John's Pov

I was reading a letter from a friend of mine who lives back in South Carolina when there was a loud knock at the front door. I raised my eyebrows in curiosity. I hadn't been expecting anyone today.

I hurried over to the door, not wanting to keep whoever it was waiting long, and pulled it open. To my surprise, standing on my doorstep was none other than my father, Henry Laurens. I tried not to show how shocked I was that he came to visit me, and pushed the door open further so he could step inside.

I was even more surprised to see a woman in a green dress standing behind him. She was very pretty and looked like she was around the same age as Alexander and me.

Both my father and the mysterious woman stepped inside of my living room and looked around. There honestly wasn't much to see and I began to feel a little self-conscious.

Henry stepped forward to shake my hand and I smiled happily at him. After I shook his hand, I reached forward and kissed the top of the woman's hand.

"I'm John Laurens, pleased to meet you," I said politely, still unsure of why she was here.

She smiled kindly back at me. "My name is Martha Manning. I've heard so much about you, John."

I felt my face turning red as I looked back at my father. My gaze kept flickering back to Martha though, as I watched her study my face and blush.

I looked back at Martha. "Excuse us for one moment please," I told her nervously, as I grabbed my dad's arm and led him into the kitchen.

When we were finally alone, I said, "I don't mean to be rude, but why is she here?" My father grinned happily at me.

"Martha is a very nice girl who's willing to marry you! Frankly, I'm shocked you haven't already gotten married, as good looking as you are," he explained.

I gasped. I could not believe that my father thought I would just marry this random girl I had just been introduced to. I sighed.

"Martha seems like a very nice girl, but I don't think I'm going to be getting married anytime soon," I said slowly, unsure of what his reaction might be.

His eyes widened as he processed what I just said. "In fact, I'm not even certain I want a wife," I added.

Come to think of it, I probably shouldn't have said that last part out loud. The next thing I knew, I felt a sharp stabbing pain on the side of my face and I gasped again, this time from the pain.

My own father just slapped me. "No son of mine isn't getting married," he exclaimed, his face slowly turning red.

I felt myself starting to get angry. "I'm sorry but I think you should leave. And take Martha with you."

Herny glared at me and started to take another step closer. "You are a disgrace to this family," he said, his voice low, before turning on his heel and storming out of the kitchen.

I carefully followed him, wanting to make sure my father was leaving. I saw him say something to Martha and she gave me a worried glance over her shoulder. I looked away.

A few seconds later and they were both gone. I slumped back against the wall and groaned. What have I done?