Page 92 of A Mismatch Made in London

He was glad, but it still didn’t seem to be enough. After all, the man would probably do what he did to Juliet to someone else, perhaps taking it even further, especially since he escaped punishment this time. Signing that letter and having it printed in the paper was hardly any punishment at all to a scoundrel such as him.

Truly, Jeremy’s main objective was to protect Juliet and keep the gossipmongers from ruining her life. Would this be the best way to do that? It seemed to satisfy Shelley, at least.

He turned to Shelley again. “I don’t see how you kept yourself from tearing into him, from breaking his nose and both his arms.”

“Oh, I wanted to. If he’d given me the slightest provocation ... I wanted to punch out his teeth.”

He’d never seen Shelley look so angry or speak of violence. He could barely imagine Shelley giving the man a toothless smile, but he liked the picture it conjured up.

But perhaps this would be more punishment than he’d thought. After all, Fairweather still had the debt hanging over his head. He’d never be able to pay it now, since he’d been hoping to find a wealthy man’s daughter to marry whose dowry would settle his debts. After the letter appeared in the newspaper, no gentleman in his right mind would allow his daughter anywhere near George Fairweather.

But would Juliet’s reputation be fully restored? Certainly not. Would she be able to be happy the way she deserved, accepted by all members of society and held in high standing? Likely not. These were serious consequences, but the most important thingwas that Shelley would not break the engagement, they would be married, and Juliet would, no doubt, still have many friends who would not snub her.

Jeremy thought about what Shelley had said to him back in London, about how he wasn’t responsible for Juliet’s happiness, even though she was his sister. In his thoughts, Jeremy argued with him. Hewasresponsible for Juliet. Hadn’t his father and mother asked him to take care of her? She had no other male relatives. Of course he was responsible for her. He would be a lout and a scoundrel if he didn’t feel responsible for her. But perhaps being responsible for her wellbeing—seeing to it that she was safe and had the things she needed—was different from feeling responsible for her happiness.

If he was responsible for her happiness, he’d failed her. That fiend, Fairweather, ruined her reputation and even molested her, for which Jeremy could never think about without wanting to murder the man. But if he was responsible for Juliet’s happiness, that would mean he had to control her every movement, even her thoughts and intentions. And no one should control another human being to that extent.

Happiness.

If he wasn’t responsible for Juliet’s happiness, did that mean he wasn’t responsible for Amelia Moore’s happiness either?

What if each person was responsible only for their own happiness? Of course, if Amelia Moore became his wife, he would be responsible for ensuring she had all the necessities of life, as well as that she was not being mistreated by anyone. But what if his wife and his sister were ultimately responsible for their own mood, thoughts, and feelings, their own decisions and actions?

It made sense, as everyone was responsible for working out his own salvation, as it was written in the Scriptures. And if everyone was responsible for his own salvation and spiritual health, then everyone was responsible for his own thoughts and feelings. Afterall, Jeremy would never hold Juliet responsible for how he felt, would he? So why should he be held responsible for how she felt?

He’d been frustrated with Shelley, thinking he should have been doing more to make sure Juliet was happy, to change her mind and make her marry him instead of waiting for this crisis to be resolved. But perhaps Shelley had been the wise one, stepping back and waiting for both Jeremy and Juliet to stop taking responsibility for other people’s happiness and to be wise, prudent, and trust God with the things that were outside of their control.

Shelley had succeeded in coming up with a good plan, better than anything Jeremy had been able to think of while stewing in anger and violent thoughts.

Now Jeremy could return to London, could practice not trying to make Juliet happy and taking responsibility for her life, and could work on securing his own happiness by courting Miss Amelia Moore in the way he’d intended.

26

Juliet was talking without pause to the maid who was helping her try on dresses, then changing her hair, and finally, changing out the colored ribbon in her hair. And I was writing letters home to my family.

A note had arrived a few hours before saying that Jeremy and Mr. Shelley were on their way back to London and that they had been successful at finding Mr. Fairweather and getting the letter signed.

When we heard male voices downstairs, Juliet gasped and I lifted my head. Our eyes met, then we both ran across the room and headed downstairs, only slowing our pace when we saw them at the bottom of the stairs.

My heart was thumping as I got my first glimpse of Jeremy Beaumont. I’d been expecting to see him looking exhausted after the trip from London to Shropshire—a very long trip on uncertain roads and in all kinds of weather—but he was freshly shaven, his hair looking as perfect as if he were on his way to a ball, and his eyes as sharp and alert as I’d ever seen them.

“Good afternoon, Miss Moore,” he said.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Beaumont,” I said.

Juliet greeted Mr. Shelley with a brief embrace, after which she held onto his arm.

I nodded to Mr. Shelley as he greeted me with, “So good to see you looking well, Miss Moore.” But his attention then shifted back to Juliet.

They both carried identical bouquets of red and yellow roses. Mr. Shelley handed his to Juliet at the same moment that Jeremy handed me his.

“Thank you,” I said.

“I didn’t know what kind or color of flowers you preferred,” Jeremy said, “but I hope you like these.”

“They are beautiful,” I said, “but I prefer white and pink roses with purple lilacs.” I smiled to show I was partially teasing him.

He smiled and said, “I shall remember that.”