Читать книгу The Marriage Mishap - Judith Stacy, Judith Stacy - Страница 10

He’d actually shown up. Haley was surprised, and a little annoyed.

She paused at the bottom of the staircase. From the parlor, she heard his deep voice, then Aunt Harriet’s high-pitched laughter; her aunt, it seemed, was quite taken with her new husband.

She crossed the foyer and entered the parlor. Adam was on the settee, his long legs crossed behind the marble-topped coffee table. Aunt Harriet sat in the damask wing-backed chair across from him, hanging on his every word.

He seemed too big for the room, too strong, too muscular, out of place amid the lace, ruffles and delicate furnishings. Though he wore a dapper navy suit, there was a ruggedness about him. His face and hands were tanned, a stark contrast to the crisp white shirt he wore.

Adam stopped in midsentence and came to his feet when she walked in. His gaze riveted her. “Good evening.”

Clean-shaven now, he looked different from the way she remembered from this morning. His black hair was combed carefully into place, not tousled and unruly. But those deep green eyes hadn’t changed at all. They riveted her now as they had this morning, and made her feel as if she were once again wearing his shirt, instead of a proper gown.

Aunt Harriet smiled up at Haley. “Come in, dear, we were just having a lovely chat.”

Haley stopped beside her aunt’s chair, in no mood for a lovely chat. “If you don’t mind, Aunt Harriet, I’d like to speak with Mr. Harrington alone.”

Aunt Harriet wagged her finger. “No, no, dear, not so fast. I want to hear all the details.”

“Details?” Haley felt Adam’s gaze on her, bringing a flush to her cheeks. “What sort of details?”

“Everyone is asking. What was it that brought you two together so quickly, so unexpectedly?” Aunt Harriet clasped her hands together and gazed up at her.

Haley shifted uncomfortably, her mind working feverishly. She didn’t think her aunt wanted to know the exact flavor of the punch, the thing truly responsible for bringing them together. But for the life of her, Haley couldn’t figure out what Aunt Harriet was asking.

“Now, now, dear. No need to be shy. You either, Mr. Harrington.” Aunt Harriet looked back and forth between them, then smiled sweetly. “It was love at first sight, wasn’t it.”

“Oh, love.” Relieved, Haley touched her hand to her chest.

Aunt Harriet clasped her hands together. “Was that it, Mr. Harrington? Love at first sight?”

He cleared his throat. “Yes, of course.”

“Good.” Aunt Harriet settled back in the chair. “Tell me all about it.”

Adam’s eyes widened. “Tell you about it?”

“Yes. I want to hear the whole romantic story.” Aunt Harriet pursed her lips slightly. “I don’t have to remind you that a marriage of this nature, so sudden, is just the sort of thing some people might misinterpret. We must make certain there are no misunderstandings. I want to assure everyone that nothing short of a deep, abiding love sparked between the two of you at the very first moment you laid eyes on each other.”

Haley gazed at Adam. He seemed as startled as she. Then a little grin pulled at her lips. “Go ahead, Mr. Harrington. Tell her.”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“Well, Mr. Harrington?” Aunt Harriet asked.

Adam straightened and tugged down on his jacket. “It was just as you said, Mrs. Covington. As soon as I saw your niece there was a spark, as you put it. And immediately I felt a—a…”

“A deep and abiding love?” Aunt Harriet prompted.

“Yes. Exactly.” Adam gazed across at Haley. “Without a doubt your niece is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I knew my life would never be complete without her.”

A spasm of warmth waffled through Haley. Adam seemed so sincere that for a moment she’d almost believed him herself.

“And you, Haley?” Aunt Harriet asked. “Were you surprised when you found yourself married to Mr. Harrington?”

The vision of Adam naked, propped up in the bed at the Madison Hotel, looking at her with those deep green eyes of his flashed through her mind.

“Surprised? Yes, Aunt Harriet, I was surprised.”

“And in love?”

Haley pinched the bridge of her nose. She couldn’t stand another word of this conversation.

