A British Bride by Agreement (28 page)

He pulled back for a second and leaned
in to whisper something in her ear. “I love—”

“Jonathan.” A high-pitched voice drowned
out his words.

Their heads turned in unison toward Dede
and her husband, Tom. Jonathan drew away from Emma and hurried over to them. By
the enthusiastic way he hugged Dede there was no mistaking his feelings for
her.

Nick came and stood by her side. “I
don’t like to say this out loud, but I think your husband is still attached to
his old finance.” He took a long sip of his wine. “I don’t believe he ever got
over her. It’s so unfair to you. You deserve so much more.” He took another
swig of his drink. “Of course, I could be wrong.”

At that moment, the last tendril of hope
that their marriage could be something more died inside Emma’s chest.

Stumbling toward the French doors to the
garden, Emma spilt her plum soda on her dress. Emma quickly veered into the
busy kitchen to find a wet cloth.

As she leaned
over the sink, Adele tisked next to her.
“That’ll need to be dry
cleaned.”

Tears dripped down Emma’s face.

“Don’t cry. I’ve seen worse stains come
out.”

Emma just shook her head.

“You’re upset. Is it the orchestra?
For the concert?”

Emma’s eyes widened.
Orchestra?
No, my life is falling apart.
She
nodded yes as she continued to dab on the purple stain. Let her think what she
wants.

“I have an idea. My nephew plays in the
Teens with Special Needs Orchestra. I could call them and see if they are
available.”

Emma hauled in a deep breath.
Hold it together, Duckie
. “If you could,
I’m sure Mr. Steller would be grateful.”

Adele took the cloth from her. “Why
don’t you go change and I’ll talk to Mr. Steller about it after the party.”

Emma hugged the woman. “You are a life
saver.”

“If you say so.”

After changing into another gown, Emma
checked her appearance in the mirror. There were dark circles under her eyes.
She turned sideways. Did this dress make her look fat? She’d never be as thin
as Dede. Was that what made her so attractive to Jonathan, even after all Dede
had done to him? He must really love her.

She walked into her private bathroom to
reapply her lipstick and saw the pregnancy kit sitting on the counter. After
staring at it for a few minutes, it was obvious, good news or bad, she had to
know. She shut the door and opened the package.

When she came out of the room, she
sighed. The outcome of the test was not what she expected. Now what should she
do? Fight for her husband? Try to win him back? Leave him to his true love?
What had happened to the quiet confidence the Lord had instilled in her? She
promised herself never to forget how much God cared about her.

She paced the room as determination once
again filled her. She strode over to a bowl of apples and took a bite out of
one. As the familiar sweet taste filled her mouth, her faith rose. She would
never leave her husband. She had to try to secure his heart again. As she
walked out of her sitting room, Adele greeted her. “The teen group can come
tomorrow night. I have already told them where and when to meet at the concert
hall.”

Emma cut a glance at Jonathan who smiled
and waved at her to come and sit down.

Hope swelled in her heart. He must have
approved of the teen group. Score one for her cricket team. “Lovely, Adele,
thank you.”

Emma gripped her two hands. She loved
Jonathan and wanted so desperately to be a good wife to him. “Lord, thank you
for being my strength.”

Stepping into the dining room, she
silently vowed no matter what, even if he rejected her, she would find a way to
show him that she loved him.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The next evening, Jonathan tugged on his
black bow tie as he paced backstage at the Gateway Center, his cell phone
pressed to his ear. “No, but can you make it tonight?”

“Okay, thanks for your time.” He pressed
his lips together. His last hope for music this evening was swirling down the
drain. He stared out at the empty ballroom that would soon be filled with
longtime supporters of the charity. Even the stage had been set with a grand
piano, chairs, and music stands.

The flowers and décor on the tables
looked beautiful.
The menu exquisite, but unless God had a
miracle up His sleeve, there would be no concert.
The crushing sensation
of failure pressed down on him. He bowed his head. “Lord, I give this evening
to
You
. You have a plan here even if it’s my public
failure.”

Tonight was a night for candor. There
were things that needed to
said
between him and Emma,
and he would not rest until he knew the truth.

A scurry of footsteps drew his
attention.
His parents and his sisters.

“Jonathan,” His father’s glance around
the room only added to Jonathan’s tension. “Everything looks marvelous.”

His mother beamed as she hugged her son.
“You’ve done such a wonderful job.”

Jennifer and Janette nodded.

Jonathan rubbed the back of his neck. He
paced away from them and then back. He straightened his tie.
Time
to tell them the truth.
“Look, I know you have been very disappointed by
the way I have handled the Charity Division—”

“No dear, his mother protested.
“
You’ve done the best job you could.”

Jonathan directed his gaze at his
father. “You are disappointed with me.”

“Jonathan, dear, what are you talking
about?” His mother felt his forehead. “Your father and I are very proud of
you.”

Jonathan stared at his father. “You
remind me of my failures on a weekly basis. But what I can’t figure out is why?
Is it Joshua’s death?

His father started to reply, but
Jonathan held up his hand. “Let me finish. I’m sorry I never told you about the
drugs. But I was honoring my older brother’s wishes. With hindsight I see that
was a bad decision, but nothing can bring him back.
Nothing.”

