A Paper Marriage (13 page)

Lydie still needed time, though could quite well see that if Jonah had told her father he was about to propose to her then her father, having noticed their absence, was going to think she had turned Jonah down should they return with nothing to announce. Which in turn would send him tumbling straight down into a pit of stress and depression again.

`Would it-um-this marriage-would it be a n-name only affair?' she asked, embarrassed, but needing to have a few answers now.

'I'm family-minded,' Jonah replied. 'I'm afraid we'd have to do what we have to do to produce a few offspring.'

Oh, heavens! `Um,' she mumbled, and, more to get herself over some hot-all-over moments than anything, abruptly asked, `What if-supposing-we find the money?' She was starting to feel confused. And no wonder! But remembering was it only last Friday?-the way he had aggressively taken exception at the thought of being cheated-'No one cheats on me-ever,' he had said-'Supposing you and I were engaged and, and we found we could pay back the money. I'd be cheating you to marry you then-and you wouldn't like that.' `You're wriggling, Lydie,' Jonah accused, plainly knowing as well as she that she and her father hadn't a hope in Hades of finding fifty-five thousand pounds and paying him back. `And you'd have to find it pretty quickly.'

`I would?' She stared at him.

He nodded. `Having decided it's time I married, I can't see any reason to wait.'

Lydie looked at him helplessly. She guessed that was part and parcel of the man- decide upon something, decision made, expedite it. But this wasn't business, this was her future, his future, and while as more shock receded she knew that she could not think of anything she would rather do than be his wife, to see him most every day it still did not seem right.

`You're sure you want to be married?' she questioned.

`Totally sure.'

`And I' m-"it"-?" 'Don't sell yourself short, Lydie. You're a little bit gorgeous.'

Her heart fluttered. `I'm trying to be serious here,' she told him sternly.

`You think I'm not?"

'What the alternative?' she asked. `From my father's point of view, I mean. What's the alternative if I don't marry you?'

Jonah shrugged. `The money, as your father sees it, will still be his debt. When I spoke with him in his study a while ago, and acquainted him with my plans, I saw that spark of hope in him grow and grow the more we talked. I even felt as we left his study that there was a bit of a spring in his step that hadn't been there before,' Jonah added, then asked quite simply, `I've made my decision, Lydie, may I now hear yours?'

She needed more time, only there wasn't more time. Her father would be watching for them to come back, would be searching their faces. Could she bear to see that ray of hope die from his eyes?

Could she bear to see that hurt, that stress return to his eyes? As her father had said, he had thought and thought and could find no solution. He had great trust in Jonah and had said that if anyone could think up a way Jonah would be the one to do it. Well, he had, and, while it was true it might not be the proposition her father had hoped for, he would as the days went by, learn to live with the fact that his debt was not to a man he himself had once helped, but to his daughter's husband.

Oh, grief. Husband-Jonah! Her legs threatened to give way at the thought. She turned and placed a seemingly casual hand on the top of the five-barred gate, gripping it hard. Then, decision made, she turned back to him.

She looked up into his wonderful blue eyes and took a long steadying breath. `It seems a bit formal to shake hands on-um-my promise,' she began, `but I don't think I'm ready for k-kisses just yet.'

Jonah stared down at her for long moments, then raised a hand and brushed a stray something or other out of her hair. `Your word is good enough for me, Lydie,' he said quietly. And then, oddly, seemed to draw a steadying breath himself at her acceptance of his marriage proposal. But Lydie knew that it was just her imagination gone wild-and no wonder-because his voice was totally matter of fact when, taking a step away from the gate, he suggested, 'We'd better get back.'

Lydie could only agree. Her father would be waiting, watching for their return. She fell into step with Jonah, but they were walking back up the drive when she thought of the sadness of the day, and hurriedly asked, `We don't have to announce it-our engagement-straight away, do we?"

'It doesn't seem entirely appropriate to announce it generally today,' he agreed.

`Thank you for understanding,' she said softly.

