Bonds of Matrimony

by A C J McKechnie

  Ellie suddenly felt like Goldilocks finding the perfect bed. The room was feminine, and delicate, and inviting. So incredibly inviting. No other room in the house had seemed inviting, but this one did, and Ellie was suddenly curious as to why it was here.

  Checking the drawers and closet, she couldn’t find any sort of sign that somebody used the room regularly, so she supposed that it was uninhabited. Too bad if it wasn’t, whoever’s room this was would be kicked out. If she had to be married to such a controlling and pompous man as Zachary McCormack, she should at least get the right to demand whatever room she wanted for herself.

  Examining the area, she found her smile widening. The lavender and pale cream coloring was perfect, and Ellie smiled genuinely for the first time since entering the enormous abode. As with every other room this had its own private bathroom, and Ellie raised her brows at the full bath that was there.

  Taking in her surroundings, she noticed the claw-foot bathtub as well as the large double shower and realized that the room had to have been designed for a woman. Thinking that over, Ellie could come to only one conclusion: the room had belonged to Zachary’s mother. She knew what everyone knew about the former Mrs McCormack, that she’d been spoiled richly by her husband but had left him and her son years ago.

  Nobody was entirely sure what had happened. Some said that she became resentful of the time the man spent working, others said that she’d had an affair and ran off. Other reports were that she’d had a mental breakdown, and one of the magazines had speculated that either she’d killed herself due to her unhappy life, or that the late Duncan McCormack had even killed her.

  Ellie didn’t believe either of the last two speculations, but she could understand a woman needing more from her husband than just his money and possessions. Looking at her own situation showed Ellie a glimpse of how lonely life was going to be for her.

  Shaking her head to dispel thoughts of the long and dreary looking road in front of her, Ellie instead took in her surroundings and smiled again. Yes, she would definitely be much happier with this room to keep her occupied in. There was a good chance that she’d spend most of her time in this room, and the kitchen if she could find it, and if she were welcome there. Zachary probably had a cook that wouldn’t want anyone interfering in their personal space.

  Sighing again, Ellie moved over to the window and took in the sight outside. Not only was this the most perfect room she’d seen, but it had the most exquisite view of the back of the house and the gardens there. Ellie had never had a garden before, but she’d always loved walking through any of the parks in the city. With everything covered in snow she couldn’t see much of the foliage, but she could tell that the grounds were well tended and manicured and she knew that it would be a pleasure to sit outside.

  There were benches scattered around the formal garden area, and Ellie knew where her favorite place was going to be. Just there. Under a large oak sat a stone bench at the edge of the formal gardens. It was secluded and yet had wonderful views around it. Being as far away from the house as it was, she knew that she’d be able to imagine herself far away from her current life and instead somewhere peaceful and free.

  With nothing else to do to occupy her time, Ellie decided to head out there now. Her fur-lined white cloak that matched her dress was downstairs, and she’d grab that before sitting out in the fresh air. It might be November, and she might have on incredibly impractical shoes, but she couldn’t just sit in this room doing nothing. She didn’t even have any of her belongings to put away, and she had no idea where they’d gone to.

  No, right now she needed to escape, and her bench was just the place to do so.

  * * *

  “Congratulations,” a masculine voice said from the doorway, and Zach looked up to see one of his closest friends standing there.

  “What brings you ‘round, Josh?” Zach asked with a smile on his face.

  “You mean apart from wishing you well on your nuptials?” he asked with a smirk before he entered the room further and settled into one of the chairs opposite Zach’s desk. The reminder of his marriage had Zach wincing, but he tried to hide the reaction from a man who knew him so well.

  “You said that you couldn’t make it,” he pointed out instead.

  “I couldn’t earlier. Previous engagement that I couldn’t get out of. And very lucrative I might add. But I thought that I’d swing by and just leave you a gift and my well wishes. Little did I realize that I’d get to give them in person,” he said as he raised a brow before looking at Zach’s desk in front of him. “Why exactly are you sitting here working, on your wedding day?” he asked, and Zach shrugged.