“If you don’t mind, Aunt Harriet, Mr. Harrington and I have a few things to discuss.”

“Oh, of course. And don’t worry. I’ll be certain everyone knows the true circumstances of your marriage.”

Harriet made a quick exit, closing the double parlor doors behind her.

The room seemed to shrink, the sudden quiet making the walls close around her. Haley finally lifted her gaze to meet Adam’s. She wished she could read his thoughts.

She was beautiful. He’d known this morning that she was pretty, though admittedly his first impressions of his new wife had not been formed by the features he noticed now—the delicate arch of her brows, her red lips, the deep blue of her eyes and the sooty lashes fluttering against her porcelain skin. The creamcolored dress she wore, with its leg-of-mutton sleeves, emphasized her tiny waist, yet was not able to minimize the fullness of the breasts he remembered so well. Recollections flooded his mind, causing the rest of him to react. Slow heat coiled deep inside him. Adam shifted away and stepped behind the wing-backed chair.

“Have you thought of a way for us to get out of this, Mr. Harrington?”

“No. But, truthfully, I didn’t try.”

“Why not?” Anger flushed her skin—or was it his gaze? “Are you suggesting we remain married?”

He shrugged. “Why shouldn’t we?”

She planted her hand on her hip. “Has it occurred to you, Mr. Harrington, that we don’t love each other?”

He uttered a cynical laugh. “Did you think you’d marry for love?”

Obviously, he hadn’t. But she had, despite what everyone had told her; she’d proved it, too.

“Who’s to say we won’t grow fond of each other?”

“Grow fond of each other? Frankly, Mr. Harrington, I had something more in mind.”

His innards flamed. He dug his fingers into the back of the chair. God, he wanted this woman. “We are already married. We can’t just ignore it.”

He sounded so reasonable, Haley wanted to hit him.

He shrugged. “There’s no reason why marriage should interfere with anything we’re already doing.”

Her back stiffened. “Interfere?”

“Yes. I’ll continue on with my business, and you’ll continue on with whatever it is women do all day. Only you’ll do it from my home instead of your aunt’s. What’s so wrong with that?”

“What’s wrong with it, Mr. Harrington, is that it sounds like a business arrangement, instead of a marriage. I won’t be a party to this sham.”

“We took vows, legally and morally.” Surely they had; he’d have felt better if he could remember some of it.

“Legal, moral…Words, Mr. Harrington, nothing more. I want a divorce, and that’s final.”

Haley whipped around and headed for the door.

“Miss Caufield.”

The stern tone of his voice stopped her. She turned on him. His face was set in firm lines, tight with controlled anger. But he didn’t frighten her. He only caused her own anger to grow.

He stepped from behind the chair. “I won’t put my family through the shame of divorce. And you, I’d think, would not want a scandal.” His eyes narrowed. “Again.”

She felt as if he’d slapped her face. He knew. Somehow he’d learned of her debacle in San Francisco. Damn him…

Whatever had happened to her in San Francisco must have been the scandal of scandals, Adam realized as he watched the color drain from her cheeks. He wished he’d had more time to find out exactly what it was. He’d taken the private detective’s word that it wasn’t serious. Maybe he’d have Oscar check into it further, just for the hell of it. Regardless, the Harrington name would shield her from whatever infraction of the rules of etiquette she’d committed in the past.

Haley drew in a deep breath. The look of smug superiority on his face rankled her. He was getting his way, and he knew it. But the part she hated most was that he was right, and there was nothing she could do about it.

“I don’t seem to have a choice, do I?” Haley’s chin went up a notch as she clung to her pride.

Adam pulled his watch from the pocket of his waistcoat and flipped it open. “I have to be home in one hour. I’ll send for your things in the morning. Pack what you’ll need for tonight.”

“Tonight?”

He tucked his watch away and looked across the room at her. “I want my wife in my home tonight.”

“You sound as if you intend to install me there, like a piece of furniture. Should I plan to stand stationary, so that you can hang a picture over my head?”

What a spitfire. Adam’s belly warmed again, just when he’d gotten himself under control. He couldn’t wait to get her home.

