chpter 14 : confrontations

"Have you seen a couple as nauseating?"
"Not I."
"Nor I."
"We weren't like that."
"We were much conservative."
"We are much conservative."
"But your brother looks very happy..."
"So does Anna."

The two kept quiet as they leaned against the tree bark, watching their two friends by the Lakeside.
Adam had just splashed water on Anna.
Anna squealed & splashed right back.
Adam began to chase her around the Lake for what seemed like hours (when truth be told, it was actually 10 minutes).

& it went on.

"We were never like that." Abby said again.
James nodded.

Abby sighed. "It's a shame. I'm sure that Amy would love to witness my brother & Anna together."
"Finally." James muttered.
Abby flashed a grin.

James could not help but grin himself. It was not actually Abby the source of that infectious smile (well, it was but not as much) but the thought that he was the responsible - the one who gave Adam that final push.

Which, really, he should have done ages ago - but he thought to himself, 'No reason to dwell on the past.'











Anyone who used the phrase 'no reason to dwell on the past' was an idiot.
At least, in Amy's opinion.

It had been nearly two weeks - half a month - since she had last stepped outside her bedroom door.
She hadn't breathed the familiar stables' smell or see her nosy aunt wasting breath on gossip. or even her plump uncle waddling about the Hut.

She missed it, Amy realised with surprise. She missed civilisation but then, the familiar thought popped inside her head, "What's the use?"

Love could make the world seem a brighter place.
Unrequited love, on the other hand, could make the world seem a dull & dead one.

So, really, what is the real purpose of love?

"Nothing but to stir up trouble," she said to herself.
Amy felt lonely... But not as lonely as she could have been if it weren't for her ever loyal friends.

Abby & Anna - either one or both - had stayed outside her door, updating her on the life beyond the Hut.
Anna would tell her silly stories & mishaps of people while Abby would tell tales of Anna & her public display of affection with her brother ("Nauseating," Abby gagged).

Amy missed it. She wanted to tear open the door & run into the arms of her four dearest friends, squeezing the life out of them.

But she couldn't because her paranoid conscience would appear.
"What if you bump into Jeffer?" it would say tauntingly. "What if he sees you & ask of your failure marriage?"

Marriage. She snorted. What marriage?
She had not even gone past the altar.

But the worst one was "What if he begins talking about his beautiful wife to you & asks how is your wonderful husband?"

No. She would rather lock herself up in her chambers than risk a moment with Jeffer.









Anna was hanging laundry by evening.
Adam had to leave her to tend to the horses. She supposed she could not keep him all to herself.

After all, his mother is her employer, so to speak.

As she moved on towards the second basket of damp laundry, she heard a voice saying, "Excuse me."
Anna nearly shrieked.

She turned around & saw a shadow of a man towering over her.
'Where did he come from?' Anna wondered.

Nobody was in sight. Everyone was too busy with their chores (as Master Zeddy was in a rather snappish mood this day). Only Anna was fulfilling her duty outdoors, hanging the clothes on the wire.
The stranger apologised (sheepishly?)

She knew it wasn't Adam, attempting to scare the life out of her.
She knew his voice.
But this voice... It was familiar...

"Jeffer?" she whispered incredulously.
She could see the man stiffen, even if he was at a safe distance away from her.

"I beg your pardon." he said.
"I-I-I- mean, my Lord." she stammered nervously.

Silence.

Suddenly, he burst out laughing.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's just..." he cleared his throat. "It has been a while since anyone had called me by that name. Only my parents & Amy..." he trailed off & blinked back into reality.
"Aren't you her maiden or such?" he asked.
Anna nodded & realised that the sun had already set. "Yes," she said.
"Do you know where I might, um, find her?"

Anna quickly calculated the good & bad outcomes if she told him what had happened to Amy for the past few weeks.
She decided not to inform him.

After all, what right did he had? He was just an acquaintance of Amy - not a friend, not a lover.
Acquaintance.

"She's, uh, occupied at the moment."
Anna wondered how big a sin it was to lie to a Pharaoh. (Although, Anna insisted it wasn't lying. Not really. Just... Bending the truth)

"Oh. Could you... I suppose, call her downstairs? There is something urgent I'd wish to say to her." the Pharaoh said.
"I'm sorry but she really can't see anyone now."
"What? What's happened to her?" in a flash, Jeffer gripped Anna's shoulders with such intensity, she could not breathe.

