A ripple of delighted conversation passed through the room.
Elizabeth stared.
Victor continued.
“Our families have discussed the arrangement, and I believe you'll make an excellent wife.”
He smiled toward the guests.
“Strong sons, a proper household, and years of prosperity.”
Several men laughed approvingly.
Elizabeth felt every eye turning toward her.
Victor lowered his voice.
“Smile.”
She stared.
He squeezed her fingers.
“Don't embarrass me.”
Something inside her went very still.
She looked toward her father.
He was smiling.
Toward her mother.
She was staring at the floor.
Then back at Victor.
The man expected gratitude.
Obedience.
And the performance of happiness.
Elizabeth gently removed her hand.
“No.”
The room became silent.
Victor blinked.
“What?”
She took a breath.
“I will not marry you.”
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Victor laughed nervously.
“Darling, this isn't the time for games.”
Elizabeth looked directly into his eyes.
“I'm not playing.”
Her father stepped forward.
“Elizabeth.”
She turned.
His expression had changed.
“Correct yourself.”
She felt her knees weaken.
But she remained standing.
“No, Father.”
A woman gasped.
Victor's smile disappeared.
“You're humiliating me.”
Elizabeth looked toward him.
“I would have answered you privately if you'd asked me privately.”
His face reddened.
Judge Hawthorne seized her arm.
“Apologize.”
She looked toward his hand.
Then slowly raised her eyes.
“No.”
The word echoed beneath the chandeliers.
Victor stepped backward.
His father rose from his chair.
Someone whispered.
Someone else hurried toward the doorway.
Elizabeth's mother began crying.
But Elizabeth felt something extraordinary.
Fear.
Terrible fear.
And beneath it, a freedom she'd never experienced.
She had finally told the truth.
Victor stormed out.
His father followed, furious.
The judge's carefully planned evening collapsed into embarrassment.
And when the last guest departed, Edward Hawthorne summoned his daughter into the library.
He stood beside the fireplace holding a glass of whiskey.
His expression was colder than she'd ever seen it.
“You've made me a laughingstock.”
Elizabeth remained near the door.