A slow smile spread across his face. “I assure you, having you stand stationary is the furthest thing from my mind. I have other plans.”

She took a step closer. “I have plans of my own, Mr. Harrington.”

“As I said, I don’t feel this marriage should unduly interfere with our lives.”

“You can count on it.” Haley flung the words at him and marched from the room.

Despite her best efforts to exceed her husband’s deadline, Haley was packed and ready to leave within the hour. She looked around the bedchamber that had been her home for only a few days and felt a pang of sorrow at leaving. Or was it remorse? Haley pushed the thought away and slumped down on the pale green coverlet.

“I reckon that’s about it, Miss Haley.”

“Thank you, Chrissy.” She watched the maid close the latches on the trunk. Petite, with a head full of auburn curls always escaping her white cap, the young maid had attended her since her arrival at Aunt Harriet’s. Haley would miss her bubbly personality, marked so strongly by her Georgia accent.

“Lordy-day, Miss Haley, I hope you don’t mind, but I caught me a look at that new husband of yours.” Chrissy shook her head appreciatively. “He’s as handsome as Texas and as big as a bull on an auction block. Marriage to him is gonna be more fun than Christmas morning.”

Haley sprang off the bed. “Thank you, Chrissy. That will be all.”

“Oh, sure.” She turned, but paused with her hand on the doorknob. “I just want to say, Miss Haley, I’m privileged to have looked after you here. I kinda wish you weren’t going. But I hope good things come your way.”

Suddenly Chrissy seemed very dear to her. The thought of going to a strange home, knowing no one, loomed, daunting, in her mind.

A soft knock sounded on the door. Chrissy opened it, and Aunt Harriet stepped inside. She gazed at the trunks, then at Haley. “Mr. Harrington is waiting.”

“I’m ready. No, wait, Chrissy, don’t go yet.” The young maid stopped in the doorway, and Haley turned to her aunt. “I’d like to take Chrissy with me, if you don’t mind. Just until I get settled.”

Aunt Harriet considered the matter for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, that will be fine. Run along, Chrissy, and pack a bag. Mr. Harrington is growing impatient.”

Chrissy squeezed her arms together, holding in a squeal of delight, and hurried away.

Slowly, Aunt Harriet closed the door and turned to Haley. She drew in a deep breath and folded her hands together primly. “Haley, there is something we must discuss. Sit down.”

“What’s wrong?” Haley perched on the edge of the bed.

“Your mother should be speaking with you on the subject, but since she’s not here, I feel I must take matters into my own hands.” She nodded slowly. “I think that’s what she would want me to do.”

Haley had no idea what her aunt was going on about, but if it delayed her departure, it was fine with her. “Yes, I’m sure Mother would agree.”

“It’s about relations.” She pursed her lips meaningfully. Color rose in her cheeks. “Marital relations.”

“Oh. That.” Haley didn’t know how to tell her aunt that she was about twenty-four hours late with this little talk.

She drew herself up, forcing herself to go on. “You are a well-bred lady. Your mother has seen to that. You’re expected to act a certain way, conduct yourself with proper decorum, regardless of the circumstances.”

She’d spent hours in etiquette classes, and many more reading from the volumes of books available on the subject. None of them, however, had mentioned the subject that was causing Aunt Harriet so much distress.

“Husbands, well-bred gentlemen like Mr. Harrington, expect their wives to behave as ladies.” Aunt Harriet’s brows pulled together. “At all times.”

Haley sat up straighter, and her gaze wandered across the bed. “They do?”

She nodded wisely. “They do.”

“But—” Now she was confused. What she could remember of last night, and what she knew of the condition she’d found herself in this morning and Adam’s response to it, she couldn’t have behaved in anything near a ladylike manner. But he’d seemed pleased by it. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. You mustn’t abase yourself in such a manner. Mr. Harrington is expecting to marry a dignified, properly groomed lady, and that is what you must be.”

