Chapter 2

He froze at my words and stared at me in disbelief.

"What did you say? You're getting married? To whom?"

The urgency in his eyes struck me as ridiculous. I'd already cut ties with him myself, so what did he have to be so anxious about?

Loretta stepped forward and took Lowell's arm. Her expression was a little strained, but she still tried her best to keep up appearances.

"Lowell, what's gotten into you?"

"Why are you suddenly so concerned about my sister's marriage?"

A flicker of unease crossed Lowell's eyes. "I'm just afraid she might be up to some trick."

My mother caught on and hurried over to grab my hand. "Lily was promised to Elijah Walker long ago."

Lowell staggered a step, his voice rising sharply. "Elijah Walker? That rough loner with no one left at home? How is that possible?"

Loretta's face went pale. She hadn't expected him to lose his composure over my marriage, and she shot me a resentful glare.

A small smile tugged at my lips. "I agree with what Mr. Sullivan said, that a life-saving debt should be repaid like a gushing spring. Back when my father went up the mountain to hunt, he was nearly eaten by wolves, and it was Elijah who saved his life."

"So afterward, to show their thanks, my family arranged the engagement, and I thought it was a fine idea too."

"Repaying a life-saving debt by giving oneself in marriage—isn't that exactly what Mr. Sullivan said?"

It was true. Back then my parents had wanted me to marry over to repay the debt, but I'd looked down on his poor family and, from start to finish, never agreed.

Living a second life, I thought marrying a solid, dependable man like him was a good thing.

Loretta caught on and quickly spoke up. "Lowell, you probably don't know, but my sister and Elijah have been getting along wonderfully in private. They're practically ready to marry."

"Why don't we hold our weddings together? It'll be perfect, the two of us sisters marrying at the same time."

After she said it, she looked at me expectantly, terrified I'd expose her and refuse.

I nodded. "Sure, let's hold them together."

Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

But Lowell's face suddenly went cold, and he said mockingly, "Getting married in such a short time, can he even scrape together a decent set of betrothal gifts?"

"Don't let it turn out so shabby that your sister can't even put on a red dress."

His words set the whole crowd roaring with laughter.

"Elijah's certainly no match for you, a city youth sent to the countryside. He's just a broke nobody with nothing but brute strength. For his wedding he probably can't even scrape together a single betrothal gift."

"Loretta's the lucky one, marrying a city youth."

"Lily's just fated to scrape a living out of the dirt."

Loretta basked in the fawning like a princess set high above everyone. She looked at me with a charitable air. "Lowell, could I share a little of the betrothal gifts you gave me with my sister? I don't want her wedding to be too shabby."

Lowell gave a cold snort. "Those are for you. Not just anyone is fit to use them."

Loretta's eyes gleamed with smug satisfaction. "Then I suppose my sister will just have to make do."

I shook my head. "I'm marrying the man, not the betrothal gifts."

Elijah might be poor, but I already had the memories of my past life, and this time we would surely make a good life together.

My comeback left Lowell's face ugly. "Let's see how long you can keep talking tough."

"Don't think I actually believe you're going to marry that pauper. You're just doing this to put on a show for me. Too bad you've miscalculated."

I ignored him and went to find Elijah. He was chopping wood. It was hot, and he'd stripped to the waist, his muscles looking all the firmer from the work. My face flushed before I could stop it.

Head down, I told him about the marriage, and he went still.

"It's okay if you don't want to."

He shook his head over and over, his voice urgent. "I'm willing."

My face went even redder. "Then propose as soon as you can. You don't need anything expensive, I don't care about that."

And with that I ran off, flustered.

Who could have guessed he'd come to propose the very next day? When I saw what he'd brought, my eyes went wide with shock.