Page 47 of The Fifth Life of Alicia
He toyed with the envelope. “Did you get my letter regarding payment?”
“I did. I also noted your interesting clause about getting a full refund should we get married.”
“It’s only fair. It wouldn’t be right to take my wife’s money, not when I’d be benefitting so much more than you would be out of such an arrangement. You could use it to, I don’t know, buy dresses or something.”
“I’d be more likely to use it to hire someone to quietly kill my insufferable spouse.”
“In that case, our marriage would be short but beautiful.” He grinned. “A risk I’m willing to take.”
He was cocky.
And rightfully so. House Alansia would be my father’s first choice, and Ezra knew it.
I moved the cushion to my right and pulled out the money pouch Bella had hidden there earlier. “This is twenty percent. You’ll get the rest when that’s in my hand.”
Ezra took the pouch from the table and opened it. “I’ll take the rest depending on who you marry.”
“How generous of you.” I held out my hand. “Your turn.”
He dutifully passed the envelope over to me.
I reached for the letter opener and sliced it open. It was quite the thick stack of papers, but the top sheet had a shorthand version of all the names inside. As he’d said, he’d included himself as the number one prospect and Lord Leon as the second. The rest of the list was filled with other perfectly acceptable marriage candidates, and they all fit both mine and my father’s parameters perfectly.
He ran an infamous information guild for a reason, it seemed.
I slipped the papers back into the envelope.
“Is it not to your liking, my lady?” He raised his eyebrows.
“On the contrary, it’s quite acceptable from what I can see,” I replied. “My concern is not what you’ve delivered, but more the situation I find myself in.”
“Which is?”
“Do you remember me telling you that I believed I was to be the recipient of a marriage proposal I do not want?”
He nodded. “One your father would struggle to decline.”
“Indeed. Recent events have… elevated my concerns,” I said slowly, meeting his gaze. “I believe I have less time than I thought to secure a marriage partner.”
Ezra sat back, resting his right ankle over his left knee. “Is that so? Would the spring ball have anything to do with that?”
“Perhaps.” I gently set my teacup down on the saucer. “Therefore, I believe it is in my best interest to pursue an engagement, regardless of its validity.”
“Are you suggesting a contract engagement?”
“That’s exactly it,” I replied coolly. “I would like you, Lord Ezra, to agree to be my fiancé for the next six months.”
He chuckled. “My, aren’t you bold, my lady?”
“You said yourself that Duke Alansia is pressuring you to get married. This would buy us both some time, would it not?”
“I’ve already told you I’m interested in you. How can you be so sure that I’d be willing to let you go at the end of it?”
Ah. Finally, a man who questioned the end of a fake relationship.
In reality, I couldn’t guarantee such a thing. All things