“Now, we don’t need to even think about that. Of course you’ll sign, Cate. This contract isn’t just about money, it also offers you the security of our protection.” Harold taps the bottom of the page, the tiny sliver of the contract that covers what the club will provide.
“Yes. Don’t you want to keep the protection La Puissance has always so kindly afforded you? At least until the government is able to offer their new plan for the Gifted?”
“I need some time to think about this.”
“Take all the time you need, darling.”
“As long as you have an answer to us by the end of the day tomorrow. If you don’t want your spot here at the club, there are many others who would be happy to take it. We are still only able to offer our sponsorship to ten Gifted at one time, and if you don’t wish to be one of them, well…” Lady M’s lip curls again, and I can’t helpbut wonder if she’s trying to smile and her face is incapable of the movement.
My eyes flit back and forth between Harold and his new wife. Is this really what Harold wants? To tie us all to the club this way? Harold has always cared for us, treated us like family; does he really see no issue with holding a debt over our heads and forcing us to perform like trained animals?
I excuse myself from the office without a word of goodbye, the contract clutched so tightly in my hand I can feel the paper wrinkling.
As I make my way back to my suite, my mind holds on to the look in Lady M’s eyes. She knows she has me trapped, knows she is going to get exactly what she wants. What I can’t figure out is why she wants it.
Meri and Tes come out of Tes’s room as I’m rounding the corner, both with wide smiles on their faces, like they haven’t a care in the world.
Before I can consider if the hallway is the best place for this conversation, I hold up the damning piece of paper clutched in my hand. “Have you both been told about this?”
Meri squints her brown eyes, as if she might be able to read the fine print through my clenched fist. “Is that your contract?”
Tes’s head cocks to the side, her short blond hair falling across her face. “Did you not sign it already?”
Nausea swirls in my gut. “You both signed?”
Meri nods. “I did in the office when they presented it to me.”
I swallow my incredulity and try to temper my reaction. “You didn’t even take the time to consider the terms?”
Tes shrugs. “What’s to consider? I’m not leaving La Puissance. And Lady M is right. It isn’t fair for us to take full advantage of the club’s generosity without paying it back in kind.” She gestures tothe new carpets and freshly painted walls. “None of this would have happened without Lady M’s funds and she’s just trying to make sure we never fall into hardship again in the future.”
“But don’t you think it’s predatory? Making us sign over our lives like this?”
Meri looks at me like I’ve grown an extra head. “Predatory? You think Harold would ever agree to something that put us at risk?”
I shake my head, though I’m starting to question Harold more and more. In my heart of hearts, I cannot truly fathom a world where he put his girls in any sort of danger.
Meri and Tes push past me, making their way to the main staircase. Tes claps my shoulder as the two brush by. “Just sign the paper, Cate. Stop making everything so difficult.”
I make my way back to my rooms, churning over the words of two of my dearest friends. Maybe they’re right.
Signing away my life is a terrifying thought, but is giving up the protection of the club even worse? Can I leave behind my friends, my family, and strike out on my own? And what about Andra? She, more than any of the other Gifted, needs to be surrounded by people she can trust. Her Gift is too valuable for us to be out on the streets without the safety the club affords us, especially given the uncertainty of the times.
This contract presents a major problem, and yet, I know my friends are right and I have no choice but to sign it.
We moved into the club today. Its official name is La Puissance, but it seems like most everyone refers to it as “the club.” Diana introduced me to everyone, and Harry too. He made fast friends with the bartenders and everyone already seems to love him.
The girls here seem nice enough, I guess, even if some of them weren’t exactly what I would call welcoming. Diana made sure to point out the other Gifted girls who live here. I can’t wait to talk to them more about their Gifts, to learn how to harness my power, how to best use it to my advantage.
This truly isn’t what I expected when I asked Harry to run away with me, and certainly not what I expected for the first year of our marriage, but I can’t help but feel like we were meant to end up here, like La Puissance was always meant to be our home.
—excerpt from the journal of Grecia MacVeigh
6
Callum
It’s been aweek since the announcement and I still have not come up with a viable solution to the problem. Alex’s acceptance and Dom’s suggestion cycle through my brain, equal parts frustrating and intriguing.