And he looked at her and smiled. 'We'll be all right together, Lydie, trust me,' he said. And she did, and started to feel more on an even keel. 'We'll tell your parents when everyone has gone,' he decided, then seemed to realise that there was a partnership going on here, and added, `If that's all right with you?'

Lydie had an idea he'd do as he pleased even if it wasn't all right with her, but, since he was going through the motions, `Fine,' she agreed. Then they were at the steps of Beamhurst Court and her father, who had obviously been on the fidget, strolled, as if casually, out to meet them. 'I've-er-been showing Jonah my favourite walk,' Lydie said, and, as both her father and Jonah looked down at her, for no reason she blushed. Her father looked delighted. `Can Jonah stay to dinner?' she heard herself blurting out. `I think that can be arranged,' Wilmot Pearson answered, and for the first time since she had come home from Donna in Norfolk, Lydie actually saw her father grin. She knew then that to agree to marry Jonah had been the right decision. Already her father was starting to get back to being the man he used to be! It seemed incredible that, just to know that Jonah was to be his son in-law-she would hardly have invited Jonah to dinner if she had turned him down-her father should at once be on the way to being his former self. But, remembering his grin-there were no two ways about it.

Gradually all the relatives trickled away, Kitty being one of the last to leave. Lydie would have quite liked to tell her cousin that the man she was drooling over was, as of today, affianced. But there was an order to these matters, and her parents had to be informed first.

Though, when she'd decided to go upstairs to change out of her mourning clothes, Lydie was on the staircase when she observed that Jonah and her father seemed to making for the study again. In all probability, she realised, Jonah was telling her father she had accepted him.

As, over dinner, she learned was true. Only her mother seemed unaware of what had taken place, and looked at her husband askance when he left the table and came back with a bottle of chilled champagne. `How do you feel about gaining a son?' he asked her. And, with Hilary Pearson looking as much bemused by this suddenly playful change in the dour husband she had known of late as by what he said, `Jonah has asked Lydie to marry him,' he added. `And Lydie, I believe, has accepted.'

`Lydie's accepted...' her mother gasped. `You're going to marry...'

Loving someone meant that no one was going to say anything against that someone, Lydie at once discovered, even if that someone was more than well able to take care of himself. And, `Is it such a surprise, Mother?' she could not refrain from butting in.

Her mother recovered well. 'I'm very happy for you both,' she unbent sufficiently to say.

But was not so very happy when, a champagne toast drunk, Jonah let it be known that he was keen to marry as soon as possible.

`These things take an age to organize. A year at least,' his future mother-in-law let him know. Jonah considered her answer, but not for very long. `It looks like an elopement, Lydie,' he commented.

`Oh, no! Certainly not!' Hilary Pearson fired shortly. Jonah was unmoved. `Six months?' she reconsidered.

`Six weeks at the very latest,' Jonah said firmly, and while Lydie was thinking, Six weeks! Grief-six short weeks! Jonah wanted them to be married before the next six weeks were out, he was battering down her mother's defences by stating, `My mother would love to liaise with you to give a helping hand.' He did not need to say anything more.

'I'm quite sure I shall be able to manage,' Hilary Pearson assured him.

Later, as Lydie suspected was expected of her, she went out with Jonah to his car. `Six weeks doesn't seem very long,' she suggested tentatively.

`I don't want to wait that long, but I appreciate your mother's point of view,' Jonah replied, adding with a smile in his voice, `Some board of directors missed a gem when they didn't snap your mother up.' After the tensions of the day it was good to be able to find a light spontaneous laugh. `Would your mother really have helped out?' she asked a moment later.

`Try keeping her away!' They reached his car but, while he opened up the driver's door, he did not immediately get into the driving seat. Instead he bent inside and extracted something. It was a small box. He opened it and took out the most beautiful diamond and emerald engagement ring. `Shall we see if it fits?"

