Page 97 of The Armor of Light

‘He may be thinking how much worse it could have been. Alderman Hornbeam could have chosen someone horrible for him.’

‘And Bel Marsh may be grateful for the same reason. Howard’s a nice boy, and not a bit like his father.’

Elsie nodded agreement. ‘Bel looks quite pleased with herself.’ She turned her attention to the other couple, who seemed more solemn. Squire Riddick would neglect his children, she felt sure, and they would be better for that. She said: ‘I’m sure Riddick just wants someone to manage his household for him, so that he can spend all his time drinking and gambling and whoring.’

‘He may find that Deborah has her own ideas about that. Look at her chin. It’s a sign of determination.’

‘I do hope so. I’d love to see Riddick struggling to cope with a strong woman.’

Kenelm Mackintosh came and sat beside Elsie. ‘What a pleasant occasion this is,’ he said. ‘Two couples finding happiness in holy matrimony.’

Time will tell whether they find happiness, Elsie thought. Shesaid: ‘Is matrimony holy when the marriage has been arranged by the parents?’

He hesitated, then said: ‘It’s God’s choice that matters.’

That was an evasive answer, but Elsie did not say so.

The gavotte ended and a minuet was announced. This was danced in couples. The dyer Isaac Marsh, father of Bel, now appeared and asked Arabella to dance. ‘Delighted,’ she said, standing up. This often happened. Arabella was probably the most attractive middle-aged woman in Kingsbridge, and a lot of men took the opportunity of stepping out with her. She liked the attention and admiration, so she usually said yes.

Elsie said to Mackintosh: ‘What would you hope for in marriage?’

‘Someone to support my sacred calling,’ he said promptly.

‘Very wise,’ she said. ‘Married people should support one another,’ she added, making it a two-way process.

‘Exactly.’ He did not notice that she had modified his idea. ‘How about you? What would you want from a marriage?’

‘Children,’ she said. ‘I picture a big house full of children – four, maybe five, all healthy and happy, with toys and books and pets.’

‘Well, that is certainly God’s will. Of course, you wouldn’t continue to run the Sunday school after marriage.’

‘I most certainly would.’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘Wouldn’t you devote yourself to your husband?’

‘I think I could manage both. And, after all, the Sunday school is God’s work.’

He nodded reluctant agreement. ‘It is, yes.’

The conversation had taken a turn to the personal, Elsie thought. She had meant only to challenge his glib presumption that marriage meant happiness, but he had swerved into whether she would continue her work after the wedding, and how she would devoteherself to her husband. It was almost as if he was considering her as a possible wife.

Before she could react to that, she saw the man she would marry in a heartbeat. Amos was wearing a new dark-red tail coat and a pale-pink waistcoat. Elsie realized he had not previously met Mackintosh, so she introduced them.

Mackintosh said: ‘I’ve heard a lot about you, of course. Miss Latimer spends a great deal of time with you.’ His tone as he said this was faintly disapproving.

‘We run the Sunday school together,’ Amos said. ‘By the way, I think you might know my friend Roger Riddick. He’s just graduated from Oxford, as I believe you have.’

Mackintosh looked wary. ‘I did come across Riddick once or twice, yes.’

‘He’s off to Berlin in January.’

‘I’m afraid he and I moved in different circles.’

‘I’m sure.’ Amos laughed. ‘Roger is an inveterate gambler – not a good pastime for a theology student. But he’s a brilliant engineer.’

‘Tell me,’ Mackintosh said, ‘what preparation did you have for teaching Sunday school?’

Amos had had none, of course, and Elsie felt that Mackintosh had been tactless.