"Ouch!" It was the fourth time so far. Four times that, stumbling along the path in near pitch-black darkness, Emily had stubbed her toe on something.
Bart was a sweet man, but ... why, oh, why! ... did he have to insist on having her do this at night? And what about the dress? Daddy would just kill her if something were to happen to it...
She wanted to wait until early morning just after light, but he didn't want to. 'What if your father comes back early?' Bart had asked. 'We can stay on the boat overnight - in separate cabins, of course - and we won't have to worry then about being late for the sailing.'
Easy enough for him to say that, Emily grumbled to herself, he doesn't have to haul this heavy thing around.
But, at long last, she reached the old oak tree, her favorite spot and meeting place. "Finally," she grumbled again. That bag of gold was heavy...
Emily set the bulging leather case down, and then she took off her cloak and carefully placed it on the rock beneath the old tree. She was glad that the night wasn't too cold, otherwise she would've had to keep wearing the thing and wait the whole time on her feet: there was no way that she was going to take any chances with an antique silk wedding dress. Carefully, she sat down upon the covered rock and pulled the edges of the cloak around her knees.
A few minutes later, the low, deep, melancholy note of a foghorn filled the misty night air. On the foggy nights like tonight, it did this three times an hour - handy for keeping track of time, but, hopefully, Bart would not be too long.
Now that she had some time to think, Emily spent some of it mulling over the plans. It was going to be a busy few days - first their wedding, and then the business errand that they had to run.
Daddy didn't much care for her fiancé right now, but he'd be sure to come around once he saw how good a head her man had for business. Bart had told her about this opportunity and it seemed like a good idea to her.
Bart knew a lot of people and had a lot of friends: one of them had inherited a house from his uncle - he had planned to sell it, but there was a mortgage against it. Unfortunately for him, the term was fixed, so he couldn't do it, even if it was worth a lot more than the amount of the loan.
So Bart had arranged for them to buy the loan. A good investment backed by the value of the house, he said, and they would get it back with interest plus a share of the profits when the house sold. All of his own money was currently invested but, luckily for them, there was just enough in her dowry to cover the amount...
She had wanted to tell Daddy about the deal, but Bart thought it would be a better idea to just surprise him and show him the money after they made it.
Emily sighed. Money stuff was boring and she was glad that Bart was good at handling it. She'd rather think about the wedding plans, anyway.
Tomorrow afternoon the ship's captain would marry them on deck just like her parents had done. Oh, how romantic! The very thought of it was nearly enough to take her breath away, and she giggled with delight...
The foghorn sounded again. Midnight! It was midnight already, and Bart should be arriving at any moment.
But he didn't. The young girl tried hard not to worry, but it was very dark and the moon wasn't out that night. What if he had fallen and hurt himself?
Now she was wishing that she had insisted on meeting him back at the cottage. But ... he could be stubborn when he wanted to be. Maybe a few years of marriage - and a few children - would change that.
Patiently, she waited. And waited ... the foghorn boomed…