Claire‟s head was spinning by the time she got home that evening.

She didn‟t know whether to trust Austin hansworth or not. He asked for her coat and slipped it over her shoulders by the end of the dance and escorted her to his personal taxi driver, Clinton Williams , who congratulated them on their engagement and took her home. Austin walked with her to the front door of the apartment and wished her a good night and said he would see her at the bank on Monday.

It almost seemed too good to be true, except she wasn‟t marrying for love. She had always hoped to marry for love, but a

spinster whose father was up to his eyeballs in debt could hardly expect her prince to waltz through the door and take her off to his enchanted castle where they would live happily ever after. She read enough books to understand the difference between fairytales

and reality. She could be content with marrying Austin to fulfill a business agreement.

The next day, Beatrice ice sent her a telegram asking her to come by for a snack in the afternoon. Claire walked to Beatrices‟house since it wasn‟t too far from where she lived. When she arrived at the two story, three bedroom home, Beatrice‟s five year old daughter came running out to hug her.

“Good day, Miss Claire,” the girl greeted.

“Good day, Tracy. How are you?”

“I‟m doing good. My mama said that we can see you more now that you‟re getting married.”

Claire sighed. She couldn‟t believe word had spread so quickly. She didn‟t tell anyone. Did Austin do this?

“Mr. Sussex said that you were getting sweet on him but he had to put a stop to your advances before you broke Mr. Hansworth‟s heart.”

She rolled her eyes. Mr. Sussex would be eager to tell everyone how she adored him. She forced her stomach ache

aside. The very memory of feeling his arms around her and his “accidental” slip on her bottom made her shiver in disgust. At

least with Austin, she felt comfortable.

Beatrice showed up at the front door, holding her newborn son in her arms. “Claire, how wonderful it is to see you! I was hoping you‟d come by.”

“How are you today, Beatrice?”

Tracy followed Claire into the house and followed her and Beatrice to the parlor.

“Will you please sit?” Beatrice offered.

Claire nodded and sat on the pink couch. Tracy sat next to her. Beatrice loved pink and frilly things. Claire always felt more like

a tomboy next to her childhood friend. She preferred blues and greens and solid colored furnishings. Her tastes were simpler as

well. Beatrice loved to fill each room of her house with countless figurines and knickknacks. Claire would rather fill her place with books and travel brochures.

“Would you mind holding little Iomew while I get some coffee and cookies?” she asked.

Claire nodded. “I‟d love to hold him.”“Who knows? Maybe you can use him for practice for when you hold your own little one. Wouldn‟t it be fun if we could take our children to the park together?”

Before Claire could answer, Beatrice handed her the baby and left the room. She sighed as she held the baby in her arms. He was sleeping. She hadn‟t expected news to travel so fast, but it made her feel overwhelmed. She wasn‟t happy with the fact that

she fit in with Beatrice‟s world because she was going to be married. She hated the unwritten rule that said she couldn‟t spend

much time with her childhood friend as long as she was a spinster.

If she wanted to be around Beatrice ‟s husband, she could understand the need for such a rule, but she merely wanted to see

Beatrice and talk to her.

Suddenly she felt sad. She was only worth something because she was going to marry someone. Otherwise, very few

people cared she existed. Beatrice cares. She always cared. It was just her husband that forbade her to socialize with me unless I was married. Did a woman have to blindly follow her husband‟s rules? Couldn‟t she

maintain her own personality and interests even if she was married? Did Austin think that he could control her once they married? There‟s no way I‟ll let him control me! I‟ll still be my own person.

Just because I change my last name, it doesn‟t mean I give up who I am.

Beatrice returned with the coffee and cookies. She set the tray on a white table decorated with pink roses. “Tracy, put your

napkin in your lap if you wish to eat.”

“Yes, Mama,” she obeyed as she spread the pink napkin out.

“I will take him so you can eat and drink,” Beatrice offered.

Sue handed him back to her. She knew she wouldn‟t ever have a child of her own. Pushing aside the depressing thought,

she turned her attention to Beatrice who sat in the chair across from her.“So, how did you get engaged to Austin hansworth?” Beatrice

wondered, her eyes wide in interest. “I heard that he was ardently opposed to marriage. What is your secret?”

