The Bride's Choice. Sara Orwig

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СКАЧАТЬ Stunned, Juliana’s heart pounded, and Mason’s voice receded as a roaring filled her ears.

      “Damnation!” burst from the man beside her. She glanced at Caleb Duncan, and his dark eyes shot knives into her. Juliana’s head swam, the room spun and lights flashed before her eyes. For the first time in her life, she fainted.

      

      “She’s coming around,” announced a man’s voice.

      “Poor little thing had a shock.” Gladys wiped Juliana’s forehead with a cold cloth. They had moved her to the sofa.

      “She ain’t poor now, Gladys,” Stoddard remarked. “Mercy, mercy. Miz Siever’s taken care of all of us good.”

      “Only if they marry. Do you two know each other?” Gladys asked, her voice sounding dim and filled with curi- osity.

      “Just barely,” came a curt reply.

      “My heavens! Miss Siever was a dreamer.”

      The voices and words swirled around Juliana as she looked at Gladys, who was leaning over her. Beyond her, standing at the foot of the sofa, was Caleb Duncan with his fists on his hips, his coat pushed open as he stared down at her. His dark eyes gleamed with rage and she remembered the will. Marriage. It was absurd and impossible and ridic- ulous. And for one fleeting moment, she thought about all Elnora’s money—what only a tiny bit of it would do for the boys!

      Juliana gave a shake of her head. “I hope Elnora made some provision for her estate in the event that we don’t marry, because there is no way—”

      “She did,” Willard Mason said, moving away. “If you feel like continuing, we’ll go ahead.”

      With a parting dark look, Caleb Duncan returned to his seat. He crossed the room with the easy stride of a person in peak physical condition. His thick black hair waved slightly from his forehead, and Juliana had to concede he was ap- pealing. Her thoughts shifted to her departed friend El- nora, the hopeless romantic.

      Juliana sat up and then finally stood. “I’m all right now,” she announced, hoping her voice sounded cool and in control. “Elnora’s bequest was a shock.” As she re- turned to her chair, she tried to ignore Caleb Duncan’s steady gaze.

      Gladys and Stoddard were giving them curious glances as if Juliana and Caleb were strange specimens that had just crawled out of a test tube.

      “I’m sorry. I’ve never done that before.” She settled on the forest-green wing chair and crossed her legs, catching Caleb looking at them.

      Cal studied her, remembering the picture he’d seen of her in the paper only two months ago, after she had fended off a bank robber at the point of a pistol. She had been shot in the shoulder, but had retained her money. And even though the would-be robber had escaped, he had not gotten any money from anyone, thanks to Juliana Aldrich. She had to love money more than life.

      Mason glanced at each of them, pausing when he looked into Juliana’s eyes. “Ready?” he asked. When she nodded, he returned to the will.

      “If Caleb and Juliana marry, it is my hope they will live at Green Oaks in order that Snookums may continue to dwell in the only home he knows,” Mason read in an im- passive voice. “This marriage must take place within the next six months from the day of the reading of the will. The marriage of Caleb and Juliana must last one year or every- thing bequeathed to them reverts to my estate. After one year the estate is theirs to do with as they see fit, whether they remain married or they divorce. During the one-year period, Caleb John Duncan will be the trustee in charge of dispensing the money.”

      Juliana’s mind stopped following Willard Mason as he continued reading about a trust fund, the stocks, the bonds, the real-estate holdings, the certificates of deposit. She lis- tened, but she was stunned, in shock over Elnora’s stipula- tion that they marry. Of all the ridiculous, unreasonable assumptions, yet Juliana knew all too well how whimsical and romantic Elnora had been. Elnora would have thought such a thing possible and a delightful arrangement for two people she loved. Even if the two people were all but total strangers. And from the looks Caleb Duncan had been giv- ing her, it was clear that he despised her on sight. His anger had to be caused by the will. She raised her chin. She had no desire to marry him, either, not for any amount of money.

      Once again came the tiny nagging thought of how she had to scrimp and save for the boys and what she could do for them if she had more money, but she pushed the thought out of mind and tried to pay attention to Mason.

      The lawyer was still listing Elnora’s assets and Juliana drew a deep breath, trying not to give one second’s thought to what might have been. But her thoughts quickly drifted again to the marriage provision and for a moment Wil- lard’s voice faded away. The sound of the lawyer’s clearing his throat brought her back to the present.

      He smoothed the will and continued, “In the event my beloved friends decide against marriage—after giving this due thought—six months from the reading of this will, Green Oaks and its contents are to become a home for cats. Snookums will abide at Green Oaks and a board of three veterinarians are to oversee the running of the house. It is my wish that Ridley Westview actually oversee the running of Green Oaks as a haven for homeless kitties.”

      Cal listened in angry silence. A real cat house. All of El- nora’s money was going to go to that dim-witted ball of fluff, Snookums, and a bunch of stray cats. There was enough money in the Siever estate to build homes for all the cats in Texas. Cal’s stomach knotted as he thought about his need for money and what he could do with a sum like that. Instead it was going to cats. No wonder Elnora had sought out another lawyer!

      Willard Mason finally finished reading the will and looked up. “I’ve scheduled our appointment with Judge Dooley in two days at ten o’clock in the morning. If all of you will meet here at my office, we’ll go down to the court- house together. Any questions?”

      He answered Gladys’s and Stoddard’s questions, made arrangements for Gladys to continue caring for Snookums temporarily and gave each person a copy of Elnora’s will. Caleb Duncan placed his in his briefcase, snapping the case shut as Willard said, “Also, Elnora asked me to give this envelope to you, Cal. As you can see by the instructions on the front, it is her wish that you do not open the envelope until a year from today.”

      Cal accepted the envelope, opened his briefcase once more while Willard Mason told the two servants goodbye. At the door, he turned to shake hands with Caleb, glancing from him to Juliana. “You two will have some decisions to make, but you have several months in which to decide what you want to do.”

      Cal looked at him, his expression tight. “I think we know—”

      “Wait,” Mason cautioned, interrupting him. “You’re to give this thought. Elnora made me promise that I would not take an answer from either of you right away. She wanted both of you to give her bequest thought. This is a sizable estate, and she felt you could both do a great deal of good with the money.”

      Juliana saw Caleb Duncan’s eyebrows arch and a glacial look come to his eyes. When his gaze shifted to her, she felt physically buffeted by his silent smoldering anger.

      “Give it thought,” Mason repeated. “I’ll see you here Wednesday morning.”

      He held open his office door and Juliana went ahead. They crossed the anteroom, passing the receptionist’s desk, and then stepped into a hallway.

      Caleb СКАЧАТЬ