Chapter 9

Written by Tita Calderón

Translated by Fay

There was a party at the Ardlay mansion in Chicago. Its gardens had been perfectly decorated and subtly illuminated to receive more than three hundred guests who would come for the engagement of one of the most coveted bachelors in the United States.

Dozens of servants were coming and going, finishing the smallest detail in order to give the deserved enhancement to such a great event.

The first to arrive were the closest relatives, although not the most estimated ones: the Leagans.

The enormous doors opened wide and the butler solemnly announced their arrival. In the hall, a couple of servants took carefully their coats and then led them to the grand parlor where their hosts were waiting for them.

Great Aunt Elroy led the reception. Her dress was as austere and elegant as herself, and she was wearing discreetly the Ardlay family's impressive jewels that were the envy of most of the ladies of the high society. Her usually cold eyes seemed now warm.

Next to her was the heir of the Ardlays, the powerful William Albert Ardlay, wearing a navy blue Italian suit that enhanced his natural elegance and his imposing presence. Candy was with him, elegantly dressed in silk from head to toe. Her dress had certain touches that subtly enhanced her sexy curves that made men at her side tremble slightly. Luckily her dress hid the plaster she had been wearing for a week, although the crutches were giving her away. By her side was Archie, elegantly dressed as always, with a dazzling smile, much more relaxed than the rest of the family.

One by one, the guests were arriving, as punctual as if they were English. There was even a small line waiting outside while everyone was received with the same courtesy by the hosts.

The guests were people of the highest social level and with much economic and political power. Candy had to prove that she knew how to behave according to the occasion.

That was the first time she participated as a host in something so formal and elegant. From time to time her nervousness betrayed her and she inadvertently changed the noble titles of one or another guest as she greeted them.

She could feel what awaited her when she would become the wife of the powerful William Ardlay. A great responsibility lay on her shoulders and she knew it. She was willing to go all the way through for Albert, only for him...

From time to time she looked stealthily at him...He was so tall...so handsome...He looked like an angel fallen from heaven. He was no longer the vagabond she had once met, nor the friend with whom she had shared that apartment, but the head of the Ardlay family, the imposing president of the Ardlay enterprises and her fiancé...

Albert felt Candy's gaze beside him. He turned instantly and smiled tenderly at her. Deep down he was afraid that so much formality would scare her...but she seemed very calm.

-"Are you all right?" he asked close to her ear, taking advantage of the fact that Aunt Elroy had delayed as she was greeting excitedly a friend of hers.

-"Yes," she answered, somewhat fearful that she would do something wrong.

-"Does your foot hurt?"

-"No, I'm fine."

-"If you feel tired, don't hesitate to tell me. There won't be any problem if you sit down," he insisted, still worried about her.

-"I will," she assured him with a slight smile. "For the moment I feel as cool as a cucumber."

Albert smiled as he turned to continue the formal greetings.

Candy sighed with satisfaction. Despite all his magnitude, he remained the same with her.

Several waiters were going around, carrying glasses of the best wine.

When at last they finished receiving the guests, Albert helped her delicately until they reached their seats.

-"Nervous?" he asked her with complicity.

-"Yes," she admitted. "And what about you?"

-"Me too."

-"Are you really nervous?" she asked incredulous.

-"Of course; this is the first time I'm getting engaged."

Candy laughed.

-"It is for me too."

-"Really?" he joked.

-"You are silly."

They laughed together.

Many people were looking at them with curiosity, some of them with cordiality, others with excessive interest and others with some envy. Nobody could deny that they made a nice couple.

The butler came close to Albert's ear to tell him it was time to announce the engagement.

-"Are you ready?" he asked her, unable to hide his slight euphoria.

-"I think so."

Her voice trembled; she was almost in panic.

It was true that there was a ring shining on her finger for a month now and that their engagement was a fact, but a public announcement was another matter.

The journalists of the most important newspapers in the whole country took their place as soon as the master of ceremonies requested everybody's attention. The engagement of one of the most powerful men of North America was something nobody wanted to miss.

Great Aunt Elroy, as the matriarch of the family, announced her nephew's engagement with her usual solemnity.

Candy was so nervous that instead of hearing Great Aunt Elroy's words she was hearing the frantic beating of her heart in her ears. She felt her hands beginning to sweat excessively and the plaster on her foot beginning to chop...and the worst thing of all was that all eyes were on her, carefully examining her.

That moment Albert began to speak and Candy's heart practically stopped. His voice sounded firm and clear throughout the grand parlor. The control he had over himself and the authority he had over the others were noticeable in his gestures.

-"I want to thank you, on behalf of the entire Ardlay family and especially on behalf of Candy and myself, for joining us in this moment which is so special to us."

Many applauses flooded every corner, while dozens of flashes captured the image of the couple from several angles.

