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“That is what I have been told,” I said.
“And you want me to provide this company with the capital needed to survive its most current crises?” asked my father.
“You must,” I said. “You simply must.”
“Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars is a substantial sum of money, daughter,” he said.
“Consider it,” I said, “my dowry.”
My father stared at me for a moment more and then dropped his head back to the figures in the ledgers before him. I didn’t know whether to stay or to flee, but this was too important to leave without an answer and so, despite my faltering heart, I waited, shivering, while he wrote in the ledgers. Finally he said, without an ounce of warmth, as if he were addressing an employee, “You may go.”
“Not without an answer,” I said, my voice trembling as I said it.
Without looking up from his ledgers, my father said, “I will make appropriate arrangements to provide the capital.”
Oh happy happy happy day! The fondest plans of my soul have been realized. I am in awe of the Lord’s grand designs, that something so base and awful, something derived by such means, can be used to purchase an unearthly paradise. Just as Jesus turned water to wine He has turned my father’s black wealth into a love so pure and a happiness so deep that it acts as praise itself for His beneficence. That my father made me beg and wait I shan’t hold against him; I understand him completely, we are of the same coin. But today is a day for happiness, for joy, for love. My Christian, my Christian, my Christian, forever, my love, we drink together from the cup of joy held in the very hand of grace.
II
March 29, 1912
I am puzzled by the reactions of my sisters to our glorious news. When father a
It was a rather gay di
Hope started to run after her but Christian, being the most generous of souls, volunteered to set things right, and himself followed her out to the portico. A few moments later he returned and sat down and straightened his napkin on his lap as if nothing had happened. I gave him a questioning look but he gestured me to remain calm and soon Charity herself reappeared. I don’t know what dilemma caused her alarm but Christian was able to solve it as I believe he will be able to solve all the problems that can hereafter arise in our family. A new era for the Reddmans, an era of light and fellowship, has been embarked upon and I am not being too immodest when I say I feel myself at its very center.
April 12, 1912
Our list keeps growing, as if it had a life of its own, and Mother continues to meet with the cook to ensure that the wedding di
I already sense the change in attitudes to our family since my engagement was publicly a
It is good to see Charity so happy these days. While I can’t say she has been warm to me as of late, I believe she is truly excited about the wedding. Much of her time is spent away from the house, so we have no idea what her newest interests are, she has always a keen interest in some subject or the other, but whatever it be it gives her a true joy. She won’t confess anything to me, but I believe she has a beau. She has filled out beautifully in the past few months and carries with her everywhere a smile that can denote only a woman who has found her place in the world through love. Just today she was wearing a gold ring with her initials. When I asked her where she had purchased it she blushed wildly and refused to say. I only hope she can find for herself someone as loving, as faithful, as generous with his spirit as my dear Christian.
May 23, 1912