friend. I"m used to seeing him pull something on me and my
sisters.”
“Is Todd ever behind any of it?”
“I don"t think so. Whenever it"s just Todd, things are
dull. He used to try to get us riled up but our parents put a
stop to that early on, so now he just hangs out by himself or
rides his horse unless Alex is around.”
“I suspected as much. I noticed the same thing,
though he has been hanging around us lately. Don"t you
think that"s strange?”
“He asks about your school work because you share
many classes together. He usually leaves after that.”
“True.” I had suspected there was more to it than
that, but Agnes was probably right.
“Why are you feeling so melancholy?”
“Can you keep a secret?”
Her eyes lit up. “For you? Of course, I can!”
I chuckled. She had a tough time holding back
gossip for anyone but me. “My parents are making offers to
other parents to attract suitors. They"re offering a pretty
good sum of money in my dowry. They announced this
when I was a child but it"s beginning to get attention now
that I"m seventeen.”
“How much are they offering?”
I told her.
“That"s a lot of money.”
“I"m also their only child, so I suppose it"s easier for
them to make that deal. I almost feel like I"m being put on
display for the whole world to see. A thirty year old and
forty-five year old stopped by to greet me yesterday. Then
Jack"s parents visited with my parents about an
arrangement. Thank goodness my parents insist that I
make the choice.”
“Yuck. I can see why you"re disheartened. If it
makes you feel any better, not everyone knows about your
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Falling In Love With Her Husband
dowry. Todd doesn"t. I assume my parents know but they
haven"t spoken a word about it. My father is more interested
in Todd working at the bank than if he gets married. Todd
turns eighteen in April, and you would think if anyone is
feeling pressured, it would be him. But the rules are
different for men. They can be forty and a bachelor and no
one cares. It isn"t like that for us.”
“What wil you do?”
“I don"t come with a big dowry like you, so I suspect
it"l be easier for me. I"m looking forward to being courted.”
“Just make sure you stay in public where at least one
person can see you and the young man together at all
times. It"s one of my rules. Ginny always makes sure I"m
safe.”
“Don"t you trust any of the men in this town?”
“Your brother is the only one, but that"s because
we"ve known each other all of our lives and I"ve seen how
he is, even on his worst days.”
“He"s a good person. Very stable, patient and loyal.
He"s kind of boring.”
Lucy and Abigail jumped up and screamed as a
couple bugs fell into their hair. Since they were sitting by
the slightly opened parlor doors, they were the logical choice
for Creepy Alex"s next prank. I sourly noted the sound of
footsteps as he ran off. He was probably looking for Todd
so he could blame it on him, which only proved how much of
a friend Alex really was.
“Get him!” I demanded as I stood up.
“Ewe! Get the bugs off of me,” they whined.
The other girls ran to help them.
I stared at them in disbelief. Were none of them
going to get even with him? I stormed out of the room. I
would make it so that he didn"t mess with them anymore, at
least when I was around. I saw the closet door by the room
and opened it. My eyes lit up when I saw the broom. It was
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Falling In Love With Her Husband
time to show Alex he couldn"t engage in such rude behavior.
I raced down the hal until I found him hiding in Todd"s room.
“This has to stop!” I ordered and started hitting him
with the broom.
Todd burst out laughing.
“I didn"t do it. Todd did,” Alex protested, holding his
hands over his head. “He wanted to see if you"d do
anything.”
“Oh right. Like I believe that,” I retorted. “Everyone
knows you"re the instigator. Leave my friends alone you
creepy boy!” I continued my assault on him until someone
grabbed me around the waist and pulled me out of the room.
“Ann Clara Statesman, stop this right now!” my father
ordered as he held me up in the air.
My mother looked flustered as she pried the broom
out of my hands. “What"s come over you?”
“Alex Dawson won"t leave my friends alone. He
needs to be taught a lesson.”
“It wasn"t me,” Alex argued but no one believed him.
Todd couldn"t stop laughing.
“You creepy boy!” I yelled. “You better not go near
any of my friends ever again.”
“That"s enough, Ann.” My father set me down and
gave me one of his stern looks that immediately quieted me
down.
“Apologize to Mr. Dawson.”
“But he threw bugs in Abigail and Lucy"s hair.”
“I don"t care. Apologize or you won"t be able to
attend Agnes" birthday party.”
I crossed my arms. “Sorry,” I muttered, not looking
at Alex.
“Look at him and tell him nicely.”
I sighed and faced the little rat. “I"m sorry, Alex.”
“You can go to the party, but you won"t receive any
guests for a month.”
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Falling In Love With Her Husband
“Real y?” My face lit up. No suitors for a whole
month?
He frowned. “I don"t know why but I think I just gave
you a reward.”
“It wil be nice to have a break from all the men
coming over,” I admitted.
His expression softened. “Perhaps your mother and
I have been somewhat pushy. I can see your point. But you
won"t be able to receive female visitors either.”
“It"s worth it, though I will miss Agnes.”
“Alright. Go with your mother to the buggy. I"l say
goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Brothers.”
Once my mother and I were in the horse-drawn
buggy, she shook her head. “My dear, you know I love you,
but you"ll never find a good man with the way you act in
public.”
