Legacy by James A. Michener

family felt it obligatory to find her a replacement, and since the two Starr men showed no skill at that task the burden fell on Anne, who brought to the Starr home one eligible young man after another, none of whom returned voluntarily, for at twenty-four,
    Emily was even less enticing. 'We must do something with your hair, Emmy,' Anne said. 'And you ought to smooth out your piano playing.' Brother Malcolm was more direct: 'Emmy, a girl with few graces has until her
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    twenty-fifth birthday to get married. Anne has been most generous in helping you, but now you must help yourself.' And that was when the Starrs first realized that in their Emily, they had a young woman quite out of the ordinary, because she said to her brother, within earshot of both Anne and the General; 'I've been thinking there might be more to a human life than being wife to someone who doesn't want me.' Three gasps greeted this extraordinary assault on values, but since the revolutionary subject was now opened, Emily revealed the amazing turn her thinking had taken: 'In all the noble work the men of our family did, Declaration of Independence to the rebuilding after Appomattox, Father, the word woman is never once mentioned. Women were not declared free in 1776. They weren't mentioned once during the Convention. Roly-poly judge Edmund never handed down a decision to protect or guide them. And the War Between the States was fought by men for men's reasons.' 'Emily!' the General cried, as if his honour had been impugned. 'The men of the South revered women. . .' 'If women had been consulted in that ridiculous affair, it would have ended in 186V There was more, whipping back and forth, lay- ing bare ugly wounds that had not previously been ventilated, and at the conclusion, the General said; 'Emily, you talk like an enlightened woman bred in Massachusetts, and an uglier tribe was never born.' Leaving her alone in the darkening room the three retreated to the General's study, where they conducted a painful discussion on 'what to do with Emily,' and once again Anne volunteered to take
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    draconian measures: 'She finds herself a husband within the year, or it's over.' Before anyone could react, she corrected herself: 'No, we find her a husband within the year, or else.' That was how a shy, attractive man from Con- necticut appeared at the Starr home. Philip Rawson was twenty-nine, unmarried and a dis- tant cousin of the wealthy Greers. The money had not flowed his family's way, but Anne had inti- mated to Philip that if he found Emily interest- ing, he would also find his fortunes enhanced, considerably. He proved to be such an amiable fellow that the Starrs were happy to have him as a guest. Emily, cognizant of the fact that Anne and Malcolm had gone- far out of their way to find him, actually blossomed, to an extent that caused the General to confide to his son: 'I think our problems are solved.' But Malcolm warned: 'Only if she doesn't resume that nonsense she was talking.' One night, while Emily was playing the piano for Philip, the other three Starrs held a council of war in the General's study, where Malcolm posed the question that had been worrying his father: 'If this Rawson is as acceptable as he seems, why hasn't he married long before thisT and Anne explained: 'I wrote to friends in Hartford to ask that same question.' 'And what did they sayT 'The Rawsons are even poorer than I thought. They had two daughters to marry off and there
    was nothing left for Philip. He makes such a pitiful living as a librarian that he felt he could not fairly ask any girl of good family to marry him.' She paused. J find him quite acceptable and we must pray that things go well.'
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    t They did. He was enamoured of books and intro- duced Emily to the richly textured works of William Dean Howells. At the end of three weeks, when it had been understood that he would leave, Anne asked him to stay on, and she extended her invitation in such a way that he now knew without