Anette turned towards her brother with a determined look on her face. “If you don’t, I will tell Mother about how you made Roswell promise to stay away from me, and I think we both know how she will react.”
Caleb looked unsure. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Do you want to take that chance?” Anette asked, standing her ground.
With a huff, Caleb replied, “I will give you five minutes, but then I am coming back. Use your time wisely.”
As Caleb walked off, Roswell gave her an approving look. “Blackmail?” he asked. “I could never be more proud of you than I am right now.”
Anette laughed. “I wasn’t bluffing. Mother would be furious because she has been hoping for us to marry for a long time now.”
“Shall I post the banns?”
“Yes, but only after you fulfill your promise and kiss me often,” Anette said.
Roswell leaned closer and responded, “That is my pleasure.
When he kissed her, she could see the future that awaited them, and that glimmer of hope promised a happiness that she’d never considered or dared believe she was worthy of.
Epilogue
Anette stared out the window of the coach as it traveled to the chapel. Today was to be her wedding day and she had never known such contentment. It had been a day that she had dreamed about for so long, and it was finally here.
Caleb nudged her arm with his shoulder. “You are smiling again.”
“Of course I am smiling,” Anette said, shifting in her seat to face her brother. “I am marrying Roswell soon and we will never be apart after that.”
“If you appear too eager to marry him, it might scare him off,” Caleb remarked. “You would be left husbandless.”
“I doubt that because I had to convince him on multiple occasions not to abscond with me and take me to Gretna Green,” Anette said.
“Roswell wouldn’t have done something so scandalous, especially when it came to you,” Caleb stated.
“You may be right. It was me that was trying to convince him to run off to Gretna Green,” Anette admitted with a smirk.
Her mother spoke up. “Now that Anette is getting married, we need to find Caleb a wife, and quickly.”
“Why, Mother?” Caleb asked. “Am I not allowed to enjoy the solitude now that Anette will no longer be living with us?” He winked at her to let her know he was teasing.
“It is not good for you to be alone,” their mother said. “I know a few young women that you might approve of.”
Caleb shook his head. “Do we have to discuss it today of all days? Today is Anette’s day and I don’t want to spoil it.”
Their father interjected, “Caleb is right. Let’s keep our focus on Anette.”
Anette felt the coach was slowing down and she tried to keep her excitement from bubbling over.
“I do have some good news,” their father announced. “It is about Anette’s book.”
Fearing she misheard her father, she asked, “Pardon?”
“I took your manuscript to a publisher and they said it was promising,” their father revealed. “You will need to make a few changes, but they would like to speak to you after your wedding tour.”
She didn’t think this day could have gotten better, but she was wrong. Clasping her hands together, she gushed, “Thank you, Father.”
“Don’t thank me yet. You have a lot of work ahead of you, but I do know you aren’t afraid of hard work,” he stated.
Caleb gave his sister an approving look. “Well done, Sister,” he said.
