The Arrangement [Box Set] by Abby Weeks Read Free Book Online

jealous that he was with all the other women and was too engrossed in his own conversation to notice her but then another course was served, accompanied by another delicious wine, and she was able to enjoy herself well enough without his attention.
    She also couldn’t complain about her own company. While Herb, Frank and Pete were all quite a few years older than she was, they were charming and handsome men and they couldn’t have possibly given her more attention than they did. April also found that she was becoming intoxicated by the wealth and power that they all enjoyed. It made them all so sexual and sensual in her eyes, they way they talked about things that most people could only dream of. They asked her how she liked the new house and how the move had gone but they also asked her more personal questions. They wanted to know about her career before she got married, about her views on the private school they’d selected for her children, which they assured her was world class, and her taste in art, literature, film and music.
    She was delighted when she brought up her favorite poets and found that the men could hold a conversation on the topic. She was amazed when Frank went to the library and brought back a signed first edition of The Bell Jar, secretly brought in from the United Kingdom. The book still hadn’t been published in the United States and she was thrilled when Frank said she could borrow it. She was also impressed by the music they were listening to. The Prentisses had one of the finest collections of jazz recordings she’d ever seen.
    She was starting to really see how a life in this world could be and she was delighted at the prospect. She could start collecting art and books and music like she’d always dreamed of doing. She could read and write and learn new things. She and Walter would have time to go to concerts and art openings in the city and she was sure there would be many pleasant occasions shared with the other three couples around the table. She wondered with a twinge of guilt what traveling they might do now that the girls would be away at school.
    As far as she could see, the other wives were good mothers, involved in their children’s lives and concerned with their wellbeing. Apart from the Wellingtons, all their children were grown-up, but their lives and families arose frequently in the conversation and it seemed like they had all maintained healthy relationships with happy, well adjusted and successful children. Boarding school wouldn’t be such a bad thing, she told herself, and a little guiltily she thought of all the time it would give her to learn new things and develop an appreciation of the finer things in life.
    She’d never dared to dream about a life like this but now that it was being offered to her she realized just how completely and utterly enamored she was by the possibilities.
    After the final desert course had been served the waiter brought out a bottle of Drambuie for the men and a cocktail of champaign and Drambuie for the women. Then Herb stood up and asked the ladies if they would excuse the men. The ladies smiled and nodded and April felt relieved that she would have a chance to talk to the other women alone for a while, but that was not to be.
    Herb, Frank and Pete as well as Walter stood up, but Herb came around to April’s chair and put his hand out for her.
    —Am I coming too? she said, surprised.
    Herb just smiled and nodded. She looked around the table at the three women still seated and saw that they were smiling at her too. She didn’t know what was going on. She looked for Walter. He was right there next to Frank and Pete and he was smiling at her also, as if he knew as well as everyone else what was going to happen.
    April stood and was reminded just how short her dress was. She tried to pull the skirt down lower but it made no difference. She took Herb’s arm and allowed him to escort her through the drawing room, which was decorated