She tilts her head. “Yes. And others.”
“Have you noticed that two of the names on your list of marriageable girls are related to Prime Minister Finley?” I cross my arms, my heartbeat sounding loud in my ears. “The list is only ten names long. That means, assuming that I actually go by your absurd list, I have a one out of five chance of being related to our good prime minister. Sure, I hate Prime Minister Finley and everything he stands for. But why not make him part of my family for the rest of my life? Hmm?”
She narrows her eyes at me. “There are eight other choices on that list.”
I stand up, nearly trembling with repressed rage. “No. I’m not interested in having my life managed to that degree. I do everything else by the book, but I won’t choose some insipid girl off a list of girls chosen by their heritage and willingness to breed. It’s disgusting.”
My grandmother climbs to her feet, giving me a tired look. “You have to, Stellan. Your father probably won’t make it for another year in his current position.”
“Well, I’ll deal with that when he calls on me. And as for marriage… when it’s the right time and the right girl, I’ll let you know. But I don’t want to hear another thing about it until I bring it up.”
Her lips thin. “You can’t give me orders, young man.”
“And you can’t dictate who and when I marry. So here we are, demanding things of the other we know will be ignored.” I hold my hand out, gesturing to the door. “Nowif you’ll excuse me, I have this huge stack of papers to read through before my afternoon appointment at a children’s hospital.”
She gives her head a tiny shake and then moves gracefully toward the door. “I’m not dropping this subject, Stellan. We’ll talk about it again as soon as your father is back from his trip.”
I give her the most saccharine smile as I head back to my desk. “Have a nice afternoon,Momse.”
She shoots me a glare, then opens the door and stalks out. The footman hovers at the door, looking anxious.
“Can I not be left alone?” I yell.
He goes pale, scurrying out of my sight. The throbbing headache I was getting earlier returns in full force. Rubbing my temples, I pace over to the window, looking out at the view absently.
I don’t have control over so many things in my life. But this… picking a girl to marry… that is one of my few choices. I’m not insane enough to think that I will marry for love. But I’ll be damned if I pick a random name off of a list that was approved by parliament.
I would rather stay unmarried forever than have marriage forced on me like that.
Turning my thoughts back to my father, I picture him in my mind’s eye. He looks just like me, tall and dark haired with light blue eyes. Except there is a shock of silver in his hair, which mostly serves to make him seem even more refined.
Try as I might, I can’t imagine him being ill. Distant? Sure. Quiet? Definitely.
But sick?
That thought just isn’t compatible with the man I know. It just seems unlikely.
Which means that my grandmother is manipulatingme. It’s certainly far from the first time… but she was being honest about how much time she has devoted solely to me, to making sure I grow up as she wishes.
What would be the profit in driving me away with her endless questions of marriage unless… unless there really is something going on with my father?
A knock on the open door startles me from my morbid thoughts.
“Hey,” Margot calls out softly.
I turn, narrowing my eyes. She’s standing there, wearing her usual businesslike blazer and black work pants. Her pink hair is piled atop her head today, though several tendrils have already escaped to curl around her face.
Her mere presence makes my heart beat frantically against my ribs.
“Hey,” I answer. I tilt my head. “Come here.”
Her brows rise but she sets her ever-present tote bag down by the door and walks up to me. She stops when she’s still two paces from me.
For some reason, that drives me fucking crazy.
Her tongue darts out to wet her lips as she peers up at me. Her eyes scan my face, trying to shuffle the puzzle pieces around, searching for some kind of explanation. “Are you okay?”
My lips tip up at the corners of my mouth. “I’ve been worse. I just had my grandmother here, reminding me of the plans she has made on my behalf.”
