{Julien}
"Come on now, Julien. We're going to be late!"
I adjust my bow tie in the mirror and Kali says, "You look very handsome, young master."
"You're going to have to stop calling me that soon," I tell her. "I'm not a little kid anymore."
"No, I suppose you're not, but until you stop acting like one—" I grimace, "—I'll continue calling you as so." She just smiles at me.
The door to my room burst open. "Julien! Let's go. We told them we'd be early! At this rate we won't arrive there till next year!" Clara walks away quickly, leaving the door open.
Kali grins. "Better get a move on, you don't want to be late for your betroth's birthday!"
"Perhaps not," I mumble, taking one last look at myself in the mirror before following Clara out to the carriage.
My father is coming too. I told him that he didn't have to, but he insisted. Quite frankly, I don't want him anywhere near Rosalina. God knows what he does to get off now that mother is gone— not that she ever helped in the first place.
Clara still hasn't forgiven me, and I don't plan on asking her too. If she wants to be that man's kiss up, that she can go on ahead and do it, I won't stop her.
She does seem thrilled to meet Rosalina. More excited that I thought. That's part of the reason we're going early because she wants to meet her before people "hog" her.
It doesn't make any difference to me.
When we arrive, Clara scrambles out and gets to the door as quickly as possible. I shake my head in disbelief. She's like a five year-old on Christmas. By the time both me and my father are out and up the steps, the doors have already been open and Clara is inside.
The second I walk in the doors, Clara says, "I should go up there and help her get ready."
I scoff and shake my head. "Leave her alone. You'll probably just freak her out. You can meet her when she's ready."
Clara huffs and rolls her eyes. "Whatever."
My eyes scan the room and I see Lord Howard here, but I decide it best not to talk to him now. We all talk amongst ourselves as we wait, not staying on the same topic for very long.
Then I see her. She walks down the stairs with who I believe is Lady Howard and Lady Alicia Moore. I've only heard about Lady Moore a few times and of course the tragic accident of her husband. Rosalina, though, looks fantastic. Extraordinary. She cleans up nice and she looks better than I'd like to admit.
I don't take my eyes off her as she walks down the stairs. In her eyes I see fear and I see anxiety. Expressions like that are my favorite. It lets me know that I'm getting to her.
When she reaches the bottom step, I bow and wear a charming smile. "You look stunning, my dear." I speak the truth, even if I don't quite believe myself.
She curtsies before taking my hand. "Thank you." I catch her discreetly looking me up and down."You look very handsome," I smirk, like the way that sounds and she looks away.
"Oh my goodness gracious!" my sister shouts obnoxiously.. "So you're my future sister-in-law!" Rosalina smiles, nodding her head. "I'm Clara, Julien's sister."
"Hello," she replies, taking my sister's outstretched hand. "I'm Rosalina."
"You and I are going to be good friends, I can already tell," Clara states at this, she gives me a criticizing look. But it disappears as quickly as it had appeared. "Happy birthday, Lady Rosalina."
"Thank you. I look forward to marrying Julien," Rosalina says and he lands back in mine.
Good girl.
That's when my father decides to greet her.
"Hello there, Lady Rosalina." He looks her up and down. I grit my teeth and hold Rosalina tighter. "You will make a fine wife for my son and a welcome addition to our family." This man is a disgrace. Again, I don't want to know what he'll try if the two of them end up in a room alone together. "I hope you have a happy birthday."
"Thank you too, Lord Grey."
Victoria claps her hands together and says, "Alright, everyone! People will be here soon, meanwhile the orchestra is already playing, food and drinks are already out, so just make your way to the ballroom!"
As I guide her to the ballroom, I lean close to her ear and say, "Happy birthday, darling."
She looks up at me, obviously a nervous wreck and surprised by my sincerity. "Thank you." Her response comes out a bit frigid.
This makes me laugh softly. "You're doing well," I praise her. " Now you just have to sell it when more people arrive."
Her nose wrinkles. "I'm not kissing you."
I laugh even harder. "Who said anything about kissing?" My voice then drops dramatically in volume. "You won't be able to avoid it forever. Our wedding is in two weeks."
"Two weeks and a half," She retorts.
"Keeping track are we?"
"Yes. I want as much time as I can get."
Oh, do you now?
We enter the ballroom and music surrounds us. Rosalina looks around and she seems shocked by what she see.
"Do you like it?" I ask her.
