"Freda Warrington - A Taste of Blood Wine" - читать интересную книгу автора (Warrington Freda)

"But you haven't given her time to think." Elizabeth looked into
Charlotte's eyes, her face veneered with kindness. "This is a good
offer; the best you're likely to get, at any rate, considering you
wrecked my efforts to find you a decent match. He's a steady young
man, his family are well-off, and you are temperamentally suited.
What's more, as he seems set to be George's shadow for life, your
father won't lose you. It's the perfect solution." She sat back
triumphantly.
"Solution to what?" Charlotte felt like a fly bouncing on a web.
"Don't be silly. It's just common sense, isn't it, George?"
Dr Neville made a sort of growling noise, deep in his throat, but
Charlotte recognised it as assent. Then she understood.
"You—you have already decided, haven't you? You agreed on it
before you sent for me!"
Her father exhaled. "The trouble is, your aunt's right, you know. A
girl needs a husband. At least I know Henry, he's a decent sort, and
we can all live in the house together."
They were both gazing intently at her. She could not bear being the
centre of attention; she had been backed into a cage and the door
was about to clang down. She could not fault their logic. If she
refused they would only think she was being difficult, and she
couldn't rally an argument.
It is the answer. If I'm married, it will stop me wishing for things I
can't have. Everyone else will be satisfied and they'll leave me alone.
So while part of her stood aghast, she heard herself saying, "Very
well, I'll marry Henry, if it's what you all want."

file:///K|/eMule/Incoming/Freda%20Warrington%20-%20A%20Taste%20of%20Blood%20Wine.html (82 of 711)28-12-2006 21:38:58
A Taste



"You're making the right decision, dear." Aunt Elizabeth picked up
the telephone from a side table. "Would you care to call him now, to
tell him the good news?"
That was deliberate cruelty. Charlotte hated her fiercely at that
moment, but she could only give a quick shake of her head. "No. If
he doesn't telephone me, I'll speak to him when I go home."
Elizabeth smiled and replaced the mouthpiece. "Quite right, dear.
The poor boy is going to have to say something to you sooner or
later, unless he means to conduct the entire marriage by proxy. I
don't think there were ever two people better suited."
The enormity of the commitment began to hit Charlotte. She stood
up, wanting to escape while she could still hang on to her dignity.
"If you will excuse me now, I must finish getting ready."
Instead of going back into the house, however, she found herself
heading through the open french windows, down the steps into the
orangery, and out of the glass doors into the garden. She was almost