Judith Stacy - The Marriage Mishap

“Yes. You mustn’t abase yourself in such a manner. Mr. Harrington is expecting to marry a dignified, properly groomed lady, and that is what you must be.”

Certainly, Aunt Harriet would know. Haley’s mother wouldn’t have entrusted her to her aunt’s care had she not been the epitome of gentlewomanhood. After all, it was Aunt Harriet whom her mother had relied on to take Haley out of San Francisco until the Farnsworth scandal died down.

Haley rose from the bed. “All right, Aunt Harriet, if you say so.”

“A lady at all times. Remember that.” She pointed a stern finger at her. “We mustn’t risk falling into disfavor with the Harringtons.”

That was hardly Haley’s highest priority, but she kept the thought to herself as she followed her aunt out the door.

Adam waited in the foyer, consulting his pocket watch as Haley descended the stairs. He looked mildly annoyed as he tucked it in his waistcoat, and that pleased her.

The servants took her trunks to Adam’s carriage, and her aunt made a show of kissing her cheek and wishing her well as Adam assisted her with her cape and ushered her out the door. Chrissy went ahead and climbed up top with the driver.

The spring evening was cool, and the interior of the carriage was dark as they settled into seats facing each other. Light from the street lamps cast dim shadows across the carriage as they made their way through the city. Haley felt Adam’s steady, unnerving gaze upon her as she stared at the passing scenery, pretending not to notice him.

At length he drew a silver case from his inside jacket pocket and took out a cigarette. Sulfur filled the carriage as the match sprang to life, illuminating his features before he tossed it out the window. Smoke coiled around his head.

“Isn’t there anything you want to ask me?”

She jumped at the sound of his deep voice coming out of the darkness. “Such as?”

He shrugged. “Such as…my family, my home.”

“I assume you have both.”

He chuckled. “A new house, actually. I designed it myself. Just moved in a few months ago.” He took a long drag on the cigarette and blew the smoke over his head. “You’ll run the house now, of course…thank goodness.”

And didn’t it occur to him that might interfere with her life?

“Wouldn’t it have been easier to simply hire a competent housekeeper?” She waved away the smoke coiling toward her.

“I have a staff, all quite capable. But you’ll have a vested interest in the place. That’s what I want. Do with it whatever you like. I’m told it needs a woman’s touch.”

So, there it was. Her first assignment in her new life. It didn’t sit well with her, but it was a role she had trained for most of her life.

He stretched out his legs, long, muscular legs that took up most of the space between the seats. Haley scooted sideways to avoid him. Again, she waved away the white, hazy cigarette smoke. “Must you smoke in here? It’s a nasty habit, you know.”

Adam studied the glowing tip of his cigarette, then tossed it out the window. “Don’t you want to know about my family?”

No, she wanted to get out of this carriage and get back to her own family. “Certainly.”

“One brother, one sister. Both younger. They live with my father.” Adam shifted uncomfortably on the leather seat and gazed out the window for the first time. “You’ll meet them…later.”

“You didn’t ask, so I assume you discovered all you care to know about me.”

Adam grinned and gazed at her once more. Oscar routinely worked for Harrington Construction, handling sensitive matters. He was well compensated for his efforts, and so hadn’t minded a rush assignment on a Sunday afternoon.

“Only the basics,” Adam admitted. Enough to know she made the perfect wife.

“But not everything.”

His brows drew together. “No, not everything.”

She shot him a scathing look. “Rethinking the marriage, Mr. Harrington?”

“No.” He leveled his gaze at her across the dim carriage. “But don’t get any ideas. If you’re thinking it’s a way to get out of this marriage, you’re wrong. I won’t tolerate a scandal.”

Her chin crept higher. “And neither will I, Mr. Harrington.”

“Don’t you think it would be all right if we were on a first-name basis now, Haley?”

Hearing him say her name sent a chill up her spine. Recollections of him breathing the word against her ear last night floated up in her mind, along with all sorts of feelings she couldn’t capture and certainly couldn’t name. She looked away. “I suppose… Adam.”

He grinned. “There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

It wasn’t bad at all, but she didn’t say so.

Haley looked out the window. The streetlights had disappeared, and by the sway of the carriage she could tell they had left the city. Presently, Adam sat forward.

“We’re home.”

Haley’s stomach tingled. Home? Her home was in San Francisco, with her mother and grandparents.

The carriage stopped, and Adam helped her to the ground while the driver and Chrissy handled her trunks.

Haley clutched her handbag as she gazed at the house. Every etched and stained-glass pane was lit in the three-story structure, setting it ablaze against the night sky. A large porch wrapped the entire first floor, and an onion dome and a witch’s hat punctuated the roof. Fashionable gingerbread and scrollwork decorated the house, which was blue with white trim, she guessed—it was hard to tell in the dark. Mature trees in the yard and flowers and shrubbery against the house scented the air pleasantly.

The front door opened, and a small, neat man with a carefully trimmed gray mustache stepped outside.

“Good evening, sir,” he droned.

Adam ushered her into the foyer. “Bernard, this is my wife.”

The butler gave her a stiff bow and a cursory glance. “Good evening, Mrs. Harrington.”

“See to her things.” Adam pulled his watch from his pocket and consulted it. He turned to Haley. “If you need anything, ask Bernard.”

And with that, he disappeared down the hall.

“Mr. Harrington is particular about his schedule,” Bernard offered in a monotone.

“Certainly,” she responded, as if that explained being dismissed like yesterday’s news.

“Follow me, please.”

She climbed the sweeping staircase behind the butler. Chrissy stepped alongside her, her eyes wide. “Well, somebody slap me—will you just look at this place? You’ve just got to keep me here, Miss Haley. No offense, but your aunt’s house smells like camphor all the time.”

Haley didn’t answer. She wasn’t certain she’d stay herself.

Chimes from the parlor’s mantel clock echoed up the stairway, causing Adam to stop and pull out his pocket watch. Fast. Two minutes fast. He couldn’t abide an inaccurate timepiece. Bernard would have to be told to see to the clock’s repair.

Adam started up the stairs again, then froze. No, Bernard would not have to handle it. He had a wife now to see to those things. A little smile pulled at his lips, and he climbed the stairs.

In his room, he poured himself a glass of bourbon from the decanter on his bureau and sipped it, his gaze riveted to the connecting door to his new wife’s suite. He’d sat at his desk downstairs for hours, trying to concentrate on the McKettrick plans. He’d set aside that time specifically to work on them, but he hadn’t gotten much accomplished; they hadn’t interested him to. begin with.

Adam crossed the room and passed through the sitting area to stare at Haley’s closed bedroom door. No light shone beneath it. No sound emanated from within. Surely she was sleeping by now; she’d looked exhausted when he picked her up—beautiful, but exhausted.