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"You don't really want to know."
"How much?" Her eyes widened.
"Five thousand dollars."
She opened her mouth to say something and nothing came out. Her eyes had tears in them now. "I don't believe it! And you thought he had that much money? Did he look like a rich man to you?"
"At first, yeah. I mean, he said he had assets. When he explained later, I didn't know what to do. He said he never welched on a deal. He was so sure he had a winning hand. And he showed me the hand, Beth. It was worth betting on. He had a full house!"
"In more ways than one!" She retorted.
"Don't be too hard on him. Afterwards, he brought me home with him. And I saw you again. You were leaning against that weeping willow tree by the pond out there, your eyes were closed, but I could see you were breathing. I thought you were the most beautifully untouched thing I'd ever seen. So I told him…I knew how he could repay me. He agreed. So now…we're engaged to marry."
"My God!" She cried aloud. She stomped about in a tizzy. "This doesn't happen in real life! It can't. It's barbaric. A man and a woman are supposed to fall in love, then the man gets on one knee and proposes to the woman. That's how it is supposed to be."
"It's life, Beth. I'd never hurt you." He promised. "And don't be too hard on your folks, you are of age, and…well…"
She stared at him now. "You won't touch me?"
"Not unless you want me to."
"I don't. Not ever!"
He laughed, a soft laugh, as though he knew better.
"You do consent though, right?" He smiled crookedly at her. "To the marriage that is?"
"You'd marry a woman that wouldn't let you touch her?" She asked stunned by his insistence.
His smile spread across his face, and her heart nearly stopped beating, he was so-o handsome. That smile could melt a piece of chocolate, she thought to herself.
When he didn't say anything, she cocked her head and stared.
"Do I really have a choice?"
"You don't want your father to go to jail do you?"
"Jail?"
"He owes me $5,000. Plus, I threw in another thousand to feed his family with. Granted I think of myself as a generous man, but, that is a lot of money."
Her mouth opened but nothing came out.
Now the reality hit hard. This was real. This man had made a deal for her, and her father had accepted. That was the crime, her father accepted the deal.
"How do you know he'll feed his family, he could gamble it away too."
"Not hardly, the money is at the general store, on an account I opened in his name. With strict instructions for him to feed his family with."
"You've thought of everything, haven't you?"
"Tried to, yes."
"And what do I have to do?"
"Just marry me."
