“Minnie. Every moment with you is a blessing. I told you I would be happy to be married to you. If, once the danger passes, you want to annul the marriage, we’ll figure it out. Now. No more questions about what I want, as I’ve made that abundantly clear. What is ityouwant?”
She looked him in the eye and took a breath. Here it was. A decision that would change the rest of her life, even with his talk of annulment, which, strangely, seemed to unsettle him.
She had been restless last night, knowing that no matter what she chose, her life would never be the same. There were unknowns no matter what decision she made – to follow through with her father’s plans, to marry Tommy, or to run away completely.
When she considered how following each path made her feel, however, only one made her feel safe. The one in which she wouldn’t be completely alone in whatever she faced.
“Yes, Tommy. I’d like to marry you.”
Tommy’s shoulders softened in relief at her decision.
He knew that she was scared of marriage, no matter who it was to, but at least he could protect her, keep her safe, if nothing else. He tried to ease the ache that had arisen when he had offered her a way out of the marriage.
“Glad to hear it,” he said, hoping his smile belied the depths of his thoughts.
“How would we even do this?” she asked, her concerns sinking in as she considered the possibility. “My father requested a common license, and I could be bartered away within days. We do not have the weeks to read the banns, and any warning my father would receive would cause him to fight this.”
Tommy grinned. “I’ve been preparing my entire life for this.”
“What does that mean?”
“Plotting. Scheming. Usually, I put my talents to use for practical jokes, but I like the idea of actually having some use for them.”
“What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to get out of here,” he said. “Fancy a trip to Scotland?”
“Scotland?”
“While you were thinking about whether or not you were going to marry me, I was thinking abouthowwe would marry. There’s only one solution — we elope. Run away to Gretna Green. I hear there’s a blacksmith shop there that would be just perfect. Rather fitting, if you ask me.”
“Tommy, we could have done that twenty-five years ago, but I think there are laws now. You can’t just arrive and get married, even in Scotland.”
“Leave that to me,” he said confidently. “I’ve been known to talk my way into something more than a time or two. If it is done in Scotland, it will be harder to prove that we lied. And once we’re married, how can anyone argue that we did so wrongly?”
“Really?” she said wryly. “It’s called an annulment. You suggested it yourself, remember?”
“Yes, but by the time that’s all settled, this should all have passed over.”
She studied him. “You just live life one day at a time, don’t you? Take problems as they come?”
“Pretty much,” he admitted.
“Have you ever been to Scotland?” she asked, her eyes wide. Sitting there in her pretty pink dress in the middle of his soot-filled shop, she looked entirely out of place yet it felt like she perfectly belonged.
“I have not,” he said. “But now is as good a time as any for some adventure, is it not?”
He expected her to balk at that, but he was surprised when her eyes lit up.
“I would love some adventure.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” he said with a grin. “I looked at the train schedules. If we leave tomorrow morning, we should be able to get a good start. We can take the train to Carlisle, and then there is a quick local connection to Gretna Green.”
He had also looked at the fare prices. Booking third-class tickets for the two of them would cost him about a month's wages – money he couldn’t afford, especially when trying to save for Cindy’s medication.
But there was no other choice.
“I’ve heard of people being married there, but it always seemed like something out of fairy tales.”
