Chapter 11

When Paul approached them while they were having their breakfast at garden, they were not surprised. They only imagined that he would tell them something about the flowers or perhaps discuss about his leave, because he had stayed at work for the whole summer.

''Good morning. Excuse me for disturbing you but… I need to talk to you about a very important matter''.

''What is it?'', asked Craig.

''I don't know where to begin…''

''From the start'', Craig replied firmly. Paul felt his tongue tied in a knot. If Craig was irritated before they even begin, it did not look good.

''You're right. From the start. Well, sir… For the past few months… Miss Deirdre… I mean, your daughter and I are together''. Renée barely had the time to leave her cup on the table before she dropped it while Craig gave the young man an icy look.

''What did you say? Can you repeat what you just said?''

''Yes, sir… Deirdre and I are together''.

''And you dare to come here first thing in the morning and tell me this in my face?''

''I'm here because I saw Deirdre yesterday and she told me about your wedding plans, therefore I realized there is no time to waste. Mr Carlson, your daughter and I love each other and today I stand before you to ask her hand in marriage'', Paul said proudly keeping his voice and eyes steady.

''Ask her hand in marriage? You? A gardener?'', Renée exclaimed.

''I am not just your gardener, madame. I work because I wish to make my own money but my family is upstanding. If you allow me to marry Deirdre, I give you my word that she won't miss anything. She will still have the same comforts as she does now''.

''The same comforts?'', Craig said hitting his hand on the table. ''You dare stand before me and say you are worth of my daughter?''

''I didn't say that. I would never deserve someone like Deirdre. I'm just not as unworthy as you consider me to be. I am here to formally ask her hand and to prove that my intentions are honest. Now, if you don't accept this proposal…''

''You damn right I don't accept it!'', he yelled. ''I'd rather burn this house to the ground than let you enter as a groom!''

''Is this your last word?''

''No. My last word is this: Get the hell out of my house and never step your foot in here! If I ever see you anywhere near my daughter, you will regret deeply for not taking my words seriously''. Without another word, Paul turned around and left, leaving them both steaming. Craig immediately headed to Deirdre's room, who was lying in her bed reading a book.

''Dad? What's going on?'', she asked him leaving the book aside.

''You dare to ask me 'what's going on'?'', he said approaching her in a threatening way. ''That's why you refused to hear me, ha?''

''Hear what? I don't understand'', she said but her father grabbed her hair and made her stand.

''You don't understand, right? We know everything. Your beloved came by and dared to ask to marry you. What do you have to say now?''. Deirdre tried to stand up for herself and gave him a stern look.

''I won't deny it. I love Paul''. The slap he stroke on her cheek had a sensation she had never felt. Her parents had never beaten her. Not even as a kid. Though, if that was the cost of her love, she would gladly pay.

''What are you talking about, you fool? What do you know about love? What do you know about life?''

''I know that I love him and moreover, I know I won't marry Dean. Even if it hadn't been for Paul, I would never marry Dean!''

''This is all his fault'', Craig told her with the disappointment clear in his eyes. ''He is to blame for this. You would never speak this way to your father''.

''Dad… For me nothing has changed. I still love both of you. You are my parents and I know that you love me, too. But you have to understand that I am not a child anymore. I am a woman now and I can make my own decisions. I have made my choice and as a parent, you have every right to disagree with it but you don't have the right to tell me how to live my life. And that is with the man I love''. For a moment, Deirdre really believed that her words entered her father's heart and mellowed it. In his eyes, she thought she saw a trace of understanding for his daughter's feelings. Her hopes, though, were very quickly vanished.

''If you think I'll let you destroy your life and our family because of a fling, you are mistaken. You will remain locked in the house until you come to your senses. You will never see your beloved. You will get out of here only when you're ready to marry Dean. Until then, you are not allowed to go out not even in the garden. Do you understand?'', he shouted closing the door with all his force.

Poor Deirdre fell on her bed devestated. Until a couple of days ago everything in her life was perfect and just like that, it fell apart. But she wouldn't change her mind. Her parents had to accept Paul at her side, otherwise they would have to forget her too. She needed to talk to him as soon as possible. At night, while they were all asleep, Deirdre headed downstairs in the living-room avoiding to make any noise in case they woke up, she dialed a number on the telephone and after just one ring, she heard his voice.

''Paul…'', she said with a trembling voice. ''Paul, they won't change their minds. They'll force me to marry Dean. What are we going to do?''

''I can only think of one solution, my love'', he said. ''We will elope''.

''What?''

''We'll elope. Only if we run away, we can be together, Deirdre. Nobody will know where we are''.

''And we'll disappear forever?''

''I hope one day they will accept it and we'll be able to come back''.

''I don't know… I want to be with you but I'm scared…''

''Don't be scared, honey. You'll see, everything will be alright''.

''Fine'', she said thinking that she felt safe next to him. Their love was stronger than the anxiety of the unknown. ''So, where will we go?''

''You shouldn't worry about that. I'll deal with everything. In a few days, our new life begins'', he said full with enthusiasm. ''Are you happy?''

''Yes, but I will be happier when we're finally free to be together'', she replied smiling for the first time in that day.

''When I make all the arrangements, I'll let you know. Just hang in there, okay?''

''Okay. I love you so much, Paul''.

''I love you, too'', he told her and then hang up the phone. When he returned to his bedroom, he saw Andy wasn't there. He imagined that he had gone to the bathroom or to drink water and he lied down trying to get some sleep, as the following days would definitely be challenging.

Andy had just fallen asleep, when a noise woke him up. It sounded like somebody closed a door and he turned around to see what was going on. The room was dark and the only source of light that night was the full moon, which offered its silver light coming through the window. Looking around with sleepy eyes, he saw that Paul wasn't in his bed. As curiosity took over him, he got up and left his room searching for his brother. The door of the living-room was ajar and as he approached, he saw Paul sitting in an armchair with his fingers tangled in his brown hair, showing that something was bothering him. When he was about to ask him what was keeping him up, the phone rang and Paul answered immediately. 'Who could it be at this hour?', Andy wondered and stayed to listen.