"Nothing! Nothing!" she assured him & sagged her shoulders as Jeffer loosened his grip. "It's just-"

'Oh, forgive me, Amy.' Anna thought as she began to explain the situation. It wasn't her fault.
Not really.
Could anyone blame her? Jeffer was abnormally tall, which made him more intimidating. Anna did not know why but Jeffer reminded her of an ape.

'Lord. How could Amy ever fall for an ape?' she wondered.

But she was drifting off. Jeffer shook her, his face looming over hers. "It's just...?" he asked, a hint of impatience creeping into his voice.
"What in hell's name do you think you're doing?" a voice called out from behind.

Anna brightened up. "Adam!" She didn't have to peer over Jeffer's shoulders (a feat she thought impossible) to see who it was but she did it anyway.
He was walking towards the two, with a lantern in a hand & a bucket of hay in the other.

"Anna, what's going on?" he asked, looking at Jeffer.
"You." the two men said at the same time.

Jeffer instantly let go of Anna. Before anyone knew what was going on, Jeffer raised his fist & punched Adam's eye (again).
"Adam!" Anna screamed.
"Adam..." he muttered. The name was instantly locked inside his memory.

"What's going on out there?" Mrs. Geraldine said, a torch lit inside the kitchen.

Jeffer cursed under his breath & ran off.
Before he did, though, he requested Anna to tell Amy of his presence. Giving a last scathing look at Adam, groaning in the bucket of hay, Jeffer ran in the shadows.

"He really is," Adam spat out a mouthful of hay. "-pushing his luck."








"Amy!" the four cheered as they caught sight of her entering the pantry.
"Yes, it is I." she smiled & gave a dramatic bow.

She nearly fell over as Anna, Amy, James & Adam ploughed her with an enormous group hug.

"Please don't suffocate me." she choked from below (being the shortest - or, delicately put - most petite, it was extremely difficult).
As the group made way for Her Highness (or Shortness, in this case), she sat down & laid her head on the table.
She suddenly sprung away from it & shrieked, "What in the world is a raw piece of meat doing there?" while wiping the sticky juice off her face.

"Sorry. My fault." Adam said. As Amy caught a glance of his face, she gasped.
She was about to ask the obvious question ("What happened?") But Adam decided to save her the trouble & was about to inform her of last night's events.

He could not, though, as he caught Anna's sharp glare (from behind Abby's back). Instead, he quickly shut up & muttered a rather lame excuse of being kicked in the eye by a horse.
James let out a snort, Abby bit her lip from smiling & Anna looked heavenwards, either praying or attempting to distract herself from laughing too hard (if one had looked closely, one would notice her eyes watering from the strain).

"Oh, poor thing!" Amy exclaimed as approached Adam.
"What could you have possibly done to that poor horse?" she asked & gave him a poke at his side.
"Ow!" Adam rubbed his rib.

"So, did anything interesting happened yesterday?" Amy asked cheerfully, as if the previous moment did not happen.
The four looked at one another.

Adam & Anna clamped their mouths shut into pinched smiles while Abby & James chorused, "Nothing. Nothing at all."
"Oh." Amy's face fell. "I was sure something had happened yesterday."

Silence.

"That's how the world is without me being there, I suppose!" Amy laughed & her friends rolled their eyes.







"How long must we keep up with this charade?" Anna asked exasperatedly, the minute Amy went to pluck flowers growing from the side of the Hut.
"It's only been three days, Anna. We must give her time to adjust. She's just came out of her room after a period of, oh, I don't know..." Abby hummed, tapping a finger at her chin. "Half a month?"
"Well, fine. But we have to tell her sooner or later."
"The preferable choice being later."

Anna let out an annoyed stamp. "Oooh, this is so infuriating!"
"Who's infuriating?"

Abby & Anna turned around & found a sweet smiling Amy with a handful of equally sweet smelling flowers.
The two exchanged glances. "Um, it's nothing. It was just... Adam." she sighed.
Abby nodded along.











"Hey!" Adam let out a shout.
"Good heavens, Adam. What is the matter?" his mother asked, startled.
"Oh. Nothing, mother. I just... Felt something." he shrugged.
"Must be something in your dreams, then." she smiled. "It isn't normal to wake up from a nap in the style of your behaviour."
"But it felt as if someone... Accused me." Adam muttered, bewildered.











"She's not a little girl anymore." Anna said, still uncomfortable lying to her dear friend.
"Mhmm." Adam muttered as he played with Anna's hair.
"Adam! Are you even listening to me?" she craned her neck to look up & instantly wished she didn't as her eyes linked with his grey ones.
It was filled with the same intensity & a little bit of... Amusement & satisfaction.

