Ship of Dreams Read Online Free Page A

Bradford, but my opinion of you is clearly far lower than your opinion of yourself. I'll have you know that my virtue is quite intact, thank you very much ... and I intend to keep it that way!"
    His smile became more genuine. "It's a bit late for outraged modesty, Miss Gilley. Or should I say, Mrs. Bradford? You can be as abusive to me as you wish in private, but in public you will play the doting new wife. I've already seen a sample of your acting ability, so I trust this particular role will not strain it unduly."
    "And you'll play the doting new husband?" Acid skepticism dripped from her words.
    "Of course." His slight bow mocked her.
    She gave an unladylike snort. "Ha! That I'd like to see," she muttered under her breath.
    He opened his trunk and began setting his toilet items on the wash stand in regimented order. "I suggest you unpack, then, and join me in the dining room for luncheon. My acting experience may be more limited than your own, but I'll endeavor to give a creditable performance."
     
    *            *            *
     
    Ten minutes later, Kenton was wondering what had possessed him to promise such a thing. How on earth was he to convincingly play a devoted newlywed husband to a woman he'd only met that morning? A woman, furthermore, that he didn't even particularly like, and certainly didn't trust.
    He and Della shared their long, oaken table with the Eastons, Nelson Sharpe, and the Pattersons, another honeymooning couple. Beyond the Pattersons sat Billy Birch, the famous San Francisco singer and actor, and his new bride, Virginia—the one who had earlier carried the canary. Sharpe uttered an unending stream of cheerful observations, while the various honeymooners exchanged secret smiles. Kenton felt distinctly ill at ease.
    His unease increased sharply when Addie Easton turned to Della and said, "I've told you all about how Ansel and I came to be married, but I've not heard your story. Where and how did you and Mr. Bradford meet? Was it love at first sight?" Her eyes sparkled with her eagerness to hear the romantic tale.
    Della hesitated only marginally before replying. "I suppose you could call it that, though we began our association with an argument. Kent nearly knocked me over in the street, you see, and I was most put out, for I dropped all of my weekly shopping."
    Addie and the other women laughed, and Della went on to describe his supposed gallantry in retrieving her parcels. "I knew at once that he could be counted on to assist a damsel in distress." She glanced at him as she spoke, and he saw both gratitude and rebuke in her eyes before she turned back to continue her story.
    Kenton mechanically ate the excellent food before him, mesmerized by the fiction Della wove so glibly. When asked about his background, she paused, and he stepped into the breach to add a welcome bit of truth to the story, mentioning the hoped-for business expansion that brought him to California.
    "Will not your family be surprised to have you return with a wife?" asked Mary Patterson with a giggle. "Or were you able to send a letter to precede your arrival?"
    "Er, no. There was no time for a letter, things happened so quicky." That was true enough! "And yes, I imagine they will be a bit surprised." With a sudden wrench, he remembered Caroline, his fiancée. Odd that hadn't thought about her before now—though certainly he'd had ample reason for distraction.
    "Pleasantly so, I presume," put in Addie, with a smile for Della.
    He managed a half-hearted smile in response. Surprised wouldn't even begin to cover it! But surely he could disentangle himself from Miss Gilley before actually reaching his home. What an idiot he'd been, to insist that they maintain this deception! He should have tried harder to find some alternative. Now there was no turning back.
     
    *            *            *
     
    Della was exhausted by the time they left the table. She'd never, in her whole chequered life, had