Tobias relaxed a little when his sister expressed that she too liked Sally, though he couldn't completely shake the discomfort. Did Bess not believe he loved Sally? Well she was wrong!

He did not see a reason why she shouldn't tell Nate in the letter, or why he would have to go through the trouble of having to write a separate letter to a brother who would either not care or quietly sneer at Tobias' 'parochial' life and decisions. He opened his mouth to say as much, but then realized that announcing a marriage in the same letter than brought news of their father's death would be inappropriate. So instead, he nodded and resolved to wait and see when Nate would return home. If it was before the wedding, he could be told then.

The offer surprised him. Bess had said something about earning some money for her designs, but he had not realized it happened often enough to be on such good terms with the jeweler as to be able to negotiate. Bess had lived a much more sheltered life than he, with less education. But she seemed to have a mind for business and be making quite a life for herself. And he wished that didn't make him feel as intimidated as it did.

The offer was sweet. He didn't know how to turn it down without offending his sister. He had a simple gold wedding band in mind. The farm required hard work, also from his future wife, and a fancy ring with engravings or protrusions would be harder to keep clean and harder to work with. He gave his sister an awkward smile. "Thank you... I'll ask Sally what she thinks..." he tried to buy time.

They left the village and now drove along a sandy path on a hill. The heather on the side of the road was reaching the end of its bloom. "Sounds like yer makin' quite a name for yerself with those designs then? Do ye sell a lot?"