That stopped my tirade before I even got started.
“I want my land protected, my grandmother safe.”
“Yes, and House Brown to hold a voice in the world. All good things to ask for. But if I am to take action on your behalf, we will have to come to an agreement. A legal, signed contract.”
“Monsters have the right to sign contracts?”
His eyes narrowed, but a small smile tugged the corners of his mouth. “I’ve met a lot of monsters in my time, and most of them were very fond of contracts. But I don’t see you as a monster. I see you as a woman who cares about her family and home.”
Here I was, being asked to trust a stranger. Again. Only this time I was signing my life away.
But what other choice did I have?
“What other choice do I have?” I asked.
“You could contact the Houses you would prefer to be claimed by. I am sure they would take you in immediately. If the House that claimed you decided you were property worth selling, you might be traded to another House.”
“Would I have any say about that?”
“No.”
“And what about my property? Grandma?”
“It would depend on the House and how they thought they could best profit from owning what you own.”
Harsh. But I knew it was true.
“What are you offering?” I asked. “What do you get out of owning me?”
“There. Very good. That is exactly the question you should ask. It is, fairly, the question you should always ask when dealing with any of the Houses. None of us, not a one, do anything unconsidered. Remember that, Matilda Case.
“I won’t go into details, since a few hundred years’ worth of politics and history is a tiresome subject. But the short of it: I am offering you protection. From the other Houses, from contractual changes, from harm. You, your grandmother, and of course your brother will all be claimed by House Gray. Mr. Harris too, if they desire. The land will transfer to House Gray, but stewardship will remain in your family’s hands for the next ten generations, at which time a new contract can be negotiated.”
“Why would you do that?” I asked.
He nodded, again approving my question.
“I have spent a very long life in service to, and being serviced by, people. It has given me an . . . extraordinary appreciation for the human condition. Our flaws, our strengths, and our inextinguishable capability for generosity and goodness. Over all these years of seeing the very worst of people, it is the very best that holds court in my mind.
“I am not immortal. I age—slowly—but I am much older than I appear. The end of my time is coming. Not soon. But it will come. This House, and all the people in the world, will be the responsibility of some other man or woman.
“While I am still the man in charge, I will follow my own moral compass.
“You are a desired commodity, Miss Case. Every House will want to possess you. If you freely choose the protection of my house, I will pay a hefty stipend to all the other Houses. If that is done quickly enough, it will seal Gray’s legal ownership of you.”
“Ownership,” I said, suddenly wanting to sit down and catch my breath even though I hadn’t been doing anything but standing there, listening to him tell me how my life, my today, and my tomorrow, had just shattered into something I couldn’t recognize.
“Legally, yes,” he said. “However, I will sign a moral contract with you, just as I have signed one with Abraham. You will be recognized as under my employ, and you will be afforded all services, considerations, and benefits any human under my employ is given.”
“So if I say yes, you own me. And you own whatever it is that makes me what I am. The right to research me? To experiment on me?”
“Excellent question!” He clapped his hands together. “Yes and no. As the head of House Gray, I can, conceivably, do anything to anyone. There is no law other than my law within the House and its people. But the contract will state that any and all procedures will be done with your unforced, explicit consent, witnessed by three neutral parties.”
“Neutral parties? Do those exist? You just told me that all people fall under House Gray and you’re the law here.”
“Yes, but some of those people, most of them, actually, work for other Houses. Among the eighteen billion on this earth, many take vows to stand neutral for all sorts of legal proceedings.”
“They can’t be bribed? Blackmailed?”
