Natalie checked to make sure no one like Fran or Katherine was around. Good. They weren’t. If she was going to conquer her fear, she didn’t want someone who wanted her to fail to be watching her. She’d rather not have that kind of stress hovering over her.
After taking a moment to strengthen her resolve, she headed for the elevator. She could do this. Others were doing it. All she had to do was get into the elevator and stay there until she was on the floor Mark worked on. There was nothing more to it than that.
When she reached the elevator, the young man operating it opened the doors. “What floor would you like to go to, ma’am?”
“The third,” she said.
She stepped into the elevator with more bravado than she felt. She didn’t know if he remembered her or not. He’d been working here that day she bolted out of the elevator in a panic. Either way, he didn’t give any indication that he recognized her, and for that, she was grateful.
Two middle-aged men came into the elevator and asked to be taken to the fourth floor. Good. That meant they would still be on this elevator when she got off. It was a minor thing, but it made her feel better to know she wasn’t going to be the last person off this thing.
The young man made sure no one else needed the elevator before he shut the doors and pressed the button to take them up. The elevator moved up, and she clasped her hands, digging her fingernails into her palms, a nervous habit she hadn’t done in years. From what she’d seen, the elevator was fairly quick. This would soon be over.
“Do you trust him to come through with his promise?” one of the middle-aged men asked his companion.
“I don’t have a choice,” his companion replied. “I’ve been given strict orders to deal with him, but…knowing he’s going to propose to a wealthy young lady makes me optimistic.”
He’s going to propose to a wealthy young lady? Natalie couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like they could be referring to Kenneth and Annabelle.
Natalie took a good look at the two men. They seemed pleasant enough. They wore suits and were clean-shaven. But there was something in the way they talked that made her think they weren’t as pleasant as they seemed.
She glanced at the young man who was operating the elevator. He didn’t even seem to notice them. He probably tuned out the things people around him said. She’d do the same thing if she did this all day.
The elevator came to a stop, and the young man opened the doors for her. “We’re on the third floor,” he told her.
Since everyone was staring at her, she hurried to thank the young man and left the elevator. The young man closed the doors. At once, she had the nagging suspicion that she should have stayed on the elevator in case the two men said more about the person who was supposed to marry a wealthy young lady.
What was it one of them had said?
Do you trust him to come through with his promise?
The other one obviously hadn’t, but he’d said, I don’t have a choice. I’ve been given strict orders to deal with him, but…knowing he’s going to propose to a wealthy young lady makes me optimistic.
If there hadn’t been that bit at the end about the proposal to a wealthy young lady, she wouldn’t have thought anything of it. But there was a proposal coming. Omaha was bigger than the place she came from, but what were the chances there was another man about to propose to a wealthy young lady?
The elevator moved up, and before she could talk herself out of it, she ran for the stairs. She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations, but she had to know if this involved Annabelle. She found the staircase and hurried up each step as fast as she could in her high-heeled boots. At times like this, she missed the boots she used to wear. She could go much faster in those.
She made it to the fourth floor just as the two men stepped out of the elevator. Thankfully, they weren’t looking in her direction. She closed the door to a crack so that if they happened to look her way, they wouldn’t see her.
They headed down the hallway, and she waited for a second before she slipped into the hallway. She saw a large plant and hid behind it. All of the doors to the offices were closed, so no one saw her sneaking around. Which was a relief. God only knew what would happen if she was caught.
“He shouldn’t have come to Omaha,” one of the men said. “Once he left Chicago, he should have stayed hidden.”
They had to be talking about Kenneth. It was too much of a coincidence that this person left Chicago, came here, and was ready to propose to a wealthy young woman.
“That won’t matter as long as he comes up with the money,” the other man replied.
“But what if he doesn’t?”
“Then he’ll have to deal with Archie. I’m not willing to deal with him any longer than that.”
Then a door opened and shut. She grunted in aggravation. She really wished she’d heard more of the conversation. It would help her answer some questions she had. Like, what did they want with Kenneth? What had happened in Chicago? How did the men find him? And what did Kenneth owe them money for?
Velma’s instincts were right. Kenneth didn’t want Annabelle. He was hoping to marry her for the money. And though Mark didn’t know this little piece of information, his instincts about Kenneth had been right all along.
Making sure no one was leaving any of the offices, she got out from behind the plant and ran back to the stairs so she could talk to Mark.
Chapter Seventeen
“I can’t just go to Annabelle and tell her what you overheard,” Mark said as he leaned back in his chair. “She won’t believe me. She’ll think I made it all up.”
From where Natalie stood at his desk, she glanced, once more, at the closed door to his office. Sure, she’d shut the door when she came in here, but she kept thinking she’d find it open and someone overhearing them.
“I don’t think she’ll believe you, either,” she replied, drumming her fingernails on the smooth surface of his desk. “I just saw her. I told her what Velma said, but she didn’t believe me. She thinks you put me up to it. She thinks I don’t want her to marry Kenneth.”
