The Pretend Fiancé (28 page)

“You Brits always talk too much,” Beatrice said, handing the tray of coffee to Gwen and cracking her knuckles, “Now stop yammering with your Monty Python accent and get lost. Unless what you’re trying to tell me is you want me to make you?”

“All vinegar, this one,” Ben said, trying to for another grin which turned into a flinch, “Yes, fine, I’m going. See?”

Beatrice waited until Ben rounded the corner down the hall before turning her attention back to Gwen. “Why did Aiden leave again?”

“He got so angry when he saw Ben, I didn’t have a chance to explain things to him. He’s gone again!”

“Here I am, bailing you out for a second time,” Beatrice said, “Let’s go. It’s only been a minute. He’s still close. We’re going to find him and we’re going to make him listen.”

***

A
iden reached the main lobby and stared about dazedly for a moment. Everything felt unreal, as though he might slip through the floor and into oblivion with every step. He’d really, truly believed that Catherine had been right.

Why, then, had Ben been at the suite?

Just thinking that name had his knuckles throbbing, and he massaged them as gently as he could.

There were too many people around. Some of them glanced at the state of his suit as the passed, or at the swelling of his knuckles. He didn’t need their stares right now. Going outside wasn’t an option; there were people out there too.

He remembered a quiet place then. The parlor. So he walked down the hall, numbly putting one foot down and then the other until the marble once against turned to wood.

Shoving the door open, he entered the gin-and-tobacco scented room. Empty, just as he hoped and expected. This time, his view of the mountains through the big window at the far end wasn’t obstructed by blinding sunlight. The peaks looked cruel and jagged and uncaring today.

He lowered himself into an overstuffed leather arm chair and let his head rest against the cushion. His eyes drifted shut, closing off the world. The throbbing in his hand worsened. Something in him wondered if he’d managed to break a knuckle on Ben’s face. The rest of him didn’t care.

The door swung behind him, the air shifting slightly as someone else entered the room. Aiden ignored them, hoping they would do the same courtesy.

“Mister Manning?”

He recognized that voice. It was someone else he had no interest in seeing ever again.

“Won’t Judith be needing you to go fetch her another hot pot of tea? I’m sure the one’s she’s on must be cold by now,” Aiden said.

The butler drew himself up, “Sir, my name is Gottfried von Haller. Yes, I’ve been tending to your grandmother’s needs. However, I have noted something that has caused me great concern regarding her attitude towards yourself and your fiancé.”

“What is this? Is this another game she wants to play? Because you can give her a very special message from me if it is,” Aiden said, straightening up in the chair. His fists began clenching again, but he stopped that as soon as his right hand complained by sending a jag of pain straight up his arm.

“I assure you, this is no game, sir. I believe that your grandmother may be growing rather regretful of what she’s done to you. And while there are certain expectations of confidentiality I am expected to follow, my alarm at her behavior and the consequences of it can no longer be ignored.”

Aiden fell back in his chair, rubbing at his eyes with thumb and forefinger. “She’s won already. I... I don’t think I can go back. There is just too much I don’t understand.”

“Then perhaps you should speak with her. You may find her more willing to cooperate than you think,” the butler said.

“I take it from the way you’ve planted yourself in front of me that you’ll keep this up until I give in and take your advice?” Aiden said.

A small smile curved Gottfried’s thin, aristocratic lips. “Quite.”

“Lead on, then,” Aiden said, levering himself up to his feet.

“Y
ou!” Judith said, “My lunch is almost fifteen minutes behind schedule! And my tea is cold. I’ve expressed before to you how I feel about cold tea.”

“Madam, Aiden Manning here to see you,” the butler said, bowing.

“Really? Send him in, then!”

When Aiden heard, he went into the sitting room and found Judith seated by a small table with a tiffany lamp on it.

“Hello, boy. I’m not sure I like what you did to that Englishman’s face. There are better ways to go about making your opinions known. And better ways to avoid such bruised knuckles.”

She knows what I did to Ben
, Aiden thought. He glanced to the butler, who nodded at him.

Without asking permission, Aiden sat on the settee across from Judith. “Mister Haller...” he began.

“
Von
Haller!” the butler said.

Aiden began again, “Mister von Haller told me that you might have changed your mind regarding your feelings towards my fiancé.”

“And who is this Mister von Haller?” Judith replied.

“Your butler, Judith. The man who’s been tending to your every need since you got here.”

Judith looked over at the butler, who watched from the corner, impassive as a statue, not counting his little outburst. “So that’s his name, is it? I’ve just been thinking of him as the butler. Does that offend you, butler?”

“No, madam,” Gottfried said.

Aiden waited a moment before continuing. “Are you ready to tell me the truth about what you and Ben did to us?”

“Oh, Aiden, he was just a tool. A useful tool. Yes, I had him record that conversation as well as edit it. Yes, I had him go up to your room to cause another scene when he saw you return to the hotel. What of it? My point still stands. You see Gwen how she really is now, don’t you?”

