Perchance to Marry by Celine Conway Read Free Book Online Page B

distant bell sent a peal of music through the hills. And then Marcus came out.
    He had changed into light slacks and a dark shirt which made him look foreign and handsome. He came and sat down near the table, stretched an indolent leg and smiled.
    “Sorry you had to have tea alone on your first day, but I naturally had to have mine with Dona Inez. Haven’t been bored, have you?”
    “Certainly not,” said Viola at once. “And how is your grandmother?”
    “She can’t talk much—it tires her. But she got in a few questions.” He switched from the topic. “I’ve ordered wine out here. It’s a little early, but as this is a special occasion I thought we’d open a bottle of our own best vintage.”
    “That’s thoughtful of you, Marcus. Arriving here today has been almost like being feted. I haven’t felt so wanted since...” her voice quivered easily, but it remained quite bright, “well, for some time. You couldn’t have been kinder if we were relations.”
    “It’s not kindness but selfishness, because I like having you here,” he said smoothly. “And I’d like to think we’re going to be related, too.”
    “You would?” she said, mystified. “Do you mean in the business sense?”
    “Here’s the wine,” said Sally swiftly.
    Marcus thanked the servant, leaned forward and twisted the white-capped bottle in its nest of ice. He said pleasantly, “You’re rather young to be my mother-in-law, Viola, but it’s the way things sometimes happen. Will you mind?”
    His casualness stunned Sally. It almost stunned Viola; she sat right back in her chair and gazed at him with limpid blue eyes, and then turned the gaze upon Sally, who was scarlet and averted.
    “This isn’t a joke, is it?” she queried. There was a moment of tense silence before Viola exclaimed, “You’ve kept it so dark!” And the moment was past.
    Marcus was smiling, and uncorking the bottle. “I didn’t want Sally to tell you herself. We only decided finally this afternoon.”
    “Finally?” echoed Viola. “Then you were more than friendly on the ship? It all seems so very sudden. Marcus, did you feel drawn to Sally from the beginning? Was that why you made me promise to write to you from Barcelona? I shouldn’t probe into your affairs, I suppose, but really...” She paused, at a loss, then laughed, a little helplessly. “I didn’t even know you were interested in each other that way. I quite felt there were possibilities between Sally and that dear boy who played the piano, but you, Marcus! Sally told me herself that you made her feel uneasy when you danced with her. Was that when you first ... no! It’s not my business.”
    He gave her a glass that sparkled gently, gave another to Sally and raised his own. “To all three of us,” he said, “and to Dona Inez.”
    Viola sipped, her glance upon him. “Does she know—your grandmother?”
    He nodded. “She’s delighted—wants to meet you both as soon as possible. I told her she could see Sally for a minute or two this evening, and that you would look in tomorrow.”
    “Oh.” For a minute it seemed as if the unwanted meeting with the old senora had become more important to Viola than the news she had just heard. Then she sighed herself back to the present. “I do feel I should have known about this before. My only daughter falls in love with the most eligible man in the world, and I know nothing about it till she’s actually engaged! I feel cheated.”
    “But you mustn’t,” said Sally, not very steadily. “After all, it’s not quite a fortnight since we first met Marcus. And there was nothing to tell till today.”
    Viola sounded a little disconsolate as she answered, “I do understand. These things steal up on one so quickly, and it was really most thoughtful of Marcus to propose immediately we’d arrived, even though he may have thought it a little too early, because now we know our position in San Palos. You can’t do any nursing, of course, darling, but I