Magnolia by Diana Palmer Read Free Book Online Page B

twisting the crystal doorknob of a door that led off the parlor.
    She walked into it. It was small, but neat, with an iron bedstead painted white and a damask coverlet on it. There was a washstand with a pitcher of water and a large bowl on top of it, along with a mirrored dresser and a chifforobe. All anyone could want, she thought hysterically, except for a husband.
    â€œThank you for not insisting that we share a room,” she said discreetly, and without looking at him.
    â€œIt isn’t a hardship, since we don’t have a normal sort of marriage.” Angry, guilty, he knocked his hand against the dresser, welcoming the pain. “I must have been out of my mind!” He looked at her fully then, with eyes so bitter and full of agony that she felt his emotions bite into her body.
    Her fingers clutched the lace curtain. “I didn’t trap you,” she reminded him curtly. “You convinced me that it would be for both our sakes.”
    â€œYes, I did,” he replied honestly, getting his feelings under tenuous control. “It was an act that we can both spend our lives regretting!”
    She didn’t know what to say. He looked destroyed.
    He closed his eyes and opened them again. He felt as if he’d aged twenty years. “Well, it’s done. We must make the best of it. There’s no need for us to be much together. You can keep the apartment tidy and I’ll go out to work each day. I often work late into the evening, even on Saturdays. We have church on Sundays. Occasionally I go to my club to play tennis.”
    Apparently she wasn’t to accompany him. “I should like to have my uncle’s motorcar moved here,” she said proudly.
    He sighed and made an odd gesture with a lean hand. “If we must.” He had no heart for argument. Diane’s lovely tear-filled eyes haunted him.
    â€œWe must,” she replied firmly. “Furthermore, I want my wheel.”
    His eyebrows lifted. “You ride a bicycle?”
    â€œCertainly I do. Most young ladies have wheels these days. It’s wonderful exercise. There is a bicycle club in the city.”
    â€œIt’s dangerous,” he said, concerned for her daredevil schemes. First a motorcar, now this. “A woman racer fell off her wheel and was injured. And I understand that in atleast one city it has become illegal to ride a wheel at night unless it is properly lighted, so that it won’t frighten carriage horses.”
    â€œI know all that,” she replied. “I’ll certainly obey all the rules. In any case, I don’t ride at night.”
    He stuck his hands in his pockets and studied her carefully. He really didn’t know her at all. She was his friend. But she was also a stranger who would now share his life, even though it was only a partial sharing. He wasn’t sure how he was going to like this.
    Neither was Claire, despite her hunger for his love. She grimaced. “Is there indoor plumbing?” she asked.
    â€œOf course. Down the hall,” he replied. “And you have access to the kitchen, but Mrs. Dobbs supplies all meals. You may check with her about the schedule and ask for any particular dishes that you like. She’s quite accommodating.”
    â€œI’ll do that.”
    She took off her hat, replacing the big pearl-tipped hairpin through the fabric. Without it, she looked fragile, and very young.
    She wounded him, looking like that. None of this was her fault. He scowled as he thought how disappointing a day it must have been for her. He hadn’t done anything to make it easier. In fact, he’d been openly hostile most of the time, because of what Diane had said to him, because of that stricken look on Diane’s face. He could hardly bear the pain.
    â€œI’m sorry,” she said unexpectedly, lifting her wan face to his eyes. “I knew that you wanted to back out of thewedding today, and it was too late. You didn’t think