She met him at the door and evaded his sharp blue eyes when he greeted her, quickly bending down to give David a last hug before he went. 'Be a good boy for Pop now,' she murmured huskily, fighting to hold back a sudden rush of tears.
'Go on out to the car, David. Harper's there and he has something for you. I just want a word with your mother,' Owen said firmly.
David was off with a skip of excitement before Karen had even straightened up. She watched him go through a blur of tears. He was so happy. She could not say or do anything to mar that innocent happiness. She lifted her face reluctantly to Owen's.
His expression was hard and bleak and his words did nothing to ease the turmoil in her mind. 'I've liked you from the first time we've met, Karen. I couldn't believe Hal when he told me what you were doing. I know how you felt about Hal and I don't think those feelings could have changed so radically in so short a time. Whatever reason you have for making this marriage, it's inadequate, and I fear you'll both regret it.'
He didn't know the truth, and he was misjudging her. Stung by a sense of injustice, Karen was about to straighten him out when David called to her, waving a model aeroplane in childish glee. The few moments distraction gave her time for second thoughts. Owen loved Hal as deeply as she loved David. Kirsty had inadvertently driven a wedge between father and son, and Karen did not want to widen the gap. Owen had been good to her and her commitment to Hal was already binding enough to demand some loyalty. If Hal did not want his father to know the truth, then it was not her place to tell him.
Her eyes held a bitter sadness as she turned back to him. This marriage was giving no one any joy except David. 'I'm doing what I think is necessary, Owen,' she said quietly.
He subjected her to an intense scrutiny which did nothing to soothe her jangled nerves. Finally he shook his head in disbelief and strode down the path, disapproval radiating from his stiff back. Karen sagged a little as the Rolls Royce drove away. It hurt that Owen's good opinion of her had been shaken. She liked him, far more than she liked his son. But it was Hal she was marrying.
The carrier arrived soon afterwards, and Karen pointed out the boxes of personal effects to be taken. Although the rooms were still furnished, they looked bare and characterless when she walked through them, checking that nothing important was left behind. She had the sensation that her whole life up to this point had been put into storage, and nothing would ever be the same again.
Left alone once more, Karen put a mental clamp on her thoughts. It was her wedding day, even if the wedding was a travesty of what it should be. She showered and settled down to indulging herself with a slow, thorough toilet; hair brushed to shiny bounciness, nails varnished a soft coral, make-up applied with meticulous care. The cream woollen suit was the most expensive outfit she had bought for years, but pride had dictated that she go to Hal with her head held high. The coral silk blouse was a defiant splash of colour which denied the drab feeling in her soul.
A hire car called for her at the designated time. The driver picked up the small overnight bag which was all that was left to be taken. She had no intimation of Hal's intentions after the wedding, except that they would pick up David once the formalities had been completed. She had had no personal communication from Hal since Monday night; everything had been organised through his solicitor. She locked the front door for the last time and followed the driver out to the car, each step requiring ore and more determined courage.
Hal was waiting for her outside the Register Office. His dark, pin-striped suit seemed to be a gesture to the formality of the occasion. There was no friendly smile of greeting from him, and he looked grim and purposeful as he helped Karen out of the car. When the driver offered him the overnight bag he gave a curt instruction and turned Karen away, almost hurrying her into the building.
The terrible emptiness in Karen's stomach gave birth to a flock of fluttering butterflies. She barely heard the words of ceremony, but she was over whelmingly conscious of the man who stood next to her. She did not, could not love Hal Chissolm, but she knew why Kirsty had found him irresistible. He exuded assurance, a deadliness and inexorability of ruthless purpose that both fascinated and repelled. In a strange, incomprehensive way it steadied her, and her hand was quite nerveless as she signed away her life, committing herself into his keeping.
Only then did Hal tum her towards him and kiss her, just a light brushing of his lips against hers, yet it made her heart thump at an accelerated rate. 'Till death us do part,' he murmured, his eyes mocking the uncertainty in hers.
The mention of death gave her stomach a queasy tum. Hal had stayed with Kirsty until her death, and it was Kirsty's dying words which had tied this knot between them. Karen could not help wondering if Hal was thinking of her sister as they left the Register Office--the woman who had refused to marry him, the identical twin of the woman he had just married. Karen could read nothing in his face. He wore the same hard, implacable mask he had shown her on the night he had first proposed this marriage.
He led her to a green Porsche which looked new. 'Your wedding present,' he announced drily. 'Want to drive it?'
'My .. .' Karen shook her head in dazed bewilderment. 'You're giving this to me?'
'You'll need it, since you insist on taking David to work with you. Come on, I'll show you how to drive it.'
Even though Hal had obviously bought the car for David more than for her, the gift lifted her spirits. The concentration required to follow Hal's instructions also precluded more disturbing thoughts. The drive to Turramurra was fraught with mechanical pitfalls rather than emotional ones, but their arrival at Owen Chissolm's home brought tension screaming back. Karen fumbled with her seat-belt, suddenly all thumbs.
Hal's hand closed over hers. 'Leave it on. I'll go and get David.'
She lifted startled eyes to his. 'Where are we going?' she queried.
A faint smile curved his mouth. 'To our new home. Where else?'
A new home. Karen's heart contracted. Despite Owen's disapproval this morning, she had taken comfort from the thought that his presence might ease some of the strain in the relationship between herself and Hal, but a new home meant there would only be Hal. And David, she reminded herself quickly, trying to quell her inner panic.
In a matter of minutes Hal was back with David, who was full of excitement; impressed with the new car, entranced with the idea of going to a new home, and most of all, delighted that he was going to live with Daddy as well as Mummy. Apart from the directions he casually threw to Karen, Hal gave all his attention to his son; It was as if she was travelling with a different man, he was so relaxed and happy.