“I want you to stay with me,” she said. “I love you, I love you, and when I told Papa that we were so happy together, he was delighted. He said you were just the son-in-law he always wanted.”
Michael was too shocked to speak.
Son-in-law?
Taking advantage of his stillness, Alice slipped her arms about his neck.
“You don’t have to hide your feelings while we are alone,” she whispered, pulling his head down.
His lips were against hers.
‘If anyone should see us now,’ he thought wildly.
He tried to disengage himself without being brutal, but her arms were like ropes about him.
And then there was a loud yell from somewhere in the darkness.
“Good Heavens, what’s that?” he cried, managing to release himself at last.
“What does it matter?” Alice asked.
“It sounds like some creature in pa
