Fate's Intervention (27 page)

“
I think that good night
’
s sleep did me good, but my health is not why I summoned you in here. You do know why I wanted to talk to you, don
’
t you?
”

“
I
’
ve a fairly good idea,
”
Marcelle muttered.

“
Very well, I
’
ll let you fill me in without laying down a barrage of questions then,
”
her
father
said, waving a hand for her to begin.

“
Father
, I
’
m not quite certain what you expect me to say.
”

“
Well, I guess a barrage of questions is in order after all, so we
’
ll start with the obvious one. Has Matthew done anything that might warrant my concern?
”

“
No,
Father
,
”
Marcelle sighed,
“
Matthew has been a perfect gentleman.
”

“
Perfect gentlemen do
not
put tints of pink in virginal cheeks, bounces in their steps, or music in their heart. Or is there someone else that I need to be having a chat with?
”

“
No, definitely no one else.
”

“
Very well, tell me what Matthew
’
s done and I
’
ll determine just how chivalrous he
’
s
been, or whether a
shotgun
is in order.
”

“
Oh,
Father
, don
’
t be so dramatic,
”
Marcelle huffed,
“
it
’
s not as if you wouldn
’
t be pleased if something
did
happen
–
which nothing did. Don
’
t think,
”
she continued, wagging her finger in his direction,
“
t
hat
I haven
’
t seen you eyeing us out of the corner of your eye.
”

“
Watch your tongue, girl!
”
He said sharply.
“
Besides, wanting to see you happily wed is a different matter all together than allowing you to debauch yourself with a man who has absolutely no intention of marrying you.
”

“
The
n why did you sign over the house and business to him? If you knew that he wasn
’
t interested in marrying me, why set us up to live together in sin?
”

“
I was kind of hoping . . . ,
”

“
Exactly,
”
Marcelle interrupted.
“
You were hoping that
something
would happen
; and
were counting on that something including a trip down the aisle, but he hasn
’
t made any overtures in that direction
; h
asn
’
t even noticed me like that, at least not until the night before he took his leave
; a
nd
now that there is a spark, you don
’
t quite know what to do. You can
’
t kick him out, because he legally owns everything we have.
”

“
I can still send you to live with your
Aunt Vera
.
”

“
Can you?
”
Marcelle challenged.
“
Unless I heard wrong, you put the decision of going or remaining squarely on my shoulders, and I chose to remain.
”

“
A
re
you sleeping with him?
”

“
No,
”
Marcelle sighed and slumped back in her chair.
“
Despite my outburst,
Father
,
nothing untoward happened between Matthew and me.
”

“
Yet I
’
m not imagining the difference in your demeanor,
”
Peter said
,
“
a
nd
you
’
re not just happy. Whistling while you work. There is a marked difference between happy and enamored. I
’
ve been there, so I
’
m a fair judge in that regard.
”

“
Enamored? Hardly!
”

“
Well, perhaps not enamored then, but definitely enchanted.
A
m I wrong about that?
”

“
Would you simply accept the fact that Matthew has fascinated me? Made an impression on me, as it were.
”

“
Why suddenly?
”

“
It wasn
’
t really of a sudden, you know,
”
Marcelle admitted, blushing.
“
He made an impression on me the day we met.
”

“
A
h, I knew there was more to his hiring than the fact he
’
d suddenly found himself unemployed.
”

“
Yes, well, I did hire him partly out of pity for his situation,
”
Marcelle said,
“
but the other part isn
’
t quite as easily explainable. I didn
’
t want him to know that he
’
d affected me in any manner, because of his aversion to women and marriage. I figured he wouldn
’
t take the job if he thought I found him attractive. Then something unexpected happened the night before he left.
”

“
He kissed you.
”

“
Well, I was concerned about your health and I guess it showed on my face. He only
wanted to comfort me, but it turned into a little more than that.
”

Peter
’
s face reddened at the implication,
“
I hope I
’
m not hearing what I think I
’
m hearing. I mean, all he did was kiss you, right?
”

“
Yes,
father
. That
’
s all he did. He held me and kissed me a little, is all,
”
Marcelle blushed, trying to maintain her own calm, not in the face of her
father
’
s anger, she
’
d been on the receiving end of that too often for him to affect her, but from the memory of the morning after.

“
That
’
s
all, huh?
”
Peter asked, noticing the dreamy look that returned to his daughter
’
s face.

“
I
’
d hardly think that would be nothing, but you needn
’
t worry, I don
’
t think he meant to kiss me and probably wouldn
’
t have kissed me the next morning had I not teased him.
”

“
He kissed you again the next morning?
”
Peter asked, wondering whether he needed to hire on a chaperone, now that things were progressing beyond friendship between the two.

She may think she didn
’
t want to marry, may even think she cares little for her standing in society and her reputation as well, but she
’
d never been on the receiving end of ostracism and people could be cruel.
He needed to protect her, from herself if need be, before he passed on. Maybe he could hire someone under the guise of a companion, so she wouldn
’
t be upset over the notion, unless he could persuade Matthew to marry her without his knowing he was persuading him.
M
eanwhile, he
’
d have to put a bridle on his own daughter first.

“
What are you doing teasing the poor man?
”

“
Father
, you
’re
face is getting all red. Do calm down,
”
Marcelle sighed.

“
Don
’
t tell me to calm down, girl!
”
Peter yelled.
“
Now, answer me. What are you doing teasing a full-grown man?
”

“
Well, when he was leaving, I asked him if he was going to give me a goodbye kiss
–
like mom used to do with you.
”

“
You did what?
”

“
Father
, do calm yourself before you have a coronary,
”
Marcelle said.
“
I don
’
t think I meant to say anything, but as he was leaving it just popped out. I remember, when I was a child, the love I saw on your face when you came back and gave Mother that forgotten kiss and how happy she was afterward. I think somewhere in the back of my mind, I wanted to experience that for myself. Only, it wasn
’
t like that at all.
”

“
I
’
m not sure I want to hear anymore,
”
her
father
moaned, rubbing a hand over his
face, reddened in embarrassment
. Sometimes he wished that he hadn
’
t encouraged such open communications with her.

“
You see. The look he gave me made me nervous, and then he chased me into the house and kissed me. Said I shouldn
’
t tease him about things like that.
”

“
Oh, dear Lord above. He didn
’
t hurt you did he, child?
”

“
Hardly. In fact,
”
Marcelle admitted,
“
I wanted him to kiss me again, but he stormed out of the house and left. You don
’
t think I scared him off, do you,
Father
?
”

“
You
are
taken with him, aren
’
t you?
B
e honest.
”

Marcelle nodded and lowered her head, looking at the hands that she
’
d clenched in her
lap,
“
Only I know that nothing will ever come of it, so I
’
m not sure what I should do. Now, because of my impetuousness, he may not return and all I have is the memory of his kiss. That
’
s why I
’
ve been humming about this past week, clinging to that memory. It
’
s the only way I have to push back the worry that he may not come back.
”

“
Oh, child.
”

“
Say
he
’
ll come back,
Father
?
”

“
I can
’
t, but he does have an awful lot invested with us, so chances are pretty good that he will. I will tell you this, though. The man likes you.
”

“
He does?
”

“
I don
’
t know whether he knows it or not, but I
’
ve seen how he looks at you and he
’
s definitely intrigued. Still and all, I wouldn
’
t press the issue and I
’
m not certain that teasing him further would be wise.
”

“
Is there anything that I can do to help persuade him into marriage, without letting him know that I
’
m persuading him?
”