Certainly, Aunt Harriet would know. Haley’s mother wouldn’t have entrusted her to her aunt’s care had she not been the epitome of gentlewomanhood. After all, it was Aunt Harriet whom her mother had relied on to take Haley out of San Francisco until the Farnsworth scandal died down.

Haley rose from the bed. “All right, Aunt Harriet, if you say so.”

“A lady at all times. Remember that.” She pointed a stern finger at her. “We mustn’t risk falling into disfavor with the Harringtons.”

That was hardly Haley’s highest priority, but she kept the thought to herself as she followed her aunt out the door.

Adam waited in the foyer, consulting his pocket watch as Haley descended the stairs. He looked mildly annoyed as he tucked it in his waistcoat, and that pleased her.

The servants took her trunks to Adam’s carriage, and her aunt made a show of kissing her cheek and wishing her well as Adam assisted her with her cape and ushered her out the door. Chrissy went ahead and climbed up top with the driver.

The spring evening was cool, and the interior of the carriage was dark as they settled into seats facing each other. Light from the street lamps cast dim shadows across the carriage as they made their way through the city. Haley felt Adam’s steady, unnerving gaze upon her as she stared at the passing scenery, pretending not to notice him.

At length he drew a silver case from his inside jacket pocket and took out a cigarette. Sulfur filled the carriage as the match sprang to life, illuminating his features before he tossed it out the window. Smoke coiled around his head.

“Isn’t there anything you want to ask me?”

She jumped at the sound of his deep voice coming out of the darkness. “Such as?”

He shrugged. “Such as…my family, my home.”

“I assume you have both.”

He chuckled. “A new house, actually. I designed it myself. Just moved in a few months ago.” He took a long drag on the cigarette and blew the smoke over his head. “You’ll run the house now, of course…thank goodness.”

And didn’t it occur to him that might interfere with her life?

“Wouldn’t it have been easier to simply hire a competent housekeeper?” She waved away the smoke coiling toward her.

“I have a staff, all quite capable. But you’ll have a vested interest in the place. That’s what I want. Do with it whatever you like. I’m told it needs a woman’s touch.”

So, there it was. Her first assignment in her new life. It didn’t sit well with her, but it was a role she had trained for most of her life.

He stretched out his legs, long, muscular legs that took up most of the space between the seats. Haley scooted sideways to avoid him. Again, she waved away the white, hazy cigarette smoke. “Must you smoke in here? It’s a nasty habit, you know.”

Adam studied the glowing tip of his cigarette, then tossed it out the window. “Don’t you want to know about my family?”

No, she wanted to get out of this carriage and get back to her own family. “Certainly.”

“One brother, one sister. Both younger. They live with my father.” Adam shifted uncomfortably on the leather seat and gazed out the window for the first time. “You’ll meet them…later.”

“You didn’t ask, so I assume you discovered all you care to know about me.”

Adam grinned and gazed at her once more. Oscar routinely worked for Harrington Construction, handling sensitive matters. He was well compensated for his efforts, and so hadn’t minded a rush assignment on a Sunday afternoon.

“Only the basics,” Adam admitted. Enough to know she made the perfect wife.

“But not everything.”

His brows drew together. “No, not everything.”

She shot him a scathing look. “Rethinking the marriage, Mr. Harrington?”

“No.” He leveled his gaze at her across the dim carriage. “But don’t get any ideas. If you’re thinking it’s a way to get out of this marriage, you’re wrong. I won’t tolerate a scandal.”

Her chin crept higher. “And neither will I, Mr. Harrington.”

“Don’t you think it would be all right if we were on a first-name basis now, Haley?”

Hearing him say her name sent a chill up her spine. Recollections of him breathing the word against her ear last night floated up in her mind, along with all sorts of feelings she couldn’t capture and certainly couldn’t name. She looked away. “I suppose… Adam.”

He grinned. “There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

It wasn’t bad at all, but she didn’t say so.

Haley looked out the window. The streetlights had disappeared, and by the sway of the carriage she could tell they had left the city. Presently, Adam sat forward.

“We’re home.”

