‘Do you propose that I should jilt you?’ he asked quietly.
‘We could just say we had made a mistake.’
‘And what do you suppose it would be like for you, being thrust back on your aunt’s hands?’
Alison moved slightly in the circle of his arm.
‘Well, that’s my affair, isn’t it?’ she said a little sulkily. ‘Not yours.’
‘No, Alison.’ Julian spoke quietly. ‘That’s where you’re wrong. You are my affair now. For good or bad we made that decision four weeks ago. God knows what sort of a muddle we’ve landed ourselves in. You were just as unprepared for this as I, and will probably have some difficult readjusting, too. But at least we’re in it now-and we’ve got to go on.’
‘But I don’t want you making such a sacrifice-’ began Alison desperately.
‘Hush.’ He very lightly put his hand against her startled mouth. ‘There’s no question of sacrifice. Don’t you see that it would be as unpleasant for me as for you if we called everything off now? I simply can’t afford another fiasco after the business with-Rosalie. I’m not exactly sensitive’- (‘That’s not true,’ thought Alison with quick tenderness)-’but I must confess I couldn’t face much more.’
‘Do you really mean that?’ She looked up at him very earnestly.’
‘I do’ He gave his grave smile at her.
‘Then we’ll go on with it,’ she said with a little sigh.
‘Good child.’ He tightened his arm for a moment before he let her go.
Then. glancing at his watch, he gave an exclamation.
‘I had no idea it was so late. I must go. There are several things I shall have to do before to-morrow. For one, I must see about keeping on my flat until we can get something that suite us better.’
‘Yes,’ Alison said. And she was oddly stirred at the mention of their future life together, just as she had been when Jennifer had spoken of their honeymoon.
‘Would you like me to see your aunt and uncle, and explain about our remaining in England?’
‘No, it doesn’t matter.’ Alison smiled faintly at his unconscious assumption that she needed to have things done for her. He would never think of her as entirely grown up. ‘I’ll explain. I’ll just say we’re postponing the trip indefinitely.’
‘Yes, that might be best.’
She went with him into the hall, and he said good night to her kindly but a little absently, his thoughts already on the many things he had to do.
When he had gone, she went slowly upstairs. She hung the wonderful mink coat in the wardrobe beside her wedding-dress. It looked very beautiful there.
‘The bridegroom’s present to the bride was a mink coat.’
But the bride had not been able to kiss him for it. Even that had been denied her. He had forgotten all about that timid suggestion of hers, of course. It was quite natural that he should. But she had remembered. That was natural, too.
She put out her hand and touched the coat wistfully.
Then very quietly she closed the wardrobe door on her wedding-dress and the present from the bridegroom.
She supposed she ought to go downstairs and explain to the others about the change of plans. But for the moment she flinched from the thought of playing her part in front of them all over again-being questioned, perhaps even being laughed at by Rosalie, who had come home from her prolonged visit only that afternoon.
And as she sat there on the side of her bed, trying to get up her courage, there was a knock at the door.
‘Come in.’
Alison looked up as the door opened and Audrey, in her dressing-gown, insinuated herself round it.
‘Why, Audrey, you ought to be in bed and asleep!’
‘Yes, I know.’ Audrey was quite unabashed. ‘But I wanted to see your wedding-dress. I haven’t seen anything interesting-not being allowed to come home from school until to-day, and then being hustled in and out of my own dress and having my hair done, and being sent off to bed early and all that sort of thing. You’d think it was Mother’s own wedding,’ she added bitterly.
Alison laughed.
‘But you’ll see my dress to-morrow,’ she said.
‘That’s not the same thing at all.’ Audrey was firm.
‘All right,’ Alison went over and opened the wardrobe door once more.
‘Ooooh!’ Audrey sucked in her breath on an admiring sigh. ‘You’ll look awfully good in that.’
‘I hope so,’ Alison said, touched by the little girl’s interest.
‘And what a marvellous fur coat!’ Audrey turned her attention to that next.
‘Yes, it’s beautiful, isn’t it?’ Alison felt her own pleasure in the coat revive at Audrey’s enthusiasm ‘That’s Julian’s present to me,’ she added a little shyly.
‘My goodness! I should think Rosalie’ll be sick she lost him when she sees that,’ Audrey remarked with great candour.
‘Audrey! You mustn’t say such things.’ Distress and nervousness sharpened Alison’s voice.
‘Sorry. But it’s true. Rosalie would almost have put up with going to South America to have that. Still, she’d have loathed South America, when it came to the point,’ Audrey added. ‘And I expect you’ll quite enjoy it.’
There was a second or two’s silence, and then Alison said flatly:
‘We’re not going to South America.’
‘Not going?’
‘No.’ Alison went on hastily, because she felt she couldn’t bear too many exclamations and questions. ‘Julian’s firm have just cabled to say they’re making other arrangements.’
‘And so Julian is going to live in England after all?’
‘I suppose so.’
‘My goodness!’ said Audrey, that being her chief exclamation of the moment. ‘Won’t Rosalie be sold!’
‘Audrey!’ Alison said rather faintly, but it failed to stem Audrey’s half-shocked jubilation.
‘Why, she only threw him over because she didn’t want to leave England. She’ll chew her finger-ends off when she hears.’
‘That will do.’ Alison spoke sternly enough to suppress even Audrey. ‘Your sister has nothing to do with this. She’s -she’s happily engaged to Rodney Myrton and it can’t matter to her whether Julian and I live in London or in Buenos Aires. Now go along to bed, or I shall be really angry with you.’
Audrey retreated then, but the last thing Alison heard was a scornful mutter of ‘Happily engaged!’
It frightened her terribly to have Audrey putting her own fears into words.
Was it really true that Rosalie had only thrown Julian over because she couldn’t face living abroad? It couldn’t be the only reason, of course. There must have been some sort of a quarrel, too. But probably that was at the back of it.
Alison pressed her hands against her eyes with a weary little gesture.
It was no good tormenting herself with doubts now. As Julian had said, for good or bad they had made their decision. They would have to stand by it.
It was quite late when Alison woke up, and the pale sunshine of a cold October day was struggling into the room.
Then she realised that Prentiss, her aunt’s maid, was standing beside the bed, holding a breakfast tray, her usually rather frost-bitten expression warmed by a smile.
‘Why, Prentiss, how kind of you.’ Alison leaned up on her elbow and smiled in return.
‘Madam said you were to have your breakfast in bed, miss and then to stay quiet until it’s time for you to dress. I’ll come and see to everything. Help you dress and fix your hair and everything.’
‘Oh. thank you very much,’ Alison said, a little nonplussed at this unwonted attention, and she watched with some amusement while Prentiss went over and pulled the curtains aside.
But as she ate her breakfast she became very serious again.
This morning she was to marry Julian.
It might be a strange marriage It might be scarcely a marriage at all in some senses of the word. But the fact remained. she was to be Julian’s wife; to have some significance in his life unshared by any other woman.