Austin spent the rest of the week fuming despite his best efforts to put Claire far from his mind. He wasn‟t married to her yet, and he was already dreading having her around his house. He hadn‟t even been aware of her a month ago, and suddenly, she was a big part of his world. Six months. All I have to do is survive the next six months and I‟ll be free again.

Jasper did his best to console him. “I don‟t think she‟s that bad of a woman. My wife speaks highly of her. She may not

be rich but she has found a way into the hearts of many prominent women in town. They can‟t wait to invite her to their

luncheons.”

He grimaced. “Before I know it, she‟ll insist on dinner parties at my house. The next six months of my life are going to be a living nightmare.”

“I don‟t know. She‟s got a lot of passion. It could help warm up those cold winter nights. You might enjoy yourself so much you won‟t want to end the marriage.

“No way, Jasper. I‟m not going to lay a hand on her except to kiss her at the wedding and hold her hand or arm in public. This is a business arrangement.”

“Aren‟t you the least bit attracted to women?”

“Of course, I am. But I don‟t lose my head over any woman. They use their beauty to trap men into marriage and the next thing the men know, they are helping to host a variety of dinner parties. I hope she remembers what I told her. I have absolutely no intention of stopping my trips to the theater or traveling abroad just because she wants to be strapped down to the house.”

“Not every woman is like that, Austin. Many would have had you tied to the home but I don‟t think Claire will. My wife says

that Claire likes to read because she can live the adventures in those books. Maybe you should ask her to join you to the theater or on one of your European excursions.”

“Like I would ask any woman into my world.”

He shrugged. “You might have more fun if you did. A wife can be a good companion. If nothing else, be her friend.”

He grunted his reply and left Jasper‟s office to go back to work. He didn‟t care to hear about the virtues of women from Jasper who claimed to be happily married with two little kids that clung to his pants whenever she stopped by with them. How embarrassing it would be to have that happen to him if he was trying to do business. He didn‟t know why the other men seemed

to think it was cute. Jasper took it all in stride. He‟s a braver man than I am.

He talked to the seamstress, Mrs. Brown, who was working on Claire‟s wedding dress and ordered a new wardrobe for Claire to be made. He had seen her other skirts, shirts and dresses, and there was no way those clothes had any place in his nice house. “Just have your team of seamstresses make dresses that are befitting my social status.” He didn‟t wish to have claire humiliate him when she walked out of the house. People wouldbe basing their opinion of him based on how she presented

herself to the world, and though she had a great reputation, people would expect her to dress better now that she was moving

up the social ladder.

Then he sat down and wrote a letter to her family explaining the situation, inviting them to the wedding and asking if they could use new clothes and furniture. He had Williams hand delivering the letter and requested a response before the end of the

next day so that he could make the appropriate arrangements. To his surprise, her entire family wrote a couple of sentences

expressing their enthusiasm over the marriage. They said they didn‟t have proper wedding clothes, so Austin immediately ordered that to be done. He couldn‟t have her family showing up underdressed to the biggest event of his life. They confessed that

they did need some new furnishings, so Austin asked the furniture makers in town to confer with them on what they would like to see in their home.

He had a wedding planner do all the arrangements at the church for the ceremony and reception. He wanted to have a wedding that people would talk about for years to come, so he spent as much as he dared. He had clients to impress and possible

clients to win over. He decided to invite Jackson, in case people thought ill of him for not including everyone. He secretly

hoped jackson would stay home but comforted himself with the knowledge that so many people would be there that he could

easily ignore the irritating man.

As a last minute thought, he purchased a diamond necklace and earrings and sent a telegram to Claire telling her that

these were for the wedding and that he wouldn‟t be taking her to the dance that Friday since he would be getting his tuxedo made for Saturday.

********

Much love

V.A 💙