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.She knew she’d gone white.So it was that way.They’d reconciled.Miriam loved him and now they were going to remarry and live happily ever after.Miriam had won.She smiled bitterly and retraced her steps so that they didn’t even know she’d been in the room.She ran into Coreen going down the staircase.“I’m just on my way to see Ethan….” She stopped dead, staring at Arabella’s suitcase.“Mary’s driving me to town,” Arabella said, her voice a little wobbly.“And I wouldn’t disturb Ethan just now, if I were you.He’s rather involved with Miriam.”“Oh, this is getting completely out of hand!” Coreen said harshly.“Why won’t he listen?”“He’s in love with her, Coreen,” the younger woman said.“He can’t help that, you know.He said last night that it was really only out of pity that he asked me here.He wanted me, but he loves Miriam.It would never have worked.It’s best that I leave now, so that I won’t be an embarrassment to him.”“My dear,” Coreen said miserably.She hugged Arabella warmly.“You know the door is always open.I’ll miss you.”“I’ll miss you, too.Mary was going to take the dress back to the store for me, but…but Miriam might like it,” she said bravely.“All it would need is a little alteration.”“I’ll take care of the dress,” Coreen said.“Will you be all right? Where will you go?”“I’ll go to a motel for the time being.I’ll phone my father when I’ve settled in.Don’t worry, I’ve got money, thanks to Ethan’s intervention.I won’t go hungry, and I can take care of myself.But thank you for all you’ve done for me.I’ll never forget you.”“I’ll never forget you either, darling,” Coreen said quietly.“Keep in touch, won’t you?”“Of course,” Arabella lied with a smile.That was the very last thing she intended doing now, for Ethan’s sake.She followed Mary out to the car after exchanging farewells with Betty Ann and a puzzled Matt.She didn’t even look back as the car wound down the driveway to the road.Just as Arabella was going out to the car, Miriam was lifting her head and smiling at Ethan.“Not bad.I’m sorry we didn’t make it.Shall I go downstairs and explain it all to Arabella and your mother?” she asked with a grimace.“I guess they’ll pitch me out the back door on my head when I get through.”“It’s my head that’s going to be in danger, I’m afraid,” he said ruefully.“No, I’ll handle it.You’d better go and call your Caribbean connection.”“I’ll do that.Thanks.”He watched her go, and lay back against the pillows.He’d heard Matt and Mary come in and he was waiting for them to come and say hello.Maybe he could get Arabella up here and try to sort things out before it was too late.He heard a car door slam twice and an engine rev up, and he frowned.Surely Mary and Matt weren’t leaving already.Minutes later, a coldly furious Coreen walked into his room and glared at him.“Well, I hope you’re happy,” she told him.“You’ve got what you wanted.She just left.”He sat up, scowling at her.“Who just left?” he asked with a chilling sense of loss.“Arabella,” Coreen informed him.“She said you’d called off the wedding.She left her dress for Miriam and said to congratulate you on your forthcoming remarriage.”“Oh, for God’s sake!” he burst out.He threw his legs off the bed and tried to get up, but his head was still spinning with the aftereffects of the day before.He sat down again and rubbed his forehead.“I’m not marrying Miriam! Where in hell did she get that idea?”“From you, I suppose, after the bite you apparently took out of her last night.And something must have been going on in here when she left, because she said you and Miriam were involved when she came downstairs.”She’d seen Miriam kiss him.He remembered the kiss, realized how it would look to an outsider, and he groaned out loud.“My God, I’ve got a knack for ruining my life,” he said with a rough sigh.“I must have a deep-buried death wish.Where did she go?”“To a motel, she said.Mary will know which one.”He lifted his head, and his eyes were anguished.“She’ll call her father,” he said.“He’ll be here like a shot to take her over again.”“Do remember who pushed her out of the door, won’t you, dear boy?” his mother asked with smiling venom.“I thought she’d deserted me!” he burst out.“As if Arabella would do any such thing,” she scoffed.“How could you have believed it?”“Because I had a concussion and I was half out of my head,” he returned angrily.“And what did she see on her way out that convinced her Miriam needed the wedding gown?” Coreen added.“I kissed her.She kissed me,” he corrected.He threw up his hands [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]