As they entered the living room, her father folded up the evening paper and rose to meet them, slipping his reading glasses into his shirt pocket.
"Hello, Rolt. Elinore said she thought it was your car that drove in behind Alanna," her father said with a smile of welcome. "Is it business or pleasure, I hope, that brings you here tonight?"
When the flat of his hand spread over the small of her back, Alanna couldn't help starting. Her gaze flew to his face, bright with resentment, telling him she would endure his touch but she didn't like it. Her heart turned over at the unbelievable warmth shining in his eyes that were regarding her so softly. She simply couldn't look away.
Careful, a voice warned, don't be taken in by his charm. Remember why you agreed to marry him. When you bring Rolt down, make certain you don't topple as well.
It was with an effort that she tore her gaze away from Rolt. A self-conscious light entered her violet eyes as she encountered the curious and puzzled expression of her father. She glanced swiftly at her mother sitting on the couch. Elinore Powell was eyeing the two of them with an expectant gleam.
"Tonight your daughter consented to be my wife," Rolt announced quietly. His gaze finally left her face to look at her father. "With your permission, of course.
The tacked-on phrase was a polite gesture. Alanna knew Rolt didn't care whether her parents approved of their marriage or not. And she knew she would marry him with or without their permission.
Dorian Powell was momentarily stunned by the news, but not her mother. She rose from the couch, her face wreathed in a smile as she hurried to embrace Alanna.
"I'm so happy for you, darling," she exclaimed in a voice trembling with emotion. Tears of happiness shimmered in her eyes. "You didn't fool me for a minute. I knew it all the time, didn't I?"
"Yes, mother," Alanna acknowledged, her gaze unwillingly sliding to meet Rolt's narrowed, questioning look.
"You knew it all the time, Mrs. Powell?" he smiled. His head was tipped curiously to one side, but Alanna noted the piercing sharpness of his eyes.
"Yes." Her mother stepped back, holding on to Alanna's hands as she smiled happily from one to the other. "Call it a mother's instinct or female intuition, but I just knew all along that Alanna was in love with you."
"You might have said something to me," Dorian Powell laughed with still a trace of bewilderment at the unexpected turn of events. "I am her father, you know."
"You would have accused me of being silly and sentimental if I had," her mother declared. "It was just that Alanna reminded me so much of myself. Remember how infuriated and angry I was, Dorian, when you first started coming to call. It didn't last long, though."
The dancing light in Rolt's eyes raised Alanna's temperature. She had to keep silent because of her parents, but she let her gaze tell him that she despised him heartily and forever.
"I remember," her father chuckled. "For such a petite thing, you had a man-sized temper and I felt the force of it many times. Alanna is like her mother in many ways."
Rolt's hand slid to the curve of her waist and drew her length against his side. Her fingers curled over his hand, unobtrusively trying to loosen his hold.
"Daddy, you're going to have Rolt thinking he's marrying a shrew with all this talk about temper and being angry," she scolded with a forced laugh.
"You mean, I'm not?" Rolt laughed near her ear.
She would have loved to scratch his eyes out at that moment. He was enjoying this situation tremendously and all at her expense.
"Of course she isn't," her father rejoined with a loving smile at his daughter. "I must say, Rolt, I really thought if I was going to be giving Alanna away in marriage to anyone in the near future, it would be Kurt. This has taken me completely by surprise. But, believe, me, I couldn't be happier with her choice."
"Thank you, Dorian. Neither could I." Rolt again treated her to one of these adoring looks that was underlined with mockery.
"Kurt," her mother murmured in sudden remorse. "Poor Kurt. He was so very fond of you, Alanna."
"Yes, mother, I know." The pain in her voice was genuine.
"I do hope he isn't bitter. He does know, doesn't he?" Elinore frowned.
Alanna couldn't answer the question. The mention of Kurt brought too much anger to her tongue. She closed her lips tightly to keep the rush of vindictive words from pouring out. Rolt had destroyed Kurt's happiness and her own to get what he wanted.
"We saw him tonight," Rolt answered, not explaining the circumstances.
"It was difficult for all of us, but I know it will work out for the best."
"Yes," her mother, agreed. "It would have been simply terrible if Alanna had married Kurt; then discovered she really loved you. Kurt might be hurt in the beginning, but he'll get over it."
"Yes, yes," her father nodded. "A little pain now is better than a lot of pain later." Sensitive as he always was, he recognized that the conversation made Alanna uncomfortable without knowing the true reason. "But there isn't any need to discuss that. Why don't we sit down? Elinore, maybe you could check to see if there's any coffee left and some of that delicious cake Ruth made. And tell Ruth the news, too."