When my father came to me that day, he felt somewhat guilty. He held my hand under the candlelight and spoke for a long time about his helplessness and how he could not bear to part with me.
I just looked at him in confusion. Why couldn't my father admit that he was simply greedy for power and wealth? Why did he need me to believe that he truly cared for me?
We talked until late into the night. I yawned repeatedly before my father finally got straight to the point.
He said that the Archer family's wealth was immense, and no matter how much dowry the Frederick family could give me, it would never be enough. So, instead of returning Elyse's dowry, they would simply use it as mine.
See? That was what he really wanted to say.
So, I had no grand bridal procession, and no friends or family in attendance. I was secretly carried into the Archer's residence in a bright chair.
Even the maid who accompanied me could not help but sigh in pity.
But they did not know the truth. I was willing to become the second wife of Draven.
The white mourning flowers had not yet been taken down from the Archer's residence, and only Draven's house was now adorned with flowers for a wedding.
I sat quietly on the bridal bed, my hands twisting the handkerchief nervously under the veil. Elyse had been the most beautiful girl in the Frederick family. When my father sought to climb the ranks by marrying her to the ailing eldest son of the Archer family, he hired the best matchmaker in Bulfa to secure the match.
The matchmaker had said that Draven had tuberculosis and would not live past forty. He also had no hope of fathering children.
Most families would have avoided such a match, but not ours. We rushed toward it.
My father said nothing, merely slipping two gold pieces into the matchmaker's hand.
The matchmaker weighed the coins in her palm, and the large black mole at the corner of her mouth quivered as she smiled.
In less than two days, she returned with good news.
On Elyse's wedding day, the Frederick family was brightly lit with decorations and full of celebration.
My father's face bloomed with joy. After all, the Archer family were royal merchants, far beyond the reach of the Frederick family, even though we owned the best medical clinic in Bulfa.
Who would have thought that in less than two years, Elyse would fall into the water and drown?