Lucy Gordon: His Pretend Wife

They stared at her, thunderstruck. In the silence Myra’s cell phone shrilled and she answered, ‘It’s all right, Uncle Elmer, he’s here, but I don’t think he can talk now. He’s got some important business going down. You can call him tomorrow and give him the good news.’

She hung up. ‘All right, I’ve said my piece. Now it’s up to you two. Just get on with it.’

She embraced Elinor. ‘I’m going now, but you and I will be seeing each other quite often in the future, since you’re going to be stepmother to my son.’

‘Am I?’

‘Of course you are. We just settled it. Didn’t you notice? Is Simon in the same room, by the way? I’d better drop in on him before I go.’

She blew Andrew a kiss, waved and headed for the door.

‘Myra,’ he said quietly, ‘thank you for everything.’

‘Just don’t forget to invite me to the wedding,’ she told him. ‘I want to give you away.’

She slipped out and from the corridor they heard her say, ‘Simon, darling, there you are! Guess what. Daddy and Ellie are getting married. Isn’t that lovely? Hetta, dear, you’ll just love being a bridesmaid. Pink satin, I think. You’ve got the perfect complexion for it.’

Her voice faded.

Silence.

‘Well,’ Elinor spoke cautiously, ‘pink satin isn’t so bad. As long as she doesn’t bring Hetta to our wedding in scarlet satin.’

He put his arms around her and spoke beseechingly. ‘Darling Ellie, you don’t have to-’

‘Of course I do. We both do. It’s all been decided. And Myra was right. We should just cut the cackle and get on with it. What was I fretting about?’

‘You’re not angry that I kept the weekend a secret? Telling you would have felt like emotional blackmail.’

‘No, I’m not angry. I can just hardly believe that you took such a risk.’

‘To blazes with Elmer and his glitzy weekend. I wanted to ride on the big wheel with the girl of my dreams. Just like last time. Some things are still the same, Ellie.’

‘But think what it might have cost you?’

He held up his hands before her. ‘I’ll stand or fall by what these can do, not my ability to wear a dinner jacket.’

‘Did I hear right? Did Myra say something about good news? I think you got it anyway.’

‘Really? I wasn’t listening. This is more important. My dearest love, once I tried to pressure you into marriage. I didn’t even ask you properly the first time, but I’m asking now. Ellie, will you marry me?’

She took his face gently between her hands.

‘Yes, my dearest. I will.’

Lucy Gordoncut her writing teeth on magazine journalism, interviewing many of the world’s most interesting men, including Warren Beatty, Richard Chamberlain, Sir Roger Moore, Sir Alec Guinness, and Sir John Gielgud. She also camped out with lions in Africa and had many other unusual experiences which have often provided the background for her books. She is married to a Venetian, whom she met while on holiday in Venice. They got engaged within two days.

You can visit her website at www. lucy-gordon. com and look out for The Italian’s Passionate Revenge which will be available in May!