“If ye care for me, then please withdraw yer offer, John. I don’t wish to marry ye.”
“Whyever not?” he asked, clearly stunned. Given Will’s wholehearted approval, he likely hadn’t expected any opposition to his proposal.
Because I fear ye, Alys thought. Something of her thoughts must have shown on her face because John’s expression softened.
“Alys, I’m not the gentlest or most patient of men, anyone who knows me will tell ye that, but I promise I will be good to ye,” John said.
As you were to the others? Alys raged inwardly. “I don’t want to marry ye, John,” she said again.
“I ask ye again. Why?” John was becoming visibly upset.
“Because I love another,” Alys said, hoping this would put John off. What man wanted to marry a woman who’d given her heart to someone else?
“Matthew Gage is to be wed, Alys,” John said. “Or didn’t he tell ye?”
“What?” Alys asked, searching for evidence of subterfuge in John’s eyes and finding none.
“It’s true. He’s to marry Ellie Baker.”
“I don’t believe ye,” Alys cried.
Matthew had made it clear that he didn’t want to marry Alys, but this news left her reeling. Why hadn’t he said anything? She’d never even seen Matthew with Ellie. She’d have known if they were courting. Wouldn’t she? Had Matthew kept their relationship a secret from her on purpose, knowing she’d feel betrayed? And now she had to find out about it from John Selby, of all people. His smug expression made her feel like a cornered rabbit.
“Ask him yerself,” John said as he tried to rearrange his features into an expression of sympathy. “Look, Alys, there are few eligible men in the village, and ye will have to marry someone unless ye want to live with yer brother and good-sister for the rest of yer days. I can provide for ye and any children we’re blessed with. I will be a good husband to ye.”
Alys shook her head, John’s words chilling her like drops of freezing rain. She couldn’t even bear to look at him, much less continue with this conversation. Thankfully, John Selby was astute enough to realize his mistake.
“Now, I see I’ve upset ye with this news and I’ll get no sense out of ye tonight. So, why don’t ye think on it, and I’ll come back tomorrow. We can talk then.” John gave her a slight bow, jammed his hat on his head, and walked out into the shimmering twilight of the summer evening.
Alys slumped onto the bench, her hands pleating the fabric of her skirt as her mind went round and round, asking the same questions and finding no answers. Was it really possible that Matthew was to be wed to Ellie Baker? Why her? She was plain and timid and had two small children by her first husband. What had drawn Matthew to Ellie, and when had it happened? Surely Alys would have noticed. And why hadn’t he shared his news with her? She’d trusted him with all her hopes and dreams, had told him how she felt the night of Will’s wedding, had practically asked him to marry her, and he hadn’t even had the decency to tell her he was courting another. When had things changed between them, and why hadn’t she noticed? Alys buried her head in her hands and shut her eyes, the pervading sense of loss pressing heavily on her slight shoulders.
It didn’t take long for Will and Bess to come back to the house. “Well?” Will asked before he’d even fully entered the house. “Are we to have a wedding next month?”
“Is it true that Matthew is to wed Ellie Baker?” Alys demanded, pinning Will and Bess with her angry stare.
“’Course it’s true,” Bess retorted. “I had it from Ellie Baker herself. I thought Matthew would have told ye.”
“I don’t understand,” Alys said, looking to Will for an explanation. Like her, he’d been friends with Matthew his whole life. They’d been inseparable as boys.
Will shrugged. “He didn’t tell me either. I only learned of it this afternoon.”
“Did ye accept John Selby?” Bess demanded.
Alys shook her head.
“Well, ye had better,” Bess said archly. “He’s the best ye can hope for in a place like this.”
“We are not well suited,” Alys muttered.
“He’s a good man, Alys,” Will said, repeating his earlier sentiments. “Ye must accept him before he withdraws his offer. There are more unmarried girls in the village than men. He has his pick.”
Alys nodded miserably and climbed up to the loft where she slept these days to give the newlyweds a bit of privacy. The thought of supper turned her stomach, and her heart hurt something awful. She curled up on her cot and stared at the dark beams above, wondering how she could have been so blind. Tomorrow, she could either apologize to John Selby for her churlish behavior and give her consent or reiterate her refusal and hope she wasn’t condemning herself to a life of barren solitude.
Chapter 12
Nicole
I didn’t want to interrupt Kyle while he was working, so I thought I’d wait until after lunch to speak to him. He was already in the dining room when I arrived, deep in conversation with Paul, who was explaining something to him.
Anna sank into a chair and allowed her shoulders to slump.
“Are you all right?” I asked as I sat down next to her.
“A bit tired. I didn’t sleep well last night. I kept turning on the light to jot down some ideas I had and then couldn’t get back to sleep.”
I nodded in understanding. I’d done that quite often myself. Why was it that the best ideas always came in the middle of the night?
Len settled across from us. He