“Do you want her to marry Kenneth?”
“Of course not. Kenneth’s lying to her about owning a railroad. If Velma says no one with the name Gordon owned a railroad, then no one did. Velma’s never given me a reason to distrust her. And those men had to have been talking about Kenneth.” To be sure, she asked, “Do you know anyone else who’s going to propose to a wealthy young lady?”
“No, I don’t. There’s a good chance they were talking about Kenneth. If only we had proof…”
“Isn’t this proof enough?”
“Not for Annabelle. She’s harder to deal with than Tony is.”
“So that’s it? We’re going to let her marry Kenneth?”
“What can I do if she doesn’t believe what we’re telling her? I mean, I can object during the wedding, but that’s not going to change her mind.”
He was right. Given how adamant Annabelle was when she visited her, nothing Mark said was going to make any difference. “I wish this was as simple as Velma wanting to marry Tony. When you told me why you made Velma marry Tony, you said it was going to be a good thing for them. And you were right. It turned out that way. I spoke with Velma today, and I’ve never seen her happier.”
“I knew it was good for them to be together.”
“It was,” she admitted as he got up from his chair and walked over to her. “Even when she thought she was going to marry you, she didn’t look that happy.”
He frowned. “But you’re happier with me than you would have been with anyone else, right?”
She giggled. “Of course, I am. I love you.” She kissed him, and he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. “I wouldn’t enjoy being with anyone else. You are a wonderful husband. Apparently, quite a few women were hoping to marry you.”
“Only for my money. They didn’t really want me.”
“Does that includ
e Fran?”
“You’re not worried about Fran, are you? I told you I only considered her for marriage because our fathers are good friends.”
“I think she resents me because you married me instead of her.”
“That’s one of the things I didn’t like about her. She can be petty. Is she giving you a difficult time in that social group Annabelle’s in?”
She thought about lying to him but decided against it. She lowered her hands so that they were at his chest. “A few of those women don’t like me, Mark. I’m not sophisticated like they are. I don’t know all of the etiquette rules like they do, and I’m not as educated as they are. But Mrs. Gordon fits in with them. That was the whole point of me going to those functions, wasn’t it? So that Mrs. Gordon would feel welcome in Omaha?”
“Well, that was part of it, but I also wanted you to feel welcome. I thought the group would be good for you, too. If you don’t want to be a part of it, then you shouldn’t be. My mother doesn’t care for it. She stopped going to it a long time ago.”
“Does Annabelle like it?”
“I don’t know. She never talked to me about it.” He squeezed her waist. “You don’t have to be in the group. The only thing I want is for you to be happy. If the group doesn’t make you happy, do something else with your time.”
“Won’t that hurt your reputation?”
“If someone decides they don’t like me because you’re not in some silly woman’s group, then I don’t need that person in my life. I have enough work to do already without worrying about what someone thinks. Do what you want. You have my full support.”
Feeling much better, she smiled. What a relief. Now she didn’t have to worry about how she did things. She was free to be who she was. “Thank you, Mark.”
“You’re my wife. Your needs are important to me.” He gave her another kiss. After a moment, he said, “Maybe, if I can get my parents and Velma involved, we can convince Annabelle to end her courtship with Kenneth.”
“You really think you can get them involved in this?”
“I’m not sure, but what’s the harm in trying?”
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“Then we’ll be forced to take drastic measures.” He kissed her. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
It was worth trying. She hoped the strategy would work. If his parents believed him, there was a good chance they’d help them. She already knew Velma would do her part. Better yet, it would be an honest way of handling matters. Considering everything, it was the last best option they had. Glad he had thought of it, she hugged him.
***
Something in Natalie had changed during the course of that day. She wasn’t sure what it was, exactly, except that she no longer felt any apprehension about living in Omaha. The weight of struggling to fit in with Mark’s world was no longer pressing her down.
Conquering her fear of the elevator had been a part of it, but there was more to it than that. Part of it was Velma pointing out that she wasn’t the problem in the group, that the problem stemmed from Fran’s bitterness that she’d married Mark. That, in itself, had freed her up from feeling like such a disappointment because she couldn’t seem to be what everyone else in this affluent society expected her to be.
As Velma had said, Fran and her friends made it a habit of putting on a pretense of being nice while looking for ways to make someone they didn’t like feel inferior to them. So there was nothing she could have said or done to make that any better. The best thing she could do was get out of the group. Thankfully, Mark was alright with that.
It would be nice to start focusing on things she wanted to do instead of worrying about what others expected her to do. Yes, she would still go to dinner parties and dance with Mark, but at least she didn’t have to spend her evening talking to women like Fran and Katherine ever again. Now she could meet women who sincerely liked her and befriend them. Who knew? Maybe she could even form her own social group.