"I am, I am. You're right." he assured her & kissed her forehead. "Amy isn't a small girl anymore."
"Thank you." Anna said & closed her eyes, basking in the touch of his warm fingers against her scalp, wrapping it with her dark hair.
"She's a big girl. Huge. Enormous." he said.

Anna laughed. "Adam! What a horrible thing to say."
"You suggested."
"I did not."
"You did."
"No, I didn't."
"You did."
"No, I di-"

He shut her up with a kiss.

Moments later, the two took in deep breaths of air.
"Ad-"
"Shh." he put a finger against her lips.
"No. Something's still bothering me."
Adam groaned.

"I can't stand lying about this anymore. We have to do something." Anna said, ignoring his groan.
"What? Drop by the Pharaoh's palace & complain? Of course that would work." Adam rolled his eyes.

Silence.

"Anna? Anna?" he looked down & saw Anna brightening up at the idea.
"Adam, you're a genius!" she said.

If it was a different situation, Adam would graciously accept this compliment with a line such as, "Why, you've just noticed?" with a waggle of his eyebrows.
But this was an entirely absurd moment - he had just clued Anna in an unwise idea, just by being sarcastic!

Nothing ever ends nicely with sarcasm.

"No." Adam said, surprising Anna (& himself). "No, I'm not. I'm not a genius. I'm a blathering idiot!" he assured her. "So why don't we... Forget whatever I had just said & continue our previous activity?" Adam leaned towards her but Anna was having none of that.
She pushed him away & shook her head. "Adam, it really was a brilliant idea!"
Adam groaned again.

"So tomorrow you have to help me, alright?"
Adam hesitated, refusing to say a word.
"Alright?" she asked again.

Anna's fingers laced with his & the other hand slowly crept up his arm, to his neck. She brought his head forward until his lips were inches away from hers.
His breathing grew rapid, his eyes grew a shade darker (or was that Anna's imagination?) as she asked again, no louder than a mere whisper, "Alright?"
Leaving him no choice, he gulped & nodded his head, knowing that he was signing a contract with his own blood.

She gave him a smile & then his reward.










"Where is Anna?" Abby asked her brother, who was sweeping the floor inside the stables.
"Oh, she's ill. She went to see a doctor in the village." Adam replied, his eyes never leaving off the suspicious form of brown underneath a horse.
"She is? What fever is it?"

Adam gulped. It was really hard to lie to someone like his sister - she was not only tenacious & nearly as nosy as Madame Zeddy, she was also related to him.
"I wouldn't know. She just told me she felt feverish & went off."
"How do you know she went to visit a doctor?" Abby asked.
"Where else would one go if one was sick?"
"The market. A girl can cure herself with therapy like that. I would know." Abby grinned.

Adam finally looked up - but only to Lord, sending a prayer for him to survive this day.









Anna strode towards the Palace, feeling a surge of adrenaline &, for once, courage.
She felt like a completely different person.

Finally, as she got closer within the Palace's grounds, she widened her eyes at the sight of so big a crowd.
Anna asked the elderly woman on her right, "Excuse me, miss? Why are there so many people?"
Anna instantly regretted her choice as she realised that the woman was clearly a gossip monger. The elderly woman replied, "Oh, where have you been all this while, dearie? The Pharaoh's wedding is tomorrow! We are just here to give our blessings. Have you heard of his wife-to-be? Shari? She's supposedly a virgin but that's what she clearly wants us to think. There are no virgins at her age, sweet."

The woman looked at Anna, up & down & then said, "Well, you being an exception."
Anna did not know whether to be flattered or insulted. Nevertheless, she opted for a safe smile.

Before the elderly could open her mouth once more, Anna quickly excused herself through the crowds until she reached the line at the front of the crowd.
Two heavily built men guarding the doors looked at her & inquired her business with the Pharaoh.

She quickly said in a raspy voice, "I'm merely a cousin of the Pharaoh's. Oh, do tell him that I am the sister of his favourite cousin, Adam."
The guards gave her a weary glance, an unsaid message informing her that they've seen - & heard - everything. Anna begged with pretended urgency, "Please."

One of the men went inside.
After a good three minutes, the guard nodded his head at her, a signal for her to enter.

