Dusky Rose (17 page)

At that very opportune moment, Steven and Midge arrived with his parents. "Splendid," said the reverend, "I do like a wedding rehearsal that begins on time. It indicates a reliable quality that will last throughout the marriage. Well, now that everyone is here, we might as well begin. Mrs. Carmichael will show you all to your proper places."

Everything went beautifully and when the rehearsal was over Reverend Carmichael cautioned them to be at the church promptly at 11:00 tomorrow morning for the actual wedding ceremony.

After they left the church, Steven's father reminded them that he was taking them all to dinner at an excellent restaurant next to the motel. When they arrived at the restaurant, they were immediately shown to a long table which had been reserved for them and Laura found herself seated between Aunt Estelle and Roger. At one side of the candlelit restaurant a small band was playing slow dance tunes and a few diners ventured out onto the brightly polished oak dance floor. Roger asked Laura to dance and she found him holding her tighter than was necessary as he guided her slowly across the floor. She moved about in his arms, trying to widen the distance between them, but he continued to hold her as closely as possible.

When the dance was over, Laura returned to the table, determined not to become involved with Roger again. His attitude toward her seemed to have changed; no longer gentle, he eyed her with bold desire. No one else seemed to notice, however, nor did anyone seem to notice her ensuing discomfort. The dinner proceeded in a cheerful manner, with many toasts being offered to the happiness of the bride and groom. Once more Laura envied the love that was obvious in the glances drifting between Midge and Steven.

At last, dinner was over and everyone prepared to leave. Aunt Estelle said that she wanted to discuss some last minute arrangements with Steven's parents and there was no sense in Laura hanging about, someone else could drive her home. Roger immediately offered to walk Laura to her car and Laura could find no gracious way to refuse his offer.

Her blue van was parked in a secluded area of the parking lot and she hurried along, trying to put as much distance between herself and Roger as possible. But he was not to be put off. He quickened his pace to catch up with her and grabbed her arm, turning her around to meet his demanding eyes.

"What's going on, Laura? Why are you suddenly so cold to me? I know that you don't love Lattimer and I thought you might find me a welcome change."

Laura tried to push Roger away, but his hands tightened around her waist and his mouth came down toward hers. She tried again to free herself, recoiling from the frenzy of his kiss.

"Addison, I suggest you take your hands off my wife." The voice was deceptively soft, but the menace in the tone was crystal clear.

Laura whirled, suddenly freed from Roger's grasping arms. She ran toward David, who was standing beside his Porsche. He put out his arm and drew her to his side; his face was totally devoid of emotion and Laura could feel no warmth in the steely arm that clasped her.

"I'm really sorry to interrupt such a tender love scene, but I do expect a certain modicum of decorum on the part of my wife, especially at her sister's wedding." Laura started to protest, to explain that she had done nothing to encourage Roger's advances and, in fact, had sought to fight him off. But one look at David's grimly set mouth told her that all her efforts would be futile.

He pushed Laura into his car and turned to face Roger. "In the future, Addison, you'd better keep a large distance between yourself and Laura. Remember, no matter how Laura may feel about me or I about her, our relationship is sanctioned by the state of California."

Then he slid behind the wheel and drove calmly from the lot without even a word to Laura.

She sank further into the seat beside him, not daring to address the hatred she saw emanating from his darkly brooding eyes. Her best defense lay in inaction; she must do and say nothing that would give him a further excuse to lash out at her or even hint at her real feelings for him. She realized that if he ever discovered the depths of her love for him, he would calmly destroy her in an attempt to avenge all the hurt he imagined she had inflicted upon him. She knew that she must continue asking for her freedom as the only way out of this horrifying situation.

David drove the car to a turnoff near the edge of the water and parked beneath a small grove of scrubby pine trees. Then he took out a cigarette and brought the glowing flame of his lighter toward it. Laura stole a covert glance at him as he shielded the flickering ember with his tightly cupped hands. The hard line of his lips as he pursed them to draw life into the cigarette tore a soft sigh of desire from Laura's unrestrained lips and David turned to look at her as he replaced the lighter in his pocket.

"What's the matter, Laura? Are you afraid of what I might do to you and your boyfriend? Well, you can stop worrying, I'm not about to do anything to ruin your sister's wedding. I'm very fond of Midge and Steven, and out of respect for them I'll defer my dealings with you until we return home. But don't interpret that to mean I'm giving you license to carry on with Roger. I'll be watching you like a hawk every minute and I'll hold you fully accountable for anything that happens between you. Do you understand me?"

Laura didn't answer him. She longed to tell him that she detested Roger's touch and yearned only for the warm security of his own caressing arms, but she knew that nothing she could do or say would change his opinion of her. So she remained completely silent and made no attempt either to answer his question or to turn the conversation in another direction.

