As they made their way to the tree stump, Alannah was acutely aware of the man walking next to her than her surroundings. Alnnah was finding it difficult to concentrate on anything other than her longing to to just be held by him, to curl up in his arms and never be let go. She also feared that more than anything, for getting too close could be disastrous.
"Alannah Ferguson, I am a man of few words and great action, yet since I have met you my life has changed dramatically." he said as they sat down, "the reason I will not help you run again, is simple, I can't lose you. Alannah I love you, and I would do anyhing if you would marry me. I asked your brother Erik what the probability would be of your father granting me permission to marry you, and he told me that he would rather kill me than to see me marry his beloved daughter."
Alannah jumped to her feet, stunned into speechlessness for a moment. "Dominic . . . No… I …"
"Alannah do you love me?"
"Yes, more than anything, but what about Rosemary? Aren't you supposed to marry her?"
Dominic raised an eyebrow, and said "I thought we had this cleared up Alannah. Rosemary and I have no understanding of such arrangement either formal or in formal." He said rather irritated and then added "I am very much aware of the fact that her father has expressed a great interest in a union between his daughter and myself. The fact is he has never come and asked me what my intentions are towards his daughter, he is a low life and coward. Rosemary hangs on me like I am her property, she tries to flaunt what she doesn't have and I can see how it hurts you. Knowing what my answer would be; neither he nor Rosemary are brave enough to approach me on that subject, so they just interject themselves into our lives at inconvient times."
"So, Dominic what are you saying?"
"Alannah I have made it clear to my mother that when I have met the woman I intend to spend the rest of my life with, and when I have fallen in love with this woman that I will do the honorable thing and ask for her hand in marriage. Alannah, from the first day I saw you on that hill crying, you captured my heart and if you must know that Rosemary was never in my sights. Her family is . . . shall we say . . . beyond my station. She does not love the land, nor the people, the way you do and that is important to me. You are the first and only woman to deal with me honestly and to speak to me from the heart …"