An Arranged Marriage

by Susan Fox

  Allison slid from beneath his arm to scoot off the bed. Blue let her go and instead watched as she stood and faced him.

  The amusement eased from his expression as he gazed at the clingy fit of the white satin gown that dipped low in front and in back from thin spaghetti straps. Realizing how exposed she was, Allison tried to reach for her satin wrap, only to find it had slid away somewhere and was tangled in the bedclothes.

  Blue sat up in bed and leaned his back against the headboard. Allison walked around to the foot of the bed to search for the wrapper. The fact that Blue watched her every move with a faint smile on his face increased her self-consciousness.

  “I’m glad you never met the man who hung the moon.”

  The words surprised her and made her glance up at him. He had no smile now and the piercing blue of his eyes smoldered.

  Allison felt herself blush and looked down to continue her search. She found the satin wrap right away then, and hastily put it on. Once it was belted securely around her, she asked, “Would you like me to order breakfast?”

  Blue shook his head. “Tell me what you want. I’ll order it while you get dressed.”

  Her soft, “Thank you. I wouldn’t mind steak and eggs with a bit of fruit,” made him nod and reach for the bedside phone. She quickly selected her things and slipped into the bathroom to shower and dress for the day.

  By the time breakfast was delivered to their room, they’d both showered and dressed. Allison had spread up the bed and moved more of her things from her suitcase to the dresser drawers. Blue had already taken care of his own clothes and personal items, and she liked that he hadn’t automatically expected her to take over the chore.

  Blue had ordered them a huge breakfast. They both had steak and eggs and a small fruit plate, but the coffee cake he’d also ordered was sinfully rich. They’d finished their meal and were sitting back with their coffee when Blue spoke.

  “It’s not too late to go on to someplace fancier for the honeymoon.”

  She lowered her coffee cup. “If it’s something you’d like,” she responded, then searched his face closely. They’d both agreed that Dallas was far enough to go for a honeymoon, but it wasn’t quite fair to Blue to stay there if he wanted to go someplace else. Allison had traveled all her life, but she doubted Blue had. Now that he had money and could do anything he wanted and go anywhere he pleased, she didn’t want to be the one to limit him.

  “Never had a big hankerin’ for exotic places,” he told her, “but then, I never had the time or the money. Might want to someday. Could even go today if it’s something you want.”

  That he was thinking of what she wanted, and was willing to change his plans to accommodate her, made her feel close to him. She’d been glad they’d planned to spend their honeymoon in Dallas. Blue had seemed relieved when she’d suggested it, and she’d guessed he might be more comfortable with her in familiar surroundings. She certainly felt more at ease with him in a place she knew well.

  “I’m willing to go wherever you’d like, but I’m just as content staying in Dallas.”

  “You’re sure?”

  Allison smiled. “I’m sure. It’s very sweet of you to ask.”

  To her surprise, his dark brows drew together and lowered, as if what she’d said offended him.

  Blue had never thought the word sweet would ever describe him. But his bride had such a refined manner of speech that he shouldn’t have been surprised. Sweet didn’t seem very manly to him, but she’d clearly meant no offense.

  He was relieved that she seemed happy to stay in Dallas. As she was so fond of pointing out in dozens of different ways, they were strangers to each other. On the other hand, maybe it would have been better if he had taken her to someplace like Paris.

  Here, she knew her way around and didn’t need to look to him for anything. Someplace like Paris might have put them on a little more equal footing.

  But he was willing to cater to her. She was the focus and the prize for all his hard work and his spectacular run of good luck. He’d wanted her a long time, and now she was his.

  Whatever he ended up doing about Charles Wallace, Allison Lancaster Sumner belonged to him. For now.

  Their six days in Dallas went well. During the day, they shopped for a few more pieces of furniture for the house. They usually had breakfast in their room, but ate away from the hotel for lunch and supper.

  They went to the opera and saw a play on two evenings. Blue politely tolerated the opera. He’d seemed to enjoy the play, but Allison had sensed his discomfort with both.

