Page 41 of Willing to Wed the Rancher
Leaning his head against the sofa, too, Franz suddenly tensed and shifted his attention to the checker piece in his hand.
“I’m sorry.” She sat up, the blanket sliding from her shoulder. “I shouldn’t have probed. You don’t need to discuss it with me.”
He leaned forward and tugged the blanket back up so that she was covered again. “It is not a good tale.”
She settled her hand over his where it rested on the sofa. “Not all of our stories are good. But perhaps we need the tragic tales to make us appreciate the happy ones all the more.”
She began to move her hand off his, but he flipped his hand over and circled her fingers with a strong and warm presence—one that felt right and safe. Even though a part of her warned against sitting on the sofa holding his hand this way, another part of her wanted to enjoy this moment with him and worry about the consequences later.
“I met Luisa when I was twenty and she was nineteen,” he started.
“Eric’s Luisa?”
Franz’s lips curled into a wry smile. “She was oncemyLuisa.”
“Oh.” Suddenly, she knew the direction the story was about to take, and she didn’t like it.
He was staring unseeingly at the stove, the door glowing with embers left from when she’d cooked supper. “Her father was a baron, similar to mine—”
“I didn’t know your father was a baron.” She wasn’t entirely sure what that meant but guessed it was some high-ranking German nobility, which meant Franz was likely a nobleman of a privileged and wealthy class that far surpassed her status.
“I do not think about the nobility much anymore and have done away with the titles associated with my family name. It is easier at the university that way.”
“I see.” In some way the news of his nobility didn’t surprise her. Not with how educated and proper and gentlemanly he was.
He was silent for a long moment, then started his tale again. “I visited Luisa’s home one break with her brother, who was a friend from school, and it did not take long for Luisa and me to begin courting. We were engaged a year after that.”
Clarabelle hadn’t known Luisa well, but she did remember her dainty features and beautiful smile. “She was very pretty.”
Franz nodded solemnly. “I loved her—or at least I thought I did.”
Although a part of her wanted to be jealous of Luisa for winning Franz’s affection, Clarabelle’s heart felt heavy for the part of the story Franz had yet to tell.
“Sometimes, on my school breaks, she visited me at my family’s home in Neubrandenburg, at our estate on the sea. While there, she got to know Eric.” His voice took on a hard edge. “I did not think anything of their friendship until one time I returned home and discovered she had come early to be with Eric.”
Clarabelle squeezed his hand, but he was no longer present in the cabin. He was back in his family’s home.
“They did not know I had returned.” He paused, as though searching for the right words. “I walked in on them together in Eric’s bed.”
Clarabelle couldn’t stop her sharp intake at the indecent—and bold—remark. She had the sudden vision of Franz standing in the doorway of the bedchamber and the two lovers lying together, completely entranced with each other and unaware of the heartache they’d caused Franz.
She knew no words could take away the ache, so she did the only thing she could think of—she laid her other hand on top of his.
“I broke the engagement.” His voice was low and filled with pain. “I told Eric and Luisa I never wanted to see either of them again.”
She stroked his hand, needing to comfort him and wishing she could heal his wounds.
He paused his tale and drew in a breath, seeming to dig for the strength he needed to finish. “Eric came to the universityseveral weeks later to tell me he and Luisa were getting married, that she was carrying his child.”
“Oh, Franz.” Tears pricked her eyes at the hurt he’d gone through. “I’m sorry.”
He intertwined his fingers through hers, sliding them together tightly. “He renounced his claim on the estate, gave me his title as baron, and took only a pittance of his inheritance. Because of the scandal and shame, her family disowned her and gave her nothing.”
“So they came here to get away from the disgrace?”
He nodded.
How different life must have been for Eric and Luisa in America compared to what they’d once known. It had probably been a difficult adjustment full of hardship, especially being so far away from family.