"How can we even afford all of this right now? You haven't even given them the money yet..."
"I did this," I explain to her. She looks at me, her jaw dropped.
"Why would you do this?"
"For you, of course. It is your birthday, afterall," I tell her. It'll look good to the people.
She stares at me, seemingly bewildered. "Why on earth would you do something for me."
"Our image is everything, my dear," I remind her.
When will she take those words seriously?
She removes herself from me, crossing her arms and huffing like a child. "About that," she says. "Do tell me why it matters so much that we seem in love? Everyone knows that most arranged marriages don't work out."
"Ah, but you see, dear, no one but your parents know that this marriage is arranged. And of course anyone you told."
She straightens up as if she has nothing to hide. "I didn't tell anyone."
Oh, baby. You should know you can't fool me.
"You can't lie to me. Go on, now. Who did you tell?" I look at her as if I'm talking to child, since she's acting like one.
She hesitates and I relish in her silence. "Graclynn and my Aunt Alicia."
"That's all?"
"T-that's all," she pauses, "You're not going to hurt them, right? Or me?"
My eyebrows furrow then raise them. Does she really think that low of me? Then again, I'm not above hurting people, am I? "No, it's only fair, I suppose, because I did tell my sister and a… friend of mine."
With those words, she seems to relax.
"You still didn't answer my question," she suddenly says.
"I suppose I didn't, did I?" I let the quiet consume us for a moment before continuing once more. "You see, in order to get what I want, I don't need anyone to expect a thing, so even the people we've told need to eventually be among the ones who don't know."
She nods along with what I say. "Okay."
I can tell she doesn't particularly agree with it, nevertheless I praise her more. "Good girl~"
She scoffs. "Don't."
"Careful, dear," I tell her, lifting a hand to her cheek softly. She jumps when I touch her.
"I-I have a lot of questions," She tells me.
I take my hand away from her. "I'm sure you do. You've already asked me plenty."
She rolls her eyes. "The wedding. What's the whole deal there?"
Come to think of it, I've been wondering the same thing. "I haven't heard much about it," I say with a shrug. "All I know is that it'll be in my family's field."
Rosalina seems surprised by this. "Your family's field? You own a field? How's that supposed to work."
"Yes, my family owns a field. And it's pretty simple. There's a gazebo, we'll get chairs, and there's even a little house for you to get ready in and everything."
"Wow… that sounds… beautiful."
"Mhm," is my only response.
"And… after we're married will there be a… honeymoon?"
I look at her, smirking and feeling a bit mischievous. "Of course. We have a beach estate on a secluded beach. It'll be nice, fun even.
"And it'll be… just us?"
"Of course," I replay. "What would people think if we didn't have a proper honeymoon?"
She seems slightly uncomfortable, but in all honesty, I think she'll enjoy that more than she thinks.
"And then, once we're married and I live in your manor, where do we go from there."
I rub my chin, seemingly thinking hard about this, but in reality, I've already thought this over. "Well," I say "whatever you want. As long as we show up in public together and host a few gatherings, we'll be fine. But if you want kids--"
She waves her hands dramatically, cutting me off. "No, no, no! I'm good."
This girl is going to kill me from laughter. "You know, eventually I will need an heir."
"I'm not having kids with you," she snaps quickly
"You say that now…" I trail off.
As more people arrive they greet and wish Rosalina a happy birthday. I decide it would be a good idea to slip my arm around her waist and hold her close. She just goes along with it as if it's natural and normal. I've got to admit, she's doing much better than I expected.
"Oh god," Rosalina whispers after a while.
I turn to her, confused. "What?" Suddenly I see a flash of black hair. I'd know that curly head of hair anywhere. Of course it's Viviane of the Renoir household. Viviane and I had a little… soiree together. It didn't last long, but it was long enough for her to think she's "in love" with me. She's a crazy bitch, if I've ever seen one. Every time she sees me, she throws herself at me. She is convinced that I belong to her.
"Fuck…"
Her head whips in my direction. "You know her?" I groan as she looks back to Viviane."She's coming this way!"
"Rosalina, darling! Happy birthday," Viviane says, her voice high pitched and face.
I roll my eyes as Rosalina says, "Why thank you, Viviane."
She makes eye contact with me. "Julien, dear, fancy seeing you here. I hear you're getting married. I mean, I know you. You'd never let a single woman tie you down."