The crowd instantly moved forward, trying to enter the blessed doorways but the two men were quicker than that.
They stretched their arms outwards, blocking the people attempting to pass by.
Anna quickly ran under the guard's arm (& instantly regretted it as the man's stench tickled her nose), inside the Palace & nearly skidded to a halt.

There, across the empty & wide hall, sat Jeffer.
The boy who broke her dear friend's heart.

There were still people present so she dared not show a sign of disrespect. She kneeled before him & said, "My Lord."
"Get up." Jeffer said. He noticed that Mr. Biceps had snuck inside, just to keep an eye on the girl & he cleared his throat. "No need for formalities, cousin. Come, join me for dinner."
"But, sir, the villagers have not yet given their blessings to you." Mr. Biceps reminded.

Jeffer thought fast. Which was more important? The blessings from his beloved villagers for his future marriage or a message from his dearest friend?
A marriage that was not even going to last, Jeffer thought bitterly.

"This will be just a quick meal." Jeffer said.
Mr. Biceps had gotten the hint, shrugged & went outside, facing an angry mob.

Smart man.





Silence.
It was the kind filled with awkwardness & nervousness. If it was an informal meeting - or if they were even friends - one would crack a joke to break the ice, while the other would laugh politely (even if the joke was nowhere near amusing). But this was a meeting of formality - planned or otherwise.
"So how is," Jeffer cleared his throat. "Amy?"

Anna took in a deep breath. What does one say to their ruler, who coincidentally, happened to take up a hobby of breaking their best friend's heart?
She shook her head & decided to deduce the question to a simpler one : How does one make another realise where their heart truly lies?

"Jeffer," she bit her lip. "May I call you Jeffer?"
He nodded.
"You've known Amy since you came into this life - more or less."
He nodded.
"& you two were close friends - as close as two peads in a pod."
"Are." he corrected Anna.

She shook her head, a sad smile on her lips. "No. Were. These past few months... This past year..."
She took in a deep breath. Here came the ultimate challenge.
"To put it delicately..."
Jeffer nodded his head with a little more vigour, clearly impatient for her answer.
"You've been an ass."

It was a relief. Like a burden taken off her chest.

Jeffer winced.
"You've been an ass. A huge, inconsiderate, selfish-"
"Alright, I've been an ass." he cut her off.

He has passed through the stage where furious women told him off, listing down his weaknesses, imperfections & lies. The last thing he needed was another one (furious woman, that is) added to the list.

Anna blushed. She did not mean to be that straightforward.
Adrenaline must have gotten the better of her.

Jeffer, on the other hand, thought it rather interesting to witness a girl blushing while beaming with pride.

Anna nodded & cleared her throat.
As she distracted herself with a sip of wine, Jeffer leaned across the table, his eyes filled with a seriousness he did not know he even possessed.

"But enlighten me. How so have I been an ass?" he asked.
Anna looked me. She really just looked at him.

There in front of him was a mere boy her age, blessed with (she supposed) good looks & a menacing height.
This was the boy behind the proud title. Not a wise man of age neither a proud, adulterous man (although Anna did not believe that herself).

The point she was trying to make was that, he was just a boy. Human.
& humans make mistakes. Even if they were a Pharaoh.

He looked different. Something unfamiliar flicked across his features - fear, insecurity.

"Well... You broke her heart." Anna decided to be frank throughout.
"I what?" he spluttered, water spraying over.
"Charming." she muttered.
"How did I...? No. No," he shook his head. "You really are exaggerating. I couldn't have done such a thing. We are just-"
"Friends?" Anna cut him off. "For Lord knows how many years? You couldn't have possibly been so for such a lifetime."
"Why not? Why is it so hard-"
"Jeffer," she sighed. "Who are you trying to convince? I or you?"

Jeffer spluttered even more (only without the presence of sprayed water). He finally settled being speechless.
"Why are you so persistent to avoid this - when the only thing you're doing is tormenting both you & Amy?"
"Because-"
"Because you're afraid, that's why."
"Is this part of your enchanting manners, unallowing anyone to finish their sentences?" Jeffer asked.

Anna carried on, pretending as if she did not hear him. "You're afraid of rejection. But Jeffer," her tone became urgent. "Everyone is. Just... Take this risk. After 12 years, Jeffer. You - well, Amy deserves it."
"You think it's easy? So bloody easy to just take a risk?" Jeffer burst out. "Everyone's watching, Anna. Why? Because I'm the Pharaoh, that's why! Scandalous affairs, good disciplinary..."
He took in a deep breath.

