For several seconds, Jacob watched them in silence.
Then he said, “Take her.”
Amanda twisted against the investigator’s grip. “Jacob, you owe me everything. I made you successful. I made this wedding happen.”
“You made my mother stand behind a column.”
His voice was quiet.
That was worse than shouting.
Amanda’s mouth tightened.
“You were ashamed of her before I ever said anything.”
Jacob flinched.
The accusation landed because part of it was true.
He had been ashamed—not of Judith, but of the smallness he imagined other people saw when they looked at her. He had allowed Amanda to call her old-fashioned, embarrassing, difficult. He had accepted the elegant apartment, the vineyard dinners, and the expensive invitations while pretending not to notice who paid for them.
The investigator led Amanda toward the doors.
She looked over her shoulder at him.
“Jacob.”
He did not answer.
When the doors closed behind her, the ballroom became impossibly quiet.
Outside, rain tapped against the tall windows.
Inside, the wedding lights continued to glow over a celebration that no longer existed.
CHAPTER 2 – The Letter
Jacob remained near the center of the ballroom, one hand hanging at his side, the other pressed against his cheek.
Judith sat in the chair beside the column.
She had not realized how tired she was until her knees stopped holding her.
Daniel took the envelope from the table and carried it to her.
“I kept this for twelve years,” he said. “Samuel instructed me to deliver it when Jacob married, or when the vineyard was threatened. I hoped neither condition would occur.”
Judith looked at the handwriting.
The final loop in Samuel’s name leaned upward, exactly as it had when he signed birthday cards and grocery lists.
“Why didn’t you bring it before tonight?”
“Because Samuel wanted Jacob to receive it as an adult,” Daniel said. “He wanted him to understand the responsibility attached to the land.”
Judith touched the envelope with one finger.
“And you believed Amanda was the right person to marry him?”