Haley’s stomach tingled. Home? Her home was in San Francisco, with her mother and grandparents.

The carriage stopped, and Adam helped her to the ground while the driver and Chrissy handled her trunks.

Haley clutched her handbag as she gazed at the house. Every etched and stained-glass pane was lit in the three-story structure, setting it ablaze against the night sky. A large porch wrapped the entire first floor, and an onion dome and a witch’s hat punctuated the roof. Fashionable gingerbread and scrollwork decorated the house, which was blue with white trim, she guessed—it was hard to tell in the dark. Mature trees in the yard and flowers and shrubbery against the house scented the air pleasantly.

The front door opened, and a small, neat man with a carefully trimmed gray mustache stepped outside.

“Good evening, sir,” he droned.

Adam ushered her into the foyer. “Bernard, this is my wife.”

The butler gave her a stiff bow and a cursory glance. “Good evening, Mrs. Harrington.”

“See to her things.” Adam pulled his watch from his pocket and consulted it. He turned to Haley. “If you need anything, ask Bernard.”

And with that, he disappeared down the hall.

“Mr. Harrington is particular about his schedule,” Bernard offered in a monotone.

“Certainly,” she responded, as if that explained being dismissed like yesterday’s news.

“Follow me, please.”

She climbed the sweeping staircase behind the butler. Chrissy stepped alongside her, her eyes wide. “Well, somebody slap me—will you just look at this place? You’ve just got to keep me here, Miss Haley. No offense, but your aunt’s house smells like camphor all the time.”

Haley didn’t answer. She wasn’t certain she’d stay herself.

Chimes from the parlor’s mantel clock echoed up the stairway, causing Adam to stop and pull out his pocket watch. Fast. Two minutes fast. He couldn’t abide an inaccurate timepiece. Bernard would have to be told to see to the clock’s repair.

Adam started up the stairs again, then froze. No, Bernard would not have to handle it. He had a wife now to see to those things. A little smile pulled at his lips, and he climbed the stairs.

In his room, he poured himself a glass of bourbon from the decanter on his bureau and sipped it, his gaze riveted to the connecting door to his new wife’s suite. He’d sat at his desk downstairs for hours, trying to concentrate on the McKettrick plans. He’d set aside that time specifically to work on them, but he hadn’t gotten much accomplished; they hadn’t interested him to. begin with.

Adam crossed the room and passed through the sitting area to stare at Haley’s closed bedroom door. No light shone beneath it. No sound emanated from within. Surely she was sleeping by now; she’d looked exhausted when he picked her up—beautiful, but exhausted.

Quietly he opened the door and light from behind him beamed into the room. She was a bulge under the coverlet, curled on her side facing him. He heard the light, even breathing of her slumbers and wished to hell he’d tossed the McKettrick plans aside and come upstairs as he wanted to. But Haley represented an important element of a long-range plan. No need to rush with her; she’d be here forever.

Adam leaned his shoulder against the door casing and took another sip of the bourbon. He wished he could remember actually marrying her, or at least what had led up to his doing such a rash thing. He remembered being quite captivated by the sight of her, and asking friends if anyone knew her. The Olivers’ wedding ceremony had been stoic, as expected, and the reception predictable until the old guard left. Things had gotten completely out of hand after that. Vaguely he recalled reciting vows, images of Harry Oliver and Judge Williams fading in and out.

Adam looked down at the bourbon and swirled it in the glass. He must have had more than his usual too much last night.

He might have kept her regardless of her background, after spending last night rolling around in bed with her. That much of the evening he remembered with great clarity. But after Oscar informed him of her social standing, he could hardly believe his luck. No more women throwing their eligible daughters and nieces at him. No more teas, receptions or piano recitals to sit through in his search for an acceptable wife. Now he had her. And without the bother of the endless engagement parties, the wedding preparations, the ceremony and all the silly hoopla that went with it.

And no chance that the bride would change her mind.

Adam tossed back the last of the bourbon and drew in a deep, satisfying breath. He had it all. His new home and his wife. He was on his way. What could possibly go wrong now?