Trust Me

the family needed new blood. He said it was time we restocked the gene pool with some fresh, raw talent. He said too many generations of Bedfords had married within their own social strata, and the result was a general weakening of the bloodline.”
    “Your father is a believer in the Darwinian approach to marriage, I take it?”
    “You could say that.” Pamela sighed. “Mother didn’t agree with him, but she went along with the idea. Mother does believe in restocking the family fortunes from time to time. My point is, regardless of why we were introduced, I found Stark interesting.”
    “Interesting.”
    “In a physical sense,” Pamela clarified.
    “Right. A physical sense.”
    “You know what I mean.” Pamela tossed the crumpled tissue into a waste can. “The man has abysmal social skills and absolutely no tact, but there is something sort of sexy about him.”
    “I think I’m getting the picture. You were physically attracted to him, so you thought you could tolerate marriage to him.”
    “I was wrong. The physical attraction soon faded. He made me nervous, if you must know.”
    “Nervous?”
    “He was so…” Pamela groped for words. “Intense.” She turned red. “I won’t bore you with the details.”
    “Please, don’t.”
    “Let’s just say that he was a little too primitive for my taste.” Pamela shuddered delicately. “At any rate, I finally realized that I couldn’t go through with the wedding.”
    “Did you love him at all?” Desdemona asked before she could stop herself. “Even a little?”
    Pamela frowned. “I’ve asked myself that same question any number of times. I’m still not certain of the answer. How do you define love?”
    “I don’t think you can. It’s one of those things that you only recognize when you run smack into it. I’d better be on my way.” Desdemona opened the door.
    “Do you know,” Pamela said, regarding her own lovely face in the mirror, “I think my apology tonight actually bored him.”
    Desdemona shot the princess in the mirror an impatient glance. “I doubt it. I think it’s far more likely that he simply didn’t know what to say.”
    Pamela considered that with a wistful expression. “I suppose I should have expected it. Stark never had a lot to say at the best of times, unless the conversation happened to be about computers.”
    “Yes, well, that is his field.”
    Pamela did not appear to hear her. “I think what bothered me the most was that he never had much to say after he finished making love. Doesn’t it upset you that he just gets out of bed, says good night, and leaves?”
    “Forget it,” Desdemona said as she fled the rest room.

    The short drive from the hotel to Desdemona’s apartment was conducted in near silence. Stark apparently felt no obligation to make conversation, and Desdemona could not think of anything appropriate to say.
    As annoyed with him as she was because of his nasty remarks concerning Tony, she still felt deep empathy for Stark. The man had to be suffering after his encounter with Pamela. No one could go through a scene like that without experiencing a lot of pain.
    It was raining, a light, misty summer rain that dampened the streets and made the traffic lights shimmer. Stark drove through the city with a quiet competence that spoke volumes about his self-control.
    “Are you okay?” Desdemona said as Stark eased the car into the garage.
    “I’m fine.” Stark scowled at the question. “Why?”
    “I just wondered,” Desdemona said.
    “Do I look sick?”
    “No, of course not. You look fine.” More than fine, she thought. The man really did look good in a tux.
    “Then why did you ask?” Stark slid the car into a slot and switched off the engine.
    “Just making conversation. How do your brothers like Macbeth?”
    Stark frowned at the change of topic. Then he shrugged. “They seem fascinated by him. I think they believe he stepped straight out of a virtual reality game. A real live video hero.”
    “Macbeth has that effect on kids of all ages. When he’s in town he organizes plays for children who are living in shelters or institutions. They love him.”
    “He’s got Kyle and Jason working as volunteer stagehands for some group called the Strolling Players.”
    “That’s the company of actors and crew that puts on the children’s plays,” Desdemona explained. “It was Macbeth’s idea. He started it a couple of years ago. Everyone’s a volunteer, from the lighting director to