The Youngest Bridesmaid (4 page)

CHAPTER TWO

He s
tood
there for a moment surveying them all with a quizzical expression. The bridesmaids had instinctively ranged themselves in a line against the wall and his eyes travelled slowly over them each in
turn.

“
Very charming,
”
he observed.
“
And where
’
s the bride—or am I late?
”

No one answered him, and his attention turned to Blanche. She had control of herself now, shocked into immobility by his sudden appearance, but her face was drawn beneath the careful mask of make-up; and she caught her breath on the last remaining note of hysteria.

“
Is anything amiss?
”
Piers enquired politely, and Lou had the uncomfortable impression that not only was he instantly warned of disaster but was in some measure enjoying himself.

“
Well, is nobody going to explain why you all look at me as if I were the spectre at the feast?
”
He continued as nobody spoke.
“
You, Cinderella—you
’
re usually the one given the unpleasant jobs. Won
’
t you break it to me gently? Have I been left at the altar like my father before me?
”

His eyes coming to rest on Lou
’
s distressed face were hard and suddenly without amusement and
,
there was an imperceptible tightening at the
corner
s of his mouth. He was not enjoying himself, after all, thought Lou, wondering why she should have imagined he was, and because someone had to tell him and Cousin Blanche was coming to no one
’
s rescue she said with a baldness that inexperience could not soften:

“
Yes, you have, I
’
m afraid. Melissa
’
s
run away with someone else.
”

T
he little pause that followed seemed to her like a moment suspended in time. The bridesmaids became frozen into a waiting silence, Blanche made a small, nervous gesture and then was still, and Lou herself
searched out a corner of the room where she could merge into obscurity.

Piers
’
lean, dark face showed little change. He surveyed them all with an expression which suggested that someone might have committed an impertinence.

“
Has she, indeed? Well now, Blanche, what do you propose to do about that?
”
He was extremely cool, extremely unsurprised, but Lou realized, if the others did not, that he was also dangerously angry.

“
What do you expect me to do, my dear Piers?
”
Blanche, whose only course lay in brazening things out, was momentarily deceived by his manner.
“
The girl, of course, must be slightly unhinged, but as I don
’
t know where she is at the moment, I can
’
t do much about getting her back. You
’
d better read her note.
”
She handed over the letter and he stood reading it in silence, then folded it carefully and handed it back.

“
Love is all that counts,
”
he quoted reflectively.
“
Dear me, I wouldn
’
t have thought that sort of
cliché
would have come from Melissa. Well now, Blanche, I repeat—what are we going to do?
”

“
And I
’
ve told you there
’
s nothing I can do. We will have to postpone the marriage, of course. I
’
ll think up something for the press.
”

“
Postpone it?
”

“
Well, there
’
s hardly time between now and tomorrow to learn her whereabouts and get her brought back.
”

“
And if I don
’
t choose to postpone it?
”

“
You scarcely have much choice.
”

“
But you, my dear Blanche, have less. We made a bargain, you and I, with your daughter a very willing hostage. Are you
able to return my money?
”
he said very gently, and at last Blanche began to look afraid.

“
You know very well that
’
s impossible, but I, no more than you, expected to be let down at the last moment.
”

“
Didn
’
t, you? But your charming daughter is only following your example, after all.
”

“
That was very different. You
’
re a rich man, Piers, you can afford to be generous.
”

His eyes suddenly narrowed.
“
Yes, I
’
m a rich man, and for that reason I don
’
t choose to be made a laughing stock of. I can make you bankrupt, my dear, and the scandal won
’
t be pleasant. I was to foot the bills for the wedding and trousseau too, wasn
’
t I—or did you imagine I didn
’
t know I
was being milked?
”

The bridesmaids had drawn together in a little group to whisper among themselves. Blanche glanced at their worldly-wise faces, well aware that the scandal would be all over London by nightfall, and anxious creditors probably on the doorstep by morning.

“
You girls had better go and change,
”
she said sharply.
“
And please don
’
t leave until I
’
ve had a word with you all.
”

“
Let them stay,
”
Piers said.
“
You won
’
t muzzle their gossiping little tongues once they get home, and your financial excesses are pretty well known anyway.
”

“
Do you want to humiliate me by making me beg for generosity in front of them?
”
Blanche asked, and unwonted tears filled her eyes.

He was silent for a moment, remembering her as she had seemed to him as a small boy, beautiful, elegant and sweet-smelling, his ideal of the mother he could not remember. She still had beauty and elegance, and that trick of bringing a mist to her eyes when defeated, and perhaps one never quite forgot one
’
s first, voluntary act of worship.

“
Oh, dear me, no, that would be most embarrassing for everyone,
”
he answered, and now the voice which had beguiled the impressionable Lou before ever they met was light and casual.
“
There is no real problem for you. Blanche. The marriage will proceed.
”

She closed her eyes for a moment, faint with relief.

