The People of Dewbrook

Chapter Twenty-Two

She could not believe that she had so thoroughly enjoyed something so wicked and meaningless, degrading her value to her skin and curves instead of pursuing a worthy craft, blundering endlessly while presenting herself as a Christian, ruining herself in the eyes of God. His eyes, which she could feel from the heavens, burned her with their benevolence and purity, and she was joyful to feel that fire in her heart, however much it may have hurt at the moment. She would seek redemption, regardless of the cost. It was the only way for her to be free of sorrow.

The morning came quickly, much quicker than she had expected. As the sun slowly rose high in the sky, gently illuminating her figure, she felt anger over not having had a single moment of sleep, but she knew why it had to be that way, so she was fine with it, despite her enormous exhaustion. She was not eager to answer anyone's questions, especially not Rosemary's, so she simply sat in the courtyard for a while, knowing that Harold would come there first. And he did, sitting beside her the same way he would on any other day, up until he had noticed her exhaustion, his face becoming pale with worry. Although she did not want him to feel like that, it relieved her to know that she did not have to draw attention to it, leaving it to him to start the conversation, which he did:

"Good morning, Caroline. Is everything fine with you? I do not wish to be intrusive, but you seem not to have slept last night, which saddles me with concern. I would like to know, if you are willing to tell me, of course."

"It is fine," she said after swallowing. "It was merely a night full of haunting visions, and nothing more."

He raised an eyebrow. "Haunting visions? What makes these ones so haunting that you could not sleep, out of all those that you must have seen in your life?"

"I..." she began, finding it hard to breathe. "There was always terror within me, but now... Everything has changed over these past few months, and I cannot find true happiness in my life anymore."

"I am surprised that you ever could," he mumbled, making her tilt her head.

"What were those words?" she asked, staring at him unflinchingly.

"They are of no importance," he said sternly. "Anyhow, it is odd that you have had these haunting visions, which intrigues me all the more. They must carry much meaning with them, right? After all, if you take them so seriously, they really do matter, do they not?"

She let out a heavy sigh. "My sins are destroying me in every possible aspect. The weight of all the evil that I have done burdens my shoulders like a boulder, and there is no reward I can see in carrying it as I have done before, thus I yearn for nothing more than to drop it at last. But how can I do so? I have thought of it all night, and I realise that my life is now over, or at least life as I used to define it. I will not be looking out for pleasure anymore, merely the sweet warmth of goodness and peace, and all I need is someone I can share that pristine happiness with."

"That is lovely, Caroline," he said, his voice laced with confusion. "I wish you all the luck in the world in maintaining that way of life. But what do your final words mean? Who would you want to share your happiness with?"

"With you," she answered, her eyes gleaming with life. "Harold, you are the best man I ever knew, and your kindness always brings warmth to my heart. Your lovely hazel eyes reflect the depth of your beautifully unique soul, and your smile shines with trust and compassion. I will be empty inside if I do not become your wife, and if I were to be your wife, I would do everything in my power to preserve your joy. I do not love you, but I feel that I should. Perhaps I will come to truly love you, or perhaps I will not, but all that matters is that I would be glad to be by your side. So, what do you say? Shall we make this union official?"

"Yes," he answered, grasping her hand. "In the name of God."

"Thank you," she said, crying tears of joy. "I will be forever grateful to you for this favour."

"It is nothing, Caroline, if it is in the name of God," he responded, walking away.

Before he could enter the house again, Rosemary approached him out of nowhere. "What is going on, my dear brother? What could you and Caroline be discussing so gravely at such an early time?"

"I am marrying her," he blurted out without thinking.

"Oh," she chirped. "It appears that you are still drowsy. Perhaps you were thinking of some other word. Querying her, perhaps? You will remember it soon, whatever it is."

He shook his head. "No, Rosemary, I am as surprised as you are. She told me that God showed her the full depravity of her sins, which made her want to redeem herself, and that our marriage is meant to be the first step. How could I refuse such a request? I will do whatever it takes to help her become a good person. Is that not so, Caroline?"

Caroline nodded solemnly from her chair.

Rosemary's jaw fell to the ground. "That is incredible, by the definition of the word. Well and truly unbelievable. I hope that it is the truth, even though something tells me that it is not, but she does seem to be genuinely remorseful, so I will give her a chance. Welcome to our family, I suppose."

"Thank you," she said meekly just before Elliott had stepped outside.

"For God's sake, what is happening in this courtyard?" he asked irritatedly. "The roosters had barely even risen, and you are out here, making much ado out of nothing. What is the pressing matter, if I may ask?"

"I am marrying Caroline," Harold said quickly, not wanting to explain himself too much.

Elliott glared at his son. "Marrying her?! I have been telling you to throw out that witch for months, and now you are notifying me that you are marrying her?!"

No one said anything for a while as Caroline gave Elliott a haunted look, which he ignored.

"This is terrible!" he continued, waving his hands in the air. "You are marrying her! I had thought you to be a man of honest values, and even you have found yourself to be seduced by the wonders of the female body, regardless of the evil that lies in it! The people of today are atrocious and have no moral qualities! I am disgusted by this world!"

"You seem to be unreasonably angry," Harold said plainly. "She has no motive but to seek redemption, or at least that is what I see. I would not marry her for any other reason. I apologise for any confusion I may have caused, but that is really the heart of the matter."

"No, my son, I apologise," Elliott said sadly. "I should have known this to be your intention, but I suppose that I have simply come to except corruption from everyone and no desire for redemption from her. But really, I never should have doubted my son. However, it does not matter now. If Caroline truly wants to redeem herself, we should allow her. The first thing we are going to do today is announce the marriage to everyone we know, and the actual process will be held in three days. It is demanding, but we will find a way to do it. But first, we must prepare ourselves for the day. After that, I cannot wait to see how everything is going to go, but there is time for everything. Let us enter the house again at last."

And so they did, all of them more than excited for the rest of the day and everything that would come in the near future.