Enthralled

by Ann Cristy

  "Never," Teel promised.

  "Delightful," Miss Daisy exclaimed. "Where will you marry? Here in New York?"

  "Never."

  "We've haven't settled that yet," Chazz said over Teel's answer.

  "Lovely. How romantic!" Miss Daisy clasped her hands and looked heavenward. Teel kicked Chazz in the shins, but Miss Daisy didn't seem to notice.

  "And we hope," Chazz continued through gritted teeth, "that you'll tell everyone you meet. Teel and I are so happy—we want the world to know—owww."

  "Oh, dear. What happened? Do you have a stitch in your side?" Miss Daisy focused her attention on Chazz's middle, giving Teel the chance to pinch his rear end. But Miss Daisy apparently forgot her question in the more delightful prospect of informing the town of Selby that Miss Barrett was to marry—"Oh dear, I don't know your name."

  "Charles Herman, Miss Butler, but everybody calls me Chazz."

  Miss Daisy looked over her glasses at him, frowning. "I shall call you Charles. I can't abide shortened names."

  Chazz smiled and bowed gallantly from the waist, endearing himself to Miss Daisy for life, Teel was sure.

  "I really must go. There are many people to see," Miss Daisy said vaguely, and she fluttered across the lobby and out the door.

  "The old dear can really move when she wants to," Chazz commented wryly as he watched Miss Daisy skip across the parking lot to her Edsel.

  Chazz was still watching her when Teel kicked him again. "Love, I wish you wouldn't do that." Without releasing her, he bent down to massage his ankle.

  "Now you've done it," Teel accused him. "By nightfall she'll have everyone in the county talking about our marriage. How could you?"

  "Don't be so surprised." Chazz looked down at her, his smile gone. "I'd do anything to get you, angel. I thought you knew that." He kissed her mouth again, paying no heed to curious onlookers. "Come on. I'll buy you breakfast."

  Teel protested Chazz's high-handedness day and night. She was furious with him for going out of his way to inform anyone he thought might not know of their coming nuptials. She seethed when Nancy placed a copy of The New York Times on her desk, folded open to the proper page, and she saw the photographs of Chazz and herself.

  "I'm giving you a shower," Nancy said, then ducked out the door when Teel took a firm grip on a paperweight.

  The phone rang just then, distracting Teel from the newspapers. She reached for it absently and said, "Hello?"

  "Hello, darling. How are you this morning? I'm sorry I had to leave before you—"

  "How dare you put those pictures and that write-up in The New York Times?" she cried.

  "Actually I'd have liked a full-face picture of you better, but there wasn't one, so we used the profile."

  "You know what I mean." Teel took a deep breath and lowered her voice. She rubbed her forehead. "You're giving me another headache. I never had headaches until I met you," she complained. Lord, i want to marry him. I'm a masochist, she thought.

  "You're too tense, that's the problem," Chazz told her. "Just stop fighting me, darling, and your ordeal will be over. Once we're married, you'll be in excellent health."

  "Bull." Fight him harder, you fool, Teel's inner voice argued. Drop dead, Teel moaned to herself, I want to marry him.

  "Oh, before I forget," Chazz continued, "I talked to Aunt Tilda this morning. She's relieved that her errant nephew is settling down—"

  "Tell her to think again," Teel snapped, determined to go down fighting.

  "—and ready to marry the woman of his dreams—"

  "Twaddle." God forbid he should ever know how much she wanted to be his wife.

  "—so of course I told her we'd be delighted to attend a party at her studio that she'll be hosting for some of our friends tonight."

  "What?" Teel shouted. "What do you mean our friends? We don't have any friends together." Again she tried to rally her defenses.

  "We will," Chazz soothed. "All my friends will be your friends, and all your friends will be mine," he instructed as though teaching kindergarten.

  "Balderdash."

  "Do you never run out of archaic epithets, my dove?" Chazz crooned, continuing on without waiting for her answer. "I'll stay in town to dress here and I'll send the plane for you. We can fly back home after the party. Bye, love."

  Home! Did he really consider her house in Selby home?

  She set the phone back on its cradle and stared into space.

