The Enchantment by Kristin Hannah Read Free Book Online Page A

female subservience.
    "No," she said sharply, jerking her chin to a defiant tilt. It wouldn't be an ordinary marriage. Not one of those fluttering-eyelid sorts of affairs the socialites specialized in. Rather, she saw marriage to Eugene as a convenience. A merger. She got a place to live and enough money to start over, and he got an intelligent, sexually progressive, financially gifted wife. All in all, she thought, a good deal for both of them.
    Plucking up the heavy folds of her pleated French sateen skirt, she climbed the marble steps and rapped smartly on the door.
    45

    46
    Kristin Hannah
    The butler appeared almost immediately. "Miss Hatter," he said in a pinched, nasal voice, "is Mr.
    Cummin expecting you?" She forced a smile. "No."
    He nodded. "Very good, miss. Come in and sit down." He led her to a comfortable tapestried bench in the foyer. "I'll tell Mr. Cummin you're here."
    Emma watched the uniformed man climb the stairs and disappear. Her breath escaped in a nervous sigh.
    Lord, she hoped she was doing the right thing. . . .
    She sat stiffly erect and forced the anxiety from her mind. Glancing idly around, she studied the foyer.
    The decorations were expensive, but rather sparse. Elegant but poorly placed.
    In need of a woman's touch, she decided. As soon as they were wed, she'd hire a woman to give it one.
    "Emmaline," came Eugene's voice as he padded quickly down the carpeted stairs. "What a surprise."
    She stood. "Good evening, Eugene." "Come into the salon," he said, leading her into another sparsely furnished room. "Would you like a drink?"
    Emma took a seat. Fanning her fashionably narrow skirt out around her legs, she shook her head. "No, thank you. I'm here on ... business."
    He poured a splash of bourbon into a cut-crystal glass, then turned to her. There was no mistaking the surprise in his eyes. "What business is that?"
    She cleared her throat. "I thought it would be beneficial if we married." He stared at her. "Married?"
    "Yes. We've been . . . lovers for nearly a year now.
    THE ENCHANTMENT 47
    It makes sense that we formalize our partnership. I could make you a fortune, you know."
    Eugene walked toward her. Emma noticed that his step seemed heavy and slow. The overstuffed velvet couch sagged beneath his weight as he sat down beside
    her.
    Emma looked into his sad brown eyes and wanted to run. He opened his mouth to speak, and she wished suddenly that she'd taken the drink.
    "Emma, I-I don't know how to say this without sounding like a cad. ..."
    "Just say it," she said, pasting a smile on her face. He set his glass on the piecrust table at his left. "I remember when you first hired on at the brokerage. You were so young, so eager. I tried to talk to you a dozen times, but you never even gave me the time of day. I was just a kid, a nothing. But old man Lyndeman— him, you had time for. It didn't surprise me when you two became . . . friendly, or when he let you use your salary to buy stocks."

    "Eugene, that's ancient—"
    "Wait," he said, "let me finish. I watched you from afar for years, watched you develop into one of the greatest financial minds of our time. And all the while I was waiting to make my own mark with you.
    Waiting for you to look down from your lofty perch and notice me.
    "It finally happened when I took over Mr. Olsen's job at the bank. Suddenly I was somebody, and for the first time, your beautiful blue eyes noticed me. I thought I was in Heaven. We went to the theater, out to dinner. . . . Everything was wonderful.
    "Then we went to bed. That's when I first noticed
    it."

    48 Kristin Hannah
    Emma frowned. "Noticed what?" "The coldness. Your coldness. Oh, you went through the motions, made me feel great, but I never really reached you. I could tell you found our passion pleasant, but nothing more." A laugh that sounded forced escaped his lips. " 'Pleasant' is a bit rough on a man's ego.
    For a while I hoped you'd change, thaw. Then I sort of ... accepted it."
    He took her hand in