Marion Lennox - The Last-Minute Marriage

But now wasn’t the time to be thinking regretfully about an independence she’d never had and was hardly likely to have. Now she had a man sitting in front of her offering her a possible way out of the difficulties that were threatening to overwhelm her.

She didn’t know anything about this man. His offer was ludicrous.

Marry him?

He was watching, waiting for an answer. Where on earth was an answer when you needed one?

‘I don’t even know you.’

‘You don’t need to know me.’

‘You might be a con artist.’

‘Yeah. About to scam you out of half your farm. That gives you a choice. It seems that you either trust me and risk losing half your farm or you definitely lose half your farm to Charles.’

‘You can’t be serious?’

‘I am serious.’

‘But… I can’t.’

‘Why not? Is there anyone else that you want to marry?’

She thought about that for a whole two seconds. The concept was crazy. ‘No, but-’

‘But there you are. Take it or leave it. I’m offering. I’m not really sure why I’m offering but it seems sensible. Will you marry me, Peta? For better or worse. Until distance does us part? Until at least Friday?’

She looked blankly at him-stunned.

‘You really are serious.’

‘I really am serious.’

Her mind was going in a thousand different directions. A million. But overriding all… Overriding all was the thought that maybe somehow she could keep the farm.

Her head was spinning. Her ankle was throbbing. She felt so near the edge that any minute now she’d topple over. To make such a momentous decision…

‘Peta.’ His hand gripped hers and held, hard. ‘Peta, you don’t need to understand. You can’t, because I hardly understand myself. All you have to do is trust. Just say yes.’

Just say yes…

Easy to say. Will you marry me?

Maybe it wasn’t momentous at all, she thought wildly. People were divorced every day. What was the marriage? A simple document that could be annulled at any time. And the boys would be safe.

She bit her lip. She stared into Marcus’s calm grey eyes and he stared back. Still Marcus held her hand. Still Marcus watched her, waiting.

And in the end it was easy. There was nothing else to say.

‘Okay,’ she whispered. ‘Okay, Marcus. Thank you very much. I have no idea why you’re wanting to do this but I’m very grateful. So yes, I’ll marry you. As soon as possible.’

Marcus Benson, in organisational mode, was a man to be reckoned with. Peta was put into Robert’s care and taken back to her hotel with instructions to rest her ankle. Marcus moved on to the wedding.

He’d told Peta he could organise this by Wednesday. In truth it was a guess. He had no idea if it was possible.

A man with no idea turned naturally to his assistant. In crisis, find Ruby. Fast.

Ruby was summoned peremptorily from the boardroom where she’d been putting things on hold because of Marcus’s absence. The unflappable Ruby was already feeling under pressure. By the time she reached his office she was almost ruffled, and when Marcus told her he wanted her to organise his wedding she was surprised into the unthinkable response of choking.

It took a glass of water before she could make herself understood.

‘You? Married?’

‘What’s wrong with me getting married?’

She thought about it. Marcus was behind his desk. He watched her with patience, seeing her eyes grow round in response to this extraordinary request. Seeing her think it through.

‘To the waif?’ she asked cautiously and he nodded.

‘To Peta. That’s right.’

And Ruby-who had never in Marcus’s lifetime been known to show surprise at anything-proceeded to drop her jaw almost to her ankles.

‘I don’t believe it.’

‘It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not,’ he told her, annoyed. ‘Just tell me what I need to do it.’

She thought some more. She sipped water and took a visible grip. ‘Um… Weddings. I’ve never done weddings. But… Okay. I can do this.’ A bit more thinking. Then, ‘Do you have any preferences?’

‘Preferences?’

‘Like church, civil, white, rose petals, bridesmaids…’

‘No preferences. Just a fast wedding.’

‘How fast?’

‘Tomorrow.’

‘Tomorrow!’ Ruby’s voice came out practically a squeak. She regrouped-sort of. ‘Uh, did you say tomorrow?’

‘That’s right. Wednesday at the latest.’

‘There are things like licences. I’m sure there are. Formalities. Queues.’

‘Throw as much money as you need at the problem. Just fix it.’

‘Gee, how romantic.’

‘Ruby,’ he said warningly and her eyebrows hiked.

‘Yes, sir?’

‘Just fix it.’

‘Certainly, Mr Benson. Very good, Mr Benson.’ She took a deep breath and he could see she was fighting laughter. ‘Do we know the bride’s name?’

‘Peta.’

The eyebrows hiked again. ‘I know her first name’s Peta,’ she said with exaggerated patience. ‘We’re going to need a bit more information. Just a bit.’

‘Right.’ He handed a sheet of paper across the desk. ‘I had her write down her details. I’m not stupid.’

‘So.’ Ruby looked down at the sheet. ‘Peta O’Shannassy. Aged twenty-six. Australian.’

‘That’s right.’ He hadn’t known. He frowned suddenly. Hell, what was he getting himself into? Peta O’Shannassy. She’d written down her name but this was the first time he’d heard it.

‘She needs me to do this,’ he told Ruby, and she paused from reading the sheet and looked at him. Really looked at him.

‘She’s in trouble?’

‘Yes.’

‘You want to tell me?’

He sighed. But Ruby on side was a force to be reckoned with and he’d learned a long time ago it was better just to give in and tell. Briefly he outlined what was happening and, when he had finished, her face had changed. The laughter had gone. The determination he felt was strangely mirrored in his assistant’s eyes.

Ruby had met Peta. She knew Charles. Marcus’s dislike wasn’t purely personal.

But Ruby was moving on again, on to business. Her speciality. ‘You’ll need a decent pre-nuptial agreement. One that will hold water.’

‘Can you get that underway?’

‘Sure.’ She hesitated. ‘You know, Charles won’t take this lying down. Not if there’s money involved.’

‘I suppose he won’t.’

‘Let me run this past our lawyers,’ she told him. ‘I’ll organise a copy of the will to be faxed here this afternoon. You don’t want to go into this blind. Or…’ She paused and a glimmer of laughter appeared again behind her eyes. ‘Or any more blind than you appear to be.’

‘Right.’

Then she hesitated. ‘Marcus…’

‘Yes.’

‘You know… Peta has her contact address here.’

‘I told her to put it down in case you need her to fill in forms.’

‘Mmm.’ She looked again at the piece of paper and cast a cautious glance at him. ‘Do you know where she’s staying?’

‘It doesn’t matter. This wedding is a formality. Where she lives is her business.’

‘Right.’ There was another thoughtful glance. ‘It’s just… I know this hotel. A neighbour had a friend from Canada who stayed there one night. It’s the cheapest place in town. But he came out of it robbed blind.’

Silence.

It was entirely Peta’s business where she stayed, he told himself.

But of course it was no such thing. Marcus took the written sheet from Ruby and stared down at the address. His…his bride?

‘Can you fix it?’ he asked Ruby.

‘What-turn up there and tell her Marcus says move?’

‘I guess not.’ He’d seen enough of Peta to figure that wasn’t the best way to go about things. But… He didn’t get involved. He didn’t!