Mr. Carver.” Her aunt rubbed the palms of her hands down the front of her dress. “And I’ll thank you to keep a decent tongue in your head when you talk to him. Now go up and put on your green lawn.”
“Mr. Carver?” Elizabeth had a hard time keeping the dismay from her voice.
Not again! The man wouldn’t take no for an answer. Apparently now he was soliciting her aunt’s help in his courtship. Well, it wouldn’t work. Jonas Carver was the last man she would consider. He was such a dandy. His hands were so soft she doubted they’d ever seen an honest callus from hard work. She could hardly respect a man like that, let alone allow him to court her.
“Yes. Mr. Carver,” her aunt replied tightly. “It’s quite good of him to show such interest in you, really. You know he holds our property mortgage in his bank.”
“I don’t see how…” Elizabeth began, but her aunt cut her off.
“He’d hardly be inclined to put out relations during hard times, and you know how difficult this last winter has been on your uncle. Now go up and change.”
Elizabeth closed her mouth against the protest she’d had ready and mounted the stairs instead. She did know how difficult the winter had been and had overheard her uncle telling her aunt how tight funds were. She knew her uncle would never think of ‘selling’ her to secure the mortgage, but she also knew that desperate times called for desperate measures. And her aunt was nothing if not practical.
It just doesn’t make sense, she thought as she obeyed her aunt’s direction and changed into her green lawn dress. Why would he show such interest in me?
She was still wondering as she followed her aunt into the parlor a short time later and greeted Mr. Carver. While she wasn’t warm toward him, she attempted friendliness while trying to figure out his motives.
“Elizabeth, you look more beautiful every time I see you,” Jonas Carver said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Thank you.” She sat down in a chair.
She waited for him to seat himself as well, before asking him why he’d come. Jonas responded to her rudeness with a grin while her aunt did everything but hide her head in her hands.
“Why does a man need an excuse to visit with a beautiful woman?” He smiled, and she wondered if a mouse spotted by a cat felt as trapped as she did.
Elizabeth refused to allow his smile to charm her. She was more irritated then attracted by his manner–his whole attitude annoyed her. A half-hour later she’d managed not to disgrace herself and had held her tongue when she wanted nothing more than to tell him to go to the devil. It had become clear as the conversation progressed that he had come courting just as she’d suspected. Courting! Ugh!
It wasn’t that he wasn’t handsome and charming. He was both, in spades. It was just…something…Elizabeth couldn’t put her finger on that made her so uncomfortable in his presence. As he bowed over her hand at the door, she fought to keep from yanking it back and running straight away to the pump to scrub it clean from his touch.
“I hope I shall see you again soon,” he said before taking his leave.
“Goodbye, Mr. Carver,” Elizabeth said, hiding her relief at seeing him walk out the door.
Her aunt sighed as she watched him walk across the yard through the window.
“He is a handsome man at that. It’s a shame you don’t find him more attractive.”
“I wish I could like him,” Elizabeth surprised herself by saying.
She knew life would be much easier for her family if she would just accept his suit. She couldn’t bring herself to do so, though, without genuine affection for him. Not to mention the nagging feeling there was something she was missing about his smile and the proprietary way he looked at her.
“Oh well, perhaps with time,” Aunt Mabel said, dropping the curtain and turning toward the kitchen. “Run up and change for supper, dear. That dress is too fine for a family meal.”
As she changed into her blue calico, Elizabeth thought about what the fortuneteller had said about her not knowing herself. Was it true? Maybe it would explain why she couldn’t get excited about a handsome man like Jonas Carver. Her aunt and uncle had never talked about her parents, only telling her they had died when she had been a baby. She decided she needed to ask her aunt about her parents again.
Never one to put off something she’d decided to do, Elizabeth took the bull by the horns while they were finishing supper, and asked the question bothering her since seeing the old fortuneteller.
“Aunt Mabel, can you tell me about my parents?”
Aunt Mabel dropped her spoon, and then attempted to cover her nervousness by wiping her mouth with her apron.
“W-what made you ask that?”
Uncle David stopped eating as well, looking slightly uncomfortable as he met his wife’s nervous gaze.
“I simply wondered,” Elizabeth said, even more confused by their reactions.
“Well,” Uncle David said, clearing his throat. “The truth is….” He trailed off and looked at Aunt Mabel, who nodded faintly. He began again. “The truth is that Mabel, as you know, is your father’s sister. Your mother, Anne, died the night you were born. She knew your father would be lost, alone with a baby, so she asked him to leave you with us. He said he’d be back to get you one day when you were grown, but we haven’t heard from him in years. He used to send a little money now and then, but that hasn’t happened for a while now.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Elizabeth demanded. Her father was alive! He hadn’t died when she was born as she’d been led to believe all this time.
“We’re sorry, dear. We felt it best if you didn’t know until you were old enough to understand,” Aunt Mabel said, discreetly wiping away a tear. “We meant to tell you, but after all this time it almost seemed irrelevant.”
“But my father is still alive? He said he’d come back for me when I was older, didn’t he?” Elizabeth challenged, both scared and exhilarated at the same time. “Why didn’t you warn me sooner?”
“We’re not sure.” Uncle David shifted in his seat. “We haven’t heard from him in about five years now. He could be dead by now, for all we know.”
“No, he’s alive,” Elizabeth said with sudden certainty. Somehow she knew it was true. Pushing back her chair she stood up.
“Please don’t think less of us dear, I couldn’t bear it,” Aunt Mabel pleaded, tears shining in her blue eyes.
Elizabeth reached out and hugged her.
“Of course I don’t think less of you!” she said softly. “You’re the only parents I’ve ever known. My mother knew you were wonderful people, and that you would care for me as if I was your own, which you’ve done. She chose well. You gave me a proper home, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
Aunt Mabel hugged her tightly, before wiping her eyes with her apron.
“Bless