After the traditional toast, a soft melody began to sound everywhere. People were looking at them expectantly.

Albert turned and with a manner very similar to that of kings he asked her to dance. Candy held her dress and was going to extend her hand but she stopped. How on earth was she going to dance with her foot plastered?

-"My foot is in plaster," she whispered, with her eyes wider than usual.

-"Leave that to me," answered Albert with a smile that erased the last five seconds from her life.

Albert held her by the waist, gently and firmly at the same time and with a movement almost imperceptible for the rest of the people he let her stand on his shoes and began dancing...

Candy was practically floating in every sense of the word...not only because her feet weren't touching the floor, but also because Albert had her as close to his body as he had never had any other person in his life...

That closeness caused strong shudders in her body and an excessive warmth through her skin...But that warmth wasn't oppressive; it was rather fascinating. She didn't want him to let her go, ever.

Albert was looking deeply into her eyes. It was the first time he had her so close to him. Her curves adjusting to his body caused a sensation both pleasant and torturing.

Any word escaping him at that moment would be absurd before such proximity.

That proximity subtly evaporated the feeling which was growing strong in those two hearts that began to beat as if they were one; that feeling which each one of them vainly attempted to hide, ignoring that despite not being openly exposed, it was there, present, as strong and indestructible as the hardest of metals and as subtle as if it were mist. It was present and it couldn't be touched.

How could they explain everything they felt? How could they detain everything that was brewing inside them?

They felt dragged to unknown waters, where, at the slightest carelessness, they would lose what little sanity they had left...It was almost impossible for each one of them to resist the magnetism of the other.

Why was she looking at him like that? There was so much longing, so much tenderness in her eyes, that she made him feel imprisoned.

Why was he looking at her like that? There was so much passion in his eyes, so much warmth, that she was melting like butter.

That proximity said so many things and at the same time it concealed just as many.

-"Would you like to take some rest?" asked Albert, in an attempt to silence the feeling that was struggling to materialize at that moment.

-"No...not yet," she said, enchanted by that heaven which was enveloping her.

Albert raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. Their eyes met in a different way. For a moment, he had the feeling that she suspected he was boiling inside, like an ocean of fire. He came closer to her until he brushed her golden curls. His secret needed to come out of his lips at that precise moment...

-"Candy..." he said firmly.

-"Oh, forgive me; I'm sorry," apologized Candy in distress, interrupting the confession. "Your feet must be killing you."

How could she forget that she was standing on Albert's feet? She was so thoughtless.

-"Don't worry about my feet, you're almost weightless...I believe that plaster weighs more than you do..."

He smiled as his secret was silenced again.

Candy smiled sadly. She didn't want to be a burden for Albert...well, not any more than she already was...

-"We'd better take some rest...We have danced two pieces in a row," she suggested.

-"If that is what you want," Albert said reluctantly.

She only managed to nod. His gaze made it almost impossible for her to speak.

He carefully led her to their seats, holding her by the waist. People were watching them with excessive attention, analyzing every detail of the Ardlay heir and his fiancée.

Several people came to talk to them about various topics, in a clear attempt to get to know better the woman who had been able to conquer the indomitable heart of the patriarch of the Ardlays. However, some businessmen took advantage of that to talk about business with the tycoon, and when that happened, Candy entertained herself watching the people who were dancing.

She looked around until she spotted Archie and Annie dancing. She fixed her eyes on their faces. Annie was looking at him with so much love but Archie's look was different, more distant.

Then she remembered how that relationship had begun...Archie was about to tell her something...when Annie interrupted them bursting into tears. Since then, they had always been together...as if by obligation. She turned away, looking for Albert...He had moved a few steps away from her.

Was she doing the same thing with Albert?

Albert's eyes met her at that precise moment. He didn't let her out of his sight. The warmth of his gaze was so real that she could almost feel it. Suddenly Candy felt like caressing his face, like touching his skin...She had never felt this for anyone...neither for Anthony...nor for Terry...Her fingers felt the aching need to touch him. She smiled at him with desolation, thinking that what she felt for him would never be reciprocated. Her heart was beating wildly every time he looked at her, preventing her from thinking clearly.

Albert sat next to her a few minutes later, apologizing for leaving her alone.

-"Would you like to dance?" he asked her, yearning to have her close to him again.

-"Yes...but I'd better not..." she answered hesitantly.

-"Why not?"

-"I don't want to make your feet flat," she admitted.

Albert laughed heartily, unwittingly attracting the looks of the people.

He was a kind and friendly man, but it was very rare to hear him laughing like that.

-"Candy, the worst that can happen to me is a bunion."

-"Albert!" she complained with a smile.

-"You'd better come along," he said, while he was getting up and taking her hand. "Let's dance," he assured her, as he helped her stand up.