  Nancy entered the room with several application forms in her hand. For the rest of the day Teel was kept busy studying the forms and checking to see which pupils would be best suited for the facilities at Mary Dempsey School. But she had trouble concentrating on her work— thoughts of Chazz crept repeatedly into her mind—and the hours dragged. Finally, sometime after five o'clock, she cleared off her desk and headed home.

  Her phone was ringing when she unlocked the door.

  Because she had stayed later at work than she had intended, she was running behind schedule. She dropped her key, cursed, retrieved it, pushed open the door, and picked up the phone on the fifth ring. Somehow she knew it would be Chazz. She didn't wait to hear him identify himself.

  "Do you have a cold?" Teel asked, a little out of breath, trying to wriggle out of her coat.

  "I'm so glad you remember my voice so well, sweetheart." The laugh was too high—not Chazz's voice at all.

  "Who is this?" Teel demanded, her body stilling into alertness.

  "Darling, why are we playing games? It's Ben Windom. Didn't I just tell you that?" His voice lowered. "I've missed you, angel."

  "Don't call me that!" Teel exhaled, her sudden, explosive anger surprising her. "What do you want? I'm in a hurry."

  "I just wanted to wish you well. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other now that you're engaged to such a powerful man. Herman and I move in the same circles, you know."

  "Crap. Chazz wouldn't travel in your circle because he doesn't frequent sewers. Good-bye, Ben."

  "Wait—Teel—"

  Teel slammed down the phone. She didn't feel elated by putting him down; she only felt relief that she would never have to see Ben Windom again. For a fleeting moment, she wondered how he had gotten her phone number. perhaps he'd gotten her address from the newspapers and simply called information. She shrugged, then rushed up the stairs two at a time. Chazz's pilot would be sending the taxi for her soon and she wasn't anywhere near ready.

  Teel showered and shampooed her hair in record time. While she blow-dried it, she pondered how she would wear it, finally deciding to leave it hanging free, the way Chazz liked it.

  Her dress was a sea-green silk, almost the color of the ocean in the painting above Chazz's fireplace. Teel turned slowly in front of the mirror. She loved the feel of the silk material, which was caught under her breasts in an Empire fashion. The dress had puff sleeves and a hem that just touched her ankles. The square neck was low cut in the Regency style. The dress had a piquant, old-fashioned look that enhanced Teel's long neck and legs. The fabric fell straight, but when she moved, a side pleat parted to reveal a slit from ankle to mid thigh. One of Teel's friends from her college had gone into fashion design and made a respectable living in New York running a small boutique in Greenwich Village. She had designed the dress for Teel, who had then modeled it at the boutique's last fashion show. Teel's shoes were peau de soie sandals, the same color as the dress.

  Teel frowned at her image in the mirror. Her hair was wrong for the dress and the jade earrings and pendant she was wearing. She recalled that Charine, the designer, had wanted her to wear her hair pulled into a topnot with a fall of curls on one shoulder.

  Teel glanced at the clock and groaned but decided to take a chance that she would have time to arrange a more intricate style.

  Clutching the curling iron in one hand, she proceeded, grim-lipped, to curl several locks. Then she twisted her pile of straight hair into a coil on top of her head and pinned it tightly. Again she used the curling iron on the re
maining locks of hair, twisting them into two curls that fell down one side of her face. "Good grief, I'm a giant," Teel whispered at her image, but as she turned in front of the mirror she had to admit that the style suited her, giving her a Junoesque grace.

  The taxi honked twice as Teel fumbled for her clutch purse. She threw a short evening jacket in white velvet over her shoulders and ran down the steps, praying she wouldn't trip.

  "The feller at the plane sez we wuz to be there in fifteen minutes.. .thirty minutes ago." Monica Binny, the taxi driver, glowered at Teel. "I hope I get a good tip for this."

  "Monica, don't try to con me," Teel told her. "You've been tipped already."

  Monica shrugged. "A girl's gotta make a living."

  During the rest of the trip Monica regaled Teel with gossip about Selby inhabitants. As they pulled into the small landing field, Monica glared at her in the rear-view mirror. "It was Daisy Butler what told me about you gettin' married. You mighta told me yourself, Teel. That Daisy acts so uppity if she knows something first."

  "Next time I'll arrange for you to know first," Teel promised.