Regardless of whether she’d actually do that or not, the day had marked a transition in how she thought about everything around her. She no longer felt like things were happening to her. For the first time in her life, she felt like she was taking control of things and making them happen. And that was a very freeing feeling.
When she woke up the next morning, she no longer had the dreaded sensations of duty and obligation haunting her. When she woke up, she was as excited as she’d been on the morning she’d married Mark. For the first time in a long time, she was looking forward to the day.
She rolled over and saw that Mark was still asleep. He didn’t have to go to work today, which meant they didn’t have to hurry to get out of bed this morning. With a grin, she snuggled up to him. It hadn’t been until last night that she’d finally overcome her shyness and become bolder in bed with him, but she figured that was to be expected since she’d recently gained a sense of confidence she’d never had before.
And, since he had woken her up in the past to make love to her, she didn’t think he’d mind it if she returned the favor. She kissed his jaw and his cheek then worked her way to his ear. He’d told her he was sensitive there. She kissed his ear. Then, because he’d seemed to like it the previous night, she traced the edge of his ear with her tongue.
He shivered, and she stopped to look at him. His eyes were still closed, but she caught the slight smile on his face.
“Why did you stop?” he asked, still keeping his eyes closed.
Chuckling, she brought her mouth back to his ear and resumed what she had started. And as she teased his ear, she let her hand glide over his chest and then down to the more interesting part of him that was already erect. She took his penis in her hand and traced the tip of it with her thumb. A bead of moisture came up through the slit. She rubbed her thumb over it then traced the ridge around his tip.
To her surprise, he remained still the entire time. Yes, he let out a moan from time to time to let her know he was enjoying her ministrations, but beyond that, he didn’t do anything to encourage her. Curious, she lifted her head and saw that he still had his eyes closed. The smile on his face, however, was wider than before. And that’s when it occurred to her what he was doing. He was letting her take the lead.
Making sure her grip was firm around him, she moved her hand up and down his shaft in the manner he’d taught her last night. Soon, she established a rhythm that caused him to groan louder. However, despite his arousal, he still didn’t move. She was impressed with his self-control. She didn’t think she could remain still if he was touching her so intimately.
Again, she glanced at his closed eyes. What would it take to get him to open them? What would it take to get him to move?
After a moment, she opted to do something she’d never done before. She got on top of him and took him into her. And this time, he did open his eyes. More than that, he put his hands to her hips and pushed himself deeper into her.
Pleased she’d finally gotten him to move, she leaned forward and kissed him. He drew her closer to him, and the urgency in his kiss as his tongue interlaced with hers let her know exactly how much he wanted her. He was fully aroused. There was no denying that, especially not with the way his hands were roaming all over her body.
When their kiss ended, he brought his mouth to her neck and whispered, “I love you, Natalie.”
“I love you, too, Mark,” she murmured, her skin tingling from the way he was kissing and touching her.
She straightened up so that she could more easily rock her hips. This earned her another groan, but this time he kept his eyes open and cupped her breasts in his hands.
“I like this position,” he said, his voice a bit raspy.
“Do you?” she asked as she continued sliding up and down his penis, aware that when she angled herself just right, her sensitive nub rubbed up against him very nicely.
“I like the view.” He gently squeezed her breasts and then brought his hands back to her hips.
Perhaps she
should feel shy that he was openly staring at her, but there was something in his gaze that let her know how much he desired her. She was the most beautiful woman in his world. Knowing this eased her shyness and enabled her to become bolder in her actions.
She gave herself completely to the moment. He felt good inside her. Really good. And it was becoming harder and harder to concentrate on anything but the pleasure mounting up inside her. She didn’t know how long they were working together until she reached her peak, but when she did, her orgasm was more intense than anything she’d experienced before. He had stopped moving inside her, instead choosing to rub her sensitive nub in order to prolong her pleasure.
Once she was spent, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled her over so that he was on top of her. He kissed her mouth, her cheek, and her neck. He lifted her hips and moved deeper into her. From there, he made love to her. She moaned, enjoying every thrust as he stroked her core.
This was wonderful. He was wonderful. And to think she’d get to spend the rest of her life with him. Together, they’d have children and grandchildren, and one day, she might even get to pass on her wedding dress to one of their daughters. Perhaps she’d give her grandmother’s shawl to another one. Perhaps the other would get the dried lilac. And if they had more than three girls… Well, she’d figure out something memorable to give to them, too.
Groaning, Mark grew still and released his seed. As he did so, she kissed his cheek and held him close, feeling more content than she’d ever felt in her entire life.
Chapter Eighteen
“You’re looking much better today,” Velma said as she and Natalie drank tea in Natalie’s parlor.
“I’m feeling much better,” Natalie replied. “I talked to Mark about the social group, and he doesn’t expect me to keep going to those social engagements with Fran and her friends. He told me I shouldn’t do anything that makes me uncomfortable.”
The Perfect Wife Page 15
