Free Hearts That Survive by Yvonne Lehman Page A

did she.
    John turned and faced Craven, who said, "Might I have a word with you?"
    "Certainly," John replied.
    "In private."
    Now what? Lydia wondered. John glanced at her, gave her a tender look, stopped to speak briefly with S. J., and walked out of the room with Craven.

 
14
     
     
     
     
    I f you don't mind my speaking personally," John said when he joined S. J. in the library, where they had agreed to meet after dinner.
    "I consider us friends, John." His cheeks dimpled. "And judging from dinner conversation, along with my mother's comments this afternoon, my children will be involved in your wedding."
    John sat in the armchair near his new friend. "S. J., I fully intended to ask if you would be my best man."
    S. J. must have judged by his face that something had changed. "But?"
    "That's what Craven wanted. You see, when Lydia and I became engaged I asked him. He was furious, said it was against his and her father's best judgment."
    "But he changed his mind?"
    John nodded. "He has reconsidered. And his going along with this will help me and Lydia remain in her father's good graces. He's willing—" John couldn't help his sarcastic tone, "willing to suffer through being the best man if I'm still so inclined."
    "And are you?"
    John's fingers toyed with the soft material covering the chair arm. "I am and I'm not. Since he's realized Lydia and I are really serious about each other, his attitude has been contrary to what I'd consider the attitude of a man wanting the best for a woman he loves, even if it isn't him. If I believed Lydia loved Craven, I would want her to be with him. Mind you, it would break my heart."
    S. J.'s demeanor was serious. "I might understand him better than you."
    "What do you mean?"
    "Craven had everything to gain until you came into the picture. Now he has everything to lose."
    John scoffed, "I'm not taking anything from him. Lydia chose me."
    "There's more at stake. When her name is talked about in our—" his face dimpled, "our circles, she's spoken of as the Beaumont Railroad heiress. Who is John Ancell when he becomes the husband of the heiress?"
    "Are you talking down to me, S. J.?"
    "Not at all. I'll share this with you. I've proved myself as a novelist, but I might never have had my first book published were it not for my mother's name and my father's background. This is the world we live in."
    "I don't care about that."
    "I believe you. That's one thing I admire about you. But you see, once you become Cyril Beaumont's son-in-law, he will ensure your status is elevated."
    John was doubtful. "He says I have ingenious ideas. But I know when he says 'toy maker,' he means a nobody."
    "You're right. But with the publicity you'll get from this wedding, Cyril Beaumont will hold his lapels, throw back his shoulders, and proudly proclaim you as his son-in-law. Then you're like Molly, accepted among the nouveau riche."
    John laughed. "I rather think he'd disinherit her and disown me."
    "And how would that make him look, after the romantic wedding of the century?"
    John got his point. "I do believe you think like a novelist."
    S. J. nodded and a sadness crossed his face. "Yes. And like a man who married the most wonderful woman in the world who was considered beneath his station."
    John hadn't known that part. He remembered the novel. It had had an impact on him. He felt regret for S. J.'s loss, but returned to the subject at hand.
    "Perhaps I will be accepted publicly, but as I've been reminded many times, my trains are just toys."
    S. J. nodded. "Can't you imagine that Ismay's and Andrews's first ships were little wooden boats with a paper sail, perhaps in a rain puddle? Incidentally, my first novel was written when I was five years old, and it consisted of three lines. Once upon a time there was a boy. He didn't like his tutor. He shot him."
    S. J. laughed. "Been eliminating my characters ever since. And the public loves it."
    John knew that was true, considering his wide acclaim.
    "Getting back