  Monica whirled in the seat, her face reddening from the strain of heaving her bulk around. "Ya mean it ain't gonna last? This one, I mean. You got another one on the line, Teel?"

  Teel snapped alert, her eyes focused warily on Monica. "What? No—of course I haven't—oh, never mind. I have to go. The pilot's waiting outside the building."

  Monica faced front again, looking slightly crestfallen. "Yeah, that's him.

  'Bye, Teel."

  Teel had never before flown in a Lear jet. She found the sensation exhilarating. Before taking off, the pilot doffed his cap and handed her flowers, a lovely nosegay of violets, the green of the leaves and purple of the flowers a perfect foil for her dress.

  Teel was amazed. "How did Chazz guess what I was going to wear?" she asked, bemused, pressing her face into the flowers.

  "I don't know," the pilot answered, smiling as he disappeared into the cockpit. Soon they were airborne.

  The landing at La Guardia took longer than the flight itself, but Teel didn't mind circling the field. She was growing more nervous by the second about meeting Chazz's only relative.

  When the plane taxied close to a small hangar, she saw Chazz, dressed in a silk evening suit, step from the building, the wind ruffling his hair. He spotted her in the window almost at once, and smiled and waved.

  The plane came to a halt and an attendant opened the door for Teel. Chazz was waiting at the foot of the steps, grinning up at her, his eyes a leaping, liquid gold in his tanned face. "I've missed you," he said simply.

  "Don't be silly," Teel said, feeling out of breath despite her protest.

  When Chazz didn't move from the bottom of the step, she was forced to pause. They stood face to face Teel felt a silken net drop over her. "You just saw me this morning," she whispered, nonplussed by his nearness.

  "So I did. I've grown accustomed to coming home to you when I leave work. I like that. Tonight I didn't go home to you. I didn't like that." Chazz rubbed his nose against hers.

  "Oh!" She felt all her senses stir and come to life.

  "I want my kiss." His nose moved alongside hers, his lips coming to rest on hers. When his teeth nipped her bottom lip, Teel groaned. "You look beautiful, my angel. I'm going to buy you a fur coat." Chazz nibbled her ear.

  "No," Teel murmured, her hands clenching and unclenching on his shoulders. "Don't wear real fur. Save the seals."

  "Right." He groaned and kissed her again.

  "Ahem... sir... I should get the plane into the hangar." They looked up to see the pilot watching them from the door of the plane.

  Chazz laughed and nodded. Teel reddened and thanked the man for flying her to Chazz.

  Chazz was still chuckling as he led her to the Rolls- Royce. Behind the wheel sat Darby, dressed in an official uniform and cap. To Teel's delight, he bounded out of the car and came toward her, his arms outstretched.

  "So, Sister Terese Ellen is no more, is it?" His elfin face was wreathed in smiles as Teel hugged him and kissed his cheek.

  "Darby, please forgive me for deceiving you," Teel begged, glancing warily at Chazz. "It seemed like a good idea at the time." It surprised her when he looked grim instead of smiling.

  "Well, all's well that ends well, isn't it?" Darby shot a searching look Chazz's way, then said, "I just got back from a trip to Ireland to see my folks. Had a lovely time."

  "Oh, it sounds wonderful. How old are your parents, Darby?"

  "My dad's ninety-seven and my ma's ninety-five, and both of them as chipper as the day they were married fifty years ago."

  Teel's eyes opened wide. "Amazing."

  Darby helped Teel into the back seat, then resumed his place behind the wheel. It startled Teel when Chazz closed the glass partition between them and the driver. "Ah, I like the violets," she told him. "How did you know what color to get?"

  "I remembered this from when I went through your clothes the other evening and thought it might be the dress you would wear." Chazz stared at the back of Darby's head, his voice terse.

  Teel was bewildered by his sudden anger. "What's the matter with you?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

  Chazz turned toward her, his eyes glittering fiercely. "I damn well don't enjoy being jealous of Darby."

  Teel's jaw dropped. "You have an empty room in your upper works, buster," she breathed, watching his black eyebrows form a stiff bridge across his forehead.

  "That I know," he growled. "You've never once come up to me and put your arms around me and kissed me, have you?" He looked furious. She was flabbergasted.

