Married by Midnight by Judith Stacy

Author:Judith Stacy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Amanda rose from her bed and slipped into the dressing gown Dolly had laid out. Across the room, her maid stood at the open closet door, studying the garments hanging inside.

A feeling of calm passed over Amanda at the sameness of the situation. How nice to be in familiar circumstances—especially in light of the uncertainty she’d been dealing with for so long now.

Nick. The man managed to upset her no matter what he did. Emotions flared, regardless. Last night in his study she’d been angry with him, then, like quicksilver, she’d wanted him to kiss her. What was wrong with her?

And the dream she’d had during the night hadn’t helped, either. In it, she’d found herself standing near the edge of a very high, very steep cliff. She’d been deathly afraid, fearful that she’d fall. Then Nick had appeared, calling to her, urging her to come to the edge.

Amanda shuddered, a chill passing through her as she remembered the nightmare. She wished Winnifred were here to interpret it for her. Though the woman’s ideas on dreams seemed far-fetched at times, Amanda desperately wanted to know what this dream meant—other than the obvious, that Nick was trying to kill her.

“I hope you’re planning to get out of this house today,” Dolly said. “It would sure do you a world of good.”

“Yes, I probably should,” Amanda said, knowing the maid was right. For days now she’d been holed up in her room, brooding, forbidding herself to cry another tear, trying to decide what she could do.

Finally, after dozens of tries, she’d composed a letter to her aunt and uncle, advising them of her marriage. In it, she’d lied shamelessly, stating how happy she was, then had told them that she and Nick were leaving for an extended honeymoon.

The last thing she wanted was Uncle Philip and Aunt Veronica traveling to Los Angeles to visit and celebrate the marriage. It was difficult enough to hide her true feelings in the letter. Amanda couldn’t manage it in person.

Another wave of dread washed through her. What would happen when Nick’s mother and aunt returned from San Diego? They would see immediately that something was wrong. How could she hide the truth from them?

By focusing on building her refuge, Amanda decided. Her dedication to that cause could mask most anything. She’d force herself be civil to Nick, yet not get close. Somehow, she’d learn to control her feelings around him. The reason she’d decided to stay—the main reason, anyway—was to build her shelter. It had been her dream for so long and now it was coming true.

Amanda drew herself up, mentally mapping out her strategy. She’d have to learn to function in Nick’s presence. Forget how she felt about him. Treat him as a friend. He’d said they should behave like civilized adults, and he was right. If she could manage that, she could maintain appearances. Keep the truth of their relationship between the two of them, out of the mouths of gossips, and get her refuge built.

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