'Has anyone suggested to your father that maybe he ought to think about
getting a job? ' 'Oh, no, that wouldn't do. He's titled, ' she
repeated.
'Being titled won't put food on the table.'
'No, it won't, ' she agreed.
'If he can't or won't work, then he's going to have to sell his land
and whatever else he has of value.'
'That's why I'm getting married.
' 'I still don't understand.'
'I'm all my father has left, Daniel .
. . ' He leaned forward. 'Are you telling me he's selling you? ' 'No,
no, of course not. He simply arranged a suitable marriage for me. '
'And will this marriage solve his financial problems? ' 'Yes, it
will.
' 'Then he's selling you.'
'No, he isn't, ' she snapped. 'Arranged marriages that benefit both
families have been going on for centuries.
My father isn't doing anything wrong. In fact, he's been extremely
patient with me. I asked him for a year's grace, and it was my hope
.
. . my dream really, foolish though it was . . . that I could make a
go of it here. I wanted to purchase land with my inheritance from an
unclet' 'And make enough to support your parents in the style they're
accustomed to? ' 'No, you've jumped to the wrong conclusion. My
parents are quite elderly. They were in their forties when I was born,
' she explained.
'But they aren't set in their ways. If the ranch could support them,
they could leave England and come to me. Isn't that adventurous of
them?
You'd like my parents, Daniel. They're very practical, and you'd have
that in common.'
'You're not old enough to be shouldering such responsibilities.'
'Age doesn't have anything to do with it. The day I was born my future