I smirk at this, quickly drawing Rosalina close and her hand lands on my chest as she stables herself. "Actually, I am. And to Rosalina, herself." Rosalina stares up at me, but don't look back.
Viviane scoffs. "Well, I'm sure it's been arranged. You know where to find me when you…" she looks Rosalina up and down, seemingly sizing her up. "...bored."
"I can assure you that it's not arranged," I tell Viviane. And I'm all too glad to proclaim this. "Rosalina is the only one for me, and there will be none of that. I would never have an affair on my future wife.
Out of nowhere, Rosalina's attitude changes, and if I was proud of her before, I most definitely am now.
She lays her head on my shoulder and stares up at me innocently. "Julien, my love, I'm a little parched, can we go get something to drink."
I look back at her and I can't help but relish in this. So, I play along like I always planned to. "Of course, my dear."
As we walk away, she tells Viviane, "Thank you so much for coming! I hope you enjoy yourself!"
When we turn our backs, I can't help but snicker.
{}{}{}{}{}
"What did you find out?" I ask in a low voice.
"I don't know if we should talk about it here…" Giovanni replies.
My eyebrows raise. "That bad, huh?"
He shrugs, unsure. "Yes and no."
"If it's not that bad, then just tell me," I hiss.
"It just… that much money, looking as to where it went… all I feel comfortable saying here…" I scoff at this, looking away. "...He's planning something, Lord Gray. Something big."
I turn back to him. "What?"
"All that money went to some very nasty people."
I sigh. This couldn't get any more complicated, could it? "Look, let's have a meeting soon. Tomorrow at noon. We'll discuss this in depth, understand me?"
"Yes, my lord."
With that, I grab two glasses of champagne off the nearest table, weave my way back to Rosalina. I'm almost there when I hear the loud taping of metal against glass. It grows quiet as I finally reach my destination,
"Took you long enough," she mutters.
I roll my eyes.
"I'd like to thank you all for coming tonight," Victoria Hastings says. "It's a great honor to have each and every one of you here to help celebrate my beloved daughters birthday. I would like to make a toast to her and her soon-to-be-wed husband!"
There are a few noises of admiration and shock. I wrap an arm around Rosalina and raise my glass. After Rosalina takes a sip, she immediately sets it down. I can tell she's not much of a drinker.
The orchestra strikes up again and music fills the room. I then get an idea. Bowing and offering my hand I say, "Would you care to dance, Lady Rosalina."
She takes my hand, "Of course, Lord Gray." Though her smile seems a bit fake, I lead her to the dance floor.
"So," Rosalina says as we begin to dance. "How do you know Viviane Renoir?"
"Ah, curious again, are we?" I ask her, finding this funny.
She rolls her eyes. "Please, just answer the question."
I twirl me away from me before we meet again. "She was… an old pastime of mine."
"You say that like she was a hobby."
"It's the truth," I reply. "I wasn't interested in her. I just took what she gave: her body."
"You're despicable."
"Believe me, my dear, I know."
She twirls again. "And the fact that you know is just… awful. How do you live with yourself?"
"It's not like I tell them to run after me like lost puppies. It gets annoying. I find it's just better to give them what they want. It spares me the drama and tears."
My honesty seems to piss her off as she lets out a harsh laugh. "Right. She's obviously into you. Why me and not her?"
I move closer to her abruptly, taking her by surprise as her faces are closer than they've ever been."Because she's no fun."
She frowns. "And I am?"
I pull back. "Absolutely."
She refuses to meet my gaze after that. She seems scared, confused, worried. Like I said. Fun.
"You spoke of respect the day we met," She says randomly
"What about it?" I reply.
"You said you'd respect me as long as I respected you."
"I did."
"What did you mean by that?"
"I meant exactly what I said," I say. "I may not be an ideal man, but I'm not cruel."
"I find that very difficult to believe."
"I'm sure you do," I go quiet for a split second.. "Just don't be stupid, and you and I will get along fine."
"Define 'stupid'."
I roll my eyes, starting to get a bit annoyed. "Don't try to to run off, hit me, poison me, kill me, anything like that."
She seems taken aback by this."Kill you? You really think I could do something like that?"
"You'd be surprised by some of the things people try to do to me."
"I highly doubt that. I'm just not like other people, but it's completely understandable why someone would try to murder you."
I give her a cruel smile. "Well then, it's good to know that you aren't stupid because you know what happens when peole cross me? They don't live to tell the tale. Just because you're a woman does not mean you're completely safe from me. I would never hurt you, but that only applies if you make wise decisions. I wouldn't hesitate to kill you if you tried to do the same to me."
