“Welcome to the family, son.” Daddy clapped Gabriel on the back, making him cough. “I always knew you were the one for my girl. No one else would put up with all the strays she’s going to bring home.”
Gabriel laughed, though she knew he was still uneasy around her father. Daddy had a way of intimidating people, and Gabriel didn’t quite understand how much her father adored him. Why, he’d told her in all confidence that he hired Gabriel because he knew he was perfect for her. And when she hesitated, Daddy asked Robert to play the suitor. Felicity didn’t appreciate her father’s interference but seeing as he’d been right and did it from love, she forgave him.
“Mrs. Meeks?” Mrs. Grattan stood quietly before her, hands gripping her bag tightly. “My congratulations.”
Felicity wasn’t quite used to her new name, but as soon as she realized Mrs. Grattan meant her, she extended a hand. “Thank you so much.”
Two months ago, Felicity might have had difficulty forgiving, but Mrs. Grattan had suffered a great deal thanks to her husband’s involvement with the bootlegging ring. The prosecuting attorney wanted him sentenced to prison, but Gabriel’s plea for a reduced sentence and community service won out.
Mrs. Grattan tentatively accepted her handshake. “I’m sorry…for what happened.”
Felicity warmly grasped her hand. “I’m glad you spoke up that day. If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here now.”
The color returned to the woman’s face.
“And I look forward to your ideas and suggestions in the society meetings,” Felicity added.
Tears welled in Mrs. Grattan’s eyes, and Felicity was glad to let go of past hurts. On this day, all of Pearlman was family, even Einer Coughlin, who’d worked with Gabriel to repair the broken fence and even stood outside the church during the wedding ceremony. Maybe one day he’d set foot inside.
Gabriel’s father surveyed the town from the church steps. “I think you might have been right, son. It’s a fine town. You’ll do well here.”
Gabriel gazed at her with such love. “I already have, Dad.”
Then he took her hand and, with Luke, they got in Daddy’s old Stanley Steamer, gleaming bright in the sunshine. With a puff of steam and a tug on the whistle, they started the procession through Pearlman to the cheers and clapping of the people they’d grown to love.
As they passed by the park with its little wooden pavilion, Felicity couldn’t help recalling her goal to marry by the end of summer. She hadn’t quite made that deadline, but she’d married well, and that, in the end, was the better plan.
Questions for Discussion
At first, Gabriel considers Felicity proud. Why? What does she do to give that impression?
Sometimes fear and self-doubt make a person raise defenses against getting hurt. What defenses does Felicity use? Have you ever shielded yourself from emotional pain? Looking back, how might you have done things differently?
Why is Felicity so attached to animals? What does she see in them that she doesn’t see in people?
What in Gabriel makes him less threatening than the other people Felicity knows? What in him touches her heart?
How is Mr. Coughlin the embodiment of Felicity’s deepest fears? Have you ever faced someone who frightened you? If you did, what happened?
Felicity drifted from her faith while she was away at school, yet the Lord never forgot her and the Bible verses she learned as a child stayed with her. Have you ever drifted away? How did the Lord call you back?
Gabriel is torn between protecting Felicity and saving the town from bootlegging. How could he have handled this problem better?
Instead of telling Felicity the truth about her background, her father and mother hide it. Why? What did they hope to gain?
Why does Felicity’s mother treat her so coldly?
Felicity decides she must forgive her mother first. Why? How do you think this will lead to a closer relationship in time?
During World War I, German Americans faced prejudice and many changed their names. Mr. Grattan did not. How might that experience have led to his actions in this story?
Gabriel lets his anger with Mr. Kensington overcome his better sense when he accuses Felicity’s father of leading the bootlegging ring. Have you ever let anger take hold of you? In retrospect, would things have worked out better if you had reacted differently?
Mrs. Grattan judges Gabriel and Felicity based on what she saw. Which other character(s) rush to judgment? How does that affect their relationships? How would events have unfolded differently if they’d given others the benefit of the doubt?
Felicity finally stands up for Gabriel in front of her parents and the church elders. Would the old Felicity have had the nerve to do this? What changed to give her this courage?
ISBN: 978-1-408-95144-6
The Matrimony Plan
© Christine Elizabeth Johnson 2011
First Published in Great Britain in 2011
Harlequin (UK) Limited
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Table of Contents
Excerpt
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Epilogue
Copyright
The Matrimony Plan Page 25