him and get a hefty settlement. Break Marcus’s heart. That’s a huge worry.”
“It’s possible, my darling, but who is able to predict a marriage?”
“Now there’s a cop out if ever there was one,” he exclaimed. “She’s won you over as well. You and Rolly had a great marriage. So do Mum and Dad.”
“Ah, then, your mother had a great deal of money. So did I. No one could ever have accused us of being fortune hunters. Makes things a lot easier.”
“Mum is four years younger than Dad,” he pointed out.
“My lovely Rolly was twelve years older than me.”
“The perfect gentleman.”
“He was indeed.”
“You all brought a great deal to one another,” he said. “What is Sonya going to bring to Marcus?”
Rowena chuckled. Over-long.
“Okay, okay, but is she in it for short term gain, Rowena? I’d love to look on the positive side, but I couldn’t bear to see Marcus humiliated. She doesn’t love him. That’s the pity. But she does have him wrapped around her little finger. He’s happy at the moment. Really happy. I have to say it’s lovely to see.”
Rowena abruptly sobered. “I’m as concerned as you are, David. For both of them. You know, dear, I’ve come to the conclusion Sonya is carrying a burden she can’t lay down. Despite that poise of hers, the high-born air, she seems to me a little lost.”
“Lost?” For a moment he thought he might lose it entirely. “She’s as switched on as they come.”
“Lighten up, love,” Rowena advised. “I know how much you love Marcus. You’ve always looked up to him. You have heart. You’re also very perceptive. I do realize the developing situation had to be taken very seriously. I’m with you there. Marcus, up until he met Sonya, has acted as though all happiness had passed him by.”
“It’s a dilemma, isn’t it?” he said. “Marcus is the one who stands to be hurt. Even if a marriage did take place, marriages end. A beautiful young woman with a large settlement could move on. Marcus would not. We both know that.”
“Yes indeed,” Rowena quietly agreed.
“We can expect fireworks from Dad and Mum. Dad especially. He loves his brother. Dad will want Sonya thoroughly checked out. Even then he wouldn’t approve. Neither would Mum. You know what they’re like. You know what the family is like. They’ll condemn her right off as a fortune hunter and a fake.”
“Well, she’s not faking the patrician air,” Rowena said in strong defence of the young woman she had come to like and admire.
“She’s a mystery woman indeed,” David answered, very, very dryly.
“There’s a story there, my darling. But not a happy one, I’m sure.”
“It makes a lot of women happy marrying a millionaire,” he pointed out.
“In a lot of cases it doesn’t work out marrying for love,” she countered. “I hear the Grantleys are divorcing. How long ago was it we were at the wedding?”
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