  “I’ve got a lot to do,” Zach explained.

  “You always have a lot to do. Leaving it for one day while you spend it with your brand new wife won’t be the end of the world,” he suggested, and Zach shrugged again.

  “She understands the value of work. She knows that I need to work hard to make the business successful.”

  “Zach, buddy, I can guarantee that any woman is going to be a mite resentful of her groom spending their wedding day in his study with work instead of in their bed together,” Josh pointed out, and Zach shifted uncomfortably. He hated lying, especially to those he was close to, and they didn’t get much closer than Josh. But he couldn’t tell the man the truth about it all.

  “Ellie’s not like most brides,” Zach said cagily. No, this one didn’t want her groom’s company at all, just his money.

  “I’ll say. She’s a fox, isn’t she?” Josh said with a whistle. “I thought I was seeing an angel earlier before I realized who the stranger dressed all in white would be. And that hair. I just want to tangle my hands in it,” Josh added, and Zach frowned at the man. He might know that he didn’t love his wife, but his friend didn’t. “How’d you snag her anyway? And how’d you meet? You were never very clear about that.”

  “Her dad introduced us,” Zach said.

  “Who’s her dad?”

  “No one you’d know. Just a vague acquaintance.”

  “And it was love at first sight, huh? Well I could see how that would happen,” the man smiled, and Zach narrowed his eyes at him. “Whoa there, buddy,” Josh laughed, obviously catching Zach’s look. “I just meant that for someone so unspontaneous, I can understand how … Ellie was it?” he asked, and Zach nodded. “How Ellie could snag your attention.”

  “Wait. Where’d you see her?” Zach asked suddenly.

  “Wandering the gardens.”

  “In her wedding dress?” Zach asked in concern. It was freezing outside and that dress didn’t have much to it. He didn’t need his wife getting sick as soon as he’d married her, he’d probably end up getting sued for neglect.

  “She had some sort of cloak over the top of it, but I would guess so. I just caught a brief glimpse as I came into the kitchen,” he added, and Zach frowned but let the matter lie. “Why’s she still in her dress anyway? You’d have thought she’d have put something else on instead of getting back into it,” Josh mused.

  “Getting back into it?” Zach asked in confusion.

  “Well yeah. Pauline was telling me that as soon as the front door closed you were dragging her up to your room,” Josh said with waggling eyebrows. “Why aren’t you still there cuddling her close?”

  “Work,” Zach said gruffly before looking down at his desk again. As much as he was attempting to ignore his friend he couldn’t help but feel the man’s eyes on him as he did so. “What?” he eventually asked as he looked up at his friend’s bemused expression.

  “You left a warm woman to come down to your study and work? How long did you even spend with her, Zach? Women don’t want a man to scamper away as soon as possible.”

  “I didn’t scamper away,” Zach sighed, resigned to have the following conversation even if he didn’t want to.

  “She left you?” Josh asked. “What happened?” he asked in concern. “Didn’t it go well?” Josh asked, and Zach only laughed at that.r />
  “Well that’s an understatement,” Zach said.

  “Ah heck, Zach. It was your first time. You’ll figure it all out better next time. I’m sure everything will get better over time. Just keep on –”

  “And you know this through all of your vast experience on the matter, do you?” Zach asked with a quirk of his brow. Josh had about as much experience as Zach did in the matter. Which was exactly none, with the exception of some heavy kissing when they were younger and susceptible to the lure of girls. Nowadays they were both far too focused on their careers to even have spent any time doing that.

  “Don’t be an idiot, Zach, everyone knows that,” Josh reprimanded.

  “Uh huh.”

  “They do. Look it’s common knowledge that a guy’s first time isn’t exactly his best. So if she’s disappointed just try again and I’m sure –”

  “Josh, I don’t need to try again. She wasn’t disappointed,” Zach said.

  “Then … well, then I don’t understand. Why’d she leave?” Josh asked with a furrowed brow.

