Letters and Love

Chapter Thirty: Noah

Rollins finally looked shamefaced. "I just thought—"

"Whatever you thought, you should have come to me. I told you I found the idea of marrying a child abhorrent. That was never going to change, no matter what benefit you imagined there would be."

Rollins' gaze dropped. "There are some who believe age doesn't matter," he said, his tone quiet.

"And for some, I'm sure that is true, but it isn't a blanket opinion that fits every situation." This was worse than when I'd tried to reason with my parents. They'd had a plan in their head for my future and hadn't taken it well when I'd decided to do what I wished. I never would have expected to face it again.

Elizabeth hurried over. "Mrs. Royal, may I ask a favor?" she said, looking past me. "You have already generously offered us your cafe for our wedding lunch. Would you mind terribly if we were to have our wedding there as well?"
"I wouldn't mind at all," Mrs. Royal said immediately. "I imagine my daughters would be thrilled to have a wedding in the cafe. They will probably raid my garden for flowers."

"That would be very sweet!" Elizabeth turned to Rollins. "There are no more objections to be had, are there?"

The reverend heaved a sigh as his gaze flicked over to the approaching Harper family. "No. It seems you have an answer for everything."

I bristled at the implied criticism. "No, not always," Elizabeth said with a smile. "There are times when I rely on my best friend back home to help me see things in a different way. I do not pretend to think I am an authority on always knowing what to do."

Rollins' face flushed a deeper red, and I had to wonder just how much Elizabeth had heard of our conversation. "The cafe sounds perfect," I said, glancing between my betrothed and Mrs. Royal. "I don't think we need to discuss this any further."

"If the reverend is ready," Elizabeth added.

"Yes, yes," Rollins said, his tone becoming impatient. "I have said there is no objection. Let's not dwell on that any longer. Shall we walk to the cafe?"

Mrs. Royal stepped forward and linked arms with Elizabeth. "Come along," she said cheerfully. "Do you have any objection to an audience to your wedding? I see we are all still the focus of nearly everyone in town."

I'd been aware of the townspeople still gathered around, but I hadn't paid them any attention. When I looked over, they all made a show of turning away. Well. I hoped they had enjoyed what they had just seen.

"Of course everyone is welcome," Elizabeth declared, her voice ringing out. "A wedding is something to be celebrated, and we have nothing to be ashamed of. My only concern is how much room there will be in your cafe."

"I think we will manage just fine," Mrs. Harper said, taking up position on Elizabeth's other side. The trio hurried down the street.

After a brief glance over, Rollins followed them. Mr. Harper shook his head as he came over. "It sounds like we missed quite the confrontation," he commented, holding his hand out.

"I'll explain everything later. Is everything alright? It's not like you to be this late."

"Martha insisted we stop by your place and ensure no one had done any further mischief. I'm only sorry that I hadn't thought of it myself."

And I hadn't thought of it at all. "Given that Owen Burns was just arrested in town, I assume there were no problems?"

"Just one cat who seemed to think he was being starved."

"Well, he's not," was all I could think to say. "Thank you for checking on my place. It wouldn't have even occurred to me that I should be concerned that someone would try something today."