Chapter Nine #2
hadn’t introduced him to my parents. They’ll only get ideas about
her marrying him.”
“Are you sure he wouldn’t be good to
her?”
“Yes. I know how that sounds. People always
want proof when I tell them to avoid someone. So few people believe
I have good instincts about people, no matter how often I’m proven
right.” With a frustrated sigh, he spun on his heel and walked in
the opposite direction. “This is why I’ve had to resort to lying in
the past. Sometimes it was the only way to make sure the right
people weren’t hurt.”
“Surely, you can do things without lying.
Just tell Annabelle your misgivings.”
“I can’t just come out and tell Annabelle to
stay away from him. Knowing her, it’ll probably make her more
determined to be with him. She tends to do things just because I
tell her not to do them.” He stopped and went over to her. “Ever
since she was born, I watched out for her. She’s my little sister.
I’ve only wanted what’s best for her.”
“Granted, I don’t know her very well, but she
seems like a smart person. Surely, if Kenneth is as bad as you
think, she’ll see it.”
“I wish it was that simple, but she’s in love
with him. In my experience, people make the worst decisions when
they’re in love.”
“Well, you’re not going to lie to make
Annabelle do what you want, are you?”
“No, I’m not going to do something like I did
on our wedding day.” He let out a groan and started pacing again.
“Which means I’m stuck finding another way to get her safely away
from Kenneth.”
“I’m really surprised that telling her the
truth didn’t even occur to you.”
“The truth doesn’t always work. You have to
know who you’re dealing with when taking that approach. I could
tell you the truth, and you’d accept it. I could tell Ben, and he’d
accept it. But Annabelle is stubborn. When she sets her mind to
something, nothing short of a miracle stops her.”
“What if I tell her? Maybe she’ll believe
me.”
“That won’t work. You’re married to me.
She’ll assume you’re only doing it for me.”
“Well, she’d be right. I would be doing it
for you.”
“That’s why she won’t believe you.”
A knock came at the door, so she went to open
it.
The maid stood on the other side. “Velma
Larson is here to speak to you, Mrs. Larson.”
“She is?” Natalie asked.
“Should I tell her to come back at another
time?”
“No. I’ll be down in a moment.”
The maid nodded, and Natalie shut the door.
“Velma’s here. I have to talk to her. Will you be alright while I’m
gone?”
“I’m not the one you should be worried
about,” Mark said. “You should worry about Annabelle.”
“Isn’t it possible that the only reason you
have a bad feeling about Kenneth is because you want her to marry
Ben?”
“I won’t lie. I’d like for her to marry Ben.
Ben’s a good person. He’d be good to her. But I know she has no
interest in him, and apparently, he’s not going to try to court
her. If she must marry someone else, I’d rather it be someone
worthy of her.”
She studied him. He really believed Kenneth
would be bad to her. But what made him think that? Natalie got no
such strange feeling about Kenneth whenever she saw him.
As much as she wished she could figure it
out, she had to see Velma. “I’ll be back soon,” she promised before
she slipped out of the room.
When she entered the formal parlor, she saw
Velma wearing one of the dresses she’d come to Omaha with. It’d
been the dress that Velma had said was best suited for days when a
lady was indisposed and couldn’t go anywhere, but Natalie had still
considered it pretty fancy compared to what she’d grown up in.
However, compared to the dress Natalie was currently wearing,
Velma’s was definitely plain and ordinary.
But Velma looked different. For one, her
hairstyle was much simpler than before. She no longer had it wound
into cute little twists. She had it pulled back into a bun at the
nape of her neck. Also, her hat wasn’t as impressive as the others
she’d brought with her. There was also something else different
about her. Her face was glowing in a way it never had before. Was
it possible…? Could it be that Velma was in love with Tony?
“Should I bring you and your guest something
to eat or drink, Mrs. Larson?” the maid asked, breaking Natalie out
of her thoughts.
Natalie glanced back at Velma. “Do you want
anything?”
“No,” Velma replied. “I’m going to have
dinner with Tony’s parents.”
The maid turned to Natalie, as if waiting for
her to say something.
Velma, probably realizing that Natalie wasn’t
sure what the maid wanted, spoke up. “No, thank you. Refreshments
aren’t necessary at this time.”
The maid nodded and left.
Oh, so the maid had been waiting for Natalie
to answer before she left the room. She’d forgotten how attentive
the servants were. With a sheepish smile, Natalie told Velma, “I
wish I knew I was supposed to say that to her.”
“This is a different world from the one you
grew up in. You’ll adjust to it.”
Recalling the way Velma had said she was much
better suited for Mark than Natalie was, Natalie nodded. She didn’t
think Velma was here to ask them to switch husbands. Not since
Velma wasn’t as dressed up as she used to be.
