The Made Marriage by Henrietta Reid Read Free Book Online

enormous glazed yellow crock brimmed full with creamy milk; bacon and mutton reposed on wooden platters; her eyes fell on rich yellow butter and fat cheeses and dark brown honey. High above her head she saw rows of pickles and preserves and the galaxy of colour formed by jars of cherry, blackcurrant, rhubarb and plum jam.
    She filled a jug with milk and placing a varied selection of edibles on a battered japanned tray returned with a glow of achievement to the kitchen.
    ‘There should be a tablecloth somewhere or other,’ Owen said uneasily, ‘ but I’m afraid I can’t locate it.’
    Kate pursed her mouth thoughtfully. Now where would Mrs. Murphy keep the kitchen tablecloth? Then diving her hand into a drawer at the end of the table triumphantly she produced it.
    When Bedsocks had been provided with a saucer of milk Kate, rather to her astonishment, found herself pouring tea and endeavouring to make s mall-talk—an effort which proved most unrewarding. Owen Lawlor appeared preoccupied and she got the distinct impression that his mind was engaged in devising ways of getting Bedsocks and herself out of his life as soon as possible.
    After tea he would drive them to the station in good time to catch the next Cork-Dublin-bound train. Seated comfortably in the warm kitchen the spring sunshine bright on the copper skillets, she felt a wistful desire to prolong the moment. Generations of living had given the kitchen an intangible atmosphere of security and comfort. Her eyes fixed on a vase of pale wild daffodils: the flowers had been roughly pushed into the water—no doubt by the bottle-addicted Mrs. Murphy—but it was easy to visualise them blowing in the fields of Laragh. Soon she would be gone for ever, taking with her only a memory of her glimpse into the domain of Owen Lawlor.
    Owen, glancing at her small round pensive face, was conscious of being extraordinarily irritated by this strange girl; at the same time he felt an uncharacteristic interest i n her motives.
    ‘Just what dire fate were you trying to escape when you went to the length of answering a matrimonial advertisement?’
    Kate blushed. Put like that her actions sounded completely incomprehensible. ‘Nothing very dreadful, really! My cousin is getting married and I decided I shouldn’t be happy sharing her new home.’
    He frowned into the mug he was holding in his strong work-hardened hands. ‘And you thought that good enough reason to travel to Ireland to meet a completely unknown man?’ He sounded incredulous.
    ‘Well, not exactly,’ Kate said carefully. ‘At first the whole business was a sort of joke. I thought it might keep my mind off leaving The Trinket Box.’
    ‘Leaving The Trinket Box? You’re not making yourself very clear, are you?’
    ‘It was a little antique business,’ she went on hastily. ‘My cousin Margot inherited it from her father: he was an expert on antiques. Things changed when Margot took over: for one thing, the town was not as prosperous as it used to be and Margot and I have been conducting the business on a sort of hit-or-miss basis. Of course, my cousin knew a lot more about things than I did,’ she added, feeling vaguely disloyal. ‘I’m afraid I made a few expensive mistakes.’
    ‘I can imagine you did,’ he replied dryly. ‘All the same, you don’t strike me as the type of girl who would jump at the first offer of marriage, especially from a complete stranger.’
    ‘Oh, but it wasn’t as simple as that! It’s all rather mixed up really.’
    From the sardonic look that flashed across her companion’s face she guessed that he was not impressed by this explanation, and rushed on, ‘His letters were so—so wonderful, and understanding. I felt almost as if I’d known him all my life.’
    ‘I don’t doubt it! Nicky has a talent for guessing exactly what a woman wants to hear and then giving it in large doses.’
    ‘But why should he do such a thing?’ she almost wailed. ‘What possible satisfaction