Second Best Wife (5 page)

Georgina's mouth trembled, betraying her hurt. 'Isn't there a parable about removing the beam from your own eye before you attempt the mote in your neighbour's? It could have been meant for you!'

He laughed out loud. It was a great gust of mirth that made her want to join in. 'My word, you never give in, do you?' The words ended in another bout of hilarity. 'Who ever would have thought the elder Perry girl had so much to her? Yet perhaps I should have guessed. You have a passionate mouth and enough fire in your belly for any man to handle. I wonder why I never noticed it before?'

Georgina made a face at him. 'My virtues will fade like candlelight before the sun when next you see Jennifer, no doubt. You can keep your compliments to yourself! I don't want to hear them!'

He kissed her lightly on the cheek. 'Jealous?' he asked in an intimate, deep murmur. 'You don't like it that I kissed Jennifer first, do you? Never mind, my sweet, at least you have the comfortable knowledge that from now on it will be you I'll be kissing.'

'Without love—'

'Love is only the icing on the cake,' he cut her off, his good humour gone. 'A good cake doesn't need to be covered in sentimental nonsense. It matures with time and never goes stale.'

'Cut and come again?' Georgina suggested wryly. 'That would never suit Jennifer, I'm afraid. She has a very sweet tooth.'

'It isn't Jennifer who has to be suited. All that matters on this occasion is what sort of a cake are you?'

Georgina thought she knew. A badly baked fruit cake that had sagged in the middle was how she felt. She could only hope that William would choke over one of the half cooked crumbs!

CHAPTER THREE

Georgina studied her husband sitting in the seat next door to hers, but the dreadful unreality of the day refused to go away. Not even the solid bulk of William's body could make her believe she had given way and had actually said the words that morning that had transformed her into being his legal wife.

She would have held out if Peter hadn't betrayed her so thoroughly and with such a lack of subtlety that she still cringed when she thought about it. He had completely ignored her frantic signals that she would explain matters to him later. With a stupidity she had found deplorable, he had willingly confessed to William that he had no romantic interest whatsoever in Georgina Perry.

'We're just good friends,' he had said. Georgina had told him afterwards that he might have found something more original to say than that, but her erstwhile suitor had merely looked hurt and puzzled and quite definitely lacking in push.

'But, Georgie, you know we don't feel that way about each other,' he had defended himself.

'I know,' she had agreed on a sigh. 'I would much sooner that William hadn't known, though. If I don't look out, the wretched fellow really will make me marry him!'

Peter had been embarrassed. 'How can he unless you let him?' he asked unanswerably.

Georgina still didn't know how he had done it, but the gold band on her finger refused to go away no matter how often she tried to blink it out of sight. There was no doubt about it, in the eyes of the law and in the sight of men she had been transmogrified into Mrs. William Ayres and it felt as though the whole bottom had fallen out of her world with a vengeance.

And vengeance had been what it was all about. She was too honest with herself to pretend that William's first judgment of her had changed to liking in the past few weeks. Far from it. If anything, he seemed to dislike her more now than ever. She wished she could say the same about him. She had disliked him, more had loathed everything about him, but in the whirlwind of the last few days, somehow she had found herself beginning to look for his arrogant presence. At first she had thought it was because he afforded her some protection from the avid curiosity of her whole family, but she had soon learned better. For some reason best known to her subconscious self, she just liked to have him around. Could it be that she was beginning to enjoy the verbal battles that was the only way they seemed able to converse with each other? If so, she had got everything she deserved: a marriage that was no marriage, and a husband who didn't even accord her the most grudging respect.

Her mother had been the other traitor who had made no bones about her joy in going over to the enemy's camp.

'My dear, I couldn't be more pleased!' she had crooned in ecstasy. 'I've always had a soft spot for William. Dear boy!'

'You don't think it might be a trifle awkward as he's only just

stopped being engaged to Jennifer?' Georgina had said practically.

'I never took that particular relationship very seriously, dear,' her mother had replied, quite unperturbed. 'And nor should you. William knows what he's doing, I'm sure. Jennifer would never have done for him. Why, he looked and sounded like a grown man when he was only fifteen, and Jennifer —well, Jennifer is Jennifer, and we all love her dearly, but no one could describe her as
mature
yet in her love affairs. Why are you laughing, Georgie? Don't you think that's why William decided not to marry her after all?'

Georgina had regarded her mother with a little less than the usual affection she had for her. 'It wasn't William who broke things off, it was Jennifer. She prefers Duncan, or so she says. Hasn't she told you yet?'

Her mother's brow had creased thoughtfully. 'Duncan? You mean that little boy who was forever making her cry when you were all children? No, she hasn't said a single word to your father and me. She probably knows we wouldn't approve of her chopping and changing every few minutes —and certainly not to someone like Duncan! What a repulsive little boy he was!'

'I thought so,' Georgina admitted. 'Jennifer says she always rather liked him, only I used to bully them both into behaving badly. Is it true, Mother? Did I bully Jennifer?'

'Whoever gave you that idea? Your father used to say I made you look after Jennifer too much, and it would serve me right if you went through one of those tiresome bossy phases elder sisters do sometimes, but I can't say I ever noticed that you did. The only person you ever fought with was William. You turned into a regular shrew every time he came around.' She had laughed softly. 'The magic chemistry already beginning to work between you seems the most likely solution to that! It seems ridiculous now, but when your father and I were courting we used to fight like wildcats too, but since we got married we've seldom had a cross word.
That's
how it will be with you and William, you see!'

