Chapter Three
Mark strolled through several residential neighborhoods then
went to the businesses. He figured he might as well check on the
progress of the new hotel he and his father were in charge of
building. From the looks of it, it was halfway done. That was good.
It was always good when things were ahead of schedule.
When he returned home, the butler opened the
door and said, “Your father wishes to have a word with you. He’s in
the den. He says the matter is urgent.”
Mark hid his disappointment. He had hoped he
could get right back to Natalie, but he was going to have to
confront his father first. His father, undoubtedly, would want to
know why Velma thought she was marrying the wrong twin.
“Where’s my wife?” Mark asked.
“Upstairs in her bedroom,” the butler
replied.
Well, that was good. She was probably putting
her things away. That was much better than being down here. She
didn’t need to be bothered with the details of what his father had
to tell him.
Mark handed the butler his hat and nodded.
“Thank you.”
Mark left the entryway and went down the hall
that led to his den. He entered the room then closed the door.
There was no need for anyone to overhear them.
His father stood up from a chair and came
over to him. “How long did you expect to get away with making
everyone think Tony was you?”
“Knowing our family, I guessed it would
spread through the entire church within five minutes. That’s why I
hurried on out of there as soon as the vows were done.”
His father stared at him for a long moment
then shook his head. “Don’t you care that you lied to Tony and
Velma?”
“It was to their benefit that I lied.”
His father arched an eyebrow in
disbelief.
“It’s true,” Mark insisted. “They’re in love
with each other. It’s just that Velma doesn’t realize it yet.”
“Don’t you feel just a little bit guilty for
what you did?”
“Yes, but it was necessary. Deep down, Velma
wants to be with Tony. You saw how well they got along at Uncle
Owen’s place. Tony couldn’t take his eyes off of her, and she kept
on talking about how hard Tony worked.”
His father crossed his arms. “You’re not that
foolish. You know Velma was lifting Tony up in order to get Natalie
to take an interest in him. Your mother and I could tell that both
Natalie and Velma wanted to be with you.”
Mark sighed and went over to his desk where
he poured himself a cup of tea from the teapot the butler had
brought in. “Well, since I couldn’t marry both of them, I had to
make a choice.” He glanced at his father. “Could you and Mother
also tell that Velma’s main interest in me was my money?”
His father winced and uncrossed his arms.
“So you did notice,” Mark said. “When you and
Mother arrived in Omaha, you didn’t have anything but the clothes
on your back. If I had been in that situation, Velma never would
have wanted to marry me. Natalie, on the other hand, wanted to be
with me for who I am.” He finished pouring the tea and turned to
face his father. “I want the kind of marriage you and Mother have.
I don’t care if Velma grew up knowing how to impress wealthy
business people. It’s not worth giving up a marriage based on love
to have the perfect wife.”
“When you put it that way, I supposed I can’t
be upset with you.”
“Thank you.” Mark took a sip of his tea, glad
his father had understood his predicament.
“But that doesn’t excuse what you did to your
brother.” His father walked over to him. “Tony was really hurt when
he found out Velma wanted to marry you.”
“He loves Velma.”
“I know he does, which is why it was hard to
watch when Velma realized she had married Tony instead of you. She
wasn’t the least bit happy about it.”
“She will be. She and Tony will make a good
match. You know I have a good sense about people. I can figure out
difficult clients. Velma’s not much different. Just like those
clients, she keeps telling herself what she should want, that was
getting in the way of what’s truly good for her. Trust me. She
wants to be with Tony. She’s just afraid of living on a farm.”
“You’re afraid of living on a farm, too. I
remember how squeamish you got whenever you were asked to help your
grandfather when you were a child. Tony would jump right in and
take care of the animals, and you looked as if you were going to
faint or throw up.”
“I don’t care how many times a person goes
into a barn, it’s impossible to get used to the smell.”
“Which is why your grandfather would bring
the milking cow out of the barn for you.”
Mark shuddered. “Touching a cow’s teat isn’t
natural.” Even to this day, he couldn’t forget how gross it’d been.
He’d rather spend the rest of his life dealing with irritable
clients than to suffer through the process of milking another
cow.
His father chuckled. “This is why you joined
the family business instead of going your own way. I should have
known Tony would want his own farm when he got excited about
helping your grandfather out.”
“Tony’s always been strange.”
“He probably thinks you’re strange.” After a
moment, his father continued, “You and Tony rarely agree on things,
but it’s been that way ever since you were children. I just hope in
this case, you’re right about Velma really liking him. I want to
see both you and Tony happy in your marriages.”
“Tony will be happy. Maybe not right away,
but he will be.”
Though his father didn’t seem fully
convinced, he nodded. “Alright. I suppose I should let you get back
to your bride.”
Mark finished his tea and hurried to walk his
father to the entryway. “Everything will be fine. By tomorrow, this
whole thing could be settled. Then we’ll have a good laugh about
it.”
“You’re the most optimistic person I’ve ever
come across, and that’s saying something since your uncle Tom sees
the good in everything. For both your sake and Tony’s sake, I hope
you’re right.”
After his father left, Mark hurried back up
the stairs. To his surprise, Natalie wasn’t in his bed. He didn’t
know why he expected her to be there. Obviously, she couldn’t be
expected to stay there all day. Still, he felt a slight wave of
disappointment go over him. It would have been nice if he could
have slipped back in beside her and make love to her again. Now
that he knew how fun it was, he could think of little else.
He went to the door connecting his bedroom
with hers. She was wearing a different dress than her wedding gown,
and she was putting her things away. Well, it made sense that she
would be doing this. He had left her all by herself. Plus, she
probably figured this was something she was expected to do.
“Didn’t the maid offer to put your things
away?” he asked as he stepped further into the room.
