“Last I heard I was.”
“Well, this is Sergeant Day at the Washington Police Department and we got a lady down here under arrest for shoplifting. Says she’s your wife.”
J.T. opened his eyes more fully. “Have you booked her?”
“Not yet. She says she’s valuable to the war effort, but then she’s sayin’ a lot of things. She’s too much of a screwball for us to make out. She says she has no last name and that she’s a queen and we’re to call her Your Majesty.”
J.T. ran his hand over his face. “Princess, and it’s Your Royal Highness.”
“How’s that?”
“Sergeant, it may seem hard to believe but she is valuable—at least to somebody. If you lock her up, it could cause a lot of problems with the government. Could you just put her in a room and give her a cup of tea? And give her a saucer with her cup.”
There was a pause from the sergeant. “You really marry this fruitcake?”
“Lord help me but I did. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“We’d sure appreciate your takin’ her off our hands.”
J.T. hung up the phone. “Who’s going to take her off my hands?” he mumbled.
Chapter Seven
ARIA sat in the chair in the glass-walled office in the police station and tried her best to ignore the gaping people on the other side of the glass. They had put a heavy white mug of what they had told her was tea beside her, but for some odd reason, they had put the cup in an ashtray. She hadn’t considered touching it.
The last few hours had been miserable, what with people touching her, shouting at her, and asking the same questions over and over—and they hadn’t believed her answers.
She was almost glad when she saw Lieutenant Montgomery’s unshaven face appear in the room outside. He gave her one quick, angry glance then was surrounded by all the people who had moments before been shouting at Aria. She wanted to see how an American handled these other Americans. He distributed several of the green money papers, signed some white papers, and all the while talked to the people, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying.
She was sure she could have done the same thing if she had just understood what they wanted. Perhaps it was going to be very easy to learn to be an American.
The crowd moved away from Lieutenant Montgomery and he strode toward her.
“Let’s go,” he growled after throwing open the door. “And not one word from you or I’ll let them have you.”
Aria held on to the box containing her nightgown and left the room, her head held high.
He didn’t speak to her on the way back to the hotel and constantly he walked in front of her. Once inside the room, he went to the telephone.
“Room service?” he said. “I want dinner sent up to the Presidential Suite. No, I don’t have a menu. Send me dinner for four, whatever you have, and a bottle of wine, the best you have in the cellar. Just hurry it up.”
Aria stood there blinking at him when he had hung up.
“Could you keep out of trouble for a while? All I want is a decent meal, some sack time, a shower, and I’ll be all right. Just give me that and maybe then I can tackle you and the U.S. government.”
Aria didn’t understand half of what he was saying, but she did understand that he planned to eat dinner now. She blushed. After dinner he would make her his wife.
“The woman who was my maid did not return. If you would draw my bath, I will ready myself,” she said softly.
“Haven’t even learned to fill your own bathtub yet?” he said with wonder in his voice. “Come on then and I’ll show you.”
She gave him a hesitant smile. “Don’t the maids of American wives draw their baths? Perhaps we should call Mr. Catton and ask for someone?”
“Honey, American wives don’t have maids, and from now on, neither do you. From now on you dress yourself, bathe yourself, and, what’s more, I’m going to teach you how to take care of a husband.”
Aria looked away to hide her red cheeks. He was a little rough, and more than a little rude as he showed her how to adjust the water, but she learned. He left her alone when room service knocked.
She took a long time in the tub, soaping herself and contemplating the coming event. Lieutenant Montgomery called to her twice that her food was getting cold but she still didn’t rush.