Elijah did not lack money; what he lacked was status and standing.
If his family could produce an official, who would dare mock him as a nouveau riche in the future?
Well, a son-in-law was family too. That was right.
But General Massena had just said that Twaite could give up the chance to become an official, and Elijah immediately found himself unable to hold back.
Massena studied Elijah in confusion, then turned to Old Twaite. "And this gentleman is?"
"General, this is Mr. Richter. He is..." The old tailor hesitated halfway through. His son liked the Richter family's daughter, but Mr. Richter might not think much of him—especially now that he was crippled.
Elijah looked at the tailor just as nervously, afraid he would say something to shut him out a thousand miles away.
Sergeant Twaite was a soldier by background, straightforward in speech. He immediately took over, "General, Miss Richter and I are in love. I think he must have come to visit me."
Elijah instantly breathed a sigh of relief, secretly glad he had not said, "You are forbidden from seeing each other." He hurriedly nodded.
"That's right. I heard from Corinna that Mr. Twaite had been injured, so I came at once to visit him."
Massena nodded. "Then Sergeant Twaite should choose to follow your advice."
They discussed Twaite's schooling for a while longer. Seeing that the atmosphere was good, Elijah felt this seemed to be a rare opportunity.
He made up his mind, cleared his throat, and said to the old tailor, "Well, Mr. Twaite, actually, besides visiting Henry today, I also wanted to speak with you about, ah, the engagement between those two."
Sergeant Twaite froze, then delight blossomed across his face.
The old tailor was so excited that he rubbed his hands together.