“I’m not ready either.” I’d spent the last eight years taking care of Keelynn, making sure she experienced the childhood I didn’t have. I wouldn’t change it for the world, but now it was my turn to live. And he wanted to take it away.
“Nonsense. Do you really want your cousin Willard to inherit all of this when I die?” He waved a hand toward the coffered ceiling, shelves of books, and vast expanse of gardens below the window.
Willard Cartwright was the only male cousin on my father’s side, so far removed we were barely related. The last time I’d seen him was at my mother’s funeral. The only thing I could remember about him was that he had the personality of a plank.
Still, if handing over this house to an obscure relative was the price of my freedom, I’d gladly pay it. “I’m sure he would make a fine heir.”
My father’s reddening face and the vein bulging in his forehead weren’t nearly as menacing as the creak in his jaw as his teeth ground together. “You have a duty to this family, Aveen. To marry and marry well. Think of your sister.” He paused, letting the words sink in.
Marrying well would ensure Keelynn continued to enjoy a carefree life full of parties and dresses and all the other frivolous things she loved. And it would release my sister from the responsibility of having to provide an heir.
Although I’d known my fate since I was a child, I hadn’t anticipated time passing so quickly.
“I expect you to find a husband by the end of March,” he finished.
He couldn’t be serious.The end of March? “That’s in seven bloody weeks!” I immediately bit my tongue. I never spoke to him like that. I never spoke to anyone like that.
“Watch your mouth. You are a lady and will act like one.”
Act like a lady.
Bow and scrape and do as I was told. Keep my thoughts and opinions and feelings to myself. I was good at “being a lady.” Perhaps too good.
Showing emotion would only make me look weak and irrational. I swallowed the retort on my tongue, silently vowing to come up with a rational solution even a man like my father would accept.
“I’m sorry.” I wasn’t. “I understand your urgency.” I didn’t. “I will find a husband, but I ask that you give me at least until the end of the summer. This is an important decision and shouldn’t be made in haste.” The milder months brought visitors from the neighboring island of Vellana. Perhaps I could find one that wasn’t awful.
“Enough!” His fist slammed against the desk, rattling the glass decanter on the corner. “This matter is not up for discussion. If you do not find a husband by the thirty-first, then I will find one for you.”
Useless tears burned the backs of my eyes, but I refused to cry in his presence. Refused to beg for something that should have been my right. Refused to let him see how weak I really was. My skirts swirled about my ankles as I turned to leave. The sooner I escaped this hell, the better.
“Aveen, wait.”
Hope warmed my core until I twisted back around and saw the five coins in my father’s extended palm.
“Take these. Buy something nice for yourself.”
If only five pieces of silver were enough to purchase an honorable man.
Resisting the urge to tell him exactly what to do with his coins, I took the silver and slipped it into my purse with the rest of my weekly allowance that I’d scrimped and saved for the past six months.
My father picked up one of the loose pages from a pile to glare at the missive. “That is all.”
Dismissed like a servant, I turned on my heel and didn’t stop until I reached the bay window outside my father’s study.
Lifelong commitment. Till death do us part. Rings and promises. I didn’t want any part of it.
Think of your sister.
I didn’t want any part of it, but I’d do this for her.
I’d do anything for her.
The sky outside darkened to match my black mood. The hedges around the garden could do with a trim, and the hellebores were getting out of control. From the looks of the sky, I’d have to wait until tomorrow to deal with them.
My boots slipped across the pristine marble tiles as I made my way down the long hallway to the curved staircase.If this had been a normal week, I would’ve used my money for a new trowel and some dahlia bulbs from Farmer Warren. But I needed to find my sister a gift.
And myself a husband.