His father stepped forward and set his
hand on Jonathan’s shoulder. “I don’t blame you for his death. I’ve never
blamed you.” His voice trembled. “I just wanted you to experience all the
things Joshua was meant to—marry, have children, and yes, eventually take over
the company.” He pulled his hand away. “Yes, I admit I have pushed you too
hard. But, in a way, it felt like I was pushing both my boys.” His voice broke.
“And if you could achieve the success that Joshua was meant to have, it might
make the pain of his death less for your mother and
I
.”

Silence filled the space between them,
except for Mrs. Stellers sniffles. “Jonathan, you are a success in our eyes, no
matter what you do. And marrying that beautiful gal, Emma was one of your
greatest accomplishments.”

 
“Where is Emma?” Jennifer looked around.

“I think I saw her outside talking with two
reporters.” His father hugged Jonathan. “You might want to rescue her.”

***

A cold needle of shock pierced Emma as
she stood in the parking lot of the Gateway Center. Her parents, both dressed
in formal attire, were strolling toward her amidst the other attendees all
swarming toward the entrance.

“Hello Duckie. You look a mite knackered
to see us.”

Feeling dizzy, Emma shot a glance over
her shoulder relieved to see no one paying them any attention. “W—what are you
doing here?”

Her mother’s face appeared pale as she
leaned in. “You weren’t answering our calls.”

Emma looked between the two of them.
They could ruin this evening for Jonathan. “I can’t talk to you now.” She
risked another glance over her shoulder and lowered her voice. “Go back to your
hotel and we’ll talk later.”

Her father fished in his tuxedo pocket.
“We have tickets for tonight thanks to someone named, Nick Steller who works at
the Steller
company
. We told him who we were and that
we wanted to come and surprise you and your husband. He said he would be happy
to help us.”

Dread poured into Emma like overdone
oatmeal. Her brow furrowed. “Why are you doing this to me?”

Emma’s mother fixed a hand and a worried
gaze on her husband. “Maybe we should go.”

He pulled away from her grasp. “I’ve
decided I don’t need your measly million pounds. What I want is an introduction
to Mr. Steller senior. Having him as a business ally will greatly increase my
stature in the corporate world. Perhaps we could do some business together? I
have an idea for land located—”

“No.” Emma gripped her purse. “I’m not
going to allow it—” The crinkle in her purse reminded her she still had the two
hundred and thirty dollars she was going to give to Jonathan. As she dug in her
bag, her diamond watch snagged on the clasp and broke. She shoved the watch to
the bottom of her purse and pulled out the envelope. Cash always spoke louder
to them than reason.
“Over two hundred thousand dollars.
Take it and go.”

Her mother looked transfixed as she
grasped the envelope. “Maybe we should do as she says.”

“We’re after better things, Lilith. We
will see you, Emma, dear, at the end of the concert.” Her father strode passed
her toward the entrance of the performing arts center. Her mother’s jaw
slackened, but she tucked the envelope into her bag and followed her husband.

A cold sweat broke out on Emma’s
forehead. Besides her parents swindling her out of money again, after Jonathan
met them, there would be no way to win his heart back. He would
not only not
love her, he would despise her.

***

Jonathan glanced out the Arena’s floor
to ceiling windows and saw Emma talking with two guests. His breath caught in
his chest. She looked beautiful in a white fitted dress, her hair pulled up,
red lips that begged to be kissed. But by her frown, she appeared very upset.

He pressed against the glass to get a
better view of her and watched as she pulled a thick envelope from her purse
and gave it to the man. Was she passing money? He pressed his lips to a firm
line. Now that he’d read the report on her parents, he needed to face up to
some hard facts. His wife was a con artist.

Pulling away from the window, his
insides reeled at the reality in front of him. Yet another swindler he hadn’t
seen coming. He paced the floor for a few minutes, trying to compose himself.
What was he going to do now?

“Jonathan.” Emma stood quietly in the
darkened shadows of the back stage. By her white face, she looked terrified. A
desire to still protect her rose in his chest.

He hurried over to her. “Are you—” By
the sparkling green of her eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to ask her if she
cared for him. Just for tonight, he would pretend that this lovely lady was a
wife that loved him, even with all his failings. Just for the next couple of
hours, he’d allow his heart to love her without reservation. “You look
amazing.”

A slow smile touched her lips as if
surprised by the compliment. “You look lovely, too.”

Tension filled the air between them. As
soon as the dinner and his career were over, he’d add to the misery of the
night by asking her for the truth. “This may be a long night.” He let out a
sigh. “I still have no orchestra.”

Her eyes widened. “Yes you do.”

His head shot up.

“The Teens with Special Needs Orchestra
that Adele arranged.”

“Teenagers?
Oh no.”
He suppressed a groan. He needed a professional
orchestra not a mission of mercy. His mouth bobbed open. “How did you—did you
make this—”

“Adele got in touch with them. I told
her to talk to you about it.”

“Well, she didn’t.” He ran his fingers
through his hair.

“Jonathan, I’m so sorry, I thought, she
said—I thought it was a good idea.”

He paced away from her then paced back.
Everything in his life was going wrong. “This is meant to be a grand affair not
a—”

“Charity case?”
She folded her
arms.

The murmur of many voices behind him
drew his attention.

“Mr. Steller.” A young man with a thin
cane walked onto the stage leading a group of teenagers. He held out his hand
about two feet off to Jonathan’s left. “Thank you for inviting us.”

He’s
blind
?
This was worse than not having an orchestra. The teens gathered around Jonathan
expectantly. Jonathan reached over and shook the young man’s hand. “You’re
welcome.”