  They made a trip to Neiman Marcus that had lasted most of an afternoon. Blue was fitted for another suit, but at his insistence, Allison tried on a handful of designer dresses and outfits he’d wanted to see her in. Though she had plenty of clothes, she indulged him. He’d seemed to enjoy the minifashion show as well as the sales associate’s detailed explanations of what made each article of their couture collection so unique.

  By the time she tried on the last outfit he’d wanted to see her in, he’d already bought everything and had arranged to have it all delivered to their hotel.

  The next day, they drove their rented car around Dallas. They ended up going to the finest Cadillac dealer in the city. Over her protests, Blue had her test-drive a Cadillac with every option possible. Once he pressured her and found out which color of car she favored, he promptly bought the car for her.

  Blue’s generosity worried her as much as it touched her. She’d protested the amount of money he was spending on her several times, until he’d finally gone grim.

  “I’ve never had anyone to spoil and buy things for,” he’d said gruffly. “The pleasure of having money and having a wife is to buy her things.”

  His remark had silenced her and she’d apologized. She’d gotten him to talk a bit more about himself that week. Though he’d been characteristically tightlipped about the information, he did tell her that his mother had died when he was four and that his father had dropped completely out of the picture before he turned thirteen. He hadn’t needed to add that they’d been poor and virtually homeless; she’d got the message.

  At least she’d had Aunt Pet. And before Aunt Pet, she’d had a loving, secure home and affectionate, well-to-do parents. Blue had grown up poor and had had no one he could count on. The thought of his childhood poverty and loneliness, and the hard times and loneliness of his adult years, saddened her.

  Though she wished he’d waited until their relationship was far more developed before he went on a spending spree, she didn’t seriously protest again. Instead she showed natural gratitude and delight over the things he’d bought her and thanked him profusely.

  That her thanks sometimes ended in a long, hot kiss made her uneasy. She didn’t want either of them to equate gifts with kisses or more, but when Blue pulled her into his arms, she couldn’t resist him.

  At night, they lay together in the same bed, but nothing between them progressed beyond a few very carnal kisses. By the end of the week, Allison ached for Blue to do more than hold her. The fact that he hadn’t tried was further proof that he’d taken her at her word on their wedding night and was willing to wait for deeper feelings between them.

  The tenderness Allison began to feel toward him because of that and because of all the other little insights she now had into the man he was, made her feelings for him grow. Though she kept the knowledge to herself, she realized before they drove home to Chaney, that if Blue pressed her to consummate their marriage, he would be difficult to resist.

  Because Blue used the cell phone to call Edward at the ranch when they were only a short distance from Chaney, Edward, the housekeeper, Mrs. Burns, and the cook, Miss Tilly, were all waiting on the veranda next to the front door for them to arrive.

  Edward came forward the moment Blue slowed the car to a stop at the end of the walk. He opened Allison’s door and offered his hand to help her out of the car.

  “Good afternoon, Mrs. Sumner. I trust you had a nice
trip.” His pleasant, though reserved expression was warm.

  “Good afternoon, Edward. We had a very nice trip, thank you.”

  Blue was already out of the car and unloading their luggage from the trunk. Edward noticed and couldn’t conceal his dismay. He politely excused himself to rush to the back of the car.

  “Mr. Sumner, I shall take care of the luggage,” Edward said, his voice firm.

  When Blue shook his head and said, “I’ll give you a hand,” Edward came right back with, “You appear to have something much more pleasant than luggage to carry over the threshold, Mr. Sumner. Perhaps you shouldn’t keep your bride waiting.”

  Blue’s gaze sharpened on Edward’s stiff expression, but then he seemed to change his mind. He glanced past Edward at Allison. “You’re right about that, Edward. I’m obliged.”

  Blue came around the back of the car to Allison. “Come on, Mrs. Sumner,” he said in a low voice. “Let’s make this trip the official one.” He then leaned down to sweep her into his arms.

  Allison put her arms around his neck, much more comfortable with him than she’d been the night he’d carried her over the threshold to their hotel room.