  "No," she admitted

  "Damn you." To her surprise, Chazz hauled her into his arms. "One day you will." His mouth punished her. She felt his teeth against her lip; then all at once his lips softened, coaxing her, warming her. Teel forgot Darby, forgot that they were riding in the Rolls-Royce, forgot that she was nervous about meeting his aunt. She was annoyed when Chazz released her and she kept her arms around his neck. The frown melted off his face.

  "Wait, darling, I have something for you." All at once he was serious again.

  Teel looked down just as he pushed a square-cut emerald onto her third finger. "Chazz!" Her voice came hoarsely, and she tried to pull her hand free.

  "This is yours," he told her, his voice solemn. "If you try to give it back to me, I'll throw it down the nearest sewer."

  "At least sell it and give the money to the poor," Teel offered in a dazed voice, not taking her eyes from the ring.

  "Keep it. Wear if. If you do, I promise I'll give the equivalent of what it cost to the poor."

  Teel's eyes flew to his face. "That's bribery," she cried.

  "You're damn right it is." Chazz kissed the ring on her finger. "Do you like it?"

  "Who wouldn't like such a beautiful ring? I can't believe it's real."

  "It's real." Chazz chuckled. "It matches your eyes perfectly. That's why I had to buy it."

  He pulled her into his arms, and she cuddled close to him for the rest of the trip into Manhattan. She didn't even try to move away. She was a prisoner of her own emotions. One moment she rebelled at his high-handedness. The next she melted at his tough, romantic streak. The ambivalence weakened her resolve to fight him.

  When the car pulled up in front of a brownstone with a patch of grass and an old-fashioned iron street lamp in front, Teel's fears returned.

  Seeming to sense her hesitancy, Chazz practically lifted her from the car and told Darby to return at midnight.

  "Won't that be too late to fly back to Selby" Teel asked.

  "Yes. We'll stay at my apartment tonight. You have clothes there. I'll have you flown back in the morning."

  "I don't have clothes here," Teel mumbled, regarding the front door with its ornate knocker as though she were facing a rattlesnake.

  "You do now, angel. I gave your measurements to Madame Delmar."

  "My friend, Charine, desig
ns my special clothes," Teel protested, trying to rally as Chazz opened the door.

  "Fine. Next time you can get Charine." He paused. "I don't think I know the house."

  "Snob," Teel sniffed as he led her into a small foyer decorated in gilt and a soft cerise color. It was both elegant and comfortable.

  A woman who looked like an aging Barbie doll tottered toward them on the highest heels Teel had ever seen. Her makeup gave her a pale clown face. Two perfect circles of rouge drew attention to her high cheekbones. Her lips were bowed in cherry red, her eyebrows penciled thin, black, and arched. Her lashes looked as though they had been dipped in black mud. Her amber eyes twinkled with delight as Teel watched her approach. Her all-over curls were dyed a terra cotta red.

  "You mustn't try to mask your shock at my appearance, my dear," the woman said. "If you don't look suitably laid low, I shall think I don't have enough makeup on." She stretched to press a kiss on Teel's cheek, her silk caftan, which was threaded with gold and silver, billowing around her.

  "You have more than enough makeup on, Tilda," Chazz mocked as he leaned down to lift the woman into his arms and kiss her.

  Tilda tapped him playfully on the cheek with a finger.

  "Don't be naughty. You know I must preserve my image.

  "Why?" Chazz grinned, setting her back on her feet and putting an arm around Teel to bring her forward. "This is Teel Barrett."

  Tilda Charles put one saber like cherry-colored nail to her front teeth and tapped, her eyes narrowing on Teel. "So this is the woman who has taken the wind out of your sails, eh? She's a beauty. Would you mind if I painted you, my dear?"

  Teel gasped. "But you don't do portraits!" She reddened when Tilda and Chazz laughed. Chazz squeezed her waist and whispered, "Nut."

  Tilda took Teel's hand in both of hers, her eyes warm. "Yes, that's true—most of the time. But I have done a few people." She glanced quickly at Chazz. "This ne'er- do-well of mine insisted that I would want to paint you the moment I saw you, and he's right. So, for a wedding present to my nephew, I would like to paint you. Will you mind?"