle hint that Tara was the reason that Winston preferred to be close.

“Really?” Livia stared at Tara as if confused. “I could have sworn that Winston told me that he spent the last couple of weeks in Ireland visiting his grandparents. Was I mistaken?”

Confusion flickered over the nurse’s beautiful features. Then, with a sharp intake of breath, she pasted on a smile.

“Yes. That’s right.”