Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Minnie stood in front of the sturdy stone building, working up the courage to push through the wooden door that she would have typically considered welcoming.
She had already seen Tommy through the large, open front, had been drawn to the shop by the smell of burning coal and the sound of hammering metal.
She took a breath before pushing open the door, instantly greeted by a wave of heat. A large forge with a roaring coal fire was the focus of the room, with a wide variety of iron tools hanging on the walls — hammers, tongs, chisels, and other implements she had no name for, all carefully organized.
She stepped over a dirt floor coated in a fine layer of coal dust and dotted with scrap metal.
A workbench lining one wall was covered in unfinished pieces, a few displays at the front showcasing horseshoes and other carefully crafted items that she assumed were for sale.
And there, in the middle of it all, was the man who had taken up her every thought since she had spoken to him last night.
A long leather apron covered him from head to toe, durable trousers and a simple white shirt peeking out from the back.
His sleeves were rolled up, revealing strong, tanned forearms that she couldn’t help but admire, his hands dirty from the metal forge.
She tried to note his expression, but it was hard to see his face under the flat cap.
She certainly heard him, however. His mouth was open as he sang in that beautiful voice that had shaken her to her very core the night before.
She hadn’t known how to tell him how affected she had been.
He’d likely thought her as dumb as the fish he had told her she looked like, but she had been so taken off guard by his actions, his questions, his proposal, that she had struggled to respond.
But after a sleepless night, she had come to a decision.
She watched him as she waited for him to see her, as he turned the metal, holding it in the fire until it was red hot before placing it in front of him and shaping it with a hammer and an anvil. Watching him work was mesmerizing, although she wondered how long she should do so without his notice.
He finally came to the end of his song, and without looking up, he said, “I don’t usually put on shows without pay, but for you, I’ll make an exception.”
She let out the smallest “eep!” of surprise before she stepped forward, into his line of sight.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to startle you.”
He looked up, his lips quirking into a grin. “I’m just jesting. Look away. I’ve been called many things, but shy is not one of them.”
“I believe that,” she said, wandering through the room, closer to him. “So, this is where you work.”
“This is it,” he said with a nod.
“Do you work alone?”
“No, I’m still an apprentice, although hopefully not for long. The blacksmith doesn’t work much anymore, although he’s here on the odd day I play football. We have an understanding.”
There was more he wasn’t saying, but she would leave it for now.
“Did you have a good rest of your night?” he asked as he continued to work. Minnie couldn’t help but watch how adeptly he moved his hands. She had never considered blacksmithing a craft, but she could see the artistry in his work.
“I had a lot on my mind,” she admitted. “And my parents were not too pleased when I returned home, as I hadn’t told them I was even leaving the house.”
“Did you come here alone today?” he asked, peering around her toward the door.
“I brought a footman, but he is waiting outside,” she said, lifting her chin in challenge. “I’m not an idiot. I know to look after my safety.”
“Never said you were,” he responded easily, and she was instantly chagrined. He had never questioned her, at least not in that way, and she was directing her anger and frustrations at the wrong person.
“I’m sorry,” she said, and he shook his head.
“Not a problem. You’re probably used to being told what to do.”
“I am.”
She took a deep breath. She had been waiting for him to ask her again if she had come to a decision, but it seemed that he was going to leave that up to her.
“I’ve thought about your offer,” she said, unable to call it a proposal. “Does it still stand?”
“Of course it does,” he said, furrowing his brow, as though annoyed that she would question him. “I’m a man of my word.”
“But do you want this? Do you really, truly accept this?”
He stopped what he was doing, apparently finished with the piece as he inspected it, nodded in satisfaction, and then set it down.
He walked across the room to where she stood by the front counter, fisted his hands, and then set them down on either side of her, his face closing in. He smelled like charcoal, leather, and the earthiness of working in the shop with the dirt floor.
“Minnie. Every moment with you is a blessing. I told you I would be happy to be married to you. If, once the danger passes, you want to annul the marriage, we’ll figure it out. Now. No more questions about what I want, as I’ve made that abundantly clear. What is it you want?”
She looked him in the eye and took a breath. Here it was. A decision that would change the rest of her life, even with his talk of annulment, which, strangely, seemed to unsettle him.
She had been restless last night, knowing that no matter what she chose, her life would never be the same. There were unknowns no matter what decision she made – to follow through with her father’s plans, to marry Tommy, or to run away completely.
