Chapter Six
“You’ll be happy to know Tony and Velma were in town today,”
Mark’s father said as he came into Mark’s office.
Mark looked up from his desk where he was
working on the sketch of the new project they had just contracted
to build. “What did they do?”
“They went to Miss Flynn’s.”
“The Miss Flynn who makes dresses?”
His father gave him a wry smile. “Is there
another Miss Flynn?”
Mark thought it over and realized the only
other Miss Flynn was the woman’s thirteen-year-old sister. So
technically, the answer was yes, but since the sister was only
thirteen, he decided not to point this out.
“Anyway, the two seemed to be getting along,”
Mark’s father said. “I would have approached them, but I thought it
best to stay out of their way for the time being. A newly married
man should have some time alone with his wife.”
Unable to resist teasing his father, Mark
replied, “Which is why I’m sitting in this office when I could be
with Natalie.”
“You’re the one who scheduled all of these
projects. You could have cleared your calendar to stay home.”
“And miss out on Mr. Gordon’s visit? I don’t
think so. I’ve been working on getting him as a client for half a
year.”
It’d taken him a great deal of effort to
secure Mr. Gordon’s account through letters. Another client told
him Mr. Gordon was looking to move to Omaha to open a restaurant,
and as soon as Mark found out, he’d started a correspondence with
the man in hopes no one else would get to him first. Now that Mr.
Gordon was in Omaha, he wasn’t about to let it go.
Besides, the fact that Natalie didn’t get to
see him all the time would only mean she’d miss him during the day,
and if she missed him, then she’d be happy to see him. And if she
was happy to see him, she’d follow him to his bedroom and he could
have his way with her.
“Mark?” His father snapped his fingers in
front of Mark’s face.
Mark jerked. “What?”
His father smiled in amusement. “I didn’t
think you were listening. I was just asking if you want me there
when you talk to Mr. Gordon.”
“No, I need to start handling new clients on
my own.”
“Alright. I’ll let you get back to work.”
Mark gave him a nod and returned back to the
sketch he was doing.
About fifteen minutes passed before his
secretary knocked on his door. “Mr. Larson, your sister wishes to
see you.”
Before Mark could tell him to let her in, she
breezed past him. Judging by the look on her face, she wasn’t the
least bit happy with him. She walked right up to him and set her
hands on her hips.
“I can’t believe you pulled such a horrible
stunt on Tony,” she blurted out.
Mark glanced at his bewildered secretary.
“Shut the door and leave us alone.”
There was no need for others to hear this.
Annabelle wasn’t one to keep her opinion to herself. He should have
known she would stop by to give him a piece of her mind.
“You are a horrible person,” Annabelle
continued. “How could you do that to Tony? How could you let him
think Velma wanted to marry him?”
“Didn’t you talk to our father about this?”
Mark asked as he gave her his full attention. “I explained this to
Father yesterday.”
“All Father said was that you said Velma
wants to be with him. Father said we should see how things work out
before we tar and feather you.”
His eyes grew wide. Tar and
feather him? Surely, she couldn’t be that upset.
“You’re lucky I’m a lady,” she continued.
“Because if I wasn’t, I’d punch you out for what you did.”
Fine. So she was
that upset. “Father said
he saw Tony and Velma in town this morning. He said they looked
happy together. Obviously, I’m right. The two are well
matched.”
“It didn’t look like they were well matched
on Saturday.”
“They’ve had a day to work things out.”
“A day isn’t a long time.”
“You didn’t say that when you were a child.
Of all of us, you were the most impatient for Christmas to come so
you could open your gifts.”
“I was a child. Children think time goes too
slow when they have to wait for something.”
“Yes, but you were more impatient than Tony
or I ever were.”
She let out an exasperated sigh. “What does
that have to do with Tony and Velma?”
“You need to wait and see how things develop
between them. The fact that they were in town today and looked
happy means they’ll adjust to this marriage in time. They might not
be declaring their undying love for each other right now, but then,
you can’t expect that to happen right away.”
“That’s not the point. The point is you
created this elaborate plan. I know Tony didn’t have anything to do
with this. He’s not sneaky and underhanded like you are.”
