-Chapter One:
I sighed as I watched Issac Appleby shut the gate to my house as he left. He was a tall, strong man and walked straight as he headed to his horse; this fact annoyed me a bit...surely a man shouldn't look so confident after he had just had his marriage proposal refused.
I had told him clearly that I was perfectly happy with my life. When my husband had died years ago he had made sure I was comfortable and I wanted nothing. As of that, one husband was enough for me and I had no intention of marrying again.
That was really the only reason I refused him. He is not a bad- looking man with waving auburn hair and brown eyes...and he owns his own fertile land. But not only was I happy with my life, but his proposal was a bit too business-like to me. Oh, he had walked me home from church for over a week and brought me flowers and the like.
"Anne," he had said, leaning forward as he spoke one night. "My dear sister died several weeks ago. She was a good creature who took care of my house and cooked for me. But now she is gone and I'm finding it hard to work in the fields and take care of the house by myself. Would you marry me?"
Imagine that! Right out of the blue...and his reasons for proposing! If he had slipped in an "I'm lonely and need companionship" I might have pitied him and consented to be his. But to ask such a question without any romance! As if this was purely business! So I told him 'no' good and sharp.
Issac did not look too crushed and told me matter-of-factly that I was not the only one who would do for his wife. So I was not surprised when two weeks later my cousin Melissa came over with news that Issac had proposed to her.
"I had company over last night," she said proudly. Melissa is my older cousin, and has never been married. "Issac Appeby came over with a marriage proposal." That was how she greeted me!
"What did you say?"
"I turned him down. Really, I feel quite sorry for him. Now that I've said 'no' there are no eligible women left in the village."
I looked at her slightly annoyed...the airs she put on when she never had half as many beaus as me when we were young! "Well, I never told you that Issac came over last month with a marriage proposal to me!" I felt she needed to be snubbed.
This was definitely cold water on Melissa's pride. We were best friends when we were young...and still are now. But I was always prettier then her and better at cooking and though she is smarter she was always jealous. I knew it angered her that she had been asked second...as if she was second-best.
"Well!" was all she could say.
"So you really did turn him down?" I asked curiously. I was actually quite surprised. I am a widow, but Melissa is an old maid and I know she has a secret longing for marriage. There have been rumors going around that an old beau of hers -from Kingsdale- is coming around and I guess it is true otherwise why would she say 'no' to a respectable bachelor? For her sake I hope it's true. Melissa is not as pretty as me...but I will say that her hair is always so beautifully arranged and so red, while I will admit mine is starting to gray.
"Of course I did. He never had any notion of getting married until his sister died. All he wants is a housekeeper...and now I find he asked me to marry him two weeks after you refused him!" The way she said it made me know that this new fact rankled Melissa...she never liked to be second best.
"Do you suppose he will go find a wife from farther away?"
"No," came Melissa satisfied answer. I suspected that she wanted him to suffer after learning that he had asked me first. "Jersey Cove is too secluded. He will just have to live on his own cooking and in a dusty house for all I care!"
"He'll probably get a relative of his to come over and help him."
"Not likely! He's the only unmarried one in his family. And besides, he lives on the farthest part of the island...who would want to move so far from the city?"
"I did hear he was going to get a dog."
"A dog!"
I sighed as I watched Issac Appleby shut the gate to my house as he left. He was a tall, strong man and walked straight as he headed to his horse; this fact annoyed me a bit...surely a man shouldn't look so confident after he had just had his marriage proposal refused.
I had told him clearly that I was perfectly happy with my life. When my husband had died years ago he had made sure I was comfortable and I wanted nothing. As of that, one husband was enough for me and I had no intention of marrying again.
That was really the only reason I refused him. He is not a bad- looking man with waving auburn hair and brown eyes...and he owns his own fertile land. But not only was I happy with my life, but his proposal was a bit too business-like to me. Oh, he had walked me home from church for over a week and brought me flowers and the like.
"Anne," he had said, leaning forward as he spoke one night. "My dear sister died several weeks ago. She was a good creature who took care of my house and cooked for me. But now she is gone and I'm finding it hard to work in the fields and take care of the house by myself. Would you marry me?"
Imagine that! Right out of the blue...and his reasons for proposing! If he had slipped in an "I'm lonely and need companionship" I might have pitied him and consented to be his. But to ask such a question without any romance! As if this was purely business! So I told him 'no' good and sharp.
Issac did not look too crushed and told me matter-of-factly that I was not the only one who would do for his wife. So I was not surprised when two weeks later my cousin Melissa came over with news that Issac had proposed to her.
"I had company over last night," she said proudly. Melissa is my older cousin, and has never been married. "Issac Appeby came over with a marriage proposal." That was how she greeted me!
"What did you say?"
"I turned him down. Really, I feel quite sorry for him. Now that I've said 'no' there are no eligible women left in the village."
I looked at her slightly annoyed...the airs she put on when she never had half as many beaus as me when we were young! "Well, I never told you that Issac came over last month with a marriage proposal to me!" I felt she needed to be snubbed.
This was definitely cold water on Melissa's pride. We were best friends when we were young...and still are now. But I was always prettier then her and better at cooking and though she is smarter she was always jealous. I knew it angered her that she had been asked second...as if she was second-best.
"Well!" was all she could say.
"So you really did turn him down?" I asked curiously. I was actually quite surprised. I am a widow, but Melissa is an old maid and I know she has a secret longing for marriage. There have been rumors going around that an old beau of hers -from Kingsdale- is coming around and I guess it is true otherwise why would she say 'no' to a respectable bachelor? For her sake I hope it's true. Melissa is not as pretty as me...but I will say that her hair is always so beautifully arranged and so red, while I will admit mine is starting to gray.
"Of course I did. He never had any notion of getting married until his sister died. All he wants is a housekeeper...and now I find he asked me to marry him two weeks after you refused him!" The way she said it made me know that this new fact rankled Melissa...she never liked to be second best.
"Do you suppose he will go find a wife from farther away?"
"No," came Melissa satisfied answer. I suspected that she wanted him to suffer after learning that he had asked me first. "Jersey Cove is too secluded. He will just have to live on his own cooking and in a dusty house for all I care!"
"He'll probably get a relative of his to come over and help him."
"Not likely! He's the only unmarried one in his family. And besides, he lives on the farthest part of the island...who would want to move so far from the city?"
"I did hear he was going to get a dog."
"A dog!"