This seems to finally rattle her. "I'm not an idiot," she says, her voice cracking a bit, making her not very convincing. "I know how people like you work, Julien. No one else can end you but you. You'll be the reason for your own undoing. Someone like me could never hope to cause your fall."
Hearing those words, I give her a charming smile "I'm glad we've come to an agreement. You be smart and I'll leave you be."
"It's a deal," she growls
"May I cut in?" It's Clara.
I try to act as if the very fact that she asked doesn't piss me off but it does. Regardless, I pass Rosalina to my sister and stand at the edge of the dance floor, keeping a close eye on them. If Rosalina so much as says one word wrong… Well, let's just hope no one has to find out.
When song ends, Rosalina finds me quickly. All I have to say is, "Enjoy talking to my sister?"
"Very sweet, much more than you," she snaps.
I laugh at this.
We make our way back to where we were before. As we're doing so, there's a crash and I'm splashed with little flecks of red wine. Rosalina goes rigid and holds her arms out as it drips from her. My eyes move in the direction of which the liquid came. There's no surprise who's holding the empty glass. Viviane Renior.
"My lady, are you alright?"
"Someone clean this mess up!" Victoria commands and three maids run in.
"What on earth happened here," Alicia Moore demands.
"O-oh! I'm so sorry, Lady Rosalina!" Viviane says pathetically.
I snap back to reality as Rosalina says "It's fine."
"Are you okay?" I ask her, my mouth right next to her ear.
"Yes," she retorts rudely. "But I'm done for tonight."
"That's fine, dear. You've had a good night anyway," Alicia says, wiping Rosalina's skin.
"Yeah, it didn't last long, though," Rosalina replies almost sadly.
Viviane tries to move closer but I push her back. "I just want to help!"
I narrow my eyes at her, my voice dangerously low. "I think you have done enough."
"Oh my goodness, Rosalina!" Lady Howard comes rushing over.
"I'm okay, Graclynn."
"Come on," I say, wrapping an arm around Rosalina's shoulders.
We're just about to leave the ballroom when Viviane exclaims. "Oh, come on, Julien! There's no way this is real! I know you, Julien Gray. I know you! You two have barely touched all night."
Oh, so she wants to challenge me? Well, challenge accepted.
I take the opportunity while I see it.
"Well," I snap. "It seems that you don't know me well enough."
I pull Rosalina back, pressing my lips to hers. I know she's shocked, but I also know she won't push me away. Just stay smart, Rosalina. Suddenly she melts into it, and it's my turn to be a little bewildered. Nevertheless, I keep going. Her hands tighten on me, but we don't stop. Not for along time. I have to prove to these people some how, don't I?
When I pull away, her eyes open slowly and I stare into them as she lets out heavy breaths. I wink at her, loving her reaction.
I look to the crowd and say, "Thank you for coming, but my fiance is retiring for the night. Feel free to continue celebrating."
And I lead her out of the ballroom. Rosalina tells me how to get to her room, and I drop her off there.
"Why did you do that?" she inquires softly as she sits on her bed, avoiding eye contact with me once again.
"Because, " I reply simply. "She was vexing me and I wanted to wipe the confidence off her face."
"And you wanted to convince the people that we're in love."
I shrug a bit but nod. "Yes, that too." I hesitate. "But, there's another reason."
She looks up, curiosity consuming her. "Oh?"
"You belong to me now."
"I'm not property," she deadpans.
I cross my arms and sighs. "No, you're not. But if you would let me finish."
She huffs. "Go on."
"You belong to me now. You'll be my wife soon. And if there's anything I stand by it's that no one messes with what's mine." We finally hold each other's gaze. "And I mean that."
"You're confusing, you know that?"
I chuckle at this. "That's the point, my dear. I like to play with my prey."
With those words, it seems I've finally crossed a line. Good.
"Get out of my room. Please."
I shift my weight with a mischievous grin. "No goodbye kiss?"
"Get. Out."
I laugh loudly. "You'll see, my dear. Just know, no matter what, I'll always protect you."
I walk, closing the door behind me. In the hall I pass Alicia and Graclynn and I tell them that she's in her room.
I've got to admit, tonight took a sudden turn of events. And if I am being completely honest? I loved every second of it and can't wait to kiss that girl again.