'You've had this all day!' Incredulous, Lydie stood in the brilliance of the security lights and just stared at it. `Oh, Jonah,' she whispered, her heart all his that, this day of her great-aunt's funeral, he had sensitively not given her his ring until now. He slid the ring home on her engagement finger.

`Come here,' he said softly, and gathered her in his arms. But, perhaps recalling that she was not ready for his kisses just yet, he did not kiss her, but just sealed the giving of his engagement ring to her, and Lydie accepting, by holding her close for long moments. Then he was putting her away from him, and preparing to get into his car. `My folks are going to want to meet you. We'll have dinner with them. Tomorrow?'

Oh, crumbs! He was serious, then? Although with his ring new, strange on her finger, she rather thought she knew that. `I'll er-look forward to it,' she replied politely.

`You're going to have to stop telling lies, Lydie,' Jonah said, but she was pleased to see as he got into his car that he was smiling.

Lydie was a long time getting to sleep that night. Stark reality that hadn't until she was alone had time to settle was there in ample supply. Had it really happened? Was she truly engaged to marry Jonah Marriott? Her fingers went to her engagement ring. It was not a dream. She was engaged to marry the man whom she loved with everything that was in her.

And yet-it still didn't seem right. But if she said now that she would not marry him it would mean she would have to go to her father and confess her lies, confess that Jonah had had no proposition to put to him when she had told her father that he had. And, even worse from her father's pride point of view, she would have to admit that she had agreed to marry Jonah solely because he had suggested her father would feel better if his debt was to family and not outsiders.

Lydie knew then that she would go through with this marriage to Jonah. Her father, let alone his pride, had suffered enough. Yet Lydie also knew that she wanted to be married for herself alone. She wanted Jonah to marry her for her, and not because he had decided it was time to marry and saw marriage to her as fitting in nicely with easing the cares of a man he respected. A man Jonah respected so well that he, having repaid his own debt, still believed he owed a lot of his success to.

The trouble was, she loved Jonah so much; but not a word of love had he spoken to her. Hang it, they hadn't even kissed! Not engagement kissed. Though, remembering the day they had spent together last Saturday, and how he had kissed her on parting, thinking about it, Lydie had to be glad he had not kissed her today. Her legs had been ready to fold when his lips had touched hers the last time. How would she have reacted today to the feel of his lips when still in shock from the unexpectedness of his proposal?

Lydie finally fell asleep glad she had six weeks in which to grow used to the idea of marrying Jonah. Would six weeks be enough?

They dined with his parents and his brother the following evening. Both Jonah's father and mother were charming, his brother a bit like her own brother in personality, and all three seemed absolutely delighted that Jonah had at last chosen his bride.

Any chance of the next six weeks gliding smoothly by, however, were doomed to failure when the two prospective mothers-in-law met. Lydie's mother wanted matters arranged one way; Jonah's mother wanted to help-her way. Trying to keep the peace between the two of them was running Lydie ragged. As luck would have it there was just one `slot' available in her local church on the day Lydie and Jonah had decided upon. Choristers were booked, bell ringers engaged and, after an extensive search, one of the best photographers. Limousines were chartered, caterers given detailed instructions, florists visited, designs chosen and outfits ordered.

Lydie could not believe her mother was so enthusiastically spending money they had not got, and protested vehemently again and again as the cost of the wedding rose higher and higher. `Really, Mother, it's got to stop!' she exclaimed more than once.

`Don't be tiresome!' was her mother's response. `You're our only daughter. Besides, I'm not going to let that Mrs. Marriott think we're paupers!'

That Mrs. Marriott! They'd obviously had a sharp exchange of views. `But we haven't got this kind of money!'

`Oh, for goodness' sake! You're marrying a man worth a mint! Do you think your father and I would let you go to him in anything but the very best?'

Matters might have been helped had Jonah been around for Lydie to talk to. But in his endeavours to get all his work cleared, so they could fly to a secluded sun- soaked island for a couple of months, he was here, there and everywhere. More often than not he was out of the country. Lydie rarely saw him.