“There is no secret. He‟s marrying me so he can receive his father‟s inheritance. Really, it‟s not a big deal.” She took a sip

of the coffee and added some sugar.

“I heard that he couldn‟t stand his father. His father abandoned him and his mother when he was ten.”

She glanced at her friend. “How do you know so much about him?”

“My husband does business with him on occasion when he needs financial assistance with his investments.”Jim Hawke was well-known for his store, Hawke‟s Buggies

and Horse Supplies. He made a decent living but he didn‟t handle his money very well so he consulted Austin for investing advice. Claire considered that Austin ‟s advice was working because Beatrice recently got the diamond necklace.

“Oh, I just remembered your necklace.” She pulled it out of her coat pocket and handed it to her. “Thank you for letting

me borrow it two Fridays in a row.”

“You‟re welcome,” Beatrice replied. “I‟m just happy it worked. You snagged the most sought after bachelor in Virginia.

I hear about him from the luncheons at the Ladies‟ Hall. He‟s the man women want to marry and men want to be. You‟re very

lucky. Anyway, you‟ll get to join us now that you‟re marrying Austin.

In fact, you‟ll be one of the wealthiest women there. Everyone will love you.”

“Because I‟ll be rich?” She set the cup down. She lost her appetite. Was her life really going to revolve around luncheons

and other pointless social endeavors?

“Rich women are treated like royalty. You‟re making a tremendous jump.”

“I‟m only marrying Austin because of an arrangement. He can only receive his father‟s money if he marries someone for sixmonths. I agreed to it because I will get half the money which will cover my father‟s debts.”

“So this is a business arrangement?”

She nodded. “And it will only be for six months.”

She frowned. “I didn‟t know that. Then you won‟t be having children?”

“No. We agreed to keep it platonic.”

“Then we can‟t go to the children‟s events together. And once six months is up, I won‟t be able to see you as often anymore. It‟ll be even worse though since you‟ll be a divorced

woman.”

“It will be an annulment.”

“Still, I had hoped this would be the start of our being best friends again.”

“I don‟t think I‟ll be going to all those social functions either. I like my life, Beatrice. I enjoy my quiet time in my

apartment where I can be alone and read. I like sitting in the library surrounded by books. I like visiting my family on the farm

and helping with the cattle and fixing things around the place. I like racing my siblings on the horses and lassoing cattle. What do

you spend your day doing?”

“Entertaining guests and joining other married women to luncheons and playgroups for our children.”

“Do you ever get to travel with jim?”

“Jim doesn‟t like to travel. I don‟t either though, so it works out. Once you get married, you learn to enjoy entertaining

at home and doing social activities in town.”

“Marriage sounds boring if that‟s what I‟m expected to do.”

“Oh, you‟ll learn to like it. Once you start doing these things, you‟ll even think it‟s fun.” Beatrice handed her a cookie.

“Try this. It‟s my new recipe.”

She reluctantly took the cookie and bit into it. “It‟s good.”

“Do you know much about Austin?”“Not really. I met him because I kept pestering everyone at the bank.”

“I heard about that. Why did you keep going there and

causing such a fuss?”

“Do you remember the parable Jesus told about the old widow and the judge? She kept going to his office to take care of

a wrong that was done to her and the only reason he took care of the problem was because she wouldn‟t give up. I thought if I did the same thing, my father would be able to keep his land and house.”

“It worked. Austin is marrying you so you can get money to bail your father out of debt. I guess it‟s a good thing you don‟t

quit.”

She sighed. “He called me a nag. Do you think I‟m a nag?”

“You‟re very...persistent. When something is important to you, you don‟t give up until you obtain your goal.”

“Just the kind of attribute that makes for a poor wife, don‟t you think?”

“Since you‟re not staying married to him, it doesn‟t matter what kind of personality you have.”

“In other words, I will make a poor wife.”

“I didn‟t say that. You‟re putting words in my mouth, clarie.

You have a lot of great things going for you. You‟re passionate, strong-willed, persistent, and bold.”

“And what is it that men want?”

“Well, Jim tells me that men like women who are submissive to their husbands. You know, women should be soft spoken, delicate, sweet, and obedient.”

“How cute. Are you allowed to do anything you want or is it all about what he wants?”

“clarie, don‟t be so negative. It is God‟s way.”

“I don‟t think I care much for this.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Much love

V.A💙