“Sneaky and underhanded? I don’t think
that’s—”
“Don’t you try to say it wasn’t sneaky and
underhanded,” she interrupted. “It was. Tony would never have done
that to you.” She paused then added, “How did you get Ben to go
along with it?”
“What makes you think he had anything to do
with it?”
“Because any time you’re concocting something
and he’s nearby, it means you two are in on it together.”
“Well, just so you know, this was all my
doing.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, as if trying to
determine if she could believe him or not. The last thing he wanted
to do was give her a reason to dislike Ben. He was hoping the two
would end up together. But she had a way of studying him that
weakened his resolve. After a long and tense moment, he felt
himself wince under the weight of her stare.
“I knew it!” she exclaimed. “You two were in
on this together. No wonder he was rushing through the vows. Before
the wedding started, he told Mother and me that he had to take care
of something important right after the wedding. Mother and I
thought he meant that he had to visit a sick family in his parish.”
She shook her head at him. “I should have known better. I grew up
with you two.”
In a hurry to get her attention off of Ben,
he asked, “What does it matter now? Tony’s married to Velma.
There’s no going back and changing it.”
“It matters a lot. I don’t know how anyone in
Omaha trusts you with all the manipulative things you do.”
“I admit that I have done some manipulative
things, but I’m not as bad as you think. You’ve been around some of
the clients. You know as well as I do that a lot of them say one
thing and mean another.”
“I agree that a lot of wealthy people are
manipulative, and I’ve never been happy about it. I’ve always
admired Father because he doesn’t go along with it. He’s willing to
walk away from a business deal. But you’re not like that. You’ll do
whatever you can to get it because it means more money.”
Mark gasped. He could accept many things, but
this was hitting too low. “You think I’ll do anything for
money?”
She nodded.
“If that was true, I would have married
Velma,” he pointed out. “Even if she came to Omaha because her
family lost their money, she knows what it takes to charm people.
She’ll say and do whatever it takes to get her way. If I had
married her, she would have impressed half the clients’ wives in
one afternoon. But I didn’t marry her because I love Natalie.
Natalie’s the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. So
don’t tell me I’ll do anything for money.”
She considered his words then said, “Well, I
suppose you have a point.”
“I sure do. And it’s a good one.” He
straightened his tie and huffed, feeling somewhat satisfied by her
contrite expression. “I didn’t want to lose Natalie. Natalie’s too
nice. She loves me, but she probably would have backed down and let
Velma marry me if our parents sided with Velma.”
“Any woman who loves a man will fight for
him. But all that aside, I still haven’t gotten a chance to meet
Natalie. I was hoping to meet her at the wedding, but,” she shot
him a pointed look, “you made that impossible when you whisked her
out of there faster than a tornado.”
“You never were one to let someone off the
hook, were you?”
“Why should I make this easy for you? Even if
I think it’s good you picked a wife without any concern for money,
what you did was still wrong.”
“I know it was wrong,” he said. “But that
doesn’t change the fact that Natalie is my wife. Do you want to
meet her or not?”
“Of course, I do. I’m intrigued to know what
kind of woman can convince you to give up someone like Velma. I
rather like Velma. She reminds me of someone fun, but I can’t put
my finger on it.”
He chuckled. “Velma’s a lot like you.”
“You really think so?”
“Both of you will do anything to get your
way. Fortunately for me, I know how you work. That’s why I figured
out Velma as well as I did.”
Annabelle grew thoughtful for a moment as she
considered his words. “I suppose if I really wanted to marry
someone, I would try to get his parents’ approval.”
“See?”
“But if the man tells me he doesn’t want to
marry me, I would accept it. I don’t want to be with someone who’d
rather be with someone else.” She pointed at him. “You should have
told Velma the truth.”
He moved her finger aside. “It wouldn’t have
worked. I know you don’t believe me, but it’s true. However, all
that aside, you’ll get a chance to meet Natalie this Thursday.
That’s why I invited you over for dinner.”
“I’ll be there.” She studied him for a
moment. “You really do love Natalie, don’t you?”
“You didn’t figure that out when I made up
the elaborate scheme in order to marry her?”
She smirked then turned serious. “I can’t
recall a time when you looked more alive than you do now. Your face
is practically glowing.”