He turned to her and grasped her tightly by the shoulders. "Laura! Do you hear me? I mean what I say! I expect proper behavior from you for the rest of your stay in Carmel. Answer me, Laura."

By now Laura was too emotionally exhausted to withstand him any further. She nodded her head meekly. "Yes, David, I understand; I'll behave myself. I have no desire to make you angry. You have my word that I'll have nothing more to do with Roger during the entire time I'm in Carmel."

"That's better," said David, releasing her from his grasp and settling back to smoke his cigarette in silence. After a few puffs, he stubbed it out and restarted the engine. "I'm staying at the motel. I take it you plan to spend the night with Midge, at your aunt's home?"

Laura nodded in agreement.

"Well then, I'll get you back there before they start wondering where you are. Steve and I can get the van back to you later; we'll leave the keys in the mailbox. Tell me, have you told your aunt about us?"

Laura shook her head.

"Good heavens, Laura, how are you going to explain my presence to her? And how did you explain this?" he said, grabbing her left hand in his and fingering her ring finger. His eyes blazed with anger. "Dammit, Laura, I warned you about removing another one of my wedding rings. I won't stand for much more of this. Where did you leave it this time? I didn't notice it in the apartment when I got home, to find you gone. Did you sell it to raise some cash or did you just remove it so Addison would feel less guilty about making love to you?"

Laura shook her head wildly, as she drew out the chain with her wedding band dangling from it. "It's not that; I wouldn't do any of those things. I just didn't know how to tell Aunt Estelle. I'm so ashamed of the whole situation that I can't face telling her about it." She buried her face in her hands.

David reached behind her bowed head and lifted the cloud of soft brown hair from the nape of her neck. He gently unclasped the chain bearing her wedding band, removed the ring and replaced the empty chain around Laura's neck. Then he took her hand in his and replaced the ring on the finger where he had first placed it only days before. He lifted her chin with his muscular hand. "Don't take it off again… for any reason. It stays until I say you can remove it and with the mood I'm in tonight, I may decide to prolong your punishment."

Then he released the brake and turned the steering wheel toward the road. "You'd better direct me to your aunt's house. Use the time to think up a suitable introduction for me because I don't intend to disappear in the next few hours."

By the time Laura and David reached her aunt's home, Steven's car was already parked outside, and she still didn't know how she was going to explain David. When they walked in the door, Aunt Estelle, Steven and Midge were all seated at the table and Laura could see by the looks on their faces that the matter had been taken out of her hands. She shrank back as Steven came forward to grasp David's hand in his. Then he led him toward Aunt Estelle, who rose from her seat to greet him.

"This is David Lattimer, Laura's husband." Steven turned to look at Laura. "I know you wanted to surprise Aunt Estelle, but she was terribly worried when we found your van in the parking lot and you nowhere in sight. We finally dragged the explanation for your disappearance out of Roger. I hope you'll forgive us, Laura, but, under the circumstances, we knew you'd understand."

Laura shook her head and smiled a silently grateful thank you at Midge and Steven. She knew she never could have explained the situation to her aunt without their help. Midge came forward and kissed David on the cheek.

"We're so glad you were able to come. Laura thought you might not be able to get away."

David looked thoughtfully at Midge. "I told you I would be here. Unfortunately, Laura doesn't always believe what I tell her. I hope she will one day come to learn that I always mean what I say and then maybe she'll begin to take my statements more seriously." He turned expressionless eyes toward Laura as he spoke.

Aunt Estelle looked from Laura to David, not quite understanding the tension between them. Then she motioned David to the table, setting a cup of coffee before him. "Well, the main thing is that you've come, I'm delighted to find Laura married, although I must say, I wish I had known about it so we could have had the wedding here. However, I suppose you young people are so impulsive these days that we can't always expect you to wait for parental approval. In any case, I intend to announce your marriage tomorrow, right after Midge's wedding. I guess Laura won't be returning to Carmel after all." Then she looked at Laura, "Will you be going back to the motel this evening to stay with David?"

Laura was suddenly stricken. She knew she could never spend an entire night with David without letting him discover the true depth of her feelings for him. She couldn't think of an answer to her aunt's question. Unexpectedly, David came to her rescue.

"No, Laura is going to spend the night here with you and Midge. It's probably the last night she'll be able to spend together with both of you since she and Midge will both be married after tomorrow. Under the circumstances, and since Laura and I expect to have many years together, I think I can spare her company for one evening." Then he rose from his seat and said to Steven, "I'll meet you back at the motel and buy you a drink on your last evening of bachelorhood and then we can drop off Laura's van. I'm sure the ladies have a few things they'd like to take care of before tomorrow." He kissed Laura gently on the cheek and walked out to his car.