  “She’s not disappointed, because nothing happened, Josh,” Zach said. There was no need to lie about that matter. The clause in their pre-nup meant that they’d have to be open about their sex life, no need to lie to his best friend about it all as well.

  “What? Why the heck not?” he asked in shock.

  “She refused,” Zach said with a shrug of his shoulders.

  “Refused? But you’re married. She married you, Zach. You don’t marry someone then refuse to sleep with them. What did you do?” he asked in confusion, and Zach looked at him in surprise.

  “Me? What makes you think I did something?” he asked, and Josh just sent him a knowing look. “What?”

  “You put work first again, didn’t you? You must have done or said something to make her think that she wasn’t as important as your legacy,” Josh surmised and sat back with a look of complete comprehension on his face.

  “Did you ever think that maybe it was just the way she wanted it? That I didn’t do anything and it was all her own decision?”

  “No,” Josh said with a shake of his head. “It was you. You were never good with girls. How you managed to get one to marry you I don’t know, but clearly you messed up with her,” Josh declared.

  “You haven’t even met her yet, Josh. You haven’t even spoken to her. You don’t know a thing about her,” Zach pointed out.

  “You’re right. I haven’t. But I don’t need to know her to understand the situation. It was most definitely you,” he said with a nod, and Zach just rolled his eyes.

  “Whatever,” he mumbled.

  “Good comeback. Way to defend yourself,” Josh teased. “So what’s the plan then?” he asked, and Zach looked up at him in question.

  “What plan?”

  “To get back in her good books,” he explained, and Zach just sighed again.

  “Things’ll be fine, Josh. Don’t worry about my marriage, okay? Get working on getting one of your own,” he teased.

  “I don’t have time for a wife right now. I’m too busy with my business. In a few years I should be comfortable enough to settle down, but for the moment it wouldn’t be fair on her. I’d just leave her lonely for too much of the time, and no woman wants that.”

  Zach smiled at that. He knew of one that did.

  * * *

  A tentative knock on his door had Zach looking up, and he found himself surprised at the figure there. He didn’t think that he’d be seeing his wife again today but apparently he’d been wrong, because she was standing in front of him.

  Looking at the clock, he realized that it was almost ten o’clock. After Josh had finally left, Zach had gotten wrapped up in his work and lost track of time. He wasn’t sure why Ellie was disturbing him now, but she obviously had a reason.

  “Can I do something for you?” he asked sharply and watched as the wariness in her eyes disappeared and her back straightened at his tone.

  “I was wondering where my things were,” she said primly and crisply, and he raised a brow at her. “Nobody seems to know where my stuff is. And I need it to go to bed. I can’t live in a wedding dress for the rest of my life,” she elaborated, and Zach shrugged.

  “Did you ask Pauline?”

  “Pauline?” she queried in confusion.

  “The housekeeper. She’s usually in the kitchen.”

  “The kitchen was empty earlier.”

  “I don’t know where your stuff is, Ellie, check my room. That would be the most likely place anyone would put it,” he offered and watched as she nodded before moving to turn around and head back out.

  Before she could get too far away though, Zach couldn’t help but call out, “I take it you found a room to your liking?”

  “Yes. Thank you,” she said hesitantly as she looked over her shoulder at him.

  “With regards to your things, you needn’t unpack it all,” he said and watched as she turned around fully while looking at him in question. “You’re my wife now, Ellie,” he elaborated, “you’ll be expected to dress like it.”

  “I don’t think so,” she said with a stiff back before her lips pinched together firmly, and Zach raised an eyebrow at her.

  “Well I do. I don’t need to be embarrassed because the quality of your clothing is below par. Besides which, you’ll need formal dresses for dinners that we’re expected to attend. Wear whatever you want around the house, but when you step foot outside of the front door you will do so in the guise of a true McCormack bride,” he cautioned and watched as her fists and jaw clenched.