“
I knew you
’
d be reasonable, Piers,
”
she said.
“
It won
’
t mean a long postponement. I
’
ll hire detectives, I
’
ll have her brought back, eating humble
pie. Melissa
’
s very sensible, really—she
’
ll soon find out her mistake.
”

“
But that will be a little late, won
’
t it? I don
’
t think I would care for a bride who had anticipated her wedding night with someone else.
”
There was a chill in his voice, which should have warned her.

“
But there
’
s no other way out.
”

“
Oh, I think there is. You must find me a substitute, that
’
s all.
”

She stared at him incredulously.

“
Are you mad?
”
she asked, and he ran an absent hand over his chin as if to satisfy himself that his morning shave had been entirely satisfactory.

“
I don
’
t think so,
”
he replied.
“
My chief need was a wife, if you remember, and for old times
’
sake, your daughter seemed a suitable choice, but since she
’
s had other ideas, it makes little difference.
”

“
Little difference? What on earth do you mean?
”

He stood there, quite at ease now, his hands thrust in his trouser pockets, his dark head tilted back a little, surveying them all through half-closed eyes, and Lou, watching him, remembered the gossip and the colorful stories which had seemed to follow in the wake of the name of Merrick. Money and self
-
assurance, she supposed, could give one this strange right to autocracy.

“
I mean quite simply that I don
’
t intend to be made a fool of,
”
he said then.
“
Thanks to you there has been too much publicity about this affair, so why not a bit more? I refuse to be the subject of ridicule
b
y the cancellation of tomorrow
’
s program, so find me another bride.
”

“
Really, Piers; you
’
re carrying this Rajah complex a little far, don
’
t you think?
”

“
You must be mistaken in the complex—I have no harem,
”
he replied.
“
And with all due modesty I might add that I
’
m considered quite a catch in the matrimonial market, so where
’
s your difficulty?
”

“
You
’
re insufferable!
”
Blanche exclaimed with her first genuine burst of feeling, and he gave her a quick, wholly charming smile.

“
I am, aren
’
t I?
”
he agreed.
“
Still, I have my pride like anyone else, and tomor
r
ow
’
s ceremony goes on—so what?
”

“
So what—as you say?
”
Blanche echoed, suddenly sitting down on the nearest chair.
“
I don
’
t think I feel very well. Does it mean so little to you, Piers, to replace Melissa with a stranger at the eleventh hour?
”

He looked down at her, smiling again that quick charming smile which Lou was beginning to think hid a great deal which he did not care to reveal. The whole fantastic interview was so bizarre that she had begun to regard it as a natural culmination to the past unreal weeks.

“
Well, now, that
’
s rather a leading question, don
’
t you think?
”
he replied.
“
You and I both know that this marriage was a matter of expediency rather than a starry-eyed romance. Melissa has, of course, proved me wrong in that respect, but as far as I
’
m concerned, one bride is as good as another, providing she takes to me kindly. Now here you have a bevy of charming young girls, all hoping for husbands in due course. One of them might oblige, wouldn
’
t you think?
”

The goggling bridesmaids, after the first incredulous gasp, entered into the spirit of the thing with a will, clustering round him, laughing and preening. The absurd suggestion might, of course, be an elaborate hoax, but Piers Merrick was well known for his grandiose gestures and this could very well be the moment for one of them to catch him on the rebound.

“
You see,
”
he said, throwing a glance at Blanche that was at once humorous and disillusioned. He considered them all for a moment with weary attention, then suddenly wheeled round on the youngest bridesmaid, standing apart and clearly not enjoying the situation.

“
And what about you, Cinderella?
”
he asked with mocking deliberation.
“
You don
’
t, I notice, seem anxious to fill the shoes of the defaulting bride.
”

Lou stood there, licking her dry lips, unsure still if he were jesting or not, and acutely embarrassed at being singled out for his attention.

“
I don
’
t take you seriously, which is just as well,
”
she replied, and her eyes looked suddenly enormous in her pale, slightly scandalized face.

“
Why is it just as well? Would you have me?
”
he said, and watched the betraying color tinge her skin with a fleeting suggestion of beauty.

“
I—I don
’
t care for these sort of jokes, and—and marriage is a serious business,
”
she
st
ammered, and for a moment his face wore that strange touch of tenderness which she had glimpsed once or twice before.

“
Yes, it is, and I
’
m quite serious, too,
”
he said with sudden gentleness.
“
You would suit very well, I
’
m beginning to think, Cousin Lou, and we still keep it in the family, which should please your Cousin Blanche. Will you
h
ave me?
”

They were all looking at her, the bridesmaids in varying degrees of disgust and astonishment, Cousin Blanche with her face already settling into its habitual fashionable mask
n
ow that a compromise had been reached, and Piers, the dark, arrogant stranger who believed he had only to whistle up a bride and she would come running; a monstrous suggestion, a monstrous situation!

“
C-certainly not!
”
Lou replied in outraged tones and, bursting into tears, fled from the room.