"One slip up. One slip & people would begin their havoc - tutting, scolding, laughing, teasing." the fierce mask melted. "I wouldn't want that on her." he said softly, playing with his ring.
"Jeffer, when are you going to start living your own life? You may be ruling a village in return of strangers ruling your life."

Jeffer opened his mouth for a reply but before a sound could come out, a knock was heard on the door.
"Sir," a muffled voice - Mr. Biceps - said behind the door. "The people are getting a little... Annoyed. Your cousin may visit later."

Jeffer got up from his seat & cleared his throat. "Well, cousin. It has been a nice visit."
Anna blushed. Before she exited the palace, she turned around & told him - right there with Mr. Biceps & the people outside - "You better make your move before she makes hers."
















The eve of the wedding day had come.
A joyous, gay event was expected for this long awaited evening.
Every single villager was invited to the bride's house, to wish her good luck for a long, married life.

The only belief was that the groom must not attend to this event, as he should not see her two days before the wedding day.
So the people absent at this ceremony were Jeffer & four friends at Zeddy's Hut.











"She seems well," James whispered.
"But clearly, she isn't well on the inside." Abby whispered back.
"Would you two please stop having a private meeting? She's right here, you know." Amy whispered as she butted into the conversation.

"Oh, Amy!" the couple said in unison. "What a surprise," Abby said.
"The weather's nice." James said at the same time.
Abby rolled her eyes.

"Amy," Madame Geraldine tapped Amy's shoulder. "You have a visitor."
Amy instantly went suspicious as she noticed the sly look in Madame Geraldine's eyes - but she followed anyway.








Jeffer paced up & down. He had not seen Amy since that banquet her odious uncle held.
Good Lord. It had been how many months since he had even engaged in a proper conversation - let alone an argument - with her.

With a total bonus that the last time he had departed, Amy was left in a foul mood.
A foul mood directed at him, he suspected.

The door opened & Jeffer instinctively stood up from his seat.
"Oh, good morning, Anna." he heard a familiar voice chirped from behind the door.
Anna gave a rather nervous smile.

Jeffer did not dare look up from his hands, which were twisted together tightly. He continued pinching his fingers into awkward & rather painful positions until...

She whispered, "Jeffer?"
He looked up.

"Hello, Amy."











Whatever Amy was expecting, this was far from it.
She had thought that Madame Geraldine had just mistaken today as her birthday.
She had thought that Madame Geraldine was hiding her gift right in the waiting room.

Amy restrained a snort. What a naïvette she had been.
Why in hell (Amy rather thought this an appropriate moment to use such words) would her birthday present be doing in the waiting room?
Obviously there was a guest. She should have known better.

Amy supposed that she had been lying to herself on so many occassions, she had finally manage to convince herself.

"Amy?" Jeffer said hestitatingly.
She remained silent. What was she supposed to do?

Thoughts were running in Amy's head like water flowing through a stream such as, 'What is he doing here?' & 'Should I offer him a drink?' & mostly 'Is my appearance acceptable?'

"Amy?"
She nodded her head.

"Amy."
'Yes, I know my own bloody name. Get to the point,' Amy thought impatiently. 'Get to the point to get over it.'
Instead of voicing out her thoughts, she replied softly with a polite, "Yes?"

"I... I, uh..."
"Oh for Lord's sake, Jeffer. What do you want?" Amy burst out.

Jeffer looked taken aback. Instinctively, a snarky comment was hanging at the tip of his tongue but in the last moment, he realised that he was in no position to do so.
He suddenly realised that he would like to do a million things at that very moment.

He wanted to run away.
But he wanted to drag her into his arms.
He wanted her to be his & his alone.
He wanted to tell her how much he cared for her.
He wanted to tell her how much he lov-

"I r-realise I made a mistake." Jeffer said, cursing himself inwardly for stuttering.
He may now realise the errors of his ways, but that does not mean it made the situation any easier.
"A mistake?" she echoed, rather skeptically.
"Yes, a mistake."

She kept quiet & moved her gaze downwards.