-"All right, but don't blame me later for your flat feet or for the bunions you'll surely get," she joked.

Albert laughed again.

-"That will be my responsibility," he declared with a wide smile, winking at her.

That closeness was dizzying, addictive and tormentingly fascinating. From time to time, one or another flash took them out of the enrapture in which they were submerged with their proximity to each other.

Nobody except themselves could deny that they seemed to be in love with each other. As the saying goes, nobody is more blind than the one who doesn't want to see.

Archie was looking at them with curiosity...They were closer than any other dancing couple, but something called his attention. Candy was taller than usual. He lowered his eyes a little and smiled at the discovery that she was standing on Albert's feet.

He took the cup that was near him. He smiled regretfully when he remembered the great love he had always kept in his heart for that girl who had managed to conquer the hearts of all the Ardlays: Anthony's, Stear's, Archie's, even that intractable Neal's. Everybody had been charmed by her smile. It was impossible for Albert not to fall for her too...

But only one had managed to conquer her: Albert. The way she was looking at him simply expressed adoration which was reflected in her green eyes. She hadn't even looked at Granchester like that. That was good.

But it was useless to dwell on that love now...It would always be an impossible love for him, a platonic love...At least he would see her happy beside his uncle and not suffering beside that conceited Granchester. He smiled with relief when he realized that it made him immensely happy to see her with Albert. It was time to free his heart of unattainable feelings. He turned his face and looked tenderly at Annie, who instantly corresponded.

Candy went to the dressing table with the help of her crutches. Before leaving, she looked at herself in the mirror for a few moments. Her finger traced slowly each one of her freckles, especially those on her nose. She had never complained about having them, despite the fact that she had been teased about them a long time ago. She looked steadily at her reflection in the mirror...Albert had never teased her about them...

Would he find them pretty? She wanted to be pretty for him...

She brought her hand to her cheek and then she remembered regretfully the blows she had received in her life...Anthony was the first one who had slapped her when she had fallen into the waterfall... Of course it had been her fault but...She shook her head a little and her memories brought her back to Scotland when Terry had given her another slap after she had slapped him first...She rubbed a little that spot, somehow distressed...and then a comforting feeling filled her again when she remembered two big, strong hands that always caressed her with excessive tenderness, as if she were made of glass... Albert was always tender with her...always...

She closed her eyes for a moment, letting out a deep sigh. How could she prevent that feeling from growing, when it was fed by unique and incomparable details?

She opened her eyes with a smile and saw in the mirror that they were shining more brightly every time she thought about him.

When she left the dressing table, her smile was instantly erased as she found herself face to face with Eliza. How unfortunate.

-"Candy, you'll never stop being a stable girl," she said, looking scornfully at her.

-"I'm sorry, Eliza, I didn't hear you."

-"Of course you did. Only you could think of presenting yourself to such an important event with your foot in a plaster."

-"It wasn't planned. Excuse me."

She lifted her head. She wouldn't be intimidated by that harpy. She tried to avoid her.

-"Not so fast," said Eliza, getting in her way. "Do you think Uncle William is marrying you for love?" she asked contemptuously.

-"I don't think that..." admitted Candy with a lump in her throat.

-"You don't?"

Eliza smiled triumphantly.

-"I'm sure of that."

Of course, she didn't believe it herself, but somehow she had to counterattack Eliza's poisonous remarks.

Eliza felt angry. How could she be so sure about that?

-"Terry didn't fall into your trap, so you've decided to catch the big fish, right?" she continued.

-"You are crazy, Eliza."

-"No, I'm not," Eliza assured her, seeing Annie approaching. "Enjoy your evening...because very soon your dream will be over."

She turned her eyes to the left on purpose, so that Candy would look there too.

Eliza wanted her to see Albert who was talking pleasantly to a woman almost as tall as he was. She looked like a model.

-"No doubt Elizabeth measures up to the circumstances more than you do," she snapped with superiority and with a haughty look in her eyes.

Candy looked at Albert, feeling uncomfortable. She remembered that woman with the mellow voice whom she had seen at Eliza's ball. And she was the one who had been suggested as a bride for Albert by the Council of the Ardlays. For a moment she felt like crying. But she wouldn't let Eliza see that.

-"Albert asked me and not her to marry him," she said, clinging to her crutches. "If he had wanted to be with her, he would have accepted the suggestion of the Council to marry her, but he didn't." – She straightened up as much as the crutches allowed her. –"I hope you keep enjoying the party, Eliza, because you may not receive any invitation for MY WEDDING," she declared.

-"What...?" stammered Eliza in panic.

Annie intercepted them the moment Candy was dodging Eliza.

-"Are you all right, Candy?" she asked when she saw that she was more flushed than usual.

-"I'm fine, Annie..."

She took a deep breath. She wanted to get out of there but she could not. It was her engagement party. She had to behave according to the circumstances.

