CHAPTER NINETEEN

A Joyous Wedding

On the day that I left Ireland I received a letter from Elizabeth. In the letter, Elizabeth said that she still loved me, but she was not sure how I felt. She had not spent any time with me in many years. She had waited all these years to marry me, but if I did not want to marry her, I did not have to. This brave letter was not necessary. I still loved Elizabeth, and more than anything else, I wanted her to be my wife. But I remembered the monster's horrible words—"I will be with you ... on the night of your marriage to sweet Elizabeth!" I thought to myself, "If the monster wants to try and kill me on my wedding night, all right. We will fight until one of us is dead. If the monster wins, I'll have peace because I'll be dead. But if I kill him, I'll be a free man!" I was going to marry Elizabeth, and I decided to tell her the story of the monster after we were married. I did not want to tell her, but she was going to be my wife. I believed that I should not keep secrets from her, because I loved her. I only hoped that when Elizabeth heard the story, she would not hate her husband.

As soon as my father and I arrived in Geneva, we started to plan the wedding. When I told Elizabeth that I still loved her and wanted to marry her, she was happy. "But Victor," she said, "Do you really want to get married now? You have been so sick, and have seemed unhappy for a long time now. I can wait for you to become better." I told her that I had been sad, and that something was worrying me. "But Elizabeth, my darling, it's nothing for you to worry about, when we are so happy planning our wedding. I will tell you everything when we are married." I did not know what I would say to her, but I tried not to think about it. In the week before the wedding, I made some secret plans. I had to get ready to fight the monster if he attacked me. I carried a knife and a gun with me, and I was very careful when I went outside.

The wedding day was only a few days away, and I felt calmer. I did not really believe that the monster could find me on my wedding night, and I decided not to worry about it. The wedding was at our family's home. All the rooms were filled with flowers, and there were many fine ladies and gentlemen from Geneva. Elizabeth looked more beautiful than I had ever seen her. As I put a ring on her finger, I believed that my life would improve, from that moment. We decided to spend our wedding holiday at a house in northern Italy that had belonged to Elizabeth's family. But first, we would spend our wedding night in the town of Evian on the Lake Geneva. It was a beautiful summer day, and we were traveling across the clear blue lake in a little boat. We would spend our wedding night in a beautiful hotel in Evian. The green forests and huge mountains filled me with energy and happiness. But, as I looked at Elizabeth, I remembered that I had promised to tell Elizabeth my story when we were married. But now I was not sure I could tell her. How could I ruin her happiness? Then I felt the dark fear of the monster in my heart. He had said he would find me on my wedding night.

What would happen that evening? I put my hand into my pocket, where I kept a gun. I held it tightly and prayed. The sun was setting.

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