Judith Stacy by The One Month Marriage Page A

for suggesting it.
    “I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “You’ve kept…things…to yourself for over twenty—”
    “No reason to count years,” Leona said quickly.
    Brandon grinned at her vanity. Like many women, Leona considered the subject of age taboo. But it had, in fact, been over twenty years since Brandon had come to know Leona. He, a child. She, a new bride. It seemed so long ago now. And Europe so far away.
    “Come. Sit.” She patted the arm of the chair beside the settee. “We’ll talk.”
    Brandon hesitated. Did he need to hear from another woman? Perhaps this one might actually help to make things better. He sat down.
    “All right, then,” Leona said, shifting on the settee as if settling in for a long stay. “As I recall, your wife returned only to announce that she wanted a divorce. You convinced her to stay, give the marriage another try.”
    Brandon nodded. “That’s correct.”
    “So what’s wrong? Isn’t she genuinely trying?”
    “No, actually, Jana is trying very hard,” Brandon said. “She’s taken over her duties and responsibilities at the house, just as I’d instructed.”
    One of Leona’s eyebrows crept upward. “You instructed her?”
    “Of course. That’s why she left. I was remiss in my duty as her husband in providing direction.”
    “Oh, Brandon, dear…” Leona exhaled heavily and rolled her eyes. “So what is she doing now?”
    “Everything I asked. Decorating the house, taking over with the servants, handling our social calendar.”
    “And you’re happy with this?”
    Brandon’s expression soured. “I’m miserable. She’s turned the whole house, my whole life, upside down.”
    A quiet moment passed before Leona spoke again. “It sounds as if your wife is planning to leave again.”
    An old familiar pain cut through Brandon causing a little groan to slip through his lips. Then he shook his head.
    “No. No, Jana wouldn’t do that,” he insisted. “She has no reason to leave again.”
    “Have you given her a reason to stay? ”
    Brandon rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know what you mean.”
    “Have you told her that you’re glad she’s home?”
    “Well, no…”
    “That you love her?”
    “She knows I love her,” Brandon said. “I married her, didn’t I?”
    “Have you told her you missed her?”
    Brandon turned away, the question causing his belly to ache more.
    Leona softened her voice. “Did you tell her that you stood by the window and watched for her? That you—”
    “No.” Brandon pushed himself out of the chair andstrode to the other side of the room, his back to Leona. She didn’t say anything else. She knew she’d hit her mark.
    “Your wife can go anywhere and perform the duties and responsibilities that are expected of her,” Leona said. “Have you given her a reason to stay with you?”
    “Damn…” Brandon turned away, pressing his lips together, struggling to hold in his stormy emotions.
    “You really want her to stay, don’t you?” Leona asked.
    “Of course I do,” Brandon said, a little too harshly.
    “Why?”
    “Because.” He drew in a breath, struggling for words. “Because I want a—a—”
    “A normal life?”
    “Yes.”
    “A home?”
    Brandon turned to face Leona once more. “Yes. A home,” he said, getting the words out with some effort. “That’s why I married her. Jana was the most loving creature I’d ever seen in my entire life. Full of caring and goodness, optimism and happiness. She made me believe love was possible. She embodied everything I’d ever hoped for, ever dreamed of.”
    “So why aren’t you trying harder to make things work?” Leona asked.
    “I am,” Brandon insisted. “I told you, I’ve given her direction. Explained her duties—”
    “Have you forgotten that the sweet, innocent young wife you remember has crossed the Atlantic and thecontinent twice? She’s lived abroad, made her own decisions, fended for herself and done so quite capably?”
    “Her aunt was