Strange Bedfellows
~ ch. 18, concluded ~
“Did that all go as you
expected?” Dara asked when the departing launch reached the halfway point of
its journey to the docks. “Your
mother’s lack of reaction, I mean.”
Stefan’s gaze remained fixed
on the launch and its passengers. “Time
has shown me the wisdom of not anticipating my mother’s reactions,” he
replied. “I simply prepare for
any and every possibility.”
“Well, I am glad that you
are so nonchalant about all this.” Dara
laughed a bit self-consciously. “I
fully expected your mother to turn to me and say… ‘You have just made
yourself a powerful enemy.’” Dara
uttered the threat in the same icy clipped tones Helena often employed.
“You assured my mother’s
ill will the moment you agreed to my proposal.”
Stefan seriously considered his new bride.
“Did you think my warnings were mere rhetoric, Dara? …What is it?”
Dara erased the frown that
creased her brow. “I don’t
think I will ever get used to you calling me anything other than ‘Miss
Jensen’. Somehow, ‘Dara’ just
seems too… familiar for you.”
It was Stefan’s turn to
frown. “You are my wife.
Addressing you by your given name is the least of the familiarities I
will take with you.”
“What exactly is that
supposed to mean?” Dara interrupted. “You
do realize, don’t you, that this is not a real marriage?!?”
