The Lawyer's Contract Marriage

They tried to get her to say more, but Sam shook her head and beat a hasty retreat to the front door, where only Tom followed her.

‘Are you OK, Sam?’ he asked in concern, and it was nearly her undoing. She had to swallow furiously in order to answer.

‘I’m fine. Really. I’m furious with Tony, and upset for Mum and Dad, but we’ll muddle through as we always do. Now I really must go,’ she insisted, and hurried down the path, feeling his eyes on her back all the way.

Feeling as brittle as eggshell, Sam climbed into her car. Knowing that Tom was still watching, she drove off, but, having turned a couple of corners, she pulled the car over and turned off the engine. She sat back, and her head dropped in defeat. What could she do? How could she live with herself if she turned her back on her parents and let them suffer for their wayward son? She wished she could do it, for she didn’t want to have to give Ransom up, but it wasn’t in her. Her parents had sacrificed so much to give their children a better life, and it was about time someone did something for them. The burden had fallen on her shoulders, and she had to be the one to make the sacrifice.

Her eyes burned with the sting of unshed tears as she thought of what she had to do. It was going to break her heart, but when she told Ransom why she was going to marry Leno Grimaldi she was sure he would understand that she had no choice. Her family had to come first. She drew in a shaky breath. Would it be too much to hope they could part as friends? Honesty forced her to admit it probably was. Life simply didn’t work that way.

Yet she couldn’t dwell on that and do what she had to do. So she took several deep breaths and pulled herself together. She had things to do, and they would set in motion a course of events that would be irreversible.

Sam knew where Leno Grimaldi lived, and she drove right over there despite the advancing hour. Leno answered the door to her knock himself, and much to her relief he didn’t look the least bit smug or self-satisfied. He was politeness itself as he invited her in.

‘Sam, my dear, it’s so lovely to see you. Come in. Come in. You’ll find your brother in the lounge,’ he declared warmly, making it seem as if there were nothing out of the ordinary about this visit. ‘This way,’ he went on, pointing to a half-open door.

When she walked into the extremely elegant room, her brother Tony shot to his feet, looking pale and worried. ‘Hi, Sam,’ he greeted her, trying to sound cheerful, but it foundered when he met the icy look in her eye.

‘Can I get you something to drink?’ Leno Grimaldi asked, but Sam shook her head. She hadn’t eaten, and alcohol on an empty stomach was inadvisable.

‘Thank you, no. I’d better keep a clear head.’

Leno Grimaldi smiled faintly. ‘Always wise when talking business,’ he agreed easily, indicating she should take a chair opposite her brother.

‘Business?’ Tony queried, looking from one to the other as they sat down.

‘Your sister is here to discuss your future,’ Leno explained to him. ‘And our own.’

Seeing her brother about to ask more questions, Sam cut him off. ‘For once in your life just sit there and be quiet. You’ve done quite enough,’ she snapped at him, then turned to the older man. ‘Forgive my bluntness, but I don’t think there’s anything to be gained by beating about the bush. Is this offer for real? If I marry you, you’ll replace the money Tony took?’ she asked baldly, and though he winced a little Leno inclined his head.

‘It will be my wedding gift to your family,’ he confirmed. ‘You agree?’

Sam looked at him, seeing a handsome middle-aged man who, for all his good points, was not above using her family’s crisis to his own ends. She felt nothing for him, but for her family she would marry the devil himself. ‘I agree,’ she said flatly, and heard a door slam in her mind, telling her there was no turning back now.

‘No, Sam! You can’t!’ Tony protested, suddenly seeming to realise what was going on. She looked at him, and registered the horror on his face.

‘I can and I am. But don’t think I’m doing it for you. This is for Mum and Dad. They deserve better than what you were going to put them through,’ she told him coldly.

Leno said nothing, merely rose to his feet. ‘The money will be replaced in the morning and we will not mention it again. However, there are some papers that I need you all to sign,’ he told her as he went to a bureau that stood against the wall and took a sheaf of papers from it.

This was something Sam hadn’t expected. ‘Papers?’

He smiled at her benignly. ‘Nothing serious. I’m sure you can appreciate that it would not be good for business if this incident, and the arrangements made to rectify it, should ever become public knowledge. Therefore this is a simple agreement that you will not tell anyone what has gone on here, with the exception of your parents and your brother. All of you will sign it and be bound by it. No one is to ever speak of it again. Should it get out, the debt will have to be paid in full. It is therefore in your own best interest, and that of your family, to say nothing. Is that understood?’

Sam realised that she should have known Leno would insist on something like this. He was first and foremost a businessman. He would not want this ever getting out, and that meant that she could not now tell Ransom the truth. The implications of that were something she could not think about right that minute. She had given her word and was caught. All she could do was agree and sign on the dotted line. Which she did, and then watched over her brother whilst he did the same.