  “And speaking of dinner engagements,” he continued, “there’s a charity Thanksgiving dinner scheduled for the Wednesday after next, the day before the holiday. I’ll tell Pauline to take you out shopping sometime this week for your new appropriate wardrobe. And don’t forget to be on your best behavior,” he added.

  “Contrary to the way you treat me, Mr McCormack,” she gritted out at him, “I am not a child to be ordered around.”

  “Oh I’m full aware of the fact that you’re no child, Ellie. And I told you to call me Zach,” he said sternly.

  “Is that an order, Mr McCormack?” she said sweetly through gritted teeth with those same blazing green eyes of hers.

  “Honey, it’s whatever you want to call it. I don’t rightly give a damn, just as long as you obey it,” he said with just as much false sweetness and had the pleasure of seeing her eyes flash at his term of endearment.

  Abruptly turning away from him, Ellie made to march off, and Zach couldn’t help but get one last dig in at her.

  “’Night, honey,” he called out after her and watched as her steps faltered and her shoulders rose as she breathed in deeply in an obvious effort to calm herself.

  Zach smiled to himself. He might be stuck with the woman, but he could enjoy himself at her expense. And he’d just found the perfect way to do so. The Beast. He knew what people called him, and for once he was going to embrace the persona.

  Insufferable man. Dictatorial pain in the butt. Controlling overlord!

  Ellie mentally called her new husband every unseemly name under the sun that she could think of as she marched up the stairs once more to locate her things.

  The man was an utter boor. The less they had to do with each other the better for all concerned. Unfortunately all of the conditions of the darn pre-nup meant that she couldn’t get away from him. She was well and truly shackled, and she was suddenly wondering if facing the man’s wrath might be the preferable option to it all.

  Ellie stopped in her tracks and closed her eyes on that thought. No. As much as she was dreading the forthcoming years she knew that this prison was better than a real one. And there was her dad to think of in it all as well. What would Zachary do to her father if she didn’t cooperate? Ellie wasn’t sure, and she didn’t even want to think of it.

  With a sigh and heavier steps, she continued on her mission to locate her things, though why she was bothering to put in the effort s
he wasn’t too sure. She didn’t have much anyway, and loath as she was to admit it, the man had been right, she would need a whole new wardrobe. She didn’t own anything befitting Zachary McCormack’s wife.

  She’d have to fill her wardrobe with designer names and high quality ensembles. As for formal dresses, she’d definitely need some of those. There was nothing acceptable at all in her meagre possessions. Jeans, t-shirts, and sweatshirts were her standard attire when she wasn’t working. And her working attire would most definitely not be appropriate.

  With another resigned sigh, Ellie conceded that she’d have to do the man’s bidding. The thought of accepting any material possessions from him left a bitter taste in her mouth but she knew that she didn’t have anywhere near the means to provide the requisite clothing for herself. She’d have to accept her husband’s charity in this instance.

  Entering the man’s chambers, Ellie glanced over her shoulder warily, not wanting a repeat performance of earlier in the day. When she saw that the hallway was clear she hurriedly entered the bedroom and searched about for her things.

  Noticing her shabby cases and bags at the side, Ellie sighed. As helpful as the act was, the fact that somebody had unpacked all of her stuff was unwelcome at the moment. Now she’d have to repack her things in order to move them to her own room.

  Acknowledging that time was of the essence, and that she had no idea how long she had before her husband decided that he was going to come to bed, Ellie just got on with the task at hand and hurriedly stashed all of her things wherever they would fit. When her luggage was full, she hastily exited the room and made her way quickly down the hall to her own.

  Closing the door behind her, Ellie breathed a sigh of relief. It was amazing how quickly this room had become her sanctuary. She may have only been in it for the first time a few hours ago, but she already felt relaxed and happy inside.

  With a smile on her face, Ellie slowly unpacked her belongings and put them all away. Taking her time placing her photos of her mother and father had Ellie’s eyes watering. She couldn’t believe how things had turned out. Her dad seemed pleased for her and was expecting everything to turn out well in the end. She couldn’t understand it and could only conclude that the man needed the comfort of the belief.