When she considered how following each path made her feel, however, only one made her feel safe. The one in which she wouldn’t be completely alone in whatever she faced.
“Yes, Tommy. I’d like to marry you.”
Tommy’s shoulders softened in relief at her decision.
He knew that she was scared of marriage, no matter who it was to, but at least he could protect her, keep her safe, if nothing else. He tried to ease the ache that had arisen when he had offered her a way out of the marriage.
“Glad to hear it,” he said, hoping his smile belied the depths of his thoughts.
“How would we even do this?” she asked, her concerns sinking in as she considered the possibility. “My father requested a common license, and I could be bartered away within days. We do not have the weeks to read the banns, and any warning my father would receive would cause him to fight this.”
Tommy grinned. “I’ve been preparing my entire life for this.”
“What does that mean?”
“Plotting. Scheming. Usually, I put my talents to use for practical jokes, but I like the idea of actually having some use for them.”
“What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to get out of here,” he said. “Fancy a trip to Scotland?”
“Scotland?”
“While you were thinking about whether or not you were going to marry me, I was thinking about how we would marry. There’s only one solution — we elope. Run away to Gretna Green. I hear there’s a blacksmith shop there that would be just perfect. Rather fitting, if you ask me.”
“Tommy, we could have done that twenty-five years ago, but I think there are laws now. You can’t just arrive and get married, even in Scotland.”
“Leave that to me,” he said confidently. “I’ve been known to talk my way into something more than a time or two. If it is done in Scotland, it will be harder to prove that we lied. And once we’re married, how can anyone argue that we did so wrongly?”
“Really?” she said wryly. “It’s called an annulment. You suggested it yourself, remember?”
“Yes, but by the time that’s all settled, this should all have passed over.”
She studied him. “You just live life one day at a time, don’t you? Take problems as they come?”
“Pretty much,” he admitted.
“Have you ever been to Scotland?” she asked, her eyes wide. Sitting there in her pretty pink dress in the middle of his soot-filled shop, she looked entirely out of place yet it felt like she perfectly belonged.
“I have not,” he said. “But now is as good a time as any for some adventure, is it not?”
He expected her to balk at that, but he was surprised when her eyes lit up.
“I would love some adventure.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” he said with a grin. “I looked at the train schedules. If we leave tomorrow morning, we should be able to get a good start. We can take the train to Carlisle, and then there is a quick local connection to Gretna Green.”
He had also looked at the fare prices. Booking third-class tickets for the two of them would cost him about a month's wages – money he couldn’t afford, especially when trying to save for Cindy’s medication.
But there was no other choice.
“I’ve heard of people being married there, but it always seemed like something out of fairy tales.”
“Doesn’t every young lady want to be a fairy tale princess?”
“I suppose.”
“Well, then, my princess, you best begin to pack. I’ll come to you before the sun rises.”
“I’ll give you my address,” she said.
He nodded, finding paper to write it down upon. “Are your parents the type to chase you? To lock you in your room so you cannot escape?”
She bit her lip in that way of hers that made him want to swoop in and soothe it.
“I would have said no, but if it would save my father’s business and reputation, then perhaps they would.”
“Then we best do this as quietly as possible,” he said. “Only tell those you trust.”
“You’re not telling me to keep it completely to myself?”
“No.” He shook his head. “You have to decide what you’re comfortable with.”
“I’ll tell my friends that I am leaving, but I won’t say where, so they cannot be implicated,” she decided. “How will you leave work and the football club?”
“My employer is understanding, provided I won’t be long and let him know ahead of time,” he said. “I’ll tell him that it is a personal matter and then return. As for the football club, we’re not due to play until Saturday.”
“The game someone wants to bribe you to throw.”
“That’s the one.”
“What are you going to do about that?”
“Haven’t decided. One problem at a time,” he said flippantly, although it had been on his mind, especially now that he was paying for train tickets and would have a wife to support.
“You’ll make the right decision,” she said, and he wished she would just tell him what she thought that decision should be. She looked down a bit shyly. “I would like to see you play.”
“And you will,” he said with a large smile. “As my wife.”
His wife.
He had said it a few times, but it was starting to sink in that they would be married. She would be his, and he hers. It was hard to believe.
He had told her they would be going on an adventure. And this was just the start of it.