  As Blue strode past Mrs. Burns and Miss Tilly, he nodded politely, his quiet, “Ladies,” as he passed a greeting. Allison had only a moment as she was carried past the two to greet them herself.

  Once they were inside the huge home, Blue set her on her feet. Because the two women had followed them in, he whispered, “You suppose Edward’ll be insulted if I give him a hand?”

  Allison glanced back to see Edward step in with two suitcases and sit them down before he was back out the door.

  Her light brow wrinkled. “I don’t know. We never had a butler.”

  Mrs. Burns, who’d heard it all, stepped forward. After a hasty glance to make certain Edward was out of earshot, she leaned forward and said in a stage whisper, “Edward is very territorial, Mr. Sumner. He’s quite a stickler for doing things his way.”

  That said, Mrs. Burns stepped back and folded her hands in front of her. By the time Edward returned with several shopping bags and boxes perfectly balanced, both Mrs. Burns and Miss Tilly stepped forward to assist him.

  Allison and Blue watched the two women quickly divide Edward’s load between them before they bustled off to the stairs to carry things up to the master suite.

  Allison looked up at Blue. “It seems they’ve taken care of everything.”

  Blue was frowning. “Always thought I wanted someone to help me with the house chores. I got sick to death of eatin’ my own cooking and trying to keep the place picked up and clean when I had so much outdoor work to do. Now I’ve got help, but it’s hard to let them do everything that I pay ’em for. Seems impolite.”

  Allison smiled. Charles thought nothing of being waited on hand and foot. In fact, Martha, their housekeeper/cook could never seem to do enough to please him. She approved of Blue’s different attitude.

  “I don’t like to have the staff do things for me that I can do for myself, either,” she told him. “I’ve always felt that they’re employees, not servants or slaves.”

  Blue gave her one of his rare smiles. “We think along the same lines there.” He started toward the stairs. “I’d like to get changed and get out to see how things’ve been going while we were gone.”

  Allison nodded. “Go ahead. I’ll see if we have any messages before I unpack. It might be nice to have our first supper home in the dining room with our new china.”

  “I’ll see you then,” he said and turned to take the steps two at a time.

  Allison watched him go. With every mile of the way back to Chaney, she’d sensed his increasing eagerness to be home. It confirmed that Blue was every bit the rancher/outdoorsman he’d always been. However hard his life had been while he’d struggled to hang on to his ranch and make something of it, in nearly every way that counted, it was obvious it had been a labor of pure love. Sudden wealth would probably not make much difference in that, which was something she also approved.

  For a woman who’d always thought she’d marry a businessman and live in town or in the city, it was surprising to realize that she didn’t mind that Blue was a rancher. Suddenly she looked forward to living in the country with a man who loved the land and meant to continue doing the hard work that went into keeping a ranch going.

  Later, Allison was in the middle of unpacking when Aunt Pet called.

  “Oh, my dear, you’re home at last! Is everything all right with you?”

  Allison smiled at the worry behind her aunt’s question. She knew, although Pet had never said so directly, that Pet felt tremendous guilt and concern about Allison’s marriage to Blue.

  “Everything is fine with me, Aunt Pet. Blue is very nice. I hope that the two of you can become acquainted—I’m certain you’ll like each other.”

  Allison didn’t have to feign her enthusiasm. Sometime during that week, she’d got the sense that everything between her and Blue would eventually come right. Because she was seeing more and more how special he was, she was willing to wait for what she hoped to have with him. She didn’t love him yet, but her affection for him was growing by the day.

  Aunt Pet didn’t seem comforted. All too soon, the topic switched to Charles and the bank.

  “Charles is quite anxious to talk business with Mr. Sumner,” Pet said. “He doesn’t seem to realize that most people take a far longer honeymoon than the six days you have, so he’s become quite a bear. Once he finds out the two of you have returned, he’ll probably drive directly to the ranch.”

