“Excellent,” Theodore said, “And the date?”
Again Anna spoke, “It would have to be after the mourning period which would be approximately the beginning of next year. And a mid-winter wedding is not so pleasant, so I am suggesting perhaps next May? It is a lovely time of year in Wiltshire.”
Dorothy did not appear to like that. “So late? That is almost a year away.”
“But my dear, you cannot possibly consider marrying before the end of the six-month mourning period.”
“Very well.”
“And that should give us plenty of time to plan the wedding. There will be a lot to do to make the wedding as splendid as I know you would want.”
“It should be lovely… yes, I want it to be splendid.”
“How about the weekend of May eighteenth? Is that too early?” Theodore asked.
“That should be suitable,” Dorothy said.
“And we are planning to turn the east wing of the house over to your and Christopher’s use after the marriage. Are you content with that? It seems pointless for him to acquire a new house when this will one day be his,” Theodore added.
“I should like to see the wing,” Dorothy said, “I have not visited it yet. I want to make certain it will be separate and private.”
Speaking up, Claribel said, “Oh, dearie, we plan to do a lot of work on it once the dowry is settled. Christopher was so excited to know that there would be a dowry large enough to cover all the work that needs to be done.”
Dorothy blanched and asked. “And how, Christopher, did you know what the dowry would be? We never discussed that.”
Now it was Christopher’s turn to blanch. “Well… I… I… we must have discussed it when I proposed. I am certain we did.”
Dorothy was cool as she said, “No, we did not. In fact, it was I who pushed you toward marriage. We had never spoken of my inheritance. But did you, in fact, know of it?”
“I might have,” he said sheepishly.
“And how might that have come about?”
He hung his head as he answered. “I believe Harry knew of it and might have mentioned it.”
Dorothy stood and confronted him. “Then did you marry me because of the money? Answer me truthfully, Christopher.”
He looked up and returned her gaze and said firmly. “I most certainly did not. I am marrying you because I love you. And if you will remember correctly, it was you who suggested we marry. I readily agreed because it was what I truly wanted as well.”
Anna stood. “Calm down, please. Please. I for one have seen enough of these two to know that they truly love one another. Dorothy, do not let your suspicions cloud your mind. You know Christopher loves you. And if he did know you had an inheritance, what difference does it make? He would have found out soon enough, in any case.”
“Because if his motives in marrying me was the inheritance, I want none of it. Why can you not understand that? And you of all people should understand that?”
“And why do you say that?”
“Because you are being courted by a man who does not love you and is only afteryourinheritance.”
Anna could not deny Dorothy’s allegation. Not now. Not after her realization that the man who truly loved her was Harry.
Anna said sadly. “Then it is up to you, Dorothy. I know you have the wisdom to make the right choice.”
“And what does that mean?” Theodore asked. “Are you cancelling the engagement?”
“Oh, my darling. Let it not be so,” Christopher cried out as he went over to her and took her hands. “Please forgive whatever crime you think I have committed, because in my mind I have not committed one.”
Dorothy withdrew her hands from him. “I hear what you are saying, but I cannot respond just now. I need time.”
“Are your dissolving our engagement?”