Aiden’s hand throbbed. “No, I saw her as you wanted me to see her. Not anymore, though. And, if what I’ve heard is correct, I think you see her differently, too.”

“What nonsense,” Judith said, “My view on her hasn't changed since I first learned of you two...”

“Then why don’t I believe you? If you believed that yourself, you wouldn’t have had to doctor evidence to try and convince me. Stop lying to me and to yourself,” Aiden said. He stood up. “Judith, if Gwen will still take me, I’m going to marry her. And then I’m completely cutting you out of our lives. I’ll get a restraining order if I have to. That ridiculous contract is evidence enough for one. You don’t have any close family left without me. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life bitter, stubborn, and alone? Because that’s how it’s going to be.”

They stared at each other, neither willing to budge. Then Aiden shook his head and disengaged. “Goodbye, Judith.” He started for the door, the butler moving to see him out.

“Wait, Aiden!”  Judith said.

***

G
wen followed Beatrice down the hall. Of all the places in the hotel, Gwen hated this part of it the most.

“You’re sure this is it?” Beatrice said, “She’s staying down here? In one of those big apartments?”

“Yes,” Gwen said.

“Fancy,” Beatrice replied. They were almost at the door to Judith’s rooms. Gwen kept thinking that B had to be wrong. Aiden couldn’t be here. There was no reason for him to be there.

Unless,
Gwen thought, stopping,
he thinks Judith is right and wanted to go tell her
.

“Get over here! No giving up, not now,” Beatrice said, grabbing Gwen’s wrist and hauling her forward.

Gwen couldn’t. She wouldn’t. She didn’t want to see that look of hurt on his face again, she didn’t want to feel his anger directed towards her anymore.

And then the door swung open before they even got there. Aiden stepped out. He stopped as soon as he saw Gwen and Beatrice bearing down on him.

“Gwen?” he said.

There wasn’t any anger or hurt in his voice or on his face.

“Hah! See?” Beatrice started. Gwen ignored her.

She wanted to run to him and jump into his arms. She didn’t though. She resisted that impulse, wary that something still might be wrong.

“Aiden... I’m sorry. You didn’t give me the chance to explain about what you heard, and then when you saw Ben at my door...”

“It’s okay, I understand it all now. Judith made it perfectly clear.”

“Judith did?” Gwen said, frowning.

“Yes. I don’t know when or exactly how it happened, or what you did, but I think she’s turned the page on how she feels about you.”

“Are you saying Judith actually likes me now? She doesn’t think I’m a gold digger anymore?”

Aiden spread his hands apart, flinching when moving his fingers hurt his knuckles. “I don’t know about liking you, but definitely the gold digger part.”

“It’s over then? All the games? All of this between you and me?”

Aiden swallowed and glanced down, suddenly nervous. “It’s over. The Judith parts of it, anyway. As for you and me, I suppose it’s up to you whether that’s over or not.”

She ran to him then, wrapping her arms around his waist. He hesitated, but then hugged her back. “Of course it isn’t over! You think I’d let you off the hook that easily?” She had to fight to hold back the tears pushing at her eyes. These were happy tears, though. Relieved tears.

“You still want to get married?” Aiden said.

“Yes! And sooner rather than later, before another of your relatives pops out of the woodwork to try and screw things up again.”

“That makes a lot of sense,” Aiden said, smoothing the hair away from her forehead so that he could kiss it. The touch of his lips to her skin electrified her. For a while there, she’d been afraid that she would never get to feel that again.

And now it looked like she’d get to experience that the rest of her life.

“A
re you sure you’re ready for this?” Beatrice said.

“Yes,” Gwen replied, the butterflies fluttering madly against her stomach disagreeing with that sentiment.

“Because you can still get out of it, you know. You haven’t signed this one yet,” Beatrice continued, still struggling with a few of the billion buttons holding everything together.

“I know.”

“If you like, I’ll cause a distraction. You can make a run for it. I’ll go and flip all the catering tables and while everyone is looking you can just slip right out through the door.”

“I don’t want to, B, but thanks. I’m ready for this. I think we’re both ready for this.”

“Great! I was just checking, anyway. If you’d said you wanted to run I would have hauled you on up there anyway.”

Beatrice did a once over to make sure everything was okay and then led her out into the corridor, where her father waited. He wore a tuxedo. When he saw her he smiled and offered her the crook of his arm, which she accepted.

“Are you ready?” David asked.

“Why does everyone keep asking me that? Yes, I’m ready.”

The processional started playing and everyone began inching forward, slowly making their way down the broad carpet that led through an opened set of double doors.

Everyone stood when Gwen came in. Cameras started flashing. She saw Aiden waiting for her at the top of a couple of stairs. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her.

When their eyes met, he mouthed, “Hey,” to her.

She mouthed, “Hey,” back, struggling to keep her tears in check lest they ruin the prolonged and expensive makeup job.

Yes, she was definitely ready to sign this contract.

THE END