She glanced over at him and gave him a smile
that warmed his heart. “The maid did make the offer, but I can do
it myself.” She picked up a couple of shirtwaists from her trunk
and hung them in the armoire next to the clothes he’d bought before
they married. “It looks like some of my wardrobe was already here
before this morning.”
“As soon as I knew I’d be marrying you, I had
a few dresses and gowns sent here.”
“What’s the difference between dresses and
gowns?”
“Dresses are for daytime wear. The gowns are
for the evenings.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “You wear more than
one outfit a day?”
He nodded. “I go with two. Usually, I’ll wear
something when I’m out with clients, and then I’ll change into
something more comfortable when I get home. Unless there’s a dinner
party. In that case, I put on one of my best suits. The same is
true for church. I’ll wear one of my best suits there, and when I
return here, I’ll put on more comfortable clothing.” He went to the
armoire. “You have matching hats and boots on the shelves.” He
gestured to the top and bottom shelves. “Don’t worry. You can
purchase more dresses and gowns. I figured this would get you
started.”
“Get me started?”
“A woman with your money needs to have a
variety of clothes.”
She took a deep breath and released it. “I
have to admit that I’m a little overwhelmed by all of the dresses
and gowns, but they certainly are beautiful.”
He smiled, pleased she liked them. “Thank
you.”
“And this room is, too, though I don’t know
how I’ll ever use everything here.”
He glanced at the writing desk, the handful
of small tables, the vanity, the dresser, the armoire, and the
settee by the bay window. His room was similar, and he’d managed to
find a use for every bit of furniture. He had to remind himself
that she had grown up in a small three-bedroom house on a farm.
She’d had to share her room with two sisters while her parents and
two brothers took the other two rooms. She probably didn’t have
much of anything. Even her trunk wasn’t all that big.
“Well, you’ll find uses for everything
eventually,” he assured her. “Just do a little shopping here and
there, and you’ll find things you want to put in here.”
“I can’t think of anything that I need
besides more clothes since I’ll be changing outfits all the time.”
She returned to the trunk and gathered her grooming supplies. As
she placed them on the vanity, she glanced over at him. “Did you
have a pleasant meeting with your client?”
“Yes, yes. Everything went according to plan.
I would have gotten back to you sooner, but my father stopped by to
talk to me.” Before she could ask him more about it, he walked over
to her and looked into the trunk. She was almost done. “Just
because there are two bedrooms, it doesn’t mean you have to sleep
in here. You’re more than welcome to my bed.” He wiggled his
eyebrows playfully at her.
She giggled, and a blush crept up her face.
“I figured that since we were already there.”
“Some couples choose to sleep in different
bedrooms,” he said. “Some marriages are done out of convenience. I
have a client who married a woman because he wanted a connection to
her family business.”
She paused at the trunk and studied him.
“Really?”
He nodded. “I know several marriages done for
similar reasons. I think the reason two bedrooms are popular is
because most couples don’t want to sleep in the same bed.”
“That’s terrible.”
He shrugged. “It’s the nature of money.
People often marry each other for it. Though, there is one client I
have who snores so loudly that his wife insists on sleeping in her
own bedroom, and those two are deeply in love.”
She picked up her skirts and took them to the
dresser. “In a case where he’s snoring, I can’t blame her.”
“I forgot to add that she snores, too. She
also kept him awake.”
“Women don’t snore.”
“I know this client very well. If he says she
snores, then she snores.”
“But snoring isn’t a ladylike thing to
do.”
“To be fair, she’s asleep when she does it.
She can’t control it.”
With a shake of her head, she finished
putting her skirts away and turned to face him. “I’ve never heard
of a woman snoring. I think he’s making that up.”
He laughed and went over to her and wrapped
his arms around her. “Whether or not it’s true, the two love each
other. They don’t have the typical marriage.” He pulled her closer
and kissed her. “We don’t, either, and for that, I’m glad. I’ve
seen what the normal marriage is like among the wealthier class,
and I don’t want any of it. Being with you is wonderful.”
She smiled. “Being with you is wonderful,
too. I think love is the most important thing in a marriage. I
wouldn’t want to be with someone just because it’s convenient. It
sounds like a horrible way to spend your life.”
“I think most people find some level of
contentment in it, but I couldn’t have done it.” He gave her a kiss
then added, “I have the rest of the day clear so I can focus all of
my attention on you.”
“Good, but I have a little bit more to put
away first.”
Since he was eager for her to be done, he
asked, “Would you like my help?”
“Oh, I can get the rest.” She paused, a
worried frown on her face.
“What is it? Are you missing something?”
He started to peer down into the trunk, but
she stopped him.
“I have some private pieces of clothing to
put away,” she told him, her voice growing softer with each word
she spoke. “Would you mind turning around?”
“You want me to turn around so I won’t see
your undergarments?” In light of the fact that they’d already
consummated the marriage, he couldn’t help but laugh.
“I know it’s silly, but everything’s still
new. I need a little more time to adjust to our marriage.”
Though he didn’t understand why she would get
embarrassed if he saw her undergarments, he turned his back to her.
“I’m much more interested in seeing you naked than in seeing your
undergarments.”
“Mark, you shouldn’t be so bold in your
speech.”
“Why not? We’re alone, and you’re my wife.
I’ve already seen you without anything on.”
“I know, but…but…”
Noting her bewildered tone, he turned around
and saw that she’d already put the undergarments away in the
dresser drawer. Since it was safe to go over to her, he did. Once
more, he brought her into his arms and kissed her. She was as
wonderful as he remembered. He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of
being with her.
“You were saying?” he whispered while he left
a trail of kisses down her neck.
“Um, I can’t remember,” she murmured.
“Then it must not have been important.” He
brought his mouth back to hers, and after a minute, he took her to
bed and made love to her again.