The Marriage Wheel (20 page)

“
My marrying one of her two lovely daughters? Well, all that has been satisfactorily taken care of, because no one has snatched you up as yet, and that leaves you for me.
”
He lowered his mouth until it touched her cheek.
“
Does that horrify you? Or did I read too much into that kiss we exchanged the other day?
”

Frederica nuzzled her face into his shoulder. He drew her closer, and then closer still, and stroked her hair gently.

“
I always thought of you as a kind of prickly pear,
”
he informed her, while his lips moved against the back of her head, and an end of her hair got into his eyes.
“
Or I did until you fell asleep in the wood that afternoon after you
’
d had little or no lunch—and I thought you were having a jolly good one in the care of the Dillingers
’
faithful retainers. But after that I knew the prickliness was just a shield, and underneath you were more vulnerable than most young women of your age. You simply
couldn
’
t
stand up for your rights, and if things went wrong with you you just crept away in secret and hid your hurts like an abashed animal. It apparently has never occurred to you that there
’
s something special about you. The other afternoon, for instance, after I
’
d kissed you—you took it for granted that it was all the result of a whim! It never apparently even occurred to you that
I love you
!”

Her head went back on its slender stem, and she gazed right into his eyes in disbelief.

“
Oh,
no
!”

“
Oh,
yes
!
And I suppose the truth of it is that I fell in love with you immediately
...
from the moment I found you driving my car, and expecting me to believe that a reputable London agency had sent you to me and expected me to continue to employ you. I
’
ll admit, the very last thing I intended to do at the outset was to permit you to go on driving me and threatening the lives of my cars
...
and even after Bob Rawlinson intervened on your behalf, and your mother looked like proving awkward when she knew she had the support of Rawlinson, I still thought I
’
d have to find someone else to drive me, and put you in charge of the flower garden, or something like that, at the Hall. Until I found my affection for my cars had diminished, and without you at the wheel of one or other of them even a drive into Greater Corsham was a dull thing indeed. So you see it was pretty early in our acquaintance that I knew you were the one woman I could ever get around to thinking of marrying, and Lady Dillinger took such a fancy to you when she, too, met you for the first time that the excellent opinion I had formed of you, despite your refusal to become really friendly, seemed to become consolidated. I told Lady Dillinger I was going to marry you, and she was delighted
...
and Sir Adrian wanted to open a bottle of champagne and celebrate. I
’
ve no doubt that
’
s what he
’
s doing at this precise moment, for with the kind connivance of Lady Dillinger I was on hand when you swept through the gates of the manor just now in a decrepit local taxi, and I shall shortly give myself the pleasure of telephoning the Manor and shouting the glad news of my betrothal to a prickly pear over the wires!
”

Frederica made a strange, inarticulate sound.
“
And you can have a word with Lady Dillinger
...
tell her you
’
ve made up your mind to marry me although you
’
re not at all sure I
’
ll make a good husband!
”

Frederica shut her eyes. Held close in his arms she had not the slightest doubt he would make the kind of husband she had occasionally allowed herself to dream about, but had never believed she would ever possess. ,

“
Oh, Humphrey,
”
she sighed blissfully,
“
I
’
m not at all sure I
’
m awake.
”
In horror she gazed at him.
“
Am I dreaming?
”

He smiled at her tenderly.

“
Not so that you
’
d notice, my darling. In any case, if you
’
ll allow me to kiss you again we
’
ll find out. If it
’
s a nightmare you can smack my face, as I believe you very nearly did the other day; but if it
’
s not a nightmare
...
well, we
’
ll put it to the test, shall we?
”

They put it to the test, and Frederica sighed blissfully again at the end of it. She was certainly not asleep, and she was not enduring a nightmare
...
and in actual fact she seemed to have come up out of the depths of misery and found herself in heaven.

But it was still very difficult to believe in that heaven.

“
Say you love me,
”
he urged, with a show of the old impatience, against her lips.

She had grown very much accustomed to obeying him, and she satisfied him immediately.

“
I love you. But of course,
”
with a tremendous sigh that relieved her of all tensions,
“
like you I actually fell in love at our first meeting. I didn
’
t know it, of course
...
not then. But it
’
s true. That, I suppose, is why I felt so absolutely awful and depressed when you found me sitting on the platform at the railway station after you
’
d given me a cheque for my wages, and sent me packing in such an inconsiderate manner. I
’
d fallen in love with you, and you were so hateful
...
because I
’
m afraid I did think so at the time! Which is a bit of a paradox, isn
’
t it?
”

“
I was in love with you, and I thought you were an infliction. That is an even greater paradox, isn
’
t it?
”
he asked.

Ten minutes later, after at least two cars had slowed as they passed to enable their drivers to gaze at them with interest, Frederica asked the question that concerned Electra.

“
And my mother didn
’
t mind when you made it absolutely clear to her that it was me and not Rosaleen you wanted to marry?
”

He smiled at her in some amusement and continued toying with her hair.

“
She didn
’
t mind,
”
he assured her.
“
In fact, I think she suddenly discovered that you were her favourite daughter after all
...
and you
’
re so easily led and biddable she
’
ll visit us whenever she feels like it at the Dower House. Because, my darling, I
’
m afraid I
’
ve already sold Farthing Hall. Your new stepfather has bought it, and your mother is going to live there with him. And she
’
ll be such a handy neighbour she
’
ll be bound to look in at the Dower House pretty often. We won
’
t say too often!
”
It was all too much for Frederica.

“
Don
’
t tell me I
’
ve acquired a stepfather and a—a prospective husband all in one day?
”
she gasped.

He kissed her complacently for a moment or two, and then he kissed her again violently.

“
Not a prospective husband, my sweet,
”
he corrected her a trifle huskily.
“
An
affianced
husband! We are now officially engaged to be married!
”

THE END