103. She Wanted Love

“Do you really think that I would want to marry a man who is old enough to be my grandfather? The answer is quite simply ‘no’.” Cyril Warner sat back in his chair. “Are you really so stupid, Eleta, as to think that is your final word?” “Of course it’s my final word. Have him on your Board, which I am sure is a very wise move, but I have no intention of marrying an old man and certainly not one who is marrying me for my money!” There was silence for a moment and then he said, “You have forgotten one thing.” “What can that be?” Eleta asked suspiciously “That I am your Guardian by Law,” her stepfather replied, “and you have to obey me until you are twenty-one. That, as I ascertained this morning, does not happen for nine months and by then you will be on my instructions married to the Duke of Hazelware.” Eleta stared at him. “Do you really intend to force me up the aisle with someone I have no wish to marry, an old man who is marrying me for what I possess and not for myself?”