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“I don’t give two figs about love,” Masters said, still shouting. “Money runs the world, not love.”
“Not in Emerson Pass,” Alexander said, calmly. “Here love wins. Always.” He stood, facing Masters head-on. “I mean you no harm, Maxwell.” He turned to my father. “Nor you, Mr. West. I’m sincerely sorry for your troubles. However, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave my home. James loves my daughter, which makes him part of my family. And I always protect my own.”
“That’s what I’m doing, you blasted idiot.” Masters glared at Alexander. “My daughter’s in trouble. I need James to marry her. He must marry her.
“Do you see, Father, what’s happened here? Masters was using me to hide the fact that his daughter got into trouble with one of the staff. They’d announce after the honeymoon that we were having a child. No one would do the math too carefully.” I turned to Masters. “‘The baby came early,’ you’d tell everyone as you handed out cigars. Meanwhile, your daughter would be miserable. I would be miserable. Both of us trapped because you won’t let her marry the man she loves.”
“What if I were using you to cover up my daughter’s terrible mistake?” Masters shook with rage. “Your father needs financial rescuing. You want to keep your job. Lena needs a husband. We all get what we want.”
“Why do you care?” I asked, bold now. “Why not just let her marry this man, poor or not? What does it matter to you? That’s the part I don’t understand. It’s not as if you need the money like my dear old dad here.”
“It matters because I would be humiliated in front of all the people who so badly want to keep me out of their world. If I allow her to marry the gardener—what does that say about us?”
My father’s voice trembled. “Please, James, you have to do it. For me. For your sister and mother.”
“You’d have me marry a woman pregnant with another man’s child?” I asked.
“If it saves us, yes. You, my son, could save us with this one unselfish act. You’d be the family hero.” Father’s earlier anger had changed into a simpering cajoling. He would be nice to me until he got what he wanted. Not this time.
“You must save yourself, Father. You got yourself into the mess, and you must get out of it.”
“You’ll never work in publishing again,” Masters said. “Your precious book career—all will be lost. Is it really worth it? This idea of love?”
I closed my eyes for a brief moment as images of the last month played before my eyes. Addie on the swing. Addie laughing by the creek. Addie’s tear-filled eyes when she admitted her feelings for me. Kissing her soft mouth, feeling the way her body yielded to me. “I would walk to the ends of the earth for Addie Barnes. I’d even turn my back on my family and the career I love to be with her. At first, I couldn’t imagine being responsible for the downfall of my family. This career I love—I’ve worked so hard to get where I am—it will hurt deeply to lose it. But none of that matters. Because now I know that without her, nothing has any meaning. Without her, I would be lost, regardless of how convenient your money made everything, Mr. Masters.” I glanced at Alexander. “I belong here anyway. It’s been my home since the very first summer I came here with Fiona and Li. I’ll find another career and make a family with Addie.” I faced my father, making myself look him in the eye even though his anger frightened me. “Father, I’m sorry for your troubles. I truly am. I wanted to save you. I thought more than anything I wanted to be the hero in our family story. For that matter, all I’ve ever wanted was for you to love me and be proud of me. There was this hole where you should have been. It’s filled now with someone else. I have Addie’s father now. He doesn’t make me beg for approval or understanding. He sees me for who I am, who I want to be. Henoticesme and respects me. I never knew what that was like until I came into this house.”
I was saved from further reprimand from Father when a noise at the front door proved to be Theo, carrying his medical bag. From the hallway came the sound of footsteps and then Quinn’s voice. “Darling, thank goodness you’re here. Lena’s in the bathroom upstairs.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Theo and his mother dart past the doorway of the sitting room toward the stairs.
“What is wrong?” Masters asked Alexander. “Why is he here?”
I couldn’t hear his reply because of the buzzing between my ears. What had Lena done to herself? She’d been hopeless, I realized now. There didn’t seem to be any solution to her problem. She simply wanted to end her suffering. She’d thought we’d all be better off without her.
“You did this.” Masters lunged for me, but I was too quick and jumped up and out of his way.
“No, you did this.” I pointed a finger at him. “This is all because of you. She loves him. Why can’t you let her have him? Wouldn’t it be better than having her kill herself? And the baby? Think about the baby.”
Mr. Masters paled and staggered backward into a chair. “Why does she want him? He’s nothing. Trash.”
“The question is not about her,” Alexander said. “We do not choose who we love in this life. The question is about you. Do you love your daughter enough to forgive her and welcome her back into your home regardless of who she’s married to or the mistake she made? It’s up to you now. You must stand up for your daughter.”
Mr. Masters’s arrogant expression drained from his face and was replaced by one of bewilderment. His aggressive stance seemed to dissipate as his hands dropped to his sides. “What if…what if…” Masters couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.
But we all knew. What if she didn’t make it?
“What will I do then?” Mr. Masters asked, his voice breaking. “She’s all I have.”
“Oh, for God’s sake.” My father’s entire being trembled with rage. “What’s it matter? You’re rich. You can buy a new daughter if you want. What do I have?” He jabbed a red finger in my direction. “All I’ve got is this miserable excuse for a son. My own boy deserting his family. Can you imagine that, Masters? Would you boo-hoo about that?”
Alexander was on his feet by then. He grabbed my father by the shoulders and spoke to him quietly but firmly. “You, sir, are no longer welcome in my home. I’ll arrange for tickets home. You will depart on the late-afternoon train.”
“Leave it to me, Barnes,” Masters said. “I’ll send him back.”
“Please, Masters, take pity on me.” My father whined now, ridiculous and small. I was no longer afraid of him. He was a worm, not worthy of my love or fear. “The same arrangement we talked about can still work.”
“But what do you give me?” Masters said. “What could you possibly have that would entice me into rescuing you and your family?”
“You could feel like a good man,” Father said. “A man who keeps his word. Unlike my poor excuse of a son.”