He cringed. “My face isn’t glowing. Men’s
faces don’t ever glow. That’s something that only happens to
women.”
She shrugged. “If you say so…” Then she
patted his cheek and left his office.
***
Natalie spent the day exploring her new home.
Yes, Mark had showed her the rooms the previous day, but they
hadn’t lingered in any of the rooms for long. So she took her time
going through the rooms that weren’t dedicated to the servants.
It was nice to see the things Mark owned. She
felt that she learned more about him simply by seeing the things he
had. He was an orderly person, she noted, for he had his books
organized according to topic. Also, his items were neatly in place
on the desk, and his furniture all matched.
He had chosen to keep the drapes in the rooms
open, and while it was silly, she thought it spoke volumes about
his willingness to look out into the world. She’d had a cousin who
always kept his drapes closed, and her cousin didn’t like to
venture outside much. Instead, he preferred to keep to himself.
Also, Mark chose brighter colors rather than the somber colors her
cousin had selected to decorate his home. It was no wonder Mark
loved to be around people and had a natural enthusiasm for life.
His home was open, spacious, and comfortable. His home matched who
he was.
As she was browsing his collection of coins
that he’d set on a table in the informal parlor, the butler came in
to tell her that she had a visitor.
Surprised, she followed him to the formal
parlor. She couldn’t imagine who would be coming by to pay her a
visit. Perhaps it was Velma. Her stomach tightened in dread. Was
Velma coming over to yell at her? Perhaps she’d had time to think
about it and wanted to let her know how upset she was?
But when she reached the room, Velma wasn’t
waiting for her. Instead, it was Mark’s mother. Natalie breathed a
sigh of relief.
Mrs. Larson smiled at her. “I thought I’d
stop by and see how you’re doing.”
“I’m doing good,” Natalie replied. “How are
you?”
“I’m fine.” Mrs. Larson led her to the couch
and sat beside her. “I remember you said you grew up on a farm.
Mark’s father and I grew up in New York. We didn’t have much of
anything when we left with his family to come out here. I never
imagined that we’d end up living the way we do today, though I
always knew Mark’s father was going to succeed because he was
passionate about his work.”
“How long did you know Mark’s father before
you married him?”
“It seems like we always knew each other. We
were playing together even before we went to school.”
“That’s very sweet. I had a friend back home
who married her childhood sweetheart.”
“Well, Mark’s father and I weren’t childhood
sweethearts. I didn’t know he was in love with me until after we
were married.” Before Natalie could ask her more about it, she
continued, “Anyway, I know Mark went back to work today, so I
thought I’d see how you’re coping with everything. This kind of
life is a lot different from living on a farm.”
“Mark showed me around and introduced me to
the servants.” After a moment, she added, “I didn’t realize Velma
thought she was marrying him.”
“I know. We all know you had nothing to do
with it.”
Well, that was something at least. Natalie
should be glad everyone else believed her, even if Velma
didn’t.
Mark’s mother offered her another smile.
“What happened on Saturday was a shock. I think it’ll take a little
time before things settle down.”
The butler came in and set the tea, jam, and
bread on the small table in front of them.
“I hope you don’t mind that I asked for these
to be brought in,” Mrs. Larson said.
“No, I don’t mind.” The truth was, Natalie
was a little hungry. She hadn’t eaten since early that morning
before Mark left for work.
As the two spread jam on their bread, Mrs.
Larson said, “I wanted to stop by so that we could get to know each
other better. I know I’m your mother-in-law, but I’d like to be
your friend, too.”
Natalie’s face warmed in pleasure. “I’d like
that.”
“We spent so much time at Owen and Jenny’s
talking about Mark and Velma that I didn’t get to know much about
you. You seem like such a sweet girl. In some ways, you remind me
of a good friend I have named Laura. Both of you have a certain
glow about you that says you put others first. I have to admit,
it’s a trait I admire in people.”
Touched by the woman’s kind words, Natalie
smiled. “I want to make Mark happy.”
“I know you do. That’s why I’m happy you’re a
part of the family. So, why don’t you tell me more about your life
while growing up? I’d love to hear it.”
“Alright.” Natalie finished putting jam on
her slice of bread and then began to tell Mrs. Larson all about her
past.