"Oh... I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to delay you." He looked around. "It was just," This was really not the right moment or place. But he had to get back to his farm, and so he had to ask now. "I would never have made that proposal to Alice if there were other options for her. I just figured from what you all explained to me that the father of the bairn was not in the picture, and that she was in a desperate situation if no other man would marry her and claim t' bairn. But then when you got angry, it made me think. Elijah, please answer me honestly. Do you love Alice?"