  The information worried Allison. This was their first night together in their new home. She was planning a quiet supper and she was certain Blue’s mind was on anything but Charles and the Chaney Bank. A feeling of foreboding welled up. Whatever Blue intended to do about Charles and the bank was better discussed at the bank during regular business hours. Something about bringing it to the house made her uneasy.

  That was when she realized how much she already valued her marriage to Blue. Her desire to be a good wife included making his home life as pleasant as possible. It shocked her a little to discover that she’d suddenly become protective of him—just as a good wife would naturally be.

  But then, as she was realizing, Blue’d had enough troubles in his life. If she could spare him a bit of Charles’s aggravating penchant for badgering people, who were trying to relax, with business and the pursuit of the all-mighty next investment, she would.

  “Please, Aunt Pet, don’t mention that we’re back just yet. I’ll speak to Blue later. Perhaps he’ll call the bank in the morning and make an appointment to see Charles there on Monday. This is our first night home, after all.”

  There was only a small silence before Pet told her, “Of course, dear. Charles can wait until business hours on Monday. I, for one, can wait until then now that I know everything will soon be all right. It’s such a relief.”

  It was no relief to Allison to think about the bank. Blue had been very noncommittal about what he intended to do, and she wasn’t certain what she should do about it. Since Blue had revealed his business history with Charles, neither of them had spoken on the subject again.

  Common sense told her it was foolish to think Blue would help the man who’d tried to take away his ranch, but fears for Aunt Pet made her pray he’d let bygones be bygones.

  Her soft, “Yes, it will be a relief, won’t it?” nearly choked her.

  She heard a faint sound on the other end of the line and realized Pet was weeping. The sound distressed her and her feeling of foreboding multiplied. “Aunt Pet? Are you all right?”

  Pet’s voice was shaky. “Oh my, yes, dear heart. Please don’t worry. I promise you that somehow, some way, I shall repay you for all you’ve had to endure to save the bank. If that—that cowboy— ever mistreats you or harms you in any way, you’re to come home to me at once. We’ll find some other solution—” She was interrupted by a sniffle. “I’m so sorry—none of this is y
our fault, yet you’re being made to—”

  Aunt Pet dissolved into tears and Allison gripped the phone. “Aunt Pet? Please, Auntie, don’t cry. I’m all right with Blue, really. Wait until I tell you about him—he really is quite a gentleman. He’s very respectful and—” Allison’s hands tightened harder on the receiver. “I believe everything will work out with him, Aunt Pet. He’s really not at all what you feared.”

  The only sound from the other end of the line was of Pet sniffling but trying to hide it by covering the mouthpiece of the phone. When she regained control, Allison’s tense breath eased.

  “Please forgive me. I’ve felt a lot of pressure of late. I don’t mean to worry you by calling up, then squalling like a baby,” Aunt Pet said in more normal tones, but Allison’s heart was twisting. Pet was trying to put on a brave face, but she wasn’t doing a very good job of it. “I’m relieved Mr. Sumner is behaving like a gentleman. It would be the best of all possible worlds if he turned out to be a wonderful husband and the two of you somehow fell in love.”

  She doubted her aunt heard her soft, “Yes, Auntie, me, too,” because Pet went right on.

  “Not like Charles and I.”

  Pet then changed the subject and Allison allowed it. Aunt Pet was a woman deeply unhappy with her marriage who, most times, bore it with grace and patience. It was lately, with all the trouble at the bank, that Pet’s peaceful everything-is-excellent facade had started to crumble. She’d made more than one negative remark about her marriage recently.

  It hurt to know that even if Blue worked out a business arrangement with Charles that would save the bank, no money arrangement could save Aunt Pet from remaining a deeply unhappy woman.

  Blue walked to the big house. It was just before six p.m. Everything seemed as right as rain with the stock and the ranch. Money didn’t worry him anymore. He now had most of the things he’d worked all his life for; he even had the woman he’d set his sights on.

  The biggest problem wasn’t that he finally had her, but that he wasn’t certain what to do with her. If she’d been like any other female he’d ever slept with, they’d be lovers now. But she wasn’t like those other women and, for the most part, he was glad she was different.