Emma Barry by Brave in Heart

you, my money. Let Mother take care of you.”
    “Why?” she demanded, nostrils flaring and brow furrowed.
    He took her hands gently and used the last weapon in his arsenal. “What did I say to you the night of the dance at McDonough House? Because it’s time. We’ve spent too many years pretending we can live without each other. Where did it get us? Exactly where we started, only unhappy. Let’s try life another way, then. And until this war is over and we can be together, let me spread my mantle before you. Marry me.”
    At this, her expression softened but still she shook her head. “We may have spent time apart stupidly, but we’ve fought whenever we were together. Years ago and then again this week. Our temperaments are not well suited. That’s not a good foundation for matrimony.” She freed her hands from his and folded them in her lap, as if the matter were settled against him.
    He’d expected a struggle, but this was becoming demoralizing. Was there no way to play upon her sympathies? “We’ve been under a great strain. Marry me because you abandoned me in a stable last night.”
    She blushed and looked at the ground. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t risk my absence being noticed.”
    “You didn’t think to wake me?”
    “I wasn’t sure what to say.”
    “Then marry me to atone for your cowardice.” She looked up and smiled at him. He felt hopeful for the first time.
    He continued, eager finally to win the battle, “Marry me this afternoon and share my bed tonight.”
    He might flatter himself by thinking
that
would make his offer more appealing, but then she blushed again and his heart thumped harder. Last night excepted, he suspected she was a total innocent. In the weeks before he left, they would educate one another, if she would ever accept him.
    She paused for a long time, first contemplating his face and then the gravel at her feet. Finally she looked out, across the seminary’s grounds. She had reached a decision, he could tell. “Can we do that? Marry today?”
    “I believe so,” he spoke slowly. He hadn’t worked out all the details. His plans were progressing more quickly than he was able to lay track in front of them. “My deployment seems sufficient reason to expedite the matter. And I know most of the judges and lawyers in town. We should be able to work something out.” More than the practicalities, however, he needed to clarify. “Are you saying yes?”
    Turning toward him, she placed her hands in his. “Theodore Ward, I accept.”
    “Truly?” His heart caught in his chest. She was his. Again and forever.
    “To repent for leaving you sleeping in a stall, I will become your bride. However, there is one thing you must know. I don’t love you.”
    He felt his chest constrict. Didn’t she love him?
    She continued, “I lost the capacity for romantic love two years ago. I realized it’s a dream for young girls. I am more practical now. I am harder. I am not the woman you knew. Does that bother you? Can you truly tell me you love me?”
    He’d imagined this moment for several days. As he’d worked things out with the army, as he’d hidden his activities from Josiah and Mother, he’d known the next step was securing Margaret. And yet he never once considered she might say, well,
that
. Perhaps he should withdraw his offer?
    No! There was only one way to move in life. The past week had been a thick blur of emotion and confusion. Theo hadn’t yet worked out what it all meant. But if she would agree, there would be plenty of time for fixing labels later on.
    He recalled her question and said, “All I know is that I will go through my days with you and no other.”
    “As long as we are in accord, then, I will marry you.”
    Theo jumped to his feet and pulled her up to him. He saw several faces at the window and, in order to leave them with no doubt of what was transpiring, he dropped his face to Margaret’s and kissed her. Briefly. Chastely. In perfect keeping with