The Reluctant Bridegroom. Shannon Farrington

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СКАЧАТЬ immediately dismissed the idea. He’d already made the mistakes of listening to the complaints of rebel sympathizer and shaking hands with a murderer. He wouldn’t make another by marrying a woman he did not love, even if her father did hold considerable sway over the authorities of this state.

      “No,” he said flatly. “I told you, I don’t want any part of that.”

      His father scowled. “When are you going to learn that this is the way it is done? Crowns are won or lost this way.”

      Henry had no desire for a crown. He never had. He told his father so. “I only want to do what is right.”

      “Right or wrong has nothing to do with it. It’s about power...about how much of it you have over your enemies.”

      “I don’t have any enemies.”

      At that, his father laughed. “I wouldn’t tell Detective Smith that next time he comes calling. You had better claim a few enemies—namely John Wilkes Booth and the rebel army.”

      Again Henry raked his fingers through his hair. Of course he wanted Booth brought to justice, but Lee and his army had surrendered. The men in gray were no longer his enemies. Some, in fact, like his brother-in-law, John, never had been. Henry grieved the loss of life their war of rebellion had brought, but he didn’t want retribution. He wanted restoration. He wanted to be part of the reconstruction efforts, to see his nation, his state, his city healed.

      His father eyed him shrewdly. “Detective Smith will return. Just what exactly are you planning to tell him?”

      “I will tell him the truth.”

      “The truth will earn you a jail cell.” Harold reached for the paper and quickly flipped to another article. “The actors from Ford’s Theatre are already there.”

      “What? Why? What did they do?”

      “They were there that night, and Booth was there. Son, the president has been assassinated. Mark my words, this nation won’t rest until every last person connected to Lincoln’s death, no matter how trivial the role, is brought to justice.”

      All Henry could offer in response to that was silence. He knew his father was right, and although he believed the truth would eventually prevail, he wondered just how long it would take.

      How long must I sit in a jail cell before Detective Smith believes my encounters with Booth and Maggie Branson were purely coincidental?

      He had seen what prison could do to a man. He’d visited returning veterans who had been held captive in rebel prisons. Many were starved, sick, withered.

      Would a Federal prison have the same effect on me? Could I endure it?

      And more important, what would happen to Kathleen and Grace if he were imprisoned?

      They’ll end up in the care of the man standing before me. The man my sister rejected as a guardian. And he will not offer them any affection or comfort. Henry was certain his father would ship Kathleen and Grace off to a home for foundlings at the first opportunity.

      James came to the door. “’Scuse me, sir, but Delegate Van der Geld and his daughter are here to see you.”

      Henry sighed heavily and once more raked his fingers through his hair. Not this...not now...

      “An opportunity presents itself, son,” his father said. “If I were you, I’d make the most of it.”

      I’m not you, Henry thought. I’ll never be you.

      Despite his anxiety, he was determined to stand on the truth. As his father exited the room, Henry looked at James. He was still waiting for an answer. The delicate business of rejecting Miss Van der Geld was now the least of his concerns, but the matter had to be settled.

      “Tell Delegate Van der Geld that I’ll see him.”

      James nodded.

      “And please tell Sadie to serve Miss Van der Geld some refreshments in the parlor.”

      James nodded again. He turned, only to have Henry call after him. “And James...”

      “Yes, sir?”

      “I wish to see Delegate Van der Geld alone. Please see to it that my father is occupied elsewhere.”

      “Yes, sir.”

      James had barely left the room before the elder statesman made his entrance. The man’s very stance commanded authority. His hawkish look and confident voice could wither a weaker, inexperienced man, especially a man with something to hide.

      But I’ve done nothing wrong, Henry reminded himself. Lifting his chin, he stared Van der Geld square in the face.

      The men exchanged formal pleasantries before Van der Geld said, “Sir, I would presume you are as distressed by today’s developments as I.”

      “Indeed,” Henry said. He noted the small framed portrait of Lincoln pinned to the man’s frock coat. “It is a black day for our nation.”

      Van der Geld nodded. “One that makes your proposal all the more pertinent.”

      My proposal? Henry stopped him there. “Sir, I must tell you here and now, whatever my father may have said to you—”

      Accustomed to keeping the floor, Van der Geld did not allow him to finish. “Unity is necessary to maintain the peace. With such perilous times upon us, surely you see as well as I the necessity of proceeding with the wedding in haste. Our city needs uplifting news. It is no secret that your father and I take different views. The joining of our families, a uniting of opposite parties for the good of the land, will show the people of Maryland our willingness to work together...compromise...goodwill...”

      Henry would have been tempted to roll his eyes at the obvious stump speech had Van der Geld’s tone not suddenly changed. All evidence of goodwill vanished when he then spoke of John Wilkes Booth.

      “And that traitorous rebel scum! As for him and his coconspirators, I agree with what Vice President Johnson said concerning rebels—‘arrest them as traitors, try them as traitors, hang them as traitors.’ Rest assured, Councilman Nash, I will do everything in my power to bring such men and women to justice. The provost marshal is already dragging them in. I daresay the jails of this city will soon be bursting at the seams.”

      A rock lodged in the back of Henry’s throat so tightly he could not breathe. Van der Geld had never proceeded cautiously when it came to suspicions of disloyalty, and it was obvious he would not tread lightly now. In the past, the man had been in full support of citizens being dragged from their beds simply because they had spoken against such tactics or knew someone who had served in the rebel army.

      And what would he advocate for the man who not only had a brother-in-law who served the Confederacy but also had shaken hands with the president’s murderer? “Arrest them as traitors, try them as traitors, hang them as traitors”?

      Henry felt sick to his stomach. Van der Geld continued on, now promising that he personally would not rest until Booth and all those connected with him got what they deserved.

      “They СКАЧАТЬ