Albert had seen the encounter of Candy and Eliza from a distance.

-"Excuse me, Elizabeth."

-"Please, William, don't tell me you're going to leave me so soon? Besides, you owe me a dance."

She smiled with feigned innocence. She knew Eliza was going to delay William's supposed fiancée so that she could seduce him.

-"I'm sorry, Elizabeth, but I've promised Candy that I would dance only with her. Excuse me," he apologized again.

Elizabeth was a manipulative woman, and Albert had known that since the first time he had met her. And he also knew that her interest in him had to do with his social status and his money. But he was not a puppet on a string...He knew what he wanted and that was a blonde girl with freckles and green eyes who had just had a very unpleasant meeting. He walked towards her.

-"Is everything all right?" he asked her as she was trying to sit down.

-"Yes..." she answered, somewhat surprised when she saw him beside her, helping her with the crutches and her seat.

-"What did Eliza tell you?"

-"You know her...She's always so subtle..." she said, trying to joke.

Albert was looking steadily at her.

-"How subtle was she this time?" he asked again, more emphatically.

Candy looked away, avoiding Albert's eyes. She didn't want him to notice the bad time she had just passed...

To her astonishment she discovered that Eliza and that Elizabeth were whispering in a corner. Those two were conspiring.

It was true that she had always put aside her happiness for the happiness of others...That's why she had left Terry that cold winter night in New York. But now it was different...because she needed Albert as she needed air to breathe...Now she was willing to fight hard in order to get what she had always been denied. Love.

-"Eliza told me that Elizabeth is more worthy of being your fiancée than I am..." she confessed with a sigh.

That moment Eliza was looking over her friend's shoulder towards Candy's table. She had to take a step back when she met her uncle's fiery gaze. She swallowed hard. That cursed orphan couldn't possibly have told him everything...

The front pages of all the newspapers in the whole country covered the news of the magnate's engagement with large headlines and photographs that gave a clearer idea of the great event that had taken place in Chicago.

-"I can't believe it!" said Candy in astonishment, looking with her eyes wide open at her picture in all the newspapers. "Everybody is talking about our engagement!" she added incredulously.

-"It's natural, Candy," answered Archie seriously. "You have just disillusioned the matchmakers in the whole country."

And he laughed.

Albert smiled patiently and shook his head. For a moment he imagined himself taking up Candy's crutches and throwing them at his nephew's head.

Each was holding a different newspaper. Even Aunt Elroy was reading carefully all the comments about the party, ascertaining with her own eyes that there were not negative remarks and congratulating herself on having organized it so well.

-"Everything was perfect," she declared with a satisfied smile, closing the last newspaper she had just finished reading.

Of course, if Candice hadn't had her foot in a plaster, it would have been quite perfect, but Aunt Elroy had to admit that the girl knew how to behave. Her lessons had somehow helped her although much more still needed to be done.

Candy smiled with relief. At least she hadn't made a mess of it as she had done in her presentation years ago.

-"Of all the comments I have read," continued Aunt Elroy with a smile, "what I like the most is that of the New York Times. Even if the photograph is too...revealing..."

-"Who's got the New York Times?" asked Candy with curiosity.

Albert raised his eyes amused and looked at her over the newspaper he was holding in his hands.

-"I have," he replied, closing it and walking towards her to hand it to her.

-"But you are reading it, aren't you?"

-"I have finished it," he assured her gently. "You are right, Aunt," he agreed smiling, as he was giving the newspaper to Candy. "The best photograph is that of the New York Times," he added mischievously.

Candy looked at the photograph and her eyes opened wide. They had been captured the moment they were dancing with their foreheads almost touching each other...Did they seem to be in love?

No, she was the one who seemed to be very much in love. She blushed instantly.

Albert smiled widely, remembering that exactly that moment he was about to confess his feelings to her...

-"This photograph was a little...indiscreet," added the old lady immediately.

-"You are right, Albert," interrupted Archie. "This photograph is the best of all."

Archie was standing beside Candy, looking at the photograph.

-"I think you should ask for the negatives from the newspaper and enlarge it...You look so much in love with each other..." he finished, letting out a sigh in a theatrical manner.

Albert laughed, trying to diminish the effect of Archie's words.

-"Be quiet, Archibald," added Aunt Elroy, somewhat uncomfortably.

-"But they're getting married...What's wrong if everybody thinks they're in love?" Archie continued.

Albert and Candy couldn't help blushing.

That photograph was simply the materialization of a feeling that was palpable in the air...

In New York, in the dressing room of one of Broadway's most famous actors, a man with blue eyes was looking incredulous at the same photograph. His hands wrinkled that newspaper with restrained anger, throwing it against the mirror with the force of impotence...

Those words came to his mind.

-"He's the only one acceptable for Candy..."

To be continued...