Montana
"Good morning, Montana."
It was Cheap. Come over from his desk.
"What is it?" I asked,
I couldn't even bother to raise my head.
"I want to say how moved I was in Chapel this morning," said Cheap, "by Mr Ernest's most eloquent eulogy to our mutual acquaintance who lost his life at such an early age. I know you had a sisterly affection for the boy. You have the type of caring nature that I so admire and possess myself."
"Thank you, Cluan," I said, but in truth, I had hardly listened to what he said.
"Now, if you will excuse me, I think I should like to rest in my room for a while."
I started to get up, but Cheap put his hand on my shoulder and pressed me back into my seat. "Not so fast, if you will, Montana. I wish to discuss further the matter of our Declaration of Intent. Time does not stand still, and we need to set a date."
"Oh, Cluan, surely you do not intend to raise that matter once again. I have told you that it is quite impossible. Now, please remove your hand from my shoulder."
"I can see your distress, my dear, and I will overlook your discourtesy for once. I merely offer the hand of comfort and the guarantee of protection in your disadvantaged position. Since I no longer have a rival for your affections, this is now no obstacle to us signing the Declaration of Commitment, and I wish it to proceed forthwith."
"I say not Cluan."
"But you must, Montana. That is, if you are prepared to stop thinking about yourself for once and consider the distress you will cause to your dear uncles if you persist in this unhelpful attitude. Mr Albert, appearing in court for deception and fraud, will disgrace their entire family, and he will go to prison for what remains of his life."
"Cluan, you wouldn't."
"I assure you, Montana, that I will do exactly that. I intend to go to Mr Earnest within the hour to ask for his permission, since you are his ward, to enter a Declaration of Intent on the soonest possible date. Should you refuse, I intend to turn over all the documentary evidence I hold in my possession to the authorities this evening. Once they have them in their hands, nothing can prevent the case from going to court. The choice is yours.
"I will give you exactly one hour to compose yourself, and if by that time you are not there to meet me outside Mr Ernest's door, I will enter his study alone and inform him of my decision to make public the crime committed by his brother.
"Nothing will deter me, Montana. I have nothing to lose. My position here will become intolerable if Albert continues his cruel vendetta against me, as I know he will unless I can provide myself with the security and protection of your hand in marriage. You have one hour to decide the fate of Uncle Albert, and I will leave you alone to think upon my proposal. Choose well, my dearest, for all our sakes."
I sat there for a long time, turning Cluan Cheap's terrible ultimatum over and over in my mind. For once, I did not doubt that he was telling the truth.
If I did not agree to his proposal, he no longer had a future at the Emporium, and out of spite, he would hand the documents in his possession over to the police, even though he knew that the documents were forgeries and that he would be sending an innocent man to prison.
I was sure that Uncle Albert was not guilty of this crime, but I had no proof that the incriminating documents were forgeries.
It appeared that Cluan Cheap had done his homework and knew the order of the legal documents that had to be signed by both parties before a relationship became officially recognised. The ritual of courtship and marriage here was different from those on Earth Major and was in three separate stages.
The Initial Declaration Ceremony [I.D.C.] was a profession of love between two people and the promise to stay true to each other for one year.
The second stage was the Confirmation Ceremony, when both partners must state if they wanted to continue the relationship or, as sometimes happened, renounce their vows. If they both indicated they wished to continue, then a further year must pass before they entered into a Lifetime Commitment, the equivalent of marriage on Earth.
Young men and women tended to commit to one person, earlier than on Earth and seventeen was the normal age for an I.D.C. Once the I.D.C. is signed, a full year must pass before it can be revoked, and if either one of the partners takes up a relationship with another person before the year ends, they are shunned by society and banned by the courts from entering an I.D.C. for another ten years.
If one of the partners engages in cruel and abusive behaviour towards the other, the full year term of the I.D.C. still must be completed, and if either of the two, including the victim of the abuse, seeks comfort with another before the year end, the same punishments are applied. It is a rigid and unforgiving system, and young people are told to be absolutely sure of their feelings before entering into an I.D.C
The inevitable consequence of refusing to sign the D.C. as the first and almost irrevocable step to marriage with this horrible man was that Uncle Albert would go to prison. It was a terrible choice I had to make. If only Peregrine were here to advise me, but in all probability, Peregrine was dead. I did not care much about what happened to me in the future, but I must save Uncle Albert.
I will honour the declaration if I make it, but many things could happen in three years—accidents, illness, death—but I swear that I will never live as Cheap's wife while I still draw breath. I will agree to sign the Declaration, but only if Cluan Cheap immediately hands over the incriminating documents to Uncle Earnest.
I looked up at the clock; it was five minutes to the hour, and I rose from my seat to meet Cluan Cheap outside the door of Uncle Ernest's study.