Dare to be Mine Read Free

Elyssa's
self-condemning words in effort to save what little of his pride remained,
Percy latched onto that excuse to ridicule her. "Clumsy is right. But as
far as being naive, I rather doubt your innocence at your age."
    "I beg your pardon?" she asked
in confusion. escaped her lips and
as his l
    "One can only assume that a
twenty-one year old who must advertise for a husband is no longer chaste and
pure."
    "I resent your insinuation,"
she cried, unshed tears pooling in her eyes.
    "And that I have been made your
scapegoat makes me ill. Not only have I married tarnished goods, but I paid
dearly for the mistake."
    "Percy," her voice trembled,
"please do not say such cruel things. I beg your
patience with me."
    "Don’t worry, Elyssa. I shall not
make a fool of myself ever again where you are concerned. I will continue to
spend my nights in a cold, empty bed as I have for years." Leaving Elyssa
with one final thought, Percy continued, "As will you. If I ever hear that
you have cuckolded me, I shall see your reputation ripped to shreds and you'll
be out of this home begging your deceitful parents to take you back."
    The thick door slammed shut behind him
and Elyssa remained in bed, her eyes filled with tears as she recalled the
details of her brief wedding night. Feeling horrible that she'd hurt Percy,
Elyssa was likewise grateful that she had not had to see the deed through. The
thought of enduring such intimacy with Percy left her feeling great relief that
he would not ever force the issue again, by his own words.
    It was not a wonderful way to begin
married life, Elyssa mused miserably, but she would gladly trade an intimate
relationship with Percy for a simple life of merely running his household.
Surely that great task would keep her busy enough to make up for the lack of
her husband's attentions.
    The following morning Elyssa tried
apologizing once more but Percy refused to accept her gesture. He reminded
Elyssa he had gotten her message loud and clear, and their farce of a marriage
would be just that. The pretense of a contented marriage to
anyone that might be about. But within the mansion walls, Percy rarely
showed his young wife any consideration at all. She had wounded his male ego
beyond redemption and although he never spoke of it, it showed in his actions
everyday.
    Days slowly turned into weeks, and weeks
into months. Elyssa had not heard from her parents since the day they had sold
her into marriage. No doubt they were busy spending all the money Percy had
bestowed upon them. It was a certaintysophisticated hi dow that once the money was gone, they would
appear on Percy's doorstep asking for more. And Elyssa had no doubt he would
tell them to go to hell.
    Meanwhile, Elyssa excelled at running
the huge household, and she eagerly looked forward to the occasional visitor.
She did not love her husband, but over the months Elyssa came to feel a
reluctant admiration for him. She overheard more than a few business
conversations between Percy and his business associates, and found him to be a
shrewd negotiator. Too, he no longer seemed quite so ancient as he once had. Though his hair was sprinkled throughout with gray, and
a past injury required the aid of a cane when walking any distance, Elyssa had
become accustomed to Percy over the months and no longer thought of him as old.
    Elyssa believed that deep inside Percy
did like her, if only a little. That he admired her abilities in running his
mansion. Still, the damage she did on their wedding night was a constant
reminder and whenever Elyssa strived to engage Percy in a conversation of any
real content, he was quick to revert back to his stuffy former self, shutting
her out once more.
     
     
     
    ______________________
     
     
     
    Thus her plight, five months later, that
Elyssa's guilty conscience drove her to make a halfhearted attempt at seduction.
In all honesty she was lonely, and feeling not for the
first time that there had to be more to life than a common