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"Enter," he barked.
She winced. His tone of voice told her that he had no patience left for anyone, and that her situation-her future-was dire indeed. She walked into the wood-paneled sitting room of his apartment.
He turned. "What do you have to say for yourself?" he demanded in another bark.
He looked extremely tired-and extremely angry. "How are you, Papa?" she ventured.
"Do not inquire after my welfare or my journey, by damn! He was here, and you are here, and I am in a state of disbelief!" George Boothe roared. "Were the two of you carrying on?"
A
He stared, wide-eyed, as if he had expected her to deny it. For a long moment he could not speak. "How could you? He abducted you, A
"Yes," she whispered brokenly.
He stared again, as if doubting his own ears. "I will kill him when he is caught!"
"I love him!" she cried back.
"Oh, God!" he cried.
A
George turned back to her, towering over her. "A
"Even now, as hurt as I am, I pray he eludes the police," she whispered, not daring to look up. Had Lizzie told him everything? Did he know that she had participated in the theft? It did not seem so, thank God.
"If you were a child, I would turn you over my knee and give you a serious spanking, A
"It's not your fault," she managed hoarsely. "It is my fault. Something is wrong with me, Papa. Pierce and I, we are alike."
"You are alike?" he shouted. "You are not alike, A
A
Silence filled the room. Boothe went to her, lifting her to her feet and taking her into his arms. "Oh, A
She managed to look up at her father. "No. You see, Jie never made me any promises, Papa. I wanted to go with him. But he refused. He would not let me go with him. He did not want me to suffer the risk of being captured and incarcerated, and he even told me he expected me to find love with another man one day. Yes, he has broken my heart-yet again. But you should thank him for refusing to take me with him, instead of vowing to kill him."
"You are defending him." Boothe stared, and finally he sat down hard on the sofa. "You love him still. Oh, A
"It doesn't matter," she said. "My life is over. Pierce is wrong. My future doesn't exist."
"No." Boothe stood. "You have committed a grave error of judgment, but affairs of the heart are rarely wise. Your future begins today. I have never dictated to you before, and as much as I comprehend your grief now, I will do what is right for you-as I should have done two years ago."
A
"You will marry, my dear, like every other proper woman, and one day you will thank me for it."
Two days later, A
She would do as her father asked, because she did not care about her life anymore and she did not have the strength or the inclination to fight with him. Lizzie had pointed out that Thomas Frank was besotted with her, and she would probably be able to do as she liked once married-that this was, for A
Melissa had been more rational. "Papa is right. The time has come for you to settle down and grow up, A
A
Suddenly A
"I do," he whispered.
Oh, God. A
"She does." Her father stepped forward from where he stood just behind Thomas with her mother and her sisters and brothers-in-law. "A
A
The white-haired minister looked at her, his eyes kind. "My dear, do you, A
A
And a cramp seized her. She gasped.
The minister smiled, apparently misinterpreting the sound for an affirmation, and he turned to Thomas quickly. As quickly, Thomas reached for and took her hand, clearly saying, "I do."
A
"If there be any man present who objects to this union, set forth your objections now, or forever hold your peace," the minister intoned.
The hall was silent.
I object, A
The minister smiled and opened his mouth to pronounce them man and wife.
"I object," Pierce cried, striding down the aisle.
A
He had come-he had come to rescue her.
"I beg your pardon?" the minister asked, bewildered.
Pierce paused beside A
George came to life. "Arrest him. It's the thief who stole the Rossini ruby!"
And several members of the hotel staff came rushing forward from the very back of the hall, including the manager. The five men grabbed Pierce and immobilized him. But he did not struggle. Finally, his gaze met A
She was crying. How she loved him. She had never loved anyone more.
"Get the sheriff," the manager was ordering one of his bellmen. The young bellhop ran off.
"Wait!" A
The bellhop actually faltered and stopped halfway down the aisle, for her tone had been so sharp.