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Oh, no! Could it get any worse? This man was her new boss! How could that be? Not only had she married a man she didn't know, she married her boss! Now she'd done it, she'd be fired before the day was over! What a mess. She had no money for a round trip. She was flat broke after buying this stupid dress.
She looked down at herself. No wonder, it does look like a wedding dress!
He turned around and smiled. "I can't get over how beautiful you are. You take my breath away. That picture you sent certainly doesn't do you justice."
"Mr. Rogers," she began.
"Honey, we're married, you can call me Lance, now."
Her face turned almost red, her face contorting. "Lance, I think we need to talk."
"It's too late to back out now, we're married. Maybe it's a good thing I did rush you, as you are so shy." He grinned.
But just as she was about to tell him what a mistake he made, the preacher came in and she and Lance were whisked out of the room.
Lance gave the preacher something and was telling him how much he appreciated whoever decorated the church. Things a bride should be thanking him for. This was so wrong, but when would he stop talking long enough for her to explain? And there were so many interruptions.
Face it, you’re a coward! Trudy O'Toole, you are afraid to tell him. Because the minute you tell him, you'll be fired, and he'll be mad! And all hell might break loose.
In Missouri, where she came from, they didn't do things this way. Not even in New York where she was born.
How could she have gotten herself into such a mess. And how could he have mistaken her for his fiancée? Didn't he know what she looked like?
She looked down at the lace dress, oh dear God, it was the dress.
This dress had caused it all! Why had she bought it? What possessed her to wear it? It looked v
ery much like a wedding dress. At the time, it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. Why had she been such a fool to buy it? She'd spent most of the money she had for it. She only had enough money to buy her modest meals until reaching her destination. Now she was broke, married, and scared she'd lost her job. Still, she had only the right intentions. She wanted to present herself in a gracious manor. A little too gracious.
And there was a plausible reason for that too. All her life she'd worn rags, as her family was dirt poor. She had two dresses to her name, one was a riding shirt and vest, with a skirt and the other was a plain cotton dress. Which would impress no one. Now she had a chance to look and act like a real lady and she'd picked a dress that was unreasonable. Totally unreasonable. She saw things clearly now, why had it taken her so long? Why had she given into this dress? How could she have been so stupid? Still it had caught her eye, and for the life of her she couldn't squash the impulse to buy it. She'd needed such a lift after her father died. She'd become way too impulsive. She'd done without so long and that dress begged her attention.
Oh Pa, why did you go and die on me? Why did I have to have this dress?
Her father had died only a weeks ago, and she'd been in a hurry to find employment, as she couldn't pay the rent any longer. Her father being a drunk, he'd squandered his money most of his life. Trudy suddenly had to take care of herself. She needed some confidence, so she bought the dress thinking she'd make a good impression.
Well, she had, too good!
Would she have to go back to scrubbing floors? Her heart sank. How could she hold her head up and go back to that again? Her head began to pound. Her mouth wasn't working either or she'd have already blurted out the mistake.
But how could he mistake her for his beloved sweetheart? It made no sense!
They were sitting in a restaurant an hour later having one of the best meals she'd ever had in her life, steak, shrimp, baked potatoes, fresh greens and homemade rolls. He opened a bottle of champagne and poured her a glass.
She tried to refuse it, but he insisted. She'd tell him after the meal, at least she'd wouldn't go hungry. She'd spent everything but the last two dollars of her money, and she'd done that by skimping on meals. Maybe that's why she fainted. Her head was still spinning.
Her last two meals had been crackers and tea.
"It's our wedding night. It will relax you," he encouraged with a smile.
Oh God! She had to say something, and soon.
She almost choked when he said it.
"Lance," she tried to smile but fell short of it. I think you should know," she began. But another man in a nice fitting suit walked up to them and started talking to him. They must have known each other a while as they got into a heavy conversation about ranching problems. Suddenly he turned to her.
"I'm sorry sweetheart. This is my bride Pricilla Collins, I mean Pricilla Rogers now." He introduced her.
Again, her mouth opened, but the man was bowing and smiling, and the room was spinning again. She nodded, as they went on talking.
