Into the Wilderness (9 page)

There
was a little sigh from the younger woman—relief? Disappointment? But Katherine
followed
Elizabeth
's
lead and put the subject of the Bonners aside. "An appointment in the
village, he said. Let me tell you, Elizabeth, although I would not say it to
him, that it is truly wonderful to have a young man of fashion and taste in
Paradise
."

Elizabeth
smiled at this description of her brother. "What about Dr. Todd?" she
asked."He seems a very likely young man."

Katherine
reddened and sat back to sip at her tea.
Elizabeth
saw clearly that she had disconcerted her visitor.
Now it is my turn to want more information than is seemly,
Elizabeth
thought.
A good lesson.

* * *

In
the early evening her father came to find her where she read in the study, all
excitement about the coming party and eager to share his enthusiasm with her.

"Well,
Lizzie," he said, trying very hard to appear solemn. "What are you
wearing this evening?"

Elizabeth
put
down her paper and quill and looked up at her father where he paced back and
forth before the fire. At more than sixty he was still a very fine looking man,
with an imposing figure, a high forehead, and a mane of gray hair bound at the
nape of his neck with a simple black band. Powdered wigs were going out of
fashion, and he had been quick to give them up; his full head of hair had
always been a point of pride. Her father's color was very high,
Elizabeth
noted, and she
wondered about his health, although she was pleased to see that he was in good
spirits.

"Do
I need to change, Father?" she asked, looking down at herself.

"What!"
he cried out. "Gray for a party?"

Elizabeth
smiled. "I usually wear gray, Father, but I have another gown which might
please you better. I will wear that."

"Good!"
he said, satisfied.

"I
want to show you off this evening."

She
hesitated. "Father, I hope you will not think me forward, but I have
invited Mr. Bonner and his son to the party. So that we can discuss the
building of the schoolhouse." Her father had no objection to this, she
could see, and so she continued.

"I
am very much looking forward to meeting all your friends," she said.
"But I would like to remind you that I have no intention of
marrying."

The
judge drew up, surprised, and turned to her with his hands clasped behind his
back. His lips pursed, he considered his daughter for a long minute, until
Elizabeth
began to grow
uncomfortable under his gaze.

"This
cannot possibly surprise you,"
Elizabeth
said finally. "I have been honest with you from the beginning."

"I
would like you to marry," her father said shortly. "It would be a
comfort to know you well provided for beyond my death."

"I
have some money of my own,"
Elizabeth
said. "You know that. I will never want for basic necessities. And when
one day you are gone—I don't foresee that in the near future, but when that day
comes, then I hope that my brother will be of assistance to me. He will not
lack for material wealth."

The
judge frowned. "You have more faith in your brother's ability to put his
past behind him than I do," he said. "If he manages to reform, you
may be right. But who knows what will happen? No, I would be remiss not to take
your prospects and your best interests into consideration, my dear. And there
is the matter of the land. The stewardship of this land is something I take
very seriously indeed."

Elizabeth
hesitated. "I do hope that Julian will keep his promise to you and to
me," she said. "I think the repercussions of his actions are clear to
him, finally, and I hope that the lesson will stay learned. He is capable of
learning how best to manage the family holdings. He is certainly
interested."

The
judge gave a short wheeze of impatience. "You cannot build your future on
your hopes for your brother. You need someone else to depend on, once I am
gone."

"I
trust that I shall always be able to depend upon myself," said
Elizabeth
with what she
hoped was a disarming smile.

The
judge walked up and down the room once, his hands crossed on his lower back.
"
Elizabeth
,
what kind of father would I be if I didn't make provision for you?" He
seemed to consider, and then strode to his desk. From his waistcoat pocket the
judge took a small key, and opening a drawer he took out a piece of paper.
Squinting a bit, he looked it over, and then he came to
Elizabeth
and put it in her hand.

""Deed
of Gift,""
Elizabeth
read aloud.

The
judge was looking very satisfied with himself. "The original patent,"
he said. "All of it, which includes Hidden Wolf. A thousand acres, my
dear. For you. The rest of the property—another two thousand acres—is meant for
your brother, of course. One day, when he has proven himself. It has been my
life's work, and it is my primary concern to maintain the family holdings
together and in trust for my children, and generations to come.

Confused,
Elizabeth
looked
up at her father, and then down at the document again.

“. .
. said property and all leases and improvements upon it to the only use and
behoof of my said daughter Elizabeth Middleton, her heirs and assigns . . .”

"But
why?"
Elizabeth
said. "Why now, and in this manner? This is surely highly unusual."

"I
thought you would be pleased," the judge said, a little affronted.

"Father,"
Elizabeth
began. "Please do not think me ungrateful. I simply don't understand what
would move you to do something like this."

"It
is not so unusual," said the judge, "to want to see your property
well disposed of in the capable hands of trustworthy children."

Elizabeth
wanted to take her father's words at their face value, to believe that she had
his trust. But he would not meet her eye, and he began to gnaw on the stem of
his pipe quite ferociously.

