I do perceive here a divided duty.
Othello, I.iii
Week 7, Instructor Calendar
March 1898
A short while after Barton left the group, the party broke up. David and Concordia were among the first to leave, while her mother and Robert Flynn remained behind. “Lily and I have some matters to discuss, dear,” Mrs. Wells said, with an airy kiss to Concordia’s cheek. “But I’ll be seeing you soon...your spring recess is next week, is it not?”
Concordia nodded. “We’ll make plans for an excursion. Maybe some shopping, or the Antheneum? Splendid. ’Bye, Mother.”
The late-March evening air penetrated Concordia’s shawl and dress with chill fingers. She shivered as they waited for their cab to pull up.
“Here,” David said, taking off his jacket and putting it around her. She nodded her thanks, breathing in the warmth and the scent of sandalwood that clung to it. He helped her up the step.
They rode along in silence for a while. David cleared his throat. “Nice party.”
“Yes.” Concordia said. “It was a shame that business matters interrupted Mr. Isley’s evening.”
David was looking out the window, lost in thought. They rode in silence for a while.
In the passing light of street lamps, Concordia stole surreptitious glances at him, noting the heavily-lashed brown eyes, luminous in the light; the broad jawline, with a hint of days-end stubble; the dark hair that curled along his ears and the nape of his neck. Familiar details of someone she felt she knew comfortably well, and yet at the same time she had the sensation of seeing someone new. How well did she know this man? Over the years, they’d chatted about their day-to-day lives—the frustrations, the absurdities. But had she ever asked David about his hopes, his dreams, or even his fears? Suddenly, she wanted to know. Everything. She realized with a shock that she loved him.
As if aware of her glance, David turned toward her. He opened his mouth to say something, then hesitated.
In a flash of understanding she realized that what he wanted to say had been an unspoken barrier between them for a long time.
“What is it, David?” she asked gently.
He took her gloved hand in his, and Concordia let it rest there.
“I’ve been thinking about this for quite a while,” he said. “I love you, Concordia. I want you to marry me.”
Concordia’s hand trembled in his, and he held it tightly.
“I would make you a good husband,” he continued. “I want you to have a place that you can call your own, where you can be mistress of your own house, where we could be partners, sharing our life together.”
Concordia looked up at him, searching his eyes for something—what, she didn’t know. “What about my teaching?” she asked in a shaky voice.
He kissed a spot on her inner wrist, just below her glove, which made her breath catch in her throat. “You’re a wonderful teacher, my dear. I know it will be difficult to give that up. But your talents won’t go to waste, I can assure you. When children come along...what a wonderful mother they will have.”
Mercy! Children…. Concordia felt as if she’d been pulled into a whirlwind. She had never particularly cared for children, whom she found loud, runny-nosed, and generally annoying. Except for Eli. Her expression softened. The boy had slipped into her heart and found a place there. Surely, that would happen with her own children.
“You can see how impractical it would be for you to continue at the college after we’re married,” David went on. “That is the sphere for single ladies. But when they marry, they start a new life. A wonderful new life.”
Concordia’s chest constricted. “I do love you,” she said.
“Oh, my dear,” he gathered her into his arms and she put her head on his shoulder.
Eventually, he pulled away to look into her eyes. “So, will you make me the happiest man alive? Will you marry me?”
Concordia hesitated.
“Trust me,” he said, holding both of her hands firmly. “Your happiness will be my goal, for the rest of our lives together.”
He waited patiently through the silence.
“Yes,” she said, after a long moment. “Yes, David, I will marry you.”
He pulled her close and kissed her, for a long time. Concordia felt her worries dissolve away, replaced by something else, a longing she’d only half-suspected she possessed.
He chuckled deep in his throat when he finally let her go. “I have been wanting to do that for a very long time.”
“When did you know?” she asked.
“It may have been as early as the first time we met—when you ran me down with your bicycle.”
She laughed. “Almost ran you down,” she corrected.
The cab lurched to a halt outside the college gate. Concordia could see the gatekeeper waiting.
“We have so much to take care of—” David began.
Concordia held up a hand. “Will you do one thing for me?”
“Of course.”
“I want to keep this just between us for the time being, until the end of the semester.”
David frowned. “Why?”
“I don’t want the work I’m doing now to be—changed—by everyone anticipating my departure. You heard how Mr. Isley talked tonight, even though you hadn’t even made a declaration. During this spring term—my last—I don’t want to feel that people are treating me as if I’m already gone. Can you understand that?”
David hesitated, then nodded. “I think I do. I suppose we can wait to tell everyone, although that won’t be easy for me. I want to stand on top of this cab and tell the world. But what about the school? They’ll need to replace you.”
“The college will have plenty of time during the summer to find someone. We can announce it near the end of term.”
David grinned and, when the gatekeeper wasn’t looking, snuck another kiss on her wrist that made her shiver. He helped her out of the carriage.
“I’ll be fine walking back from here,” Concordia said. “Good night, David.”
“Good night, Concordia. Pleasant dreams.”