Schulze, Dallas Read Online Free PDF Page B

embrace. “I wish you every happiness, my dear,” Susan said as
she hugged Lila.
    “Thank you.” If only all it took was good wishes, Lila thought,
blinking against the sting of tears.
    Stepping away from Susan, she turned to look at Douglas, her
expression uncertain. Between the debacle at the church and the start of the
ceremony here in the parlor, she’d made sure that there was no opportunity for
a private talk with her brother. It had been enough to see the hurt in his eyes
when he’d found out about her and Bishop; she couldn’t bear to hear how he
felt. Now she wanted desperately to see forgiveness in his eyes.
    He looked at her. For a moment, she thought his expression
softened and dared to hope that he might be able to forgive her for what she’d
done. But it was too soon for that.
    “I hope you’ll be very happy,” he offered stiffly. He gave her a
perfunctory hug, stepping back so quickly that she wondered if he couldn’t bear
to touch her.
    She turned away blindly and her gaze collided with Bishop’s.
Blinking against tears, she lifted her chin, daring him to notice her distress.
His expression didn’t change but he reached out, sliding one arm around her
shoulders and drawing her against his side. She told herself that the only
reason she didn’t pull away was because she didn’t want to make a scene, but
that didn’t explain why her body curved into his, why she leaned into his hard
strength.
    “Thank you,” he said, speaking to Douglas and Susan as if they’d
included him in their good wishes.
    The muscles in Douglas’s jaw knotted visibly, his expression tight
and hard. Susan’s eyes skittered uneasily from her husband to the newlyweds and
then settled, almost gratefully, on the minister, who’d been watching the small
scene with the expression of a hungry dog presented with a particularly juicy
bone.
    “Thank you so much, Reverend,” she said. Her smile held no sign of
the strain she must be feeling, and it struck Lila, not for the first time,
that Susan was remarkably well suited to being the wife of a man with political
aspirations.
    “I’m always pleased to be able to be of service to this family,”
Reverend Carpenter said.
    Particularly when he was lucky enough to find himself in the midst
of the juiciest scandal to hit Beaton since the blacksmith’s wife ran off with
a drummer who’d come through town selling musical instruments two years ago, Lila thought cynically.
    “You’re welcome to stay for supper, if you’d like,” Susan said,
making the obligatory gesture.
    “I wouldn’t wish to intrude,” he demurred, his eyes gleaming at
the thought of a fine meal to go with the additional information he was sure to
gather.
    The thought of spending yet more time under the reverend’s avid
gaze made Lila want to weep. Unconsciously she leaned more heavily into
Bishop’s supporting hold, feeling as if she’d reached the end of her rope.
    “It wouldn’t be an intrusion,” Susan said in a tone that struggled
to conceal her dismay.
    “Well, then...” The minister all but rubbed his hands together in
anticipation.
    Bishop spoke up unexpectedly. “It’s been a long day and I think my
wife is too tired to entertain guests.”
    Douglas, Susan, and Reverend Carpenter all gaped at him with
varying degrees of surprise. It was hard to say what had surprised them
most—the blatant arrogance of him rescinding Susan’s invitation or hearing him
refer to Lila as his wife. He returned their looks calmly. Lila knew she should
be offended by his presumption, but all she felt was gratitude.
    The minister’s face crumpled like a child denied a favorite piece
of candy. “But—”
    “Perhaps you’re right,” Susan said, looking tom between annoyance
at Bishop’s presumption and relief at the thought of getting rid of the
minister. “It really has been a very long day, hasn’t it?”
    Lila nodded and forced herself to smile at the reverend. “Perhaps
another time, Reverend,”