“Still? Good Lord, I never have been in love with her.”
“Well, then, what were you doing embracing her in your garage yesterday evening?” cried Jessica with an unexpected little spurt of jealous anger. “And beside my car, too,” she added, as though that made the offence worse.
“I was not embracing her.” Ford was suddenly quite cool and positive.
“You were! I saw you!”
“You jealous little snooper!” he exclaimed with a delighted laugh, and caught her in his arms again. “What you saw, my darling, was Paula embracing me, There’s a good deal of difference, you know.”
“But you had your arms round her.”
“Had I?” He grinned reflectively, but without embarrassment. “Well, when a girl you’ve known as a school-kid hangs round your neck and cries, it’s a bit difficult to remove her painlessly without taking hold of her.”
“O-oh.”
“Satisfied?” He looked more pleased and amused about her jealousy of Paula than she had ever seen him about anything else, and she was not quite sure whether she wanted to slap his cheek or embrace him.
“Were—weren’t you ever in love with her?”
“Never.” he stated categorically.
“It was just that she—was in love with you?”
“Oh, no. She’s an emotional little idiot, who luxuriates in sentimental scenes between engagements,” Ford stated rather brutally. “And, since we’ve known her since she and Angela were at school together, I naturally come in for the backwash sometimes.”
“Well, you can’t come in for it once we’re married,” Jessica objected quickly. At which he laughed so much that she did slap his cheek rather hard. And then, in immediate contrition, threw her arms round his neck and kissed him.
“Oh, Ford, I’m sorry! I love you so, and I thought I’d lost you to her. You mustn’t laugh about it. Only I’m sorry I hit you. It was awful of me!”
“Darling,” he said, “I’d willingly be knocked black and blue for the pleasure of hearing you say afterwards that you were sorry, and it was all because you loved me. But, my silly little love, I’m not laughing at you. I’m just laughing for sheer happiness, to know that you care enough to be jealous.”
“Oh, Ford!” She gave a protesting little laugh, as she pressed against him. “It’s so unintelligent to be jealous!”
“Well, you need never be so again. I’ll tell you. here and now, at the risk of putting myself in your power for the rest of my life—there’s never been, and there never will be, any woman but you, so far as I’m concerned. You knocked me straight into your hunting bag that evening you came and asked me to reduce the rent.”
“Ford, what an awful way of putting it!” she protested, but she laughed and kissed him happily. “And to think Uncle Hector imagined he’d have done the job better himself,” she murmured in contented parenthesis.
“Uncle Hector? Oh, he’s not the really helpful relation,” Ford declared scornfully. “There’s only one member of your family calculated to put things right when you’ve got them muddled up, and that’s Judy, bless her heart!”
“Oh, Judy!” With an affectionate little laugh, Jessica suddenly remembered her sister’s determined, but blessed, interference. “She and Tom are probably dying to know what has happened. They must still be wondering, poor pets, if they’re going to live at The Mead with Mary and David or at Oaklands with you and me.”
“Well, we’ll go and put that straight now,” Ford announced with decision.
And, smiling and with their arms around each other, they went to find the twins.
The Brave In Heart Page 20