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“Because she has been every bit as much trouble since she kept away from me as she was when we saw one another nearly every day,” the blacksmith replied.
“So you admit to having been in a relationship with her?” Crispin asked.
“I can hardly deny it. There are enough people coming around to ask me that I think I would be a fool to even try. Yes, I am in love with her and we used to meet regularly until her mother caught and forbade her from coming to see me. It was the worst day of my life when I received a letter from her saying that she could no longer see me,” the man said.
“Then why do you go along with it? Do you not realise that you could put a stop to all of this? A woman is suffering because Lady Charlotte lied about these things. If you went to Lord Comstead, you could make things right. Tell him that you have been seeing Lady Charlotte,” Crispin urged.
But the blacksmith shook his head in annoyance. “Goodness, do you all have to ask me the same thing? Ah, the tall woman—she is your sister, is she not? She came in with the mousy girl whom my Charlotte has supposedly harmed.”
“Mousy?” Crispin asked, offended on Mary’s behalf. “She is not mousy. She is gentle and kind and sweet.”
“Well, I saw her for only a moment and I think she is rather different from my Charlotte,” he said.
“Thank goodness for that,” Crispin replied.
“How dare you? You think poorly of the woman I love?” the blacksmith asked.
“Of course I do! She is a viper and a temptress! Mary is a virtuous woman. She is every bit the sort of wife a man could desire,” he said.
“Ah, the stepsister. Of course. I had surmised that’s who she was, but no one confirmed it. Well, I would never want a woman who did not have the boldness and heart of Charlotte,” he said.
Crispin realised just how different he and this man were, but he also realised that Mary’s sweetness was often viewed as weakness, which only made him angrier. No wonder her stepmother and Lady Charlotte had pushed her around like this. She was meek and lovely while they were fierce. But it did not make Mary any less brave or capable.
And in that moment, Crispin had come because he needed to ensure that all of this came to an end. And he needed that to happen soon.
“I must ask you, what is it that you want from life? What is it that you want from Lady Charlotte?” Crispin asked.
“My Charlotte? Why, I wish to spend my life with her, of course. I wish to forever be bound to her and she to me. I wish that we may run off and away together and be free of her overbearing mother,” he said.
“Then why have you not done so? Why have you not gone to her and begged her to run away with you?” Crispin asked.
The blacksmith looked down in shame, clearly not wanting to answer. Crispin understood. He knew what the man was thinking.
“You fear that she will deny you?” he asked.
The blacksmith took a deep breath. He looked up at Crispin and Harry once more.
“She is meant to marry someone like you—a man with a title and money. She is meant to spend her days in a fine home, drinking wine and eating a feast each and every day. I cannot offer her any of that. I cannot give her dozens of gowns or shoes. I can only hope that she will feel my love is more important than any of that,” he said.
“And how are you going to find out? Will you forever just wait here, hoping she will come and see you? Or are you going to give her the chance to make a choice? Are you going to force her to pick between you and the life she has?” Crispin asked.
“You make it sound so easy, but it is not. She is a good woman, despite your opinion. I love her and I want her to be happy. I do not wish to take those things of comfort away from her,” he said.
“You know that she would have married me? That was her mother’s plan. She would marry me and then I expect she intended to continue the affair with you. You are the man she loves. Maybe she simply needs you to come forward and show her that you are still the one she ought to choose,” Crispin said.
The blacksmith was clearly frustrated and perplexed. Crispin understood; this was a very difficult thing to figure out and they needed to decide what to do next. This man had to choose whether or not he would pursue love.
And that was something to which Crispin could relate.
“I have spent these past few weeks trying to atone for Lady Charlotte’s mistakes. I have done all that I can to overcome her lies. I have tried my hardest to bring happiness to my sweet Mary. But it has been nearly impossible. I have barely seen her. I miss her terribly. And there is nothing more I can do unless you are willing to speak with Lady Charlotte,” Crispin said, pleading.
“I do not know if I have the fight left in me,” the blacksmith said.
Crispin laughed at the irony. “I felt the same just two days ago. But then, I remembered that I had something worth fighting for. I could not give up on her, no matter what. She means everything to me.
I need her in my life and I need to know that my heart wants her more than it wants comfort. And you? Is Lady Charlotte more important than your comfort? Is she worth the risk to approach her despite her mother?” Crispin asked.
The blacksmith was caught. It was evident that he was struggling against that question. But Crispin knew that he would make the right choice. He knew in his heart that this man was just like him. He was desperate to be with the woman he loved and he would do whatever might be necessary to overcome those who wanted to keep them apart.
