By Rhonda, the Chief Acolyte

A feeling of anxiousness overcame the former Catherine Morland as the carriage pulled away from Fullerton. Her wedding day was wonderful: everyone smiled and laughed, her Henry was as handsome as ever, and she felt light and radiant thorough the entire service and reception. But now the fairy tale day was winding down, and the Tilneys had a long travel ahead of them.

"Is something bothering you, my dear?" Henry Tilney searched her face.

Catherine looked at the floor of the carriage. Her dainty white shoes peeked out from underneath

her wedding dress, like a shy child wrapped in his mother's skirt. The late afternoon sun reflected against the delicate gold ring on her left hand, bringing a smile to her lips. She slowly brought her gaze to Henry's, and reassured him, "I am very well."

Henry smiled. "I am glad of it," he said. "For a moment I thought you were unhappy with your present situation. It is not everyday you marry such a 'queer half-witted man'." He laughed.

"I told you, I never kept a journal while I was at Bath, Henry," protested Catherine with a smile. "And if I did, that is not what I would have written."

There was no need to pursue that further. Admiration and love was written across every feature of Catherine's face. She did not know the art of hiding her emotions, and Henry liked that about her. Everything she said to him was the absolute truth, and everything she felt was confirmed in her look.

With Henry's arm around her waist, Catherine soon fell into meditation to the regular rhythm of the carriage and horses. She imagined herself with her domestic concerns- visiting families in the parish, fitting up the rooms in her new home, writing out menus, and tending to her poultry- and quietly sighed.

She wanted to give herself up to daydreams of flower gardens, grass-covered hills, and ancient castles. She longed for the simple days of playing with her brothers, covered in mud. The far-off glee of children's giggles called for her to retreat back into the life she still knew in the depths of her heart- her childhood. In her sheer happiness of being Henry Tilney's wife, she knew that marriage was to large, to infinite to grasp, and control was gone. How was she to be half the wife her dearest Henry expected her to be?

She knew that she was a very lucky girl to have met Henry, and to have married him at the tender age of eighteen. Many of her older friends had not married until their late twenties. But still, Catherine was confused- marriage was something that adults did, yet she did not feel like an adult. Time was slipping by, and she was cut off from all adventure and excitement.

Henry was looking at her intently again. "Something is not right, Catherine. Please, love, tell me what is wrong! I cannot bear to see you so distant."

Wide-eyed, Catherine looked at him, her lower lip trembling, trying to hold back the tears. "Oh, Henry," she gushed, " I do not deserve this! I… I am so scared!"

"Of what, my dear?"

"Well," she replied, "I am afraid of making a mistake, of displeasing you. I have never managed a house before, and... and I am so inexperienced. You did not have to choose me for a wife- I am just a child, in ways."

Henry took her hand. "Catherine, you are a beautiful, genuine, loving woman. That is why we are married." He smiled. "I could care less about the poultry."

"Oh, but Henry, that is not all. I am so happy, you have made me so happy. But, I am worried about losing the excitement, the adventure in life. I know that I cannot live the life of a heroine, but that is what I want sometimes, in my childish fantasies."

Henry shook his head. "Who said that adventure is gone? I am excited for us! Scared and anxious, but ecstatic for life ahead, together. We are stepping into the unknown, the world of each other. That frightens me more than a skeleton in a closet. Oh, Catherine, life is suspenseful! And you should never give up on your childhood dreams- that is what we live for."

He understood. She grinned and wept for joy as the burden was lifted from her chest.

As the carriage pulled up to the door of the inn, Henry said, "Mrs. Tilney, you deserve everything your heart desires." And with that hero swooped the heroine up and carried her off to the abyss she no longer feared.

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