Georgina, unable to follow her on this particular romantic flight of fancy, had merely looked sulky. 'A quiet wedding would be much more suitable. I'm sure William would prefer a register office —'

'Certainly not! This is your big day, darling! William and I have already agreed you'll be married in the village church with all your friends about you. He doesn't approve of hole-and-corner weddings any more than I do. They lack conviction.'

'I lack conviction,' Georgina had said sadly.

'Very proper in a bride,' her mother had put in quickly. 'You can rely on William to more than make up for any reservations you have, however. I do like a man who knows his own mind!'

Georgina had made one last attempt to win her mother over to her side. 'What about Jennifer?' she had asked bluntly. 'She won't like it — '

Mrs. Perry hadn't even bothered to look up from her sewing. 'Jennifer will have to live with her own decisions,' she had said. And then she had looked up, holding her daughter's whole attention by the simple expedient of waving her needle in her face. 'If you let Jennifer ruin this for you, Georgina, I'll never forgive you!' she had declared with unusual vigour. 'William is everything I hoped for you, and if you throw his love away in a foolish gesture of concern for Jennifer, he's unlikely to give you a second chance to make a fool of him. Be happy with him, darling, and forget all about everything else. If you don't, you'll be storing up a great deal of unhappiness for yourself. Love denied turns to bitterness more often than it can be sublimated into service for others.'

'I haven't said I'm in love with William,' Georgina had protested.

'I can't imagine your marrying him for any other reason!' her mother had retorted. 'Don't be a silly girl! Of course you're in love with him! So marry him and be happy, and give over worrying about Jennifer, do! The Jennifers of this world are very well able to look after themselves.'

Georgina hoped she was right. She had been too busy bending to the wind that was William these last few days to have given much thought to her sister, but she had spoken to her the night before. Jennifer had been out with Duncan and had come in late. There had been a hectic flush in her cheeks and her eyes had sparkled with the excitement of the evening's dancing.

'Will you give this letter to William tomorrow?' she had asked Georgina.

'You'll probably see him before I do,' Georgina had answered.

'Mother has an idea it's unlucky for a bride to see her groom before they meet in church.'

'But the letter is for afterwards, darling,' Jennifer had drawled, a malicious smile on her lips. 'We don't want him to carry you off to the wilder shores of the Indian Ocean still wondering about his first love, do we? It's only to say. I don't bear either of you any resentment for leaving me behind without giving a thought as to whether I shall be happy without you both.'

'But if you're going to marry Duncan—?'

Jennifer had shrugged her shoulders. 'Am I? William was a lot less boring than Duncan, if you want to know, only he was always going away. You're welcome to him!'
The letter.
Georgina hadn't given it a thought from that moment till this. She opened her handbag and scrabbled round inside, looking for it.

'Are you going to be sick?' William asked her.

'No. Why?' She found the pale mauve envelope with a sigh of relief. For a moment she had thought she had forgotten to transfer it from one bag to the other, and she could well imagine Jennifer's anger if she had forgotten to give her precious letter to William.

'You look a trifle green,' he observed.

'I thought I'd lost Jennifer's letter.' She handed it to him. 'It's for you.'

'So I see,' he said dryly. He examined the envelope with care, noting the way the flap had been tucked into the back and the way Jennifer had written BY HAND in the top left-hand corner, in huge, flamboyant capitals, and William down below, underlining it with a strong double line. 'Have you read it?'

'Of course not. It's addressed to you.'

'You might have been curious as to what she had to say to me now that I'm your husband.' He pulled the single sheet out of the envelope and opened it slowly. 'Weren't you a little bit curious?' he asked Georgina, a funny little smile playing round his lips.

'If I was, I managed to restrain it by forgetting all about it. I thought I'd left it in my other handbag—' She broke off as his expression changed to one of cold contempt.

'I don't believe you,' he said.

'Why not? What does she say?' Georgina demanded. She snatched the letter out of his hand and began to read it for herself. It was dated the day before yesterday and began, Darling William— ‘I don't understand!' Georgina said brokenly. ‘I don't understand it!'.

‘Don't you? It seems quite simple to me. Jennifer changed her mind again and tried to let me know she'd made a terrible mistake and very much hoped I would take her back after all. Why did you do it, Georgina? Why? It wasn't as though you wanted to marry me yourself. Or did you? Is that why you deprived us of our chance of happiness?'

‘But it wasn't like that! She told me to give you the letter
after
the wedding. I made a point of telling her that Mother wouldn't allow me to see you before the service began. Jennie said it was to tell you that she didn't bear you any resentment for marrying me.'

‘That isn't what she says there,' William pointed out.

‘I can't help what she wrote to you! I'm telling you what
happened!'

‘And I don't believe you.'

Georgina went very white. For one awful moment she thought she was going to faint. ‘I don't care what you believe! I don't tell lies!'

‘Meaning Jennifer does? Forgive me, my dear wife, if I choose to believe the woman I love. Her record gives her a credence which yours does not!'

‘‘You don't have to stay married to me!' Georgina cried out. ‘An annulment would suit me just fine!'

‘Oh, Georgie, stop whistling in the dark! Why suppress the letter and marry me in the first place if it's an annulment you want?'

Georgina gave way to an hysterical laugh. ‘Why indeed? That ought to prove it to you that I didn't read the letter in advance. If this isn't just like Jennifer! How she loves to stir things up!'

‘And you don't?'

She sobered. ‘No, I don't think I do. I haven't the imagination to make the most of my chances. If I had, I would have read your letter then and there and found out what Jennifer was up to. One is at such a disadvantage when one expects everyone to behave by one's own standards. You'd have thought I'd have learned better by now.' It was a cry from the heart, but William showed no sign of taking it as such.

'Very clever,' he remarked. 'If I didn't know you better I might have believed you. God, Georgina, I didn't think even you hated me as much as that!'