Amaryllis

'I'm aware of that, Mr. Lark.'

'Not much chance of a match between the two of you.'

'No, sir.'

Oscar gazed into the flames. 'A man and a woman can get some strange notions when they first register with an agency. The business of getting serious about marriage makes some people a little skittish.'

'Yes, sir.'

'They start to wonder if the agency will really be able to find someone who's right. Someone they'll want to spend the rest of their lives with.'

'It does make you think.'

Oscar peered at him. 'Some people even tell themselves that they can make better decisions than an agency counsel- or can.'

Lucas said nothing.

'Other people figure they better have a few flings before they settle down,' Oscar said. 'Everyone knows that here in the city folks are more inclined to fool around both before and after marriage.'

Lucas didn't see any smart response to that heavily loaded remark, so he maintained his silence.

'I don't want to see Amaryllis hurt, Trent.'

Lucas met Oscar's determined eyes. 'Yes, sir.'

'Nor will I allow her to ruin her life the way her mother did. You know about that?'

'Amaryllis told me the story.'

'Amaryllis's mother, Eugenia, was my sister.' Oscar turned his attention back to the fire. 'That sonofabitch who persuaded her to run off with him was from the richest family in Lower Bellevue. The Baileys. I suppose Amaryllis told you that he was married.'

'Yes.'

'It was one of those family-arranged marriages. No counseling, unfortunately. It was no secret that Elizabeth Bailey was more concerned with property and social stand- ing than she was with her son's happiness. Young Matt didn't know how to stand up to her. He was only twenty-one when she bullied him into the marriage. Much too young.'

'Yes.'

'Still, that's no excuse for what happened. Matt was married and that was the bottom line. We don't approve of affairs in Lower Bellevue, but we all know they happen on occasion. It's sort of understood that married folk who fool around are supposed to do it with other married folk, and they're supposed to be discreet. Young Bailey broke all the rules when he involved Eugenia in an affair.'

Lucas nodded in solemn understanding.

Oscar shook his head. 'I don't know what Eugenia and Matt Bailey told themselves to justify the pain and humiliation they caused their families, but I will always put the bulk of the blame on Bailey. My sister was just a girl. Barely eighteen years old. She hadn't had her birth control shots because there had been a recent scare about the quality of the vaccine.'

'I see.'

'Bailey's vaccination had been temporarily neutralized because he and his wife were attempting to have a child of their own.'

'So neither one of them was protected.'

Oscar's hand curled into a meaty fist. 'I wanted to murder Bailey when I found out what he had done to my sister. We all did. But there wasn't a damn thing we could do. And then they were both lost at sea. Poor little Amaryllis was left to bear the burden of being a bastard. A heavy load to carry, especially in a small town.'

It didn't take a prism's intuition to sense the fires of old anguish and rage that still burned within Oscar. His guilt at having failed to protect his sister only made the volatile mix especially dangerous.

'I understand,' Lucas said quietly.

Oscar turned his head once more to fix Lucas with piercing eyes. 'Amaryllis is not eighteen. She's a mature adult. If she wants to have a romantic fling before she gets married, that's her choice. My wife assures me that her birth control shots are current, and I assume yours are, too.'

'Yeah.'

Oscar nodded brusquely. 'Good. Because I warn you, Trent, I won't stand by and see Amaryllis put into the same situation her mother was. Do I make myself clear?'

'Yes, sir.'

'I want Amaryllis to have a decent chance at happiness. We both know that means a proper agency marriage. It's the only way to provide some guarantee of contentment between two people. Short-term passion, no matter how powerful, is never a good substitute for long-term compatibility.'

'No, sir.' Lucas decided it would not be wise to assure Oscar that he had already learned his lesson about runaway marriages the hard way. Things were awkward enough as it was.

'Amaryllis is a fine young woman. Her aunt and I and the rest of the family saw to it that she was raised with a good, solid sense of responsibility.'

Lucas morosely considered all the pithy little lectures he had heard Amaryllis give on the subject of family honor and responsibility. 'I'm aware of her feelings on the subject.'

'My wife worried for a time that we did our job a little too well. She was afraid that Amaryllis was a bit too prim and proper. Too rigid.' Oscar shot Lucas a speculative glance and then cleared his throat again. 'If you know what I mean.'

'Yes, sir.'

'Now you've come along. I can't say I approve of you having an affair with her, but the most important thing is that she doesn't get pregnant out of wedlock the way her mother did. I will not stand by and see my niece ruined and left with an illegitimate child to raise. Do you hear me, Trent?'

'Yes, sir.'

Oscar gripped the arms of his chair. He leaned forward, his expression as grimly determined as that of any stalwart founder. 'Then you best make damn sure Amaryllis doesn't get pregnant because if she does, I'll haul you into court so fast, you'll never know what hit you.'

Lucas raised his brows but said nothing.

'I don't care who you are or how much money you have, Trent. Keep your shots current. If you get my niece in trouble, I'll follow you all the way to the Western Islands, if necessary. And we both know I'll win in the courts. You won't be able to hide behind a wife. You'll be forced to marry my niece.'

'I know that, sir.' Lucas met Oscar's stony gaze. 'I give you my word of honor that I won't disgrace Amaryllis or her family.'

Oscar continued to eye him closely for another moment, and then he visibly relaxed. 'That's all right, then. You may not have a family of your own, but I have a feeling you know what family means.'

'I know exactly what family means.'

Lucas wondered if the extra slice of straw-peach pie had been laced with a little straw-peach brandy. He was feeling light-headed. Forced to marry Amaryllis. For some reason Oscar's threat did not send any chills of dread down his spine.

In the next instant, however, the knowledge that the notion of a nonagency marriage would horrify Amaryllis rendered him stone-cold sober.

'Elizabeth Bailey came to the office two days ago.' Hannah dried a glass and set it in a cupboard. 'First time she's been to see me since Matt and Eugenia died. She always drives into the city for her medical care.'

Amaryllis scrubbed industriously on a pot. 'Was she ill?'

'No. She wanted to talk to me.'

'About what?'

Hannah reached for another wet glass. 'She told me that she wants to see you.'

Amaryllis looked up quickly. 'Why?'

'I don't know. She just said that she needed to speak to you.'

'What do you think she wants?'

Hannah smiled sadly. 'I expect she's feeling the weight of the years. Something tells me she's begun to realize just how much she lost when she refused to acknowledge you.'