“I wish you cared as I.” She wasn’t sure what to do when he started talking about marriage in early 1917. The ice cracked on the Fox River, spring picked the lock of winter, the water moved, and William Friedman spoke to her about the pros and cons of a potential union, obstacles and advantages, in a careful, unemotional tone, as if discussing a job opportunity. (He confessed later that he was simply trying to hold back the flood of his feelings, lest the dam burst and he embarrass himself.) He did not get down on his knees and propose, and his hesitation