"It
is unusual to pass valuable property into the hands of an unmarried
daughter," she said. "I could do with it as I please, after
all." Then she looked at the deed once again. A wave of understanding
washed through her and left her feeling hollow.

"You
haven't signed it yet," she said. "And it isn't witnessed."

The
judge rocked back on his heels. "I will sign it before witnesses on the
day you marry.

Startled,
Elizabeth
rose
from her seat. "And whom do you have in mind for my husband?"

"Richard
Todd," her father answered simply. "I thought that was obvious. It is
an excellent match, Lizzie. Together you will have some five thousand acres.
Not as large as some of the patents to the west, but sufficient. You shall be
well provided for, no matter what foolery your brother gets up to with his
lands once I am gone. Richard can be entrusted to look after Julian's interests
as well as yours."

Elizabeth
's
knees were trembling. For a moment she thought she might be truly ill. How
could she not be, with this bitter pill her father was asking her to swallow.
She had come so far, and had such hopes of another life, only to find that he
had been bartering away her freedom before she had ever had a chance to
experience it. And for this he expected her admiration and gratitude. It was
too much to bear, and yet she must, if anything was to be salvaged. She folded
her hands tightly together and gave her father a look she had learned from her
aunt Merriweather, the one reserved for the most outrageous of men's endless
maneuverings. "I wonder that you think I am so dim—witted that I wouldn't
see through this ploy."

"There
is no ploy," the judge sputtered. "What have I done but to offer you
almost half of my most valuable holdings?"

Elizabeth
shook her head with such force that her hair began to slip from its pins.

"A
married woman cannot possess land. If you sign that on the day marry, the
property goes almost directly to Richard Todd. It is not for me, but for
yourself and for him that you are doing this. You must esteem him very highly.
Or perhaps you fear him?"

"I
am doing it for you," the judge fairly roared, waving the paper in her
face. "A husband is someone who will look after your interests. If I die
and all my property goes to your brother, he will gamble it into nothing in a
year. I have spent my life building this village out of wilderness and it will
all be for naught, and then where will you be?"

"Where
I am right now, with a little money of my own and no property," said
Elizabeth
, raising her
voice to speak over her father's blustering. "If you really wanted to show
your concern for me and protect me from Julian's excesses, you would sign that
deed today, and trust me to marry or not according to my own best
interests."

There
was a silence while
Elizabeth
watched her father stalk away to lock the deed in his desk.

"There
is more at stake here than you are acknowledging," she said. "Is
there some financial problem I don't know about?"

"None
that concerns you," he said shortly.

"I
would say that it concerns me if you are trying to marry me to stranger in
order to resolve your difficulties,"
Elizabeth
responded.

He
spun toward her, and she saw the ticking of a pulse in his cheek.

"Have
I struck too close to the truth, Father?"

"I
have had some bad luck with an investment," the judge said slowly.
"That I will not discuss with you."

"Well,
then,"
Elizabeth
said. "If Richard Todd is so keen to have more land, sell the thousand
acres to him. I would hope that would provide the liquidity that you lack, and
there would still be two thousand acres for us, surely enough to live in
comfort."

Her
father flushed so deep a red that
Elizabeth
was alarmed.

"I
have spent thirty years," he began, his voice wavering. "I have
invested my life in this land. I will not sell it, not at any price. I am
asking you to consider Richard's offer of marriage, because it would keep the
property in the family, and resolve my difficulties. But I am also convinced
that Richard would be a good husband to you and look after your best
interests."

"It
is very unfortunate,"
Elizabeth
began in a tone that was calmer, but clear and resolved, "that we must
argue on my first day here. But I hope you will do me the favor of believing me
when I tell you that I will never consider marrying Dr. Todd. I could not marry
someone who keeps slaves. Even if I loved him, I still could not marry him. My
conscience would not allow it."

"He
is the right husband for you," her father said. "If you were more sensible,
you would see that."

There
was a moment's silence as
Elizabeth
struggled with her temper.

"Then
I am not sensible," she said. "But I will not act against my
conscience.

"There's
no other man suited to you in station or property for many miles."

"You
will not sell your property, but you will sell your daughter, have I understood
you correctly?"

"You
are impertinent!" he sputtered. "I would have expected that my sister
might have done a better job with you—"

"Do
you care, Father, about what I want?"

"I
care about your welfare."

"Listen
to me. What I want is independence. It is the grand blessing of life, the basis
of every virtue; and independence I will ever secure by contracting my wants,
though I were to live on a barren heath." Do you know who wrote
that?"

"I
haven't the slightest idea," the judge said, exasperated.

Elizabeth
picked up the slim volume she had been reading when he found her and she handed
it to him. "Mrs. Wollstonecraft.
A
Vindication of the Rights of Women'
."

The
judge looked down at the volume in his hand and then shook his head.

"You
are being influenced by this, by this—"

"Yes"
Elizabeth
said.
"I have been influenced by these writings. But no more than you have been
by the writings of Thomas Paine."