‘Once your parents have signed, that will be that, my dearest Sam,’ Leno declared, taking her hand and kissing it gently. ‘And I…I promise you that I will do everything in my power to make you as happy as you have made me.’

Sam closed her eyes momentarily, as for a fleeting moment she was made achingly aware of what she would be giving up. However, her family was everything. They needed the help only she could afford them. So she cleared her throat. ‘I shall do my best to be a good wife to you, Leno. However, there is one other thing I would ask of you.’

If he was surprised he did not show it. ‘Name it.’

‘I would like us to be married as quickly as possible.’ Now that she had given her word she did not want to have too much time to think.

Leno smiled and took both of her hands in his this time. ‘Ah, we think alike, you and I. I will make the arrangements. Then, after we are married, we will take a long honeymoon in Italy. I have always wanted to go back home one day. I will show you where I grew up. You will love it there.’

Right then Sam didn’t know if she would ever care for anything again, but she agreed with his plan. Frankly, it didn’t matter where they went or what they did, for she would only be going through the motions. Her life had just changed for ever.

All Sam wanted to do was leave, but she didn’t know how to. Having just agreed to marry this man, how could she simply walk out? Whether he realised her discomfort or not, it was Leno who came to her rescue.

‘I’m sure you will want to take your brother home and tell your parents what has happened here tonight. We will have dinner together Saturday to discuss our plans, my dear Sam,’ he said conversationally as he walked them to the door. ‘Ah, and please tell your father I will call on him tomorrow. Good night, my dear,’ he added as he bent and kissed her on either cheek.

Sam had braced herself for the brush of his lips on hers, but this he did not do, and she was grateful for his forbearance. ‘Good night,’ she responded gruffly, and, taking Tony by the arm, hustled him to where she had parked the car.

She drove her brother back to their parents’ house, and it was only then that he spoke.

‘I’m sorry, Sam,’ he apologised. ‘I got in over my head and I didn’t know what to do.’

Sam looked at his forlorn figure and was torn between justifiable anger and love. ‘You were lucky this time, but don’t expect that to happen again. You have to stop gambling, Tony, and if that means seeking help, then get it.’

He drew in a shaky breath. ‘I will. I promise. Are you coming in?’

She shook her head. ‘Not now. You tell Mum and Dad what happened, and what Leno said. I’ll phone them tomorrow.’

Tony climbed out, then bent down to look in at her. ‘Oh, God, Sam, have I ruined your life?’

Sam felt pain tear through her as she heard his words. Though she felt like crying, she managed to shake her head. ‘Hey, you know what they say. Life is what happens whilst you’re making other plans. Now go in. Don’t keep them worrying any longer. Remember, say nothing to the others.’

‘I won’t let you down, Sam. I promise,’ he told her, then squared his shoulders and went inside.

Alone in the car, Sam closed her eyes for a moment, then put the car in gear and drove off. How could she tell her brother he had ruined her life, even if he had? It wasn’t in her nature. All she asked was that he kept his promise. That he came good. For then any sacrifice would have been worth it.

By the time she reached her bedsit, it was late and she was exhausted. It didn’t help to have missed a meal, but she didn’t feel like eating. Glancing around her, she could see the things she had tossed here and there only that morning when Ransom had dropped her off. Then she had thought the whole of the future was theirs for the taking. Now she knew for ever had been a mere handful of hours.

Sinking onto the lumpy couch, she placed a trembling hand over her heart and could almost feel it breaking. Ransom. His name was an unremitting ache deep inside. She longed to see him, but dared not. Not until she knew what she was going to do. But she could talk to him. To hear his voice would pour some balm on the open wound where her heart had been.

Reaching for the telephone, she had to swallow hard before she had enough composure to dial his number. When he picked up and growled into the handset, a crystal tear blurred her vision.

‘Hi. Did I wake you?’ she asked softly, visualising him sitting up in bed and switching on the lamp so he could see the clock.

‘Sam? Is everything OK?’ Ransom queried immediately, seeing how late it was.

A lump started to grow in her throat, making it hard to speak. ‘Um-hmm. I just wanted to hear the sound of your voice.’ Had needed it so badly. ‘How did it go today?’

‘The jury’s still out. We’re hoping for a result tomorrow. How was dinner with your family?’ he asked, stifling a yawn at the same time.

She wanted to cry out that the sky had fallen in, but couldn’t. ‘Noisy, as usual. I would rather have been with you.’ How she wished she had never gone home tonight, but it would only have put off the inevitable. Had she not gone to her parents, then they would certainly have come to her.

‘They sound like my kind of people,’ he said, and she could hear the humour in his tone. ‘Next time I’ll join you, then you won’t have to miss me.’