“He didn’t just want to engage her,” he clarified, “he wanted to marry her.”
“At twelve?”
“He told my father he could wait until fourteen if he could receive an advance on her dowry,” he scoffed, “but you must understand. This was a betrayal of the intimacy between our two families. While I had never particularly liked Falk, his father was a fine fellow, and we had all spent much time together.”
“Of course. Your father must have thought he was mad.”
“At first, my father felt sorry for him. There were many reasons, of course, why my father would refuse such a suit. Chief among them that he had no intention of engaging, never mind marrying, his twelve-year-old daughter toanyone. When he made his proposal, my father flatly refused, and told him that he would have to approach Henrietta as any other suitor might once she was of age. But he tried to be kind. Falk’s father had been almost like a brother to him and my father, at first, thought that perhaps Falk had misplaced his grief at being orphaned onto the hope of marrying Henrietta and joining our family.”
“I can see your father’s thinking, particularly if he cared for Falk.”
“But that wasn’t the end of it,” John said, gritting his teeth. “We found out, after that visit, after he had left the house, that he had been trying to win Henrietta’s affections.”
“What?The affections of a twelve-year-old girl?”
“Nothing sordid, thank God. He didn’t try to touch her. She reported nothing of the kind. Still, he was on very familiar terms here, much like my friends are now, and who knows what would have happened if he had been allowed to persist. Mostly, he made overtures designed to win her affections. Little presents and the like. She remained innocent of his intentions, but it was clear to us the meaning of such behavior. We didn’t tell her what had transpired in terms of his proposal, of course.”
“Of course.”
“And there was more. My father discovered that he had, in the two years since his father’s death, mismanaged his estate. He had gambling debts. He was desperately in need of funds.”
“He wanted her dowry,” she said, looking up at him.
John nodded.
She stopped walking. “Your father knew you would never let him have it. And your father never would have, either. That’s why you were sure he knew Mary Forster was alive.”
“It was one of the only things my father and I agreed on in the past ten years. My father would haveneverwanted Falk to have this money. He also knew that I hated the Forster name—and Mary Forster in particular—with a passion. He knew what I went through at school. He would have never left Falk the money if he thought there was a real chance I wouldn’t be able to find Mary Forster. But he also knew I would only try to find her under real duress.”
“He made it the lesser of two evils.”
“Exactly.”
“That’s so devious.”
“It’s fiendish. My father was a terrible rogue. He must have wanted his money to reach Mary Forster very badly. And he knew where to have me.”
They walked in silence again, their hands still intertwined. John felt lighter having told her about Falk.
“Well, we must make sure that Falk does not get the money.”
“I fear he will. We only have two weeks left. My father might have rather overestimated my abilities.”
She looked up at him now, smiling. “But your father did not underestimate me.”
“I don’t think he counted on you at all,” he said, with a laugh.
“No, I expect not. But, luckily for you and him, I will help you find her. And convince her to take the money.”
He pulled Catherine towards him and kissed her. Was it possible to have a lifetime of moments this wonderful? It seemed like he had stolen this scene from someone else’s life.
He took her hand again and they kept walking. He spotted an apple, prematurely red, on a lower bough. He plucked it off and bit into it, the sweet juice filling his mouth.
He offered the apple to her and she laughed, taking a bite. He loved watching her smile at the sweetness.
“I used to watch you, you know,” she said, returning the apple to him, her blush making her even more beautiful.
“What do you mean?”
