Convenience

Part 9

David found himself reassessing his wife.

This woman didn't have any difficulty in standing up to him. She seemed remarkably calm. Unfazed by the fact that he had shown up unannounced after five years, unconcerned by the fact that he was creating a stir within five minutes of announcing his status.

It simply did not appear to bother her. David was surprised. This wasn't what he had expected. The woman he married would have fainted on the spot! He found himself scrutinising his wife more closely. What else had he missed? For he had clearly missed the fact she was beautiful, strong, resilient, feisty and self-possessed given the flare of temper in her jet black eyes that was reined in, for the moment. He studied her openly.

In her flat shoes she came up to just below his chin. Strange, he'd never been able to remember just how tall she was, or how slim. Her wedding photograph showed her temple reaching his chin, so obviously on her wedding day she had worn heels, given her temple was now just shy of his chin.

In her current outfit her figure was shown off to stunning advantage. On any other woman it may have looked drab. On her the simple but elegant lines looked chic. Her deportment together with her dress code shrieked class. How come he'd never noticed that before? Surely she hadn't changed that much in five years.

This close he could see that her lips were coated with a faint shade that seemed to match the natural colour of her lips, but added a touch of gloss. Her eyelashes were coated with mascara, and her eyes lined with precision to enhance the tip-tilt of her exotic eyes. He'd never noticed that tilt before. Nor the fact that her eyes were so dark it was difficult to distinguish her pupils. She had blusher on her cheeks, a bronze rather than pink, and it was difficult to see whether his sudden appearance had caused her any embarrassment.

She wore a light green perfume that again alluded to her elegance, and shrieked style. The perfume was so individually her. Different without being ostentatious.

It struck David as particularly odd that he was noticing things about his wife that he hadn't noticed five years ago. It wasn't as if they hadn't spent time together. They had. They'd travelled together, for hours. He'd been in her company when their grandparents had settled the details of the arrangement.

He remembered looking at her at the time, wondering why a young woman in this age would agree to a marriage of convenience. He had his reasons, which were aired openly. He wanted the Cardoso business to be in safe hands and financially sound. He wanted the company employees to know they had a future with him at the helm. He needed finances to achieve that, to dig the business out of the hole his father had created. That's why David agreed to marry Beatrice. But why had she agreed to this marriage of convenience? He'd never thought to ask at the time.

He remembered that she had kept practically mute for nearly the entire meeting when the wedding was discussed. At the time David decided that she must be incredibly shy, and possibly gauche, so no doubt an arranged marriage ensured she married. She was hardly likely to do the usual dating scene if she couldn't even speak up in public company. Her muteness sealed her fate as far as he was concerned. She wasn't going to be the type to be difficult. She didn't look high maintenance.

He saw her as a means to an end. One way to ensure the company survived. He knew their marriage would be short term, for she was a perfect example of a wife who'd be far from compatible. She'd never be able to hold her ground, never be able stand alongside him, never be able to be an equal partner, and that was what David wanted in a real wife. His wife would be a partner. So, from the moment he agreed to marry her, he knew their relationship was short term. He saw the money as a loan. He would repay the loan in full, with interest, in due course. And at that point they would go their separate ways.

It disconcerted David as he realised that he had waited years to repay the loan and ensure this farce of a marriage was at an end. It dawned on him that in reality he had almost forgotten about the terms of his marriage because he had almost forgotten his wife.