Maddie had gone rushing up the stairs into the foyer to see what was the matter, only to find a large, dirty man striding about the rooms of her beloved home as if he owned the place. It wasn’t long before Maddie realized he did own the place.
“Who are you?” she’d asked, raising her chin and eyeing him with distaste.
“I am the owner of this household. Who are ye?” he had replied in a smug tone. He was girthy and brash and wore clothing that looked as if it had not been washed in weeks, which contributed greatly to the smell that was following him from room to room. He looked to be at least fifty years of age.
“No, you’re not,” Maddie snapped back. “My father is…” But she’d stopped short, her breath catching in her throat. Oh, no. No. No. No. No. No. This couldn’t be. Was this? Could this be…Cousin Leopold?
“What is your name, sir?” she asked instead of completing her sentence, while horror and denial filled her mind.
“What is yer name, washer woman?” Leopold had replied. “I don’t owe ye mine.”
Maddie had sucked in her breath. Washer woman, indeed.
She lifted her chin and proudly announced. “My name is Madeline Mary Eloise Atwood.”
Leopold’s bushy brows had shot straight up and a smile spread across his grimy face, revealing rotting teeth. “Are ye now?”
She’d lifted her chin even higher, not liking how his eyes wandered over her. “Yes,” she managed to choke out.
“Where’s yer sister?” he asked next, and it took everything in Maddie to keep from refusing to tell him.
“Molly is upstairs.”
“But yer the eldest, ye said?” he continued, rubbing his chin and narrowing his eyes on her.
“Yes. I’m eighteen years old.”
“That’ll do.”
Maddie fought her shudder. “What do you mean, ‘that’ll do’?”
He scratched his dirty head. “I mean, ye’re the one o’ age…so yer the one I plan ta marry.”
Maddie had been forced to cup her hand over her mouth to keep from retching. “Marry?”
“Yes, indeed. Yer lucky I ain’t been married afore.”
Lucky? She fought her revulsion.
“I don’t even know you,” she said, casting about for a better argument but finding none that wouldn’t be outright insulting to the odious man.
“We’re ta marry in the mornin’ and that’s me last word on the subject,” Cousin Leopold insisted.
In addition to his being rude and slovenly, Madeline did not take kindly to his orders. There was no way she would marry this man. “I shall not marry you,” Madeline had countered, raising her chin, and hoping the fear making her entire body shake wasn’t apparent in her voice.
“Ye ain’t got no choice,” Cousin Leopold replied. “Wit yer pa dead, ye and yer sister are my wards. If ye refuse to marry me, ye can both find somewhere else ta live. I’m offering ye the chance ta keep yer family name and house, ya daft girl. Ye should be on yer knees thanking me.”
“I thank you for nothing,” Madeline had snapped, her chin wavering. “And if the choice is marrying you or leaving, we shall leave immediately.”
She’d turned on her heel and made her way up to her bedchamber in her childhood home before her knees buckled and she slid to the floor near the wall. Molly had come rushing in to hug her. Her sister’s slight thirteen-year-old body shaking with tears. “I heard,” Molly said. “Do you truly think it’s best if we leave?”
“I won’t marry him,” Madeline had insisted. “Go, pack your bag.”
Tears streaming down her face, Molly had complied and within the hour, they were both wearing last year’s cloaks and standing near the front door. Madeline turned to take one final look at the only home she’d ever known, realizing with an aching throat that she might never see it again.
“Let’s go,” she’d said to Molly, taking her hand and doing her best to seem brave and confident while her knees were knocking together beneath her skirts.
They’d slept in the barn that night, snuggled together in the hay. But the anger that had filled her chest the moment Cousin Leopold had ordered her to marry him kept Maddie warm. She would do anything for her sister, anything but marry a man she didn’t love.
