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the stairs as if she weighed nothing. At the top of the landing, he set her gently on her feet.
    "You had better get used to me, Honor, for I assure you I will take very good care of you."
    She watched as he left her, descending the steps two at a time, then she walked weakly to her bedroom door, and, once inside, lay down on the bed. She felt overcome with apprehension. Had she made a mistake in agreeing to marry Jordan? Could she make him happy? Would he ever forget the love he had for Meagan? So many questions rattled around in her head, questions that she had no answers to.
    I love you so much, Jordan, and I will strive to make you happy, she thought. The session with Jordan had sapped her strength, and she felt herself slipping into a state of nothingness. Before she fell asleep she said a prayer and hoped she was doing the right thing. She wished for the counsel of her Aunt Amanda. And she wished it was she Jordan loved. When she fell asleep, it was with Jordan's name on her lips.
    * * *
    After Jordan spoke to the circuit rider, he rode for home, dreading the thought of facing his parents with the news of his impending marriage to Honor. They would most probably be upset, but nothing they could say would dissuade him.
    He did not regret his decision to marry Honor. If he could not have Meagan, nothing much mattered to him anymore. Besides, Honor was alone and needed someone to look after her, and he had always had a deep affection for her. She had seemed so vulnerable today, so weak and helpless. And then there was Landau Plantation. A young girl could not run a place as large as Landau on her own.
    Jordan was honest enough with himself to admit he liked the idea of acquiring Landau Plantation, since it adjoined Green Rivers. Honor's aunt had been a shrewd businesswoman, and the land she had left to Honor was quite prosperous.
    He laughed out loud. "I may not have you, Meagan, but I will have your home, and I shall have your sister."
    How sweet would be his revenge.

3
     
    When Jordan reached home he found his parents in the sitting room where he had left them two hours before. He told them about Amanda Landau's death and waited until his mother had cried out her grief for her friend of many years before he informed them of his plan to marry Honor. Expecting stiff opposition, he was surprised when neither of his parents offered any objections. They both liked Honor and were pleased that he had decided to take her as his wife.
    Maggie Daniels frowned. "After you are married, Honor must come to live with us. I have always been fond of her and it is not proper for her to continue to live alone."
    "I am sure she will consent to move to Green Rivers as soon as she has recovered from her illness," Jordan told his mother.
    "Think of it, son, with our land and Landau, we will have the largest plantation in the entire state of Virginia."
    "Shame on you, Clayton," his wife scolded. "I do not know what you can be thinking to speak in such a mercenary way when Amanda is not yet cold in her grave."
    Clayton Daniels had the grace to look shamefaced and quickly changed the subject. "Son, you do not love Honor, but I have known many marriages that have started out with far less going for them than what you and Honor will have going for you. I think your marriage will work out quite successfully."
    "No, I do not love her, but I have a great fondness for her."
    "Fondness is not a bad thing to build a marriage on," his mother told him.
    "I believe Honor and I will have a good marriage. But it will not be the same as it would have been if Meagan and I had married," Jordan said bitterly.
    "No, thank the Lord for that. You did not see the shameless way Meagan carried on while you were away, Jordan."
    "Mother!" Jordan warned.
    "It is true. You would not have been happy for long if you had married her, I can tell you that."
    "I will not allow you to say anything against Meagan. You did not know her as well as I do."
    "It would seem you did not