“Do whatever Mark tells you,” Velma said,
surprising her. “He’s used to this kind of life. If you follow his
instructions, you should be fine.”
Natalie’s eyebrows furrowed. Why would Velma
come out and say that? She didn’t recall asking for her opinion on
anything.
“Anyway,” Velma continued before Natalie
could respond, “that’s not why I came by. I wanted to apologize for
the way I treated you when you tried to tell me that you didn’t
know Mark had deceived me.”
“So you’re not mad at me?” Natalie asked,
hoping she understood her right.
“How can I be? You had nothing to do with
it.”
Relieved, she hurried to assure her, “I
didn’t. I would never do that to you.”
“I know. You’re too nice to do something like
that to anyone.” She paused then added, “If you ever find that your
responsibilities in this new life are overwhelming, I’m willing to
help you out.”
“You would do that for me even though Mark
tricked you into marrying Tony?”
“I’m offering to help you, not Mark. And…as
it turns out, Tony and I are managing along nicely.”
Noting the shy smile on Velma’s face, Natalie
couldn’t help but be grateful. So Mark had been right. Velma was
happy with Tony, after all. “How wonderful! It’s such a relief to
hear that.” On impulse, she closed the distance between them and
hugged her.
The action seemed to have taken Velma by
surprise for it took her a moment to hug her back. Once the hug
ended, she said, “I told Tony I would be quick.”
So Velma had joined Tony in having dinner
with his parents. That was good. Things were going to be alright
then. Velma no longer hated her, and better yet, she was happy with
Tony. “Thank you for stopping by. I’ve had a terrible time sleeping
all week. I kept worrying about you.”
“There’s nothing you need to worry about.
Just focus on yourself.”
Natalie watched Velma as she left. She wasn’t
sure what Velma was concerned about. Everything with Mark was going
along just fine, and he’d taught her what to expect at dinner
parties. The one she’d had with Annabelle and Kenneth had turned
out alright.
Oh well. She supposed it didn’t matter. The
important thing was that Velma wasn’t angry with her anymore. The
two could be on good terms again, which was good since they had
married into the same family. And better yet, Velma was happy with
Tony. Which meant Mark had been right. The two were going to be
fine.
Recalling Mark, she hurried up the stairs and
to her bedroom. He wasn’t there. She went into his bedroom and saw
that he had already changed out of his church clothes. He was
wearing a more comfortable suit and was studying his reflection in
the mirror.
Well, it seemed as if he had managed to get
his focus off of his sister. He’d been fretting so much over her
when they had returned from church that she thought he’d spend the
rest of the day in a bad mood.
He glanced over at her. “Since there was no
screaming downstairs, I assume everything between you and Velma
went fine.”
“It did. You were right. She’s happy with
Tony.”
She thought he might take the moment to
gloat, but he only nodded and said, “I figured it was just a matter
of time before she realized she married the right brother.”
Unable to resist teasing him, she asked, “She
married the right brother? Does that mean I should have fought her
for him since I got you instead?”
His jaw dropped, and after a moment, he
relaxed. “That’s not funny.”
She chuckled. “Yes, it is. You really thought
I had regretted marrying you.”
He shook his head then turned his attention
back to the mirror where he smoothed his hair. “I’m not
amused.”
“You should be.” Feeling playful, she kissed
him. “I’m only jesting. It’s good that I got to marry you. I don’t
want to be with anyone else.”
He turned to her and took her into his arms.
“That’s better.”
She kissed him again. “You have nothing to
worry about. I adore you.”
“That’s even better.” He pulled her closer
and gave her a lingering kiss. When he ended it, he asked, “How
would you like to take a nice leisurely walk through town?”
“It sounds like fun.”
“Good. You should change into a more
comfortable dress and pair of boots for the walk.”
“I should get the maid. This dress was
difficult to get on. I don’t think it’ll be much better taking it
off.”
“There’s no need to bother the maid. I’ll
help you.”
“Can you do that without getting me into
bed?” So far, any time he had helped her out of her clothes, he’d
also ended up making love to her. Not that she’d minded. She
enjoyed the activity as much as he did. But if he wanted to go for
a walk, then there wouldn’t be time for that since dinner would be
ready soon.
“I’m perfectly capable of taking you out of
your clothes without taking advantage of the moment. Besides, it’ll
only get me more anxious for tonight.”
He brushed his fingers along her breasts, and
it suddenly occurred to her that she was going to be just as
anxious as he’d be, especially if he intended to touch her in
certain places while he helped her change clothes. With a giggle,
she led him to her bedroom, not really caring if they went for that
walk or not.