“No. He's a wealthy young man. Those aren't the same thing.”
The older woman lowered her eyes.
Elizabeth approached.
“He speaks to me as though I'm a horse he's already purchased.”
Her mother looked uncomfortable.
“Men sometimes have unfortunate ways of expressing affection.”
Elizabeth stared.
“Affection?”
Her voice rose.
“He told me I would have no say in how our household is managed.”
Her mother hesitated.
Then whispered, “Marriage requires compromise.”
Elizabeth felt something inside her break.
“Compromise means both people give something.”
Her mother's eyes filled.
Elizabeth continued.
“What is Victor giving up?”
The older woman didn't answer.
For a moment, Elizabeth wanted to shake her.
Not from cruelty.
From desperation.
She couldn't understand how her mother, a woman who had once been intelligent and spirited, could speak so calmly about surrendering an entire life.
Then she looked toward the older woman's hands.
They were trembling.
And Elizabeth suddenly wondered whether her mother was describing marriage as it should be or merely explaining the way she'd survived her own.
That question stayed with her.
Three days later, Judge Hawthorne hosted a formal dinner to celebrate the anticipated engagement.
Elizabeth wasn't told that Victor intended to propose publicly.
She discovered it only when she entered the drawing room and found both families gathered beneath the chandeliers.
Victor stood beside the fireplace wearing a dark suit and an expensive gold watch.
He smiled when she approached.
Her father looked pleased.
Her mother appeared pale.
Elizabeth immediately sensed something was wrong.
“Father?”
The judge extended one hand.
“Come here, Elizabeth.”
She approached cautiously.
He turned toward the guests.
“My friends, tonight marks an important step in the future of two distinguished families.”
Elizabeth felt cold.
Victor stepped forward.
He reached for her hand.
She instinctively drew back.
His smile tightened.
He caught her fingers anyway.
“Elizabeth,” he announced, “I've decided the time has come for us to make our future official.”