There it was again. The whole marriage discussion.
I decided to keep quiet.
After a few tense moments, my father joined us and
sat next to my mother.
George, one of the three servants in our household,
clicked the reins on the horses so we could head home.
“Please help me with this, Dan.” She turned to my
father. “We want her to be treated well by her future
husband. If she keeps acting unladylike, who can she
possibly attract without the help of her dowry?”
He paused for a moment as he considered her
question. “She may be attracting the right kind of attention
and we aren"t aware of it. Did you see the look on Todd"s
face? He actual y seemed to be impressed with her.”
I blanched. Todd? Sure, he was okay looking. He
had a slender frame with broad shoulders. His dark blond
hair turned lighter in the summer when the sun hit it. He did
have nice blue eyes and an infectious smile. But he was
Agnes" brother.
8
Falling In Love With Her Husband
Fortunately, they did not press the issue. We rode
the rest of the way in silence. I was so relieved to be away
from Alex, I didn"t mind missing the rest of the afternoon with
Agnes.
9
Falling In Love With Her Husband
Todd’s Point of View
I still remember the day I realized I loved Ann. My
parents took the whole family to her house to celebrate her
sixteenth birthday. Since I wasn"t allowed to bring Alex
along, I figured it was going to be boring with no one but our
parents and my sisters there. I would have brought another
one of my friends had they been able to come along, but
they were busy. When we got to her house, I sat in the
parlor, bored out of my mind, while the girls all giggled and
talked about stuff only girls would be interested in. I tuned
these topics out fairly well.
As I was staring out the window, Ann walked up to
me. “Would you like to play the new game my parents
bought me for my birthday?”
Anything to get away from the mindless chatter
appealed to me, so I nodded and followed her to her
bedroom. Ginny, one of the servants in her household, was
with us, so there was no way anyone would think we were
doing anything improper. Her bedroom was a typical girly
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Falling In Love With Her Husband
bedroom but somehow, it didn"t seem so bad compared to
what my sisters" bedrooms were like.
She handed me a deck of cards. “The game is
called Solitaire. Are you familiar with it?”
I shook my head.
“It"s a game you can play by yourself.” She shuffled
the deck and set seven cards out in a row on her desk. I
watched as she continued to set the cards out. Some were
faced up and some were faced down. As she did this, she
explained, “Since I"m an only child, I don"t receive games
that are for two or more players. This card game is fun and
can be tricky. If you make a mistake, you have to hope
you"l get to use the necessary card again.”
“Why are you doing this for me?” I had to ask it.
Usual y, she didn"t notice me.
She smiled at me.
I blinked. Since when did she look pretty?
She handed me the rest of the cards. “It can"t be fun
for you to sit in the parlor and listen to us talk about clothes
and jewelry. I know our parents are close and wanted to
spend the day together, but it"s hardly any fun for a boy to
be surrounded by girls. Also, I was the one who insisted
that Creepy Alex wasn"t allowed to come. I"m sorry, Todd,
but I just can"t stand him. He thinks his pranks are funny but
I don"t.”
I shrugged. “I guess he"s not for everyone.”
“I had hoped that maybe one of your other friends
would be able to come. Simon and Jeff are actually nice.
It"s too bad that didn"t work out. So I thought if you could
play an interesting game away from the rest of us, it would
help pass the time.”
“Thank you.”
She spent the next five minutes teaching me the
rules of the game, and I was intrigued by it.
“I will let our parents know that I invited you back
here so they won"t bother you until it"s time to eat,” she said.
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Falling In Love With Her Husband
“Would you like me to stay here, Miss Ann?” Ginny
asked her.
Ann looked at me for a moment before turning back
to the servant. “No. I trust him.”
That was when I fell in love with her. From that
moment on, I sought her out whenever she was around. I
found that I was able to have a good conversation with her
as long as we were alone, with a servant quietly watching.
Being wealthy with servants following us all over the place,
we grew up used to it. But the times when I could talk to her
without one of my sisters, our parents or a friend with us
was rare. Most of the time, I had to listen to her and Agnes
talk. I stayed as long as I could tolerate the conversation.
On several occasions, I attempted to change the topic, but
Agnes dominated the room so I gave up and left. As much
as I loved to sit and look at Ann, I could only handle so
much female talk.
I spent hours staring at her picture. It was the only
one I had of her. It was taken on her sixteenth birthday.
She gave Agnes a copy. I wanted to ask for one too but
was suddenly too nervous around her, so I offered to buy
Agnes" copy.
“Ann"s my dearest friend,” she said. “If I sell this, it"l
be like I"m selling my friendship. I can"t do that.”
I didn"t hide my disappointment. “It"s just one
picture. You have others of her.”
“True but this is her most recent one.” She paused
and gave me a careful look. “Do you love her?”
I shook my head. “Of course not.” Like I would ever
admit such a thing to my sister!
She didn"t seem convinced. To her credit, she didn"t
give me a hard time about it. “I"l tell you what. I"l ask her
for another picture.”
“You"re not going to tell her why, are you?”
“I should. It might be the first step to her becoming
my sister by marriage.”
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