He wanted her to navigate. And not just aeroplanes but an entire life together. Her throat ached as she blinked back tears.
He steadied, his voice clear and true. “Will you share every takeoff and landing, no matter how many or few, for the rest of our lives? Will you marry me, Darcy?”
She couldn’t restrain the sobs any longer. They choked out of her punctuated by hiccups. “Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.”
Then he slipped a sapphire-studded band on her left ring finger. “My grandmother’s. She and my grandfather spent nearly fifty years together before he passed. Please wear this as a token of my love.”
“I will.” She touched it, feeling the power of fifty years of marriage. “It’s beautiful, Jack.”
“Understand that I want to marry you properly, in your church, if they will have me.”
“Of course, of course. Oh, Jack, we welcome you with open arms.” She hugged him close and thanked God for answering even the prayers she didn’t know to ask. Jack had made peace with God. They would walk forward in faith. God’s plan was truly more glorious than anything she could ever have imagined.
He pulled back a little, terribly serious. “And we will need your father’s blessing. I hope you’re willing to wait.”
Wait for Papa? Oh, dear. What would he think of Jack after this failed flight? Would he forbid their marriage? If so, how long before she convinced him? Darcy wanted to marry now, but Jack was adamant. She’d have to wait.
Chapter Nineteen
A week, a boat ride and a doctor visit later, Jack and Darcy headed south. After crossing the Straits of Mackinaw by ferry, they boarded the train to Pearlman. Darcy’s knee had only been severely strained, and though she had to use crutches, she’d soon return to normal life.
Yet nothing would ever be normal again. As each mile clicked past, Darcy’s elation turned to trepidation. By now everyone in Pearlman must be worried, wondering what had happened. Her parents. Would Papa accept Jack? And the investors. The Kensingtons. It just got worse and worse.
Jack, too, had grown silent, his brow creased.
“Try not to look so happy,” she teased.
Though he smiled briefly, he didn’t explain, and her tension increased. She gnawed on her fingernails. They’d spent so much of other people’s money with no hope of return. Every cent of the investment lay in ruins in the wilderness.
“I wish we could sneak into town without anyone noticing,” Darcy said after they left the Grand Rapids station.
“I don’t think that’s going to be possible.”
“I know,” she sighed. “I don’t know how we’re going to repay everyone, but I’ll do my part. Do you think a story on the flight would sell?”
“Not likely, considering the way it ended.”
The thought of how much Blake and Beattie had spent brought tears to her eyes. She’d have to face them, but it wasn’t going to be pleasant. She could lose her dearest friend.
Jack patted her hand. “Don’t worry. Every investor knew the risk going in. The venture always had a very real chance of failure.” Failure. The word still stung. “But I’m sure they hoped for success.”
“Of course, but even if we’d won the prize, it wouldn’t have paid the whole bill.”
Darcy’s eyes widened. Fifty thousand dollars wasn’t enough? “How much did you lay out for this flight, Jack Hunter?”
He slouched a little lower in the seat. “I haven’t exactly totaled it up. It might be a little more than we had subscribed, though. We were supposed to make it back on the lectures.”
Darcy took in that dismal news as the farmland passed by the train window. “That’s a sorry way to start out married life.”
His hesitation told her everything she needed to know. “Second thoughts, Miss Shea?”
“Don’t think you can slip out of this that easily.”
He smiled weakly. “I hope your father feels the same way.”
Darcy wanted to reassure him, but she had no idea what Papa would say. As the train creaked and rattled along the rails, her thoughts dwelled on the future.
“What if…” She hesitated to say aloud that Papa might refuse. “What if we need to wait? Where will we live?”
“I’ll go back to Buffalo and reopen the flight school.”
“And I’ll finish my lessons and get my license.” That covered the next three months, but then what? She couldn’t stay with Perpetua forever.
The train left the Belvidere station. They were getting close. Darcy squeezed Jack’s hand, but she knew he couldn’t protect her from the storm to come.
“Oh, Jack, why don’t we go straight to Buffalo? I don’t want to see their disappointment. I don’t want to tell them we failed, that we wasted their money. Oh, dear. I hope they don’t know about the crash.”
“No chance of that, I’m afraid,” he said, “considering I sent a cable from Sault Ste. Marie.”
“Oh, no,” she groaned, burying her head in her hands.