"Matilda," he said.
Arthur Shaw has asked for your hand in marriage.
Matilda's heart sank. "But... I don't know him."
"He's a good man," Walter insisted.
He will take care of you. And of us.
Her mother's swollen eyes spoke volumes.
"Papa," Matilda murmured, her voice breaking, "how many?"
Walter replied, "Two thousand dollars."
Enough to save them all.
His question escaped him in a breathless, devastated whisper:
"Are you selling me?"
His silence was the answer.
continued on the next page