"& what is this mistake you speak of?" she asked (to the floor).
"I-"
"Oh, God. Who are we trying to fool, Jeffer? Me? You? Everyone?" Amy cried.
"Wait. Le-"
"& it has been like this since we were five! When we were suddenly aware that you're a boy & I'm a girl. 'Just friends, Amy. Forever & ever.'" she went on.
"Amy, what are you talki-"
"Of course. What am I talking about?" she laughed. "'We'? Of course there was no 'we' in this situation. It was only me. I, Shari Amy, niece of the oh-so powerful Zeddy of Zeddy's Hut, was the only victim here. You're the blessed one, Jeffer. Look at you! The highest rank in this village - an heir to a Pharaoh's throne."
"You're the heir to your uncle's business."
"Which I am grateful for, yes. But the point is, that you're the Pharaoh. The highest position, soon-to-be-married to the world's most beautiful woman! So tell me, Jeffer." Amy took a step forward, Jeffer took a step back.

Her eyes were filled with a white hot intensity, nearly hiding the other emotion Jeffer could spot - hurt.
Disappointment, sorrow, pain, a mixture of all these tucked away in the corner of her eyes. It was there.
It made Jeffer want to wrap his arms around her, protect her from the outside world.

But he couldn't. Not now.
It had to be when the time was right.

"Who are you trying to fool?" she asked.
"Amy," Jeffer took in a deep breath. "I have given you your time to talk. Now it is mine. Sit."

Amy did not move.
"Sit." Jeffer said again, his tone firm.
Amy sat.

"You ask me who am I trying to deceive? The real question is, who are you trying to deceive?" Jeffer asked as he paced up & down.
Amy looked at him. He only paced at serious matters.

"Wh-who am I...?" she spluttered furiously.
The nerve of him! Barging into her territory, repeating her name like an idiot (to vex her, Amy was sure) & now accusing her to take the blame.
For whatever problems they were pointing fingers to.

"You kept telling yourself how convinced you were, being in love with... With that golden haired girl in breeches!"
"Oh, that's rich. Your insults are getting worse by the minute, Jeffer." Amy scoffed.
"Yours, too." Jeffer muttered.

He could not help it. With each passing seconds ticking away as he stood in front of Amy, his temper was rising.

"But that is not the point! We both are to be blamed &-"
"Oh, so that's why you've come? To brag about your brilliant marriage, leaving me to endless shame that mine had not even taken place?" Amy choked the words.

She was on the verge of tears, even Jeffer could tell. He had been there when she was informed that her mother had passed away.
Also, when he had pinched her cheeks & mocked her clothes.

"No! No..." Jeffer said. He took a step forward, the urge to hug her dangerously growing.
But Amy backed away. Her urge to run off, run away was growing, too.

"Amy, listen to me. Shameeka..."
"Don't!" she hissed. "Don't you dare mention her name here."
"Fine. But listen to me & I swear on my name that you will never have to see me again."

A minute passed. Just as Jeffer reached to a mental count of 10, he spun around.
As he headed for the door, his hand reaching for the door knob, he heard Amy quietly say, "Alright."

He faced back to her & took in a deep breath.
"I was engaged to Sha- her eleven months ago. The villagers think that the wedding is held the coming week."

Amy nodded her head, wondering where he was going with the topic.

"But the secret wedding is today." Jeffer looked out of the window & a small smile lit up his face.
"Right this minute, actually." he said & looked down.

Amy did not know what else to do but whisper, "You two were going to elope?"
"Yes. But... We didn't. Well, I didn't."
"Of course you didn't!"
"You understand?" Jeffer asked, surprised.
"Who doesn't? You love the attention, don't you, Jeffer? The glorious limelight. You'd rather announce it to the world that you're officially married to the world's most beautiful lady alive." Amy said.
"No." Jeffer shook his head.
"Oh, being self-righteous now? At this particular moment, you choose now to be self-righteous? You are so-"
"God, Amy. Keep quiet & listen to me." Jeffer said, his voice raising.

He cleared his throat with a hoarse apology. "What I wanted to say was this. No, I was not about to be married to the most beautiful lady alive. Because she was then-engaged to another man... Of my (ahem) acquaintance."
Jeffer thought it better to inform Amy of Edmund another time.
"& now here she is, standing right in front of me, still looking beautiful, even when she's yelling like a crazed banshee. Even when her eyes are watering, even when she whispers... Yet."

'Yet? That is how he ends the speech?' Amy thought bewilderedly.

"Yet I am not engaged to be married to her. Even though she's the most beautiful lady I've seen in my entire life, since the minute I saw her in her silken frocks with her gap-toothed smile."
Amy choked - she rather suspected between laughter & tears.
Then she gasped as Jeffer kneeled before her & looked up, into her eyes, his filled with hope & something else.

Something she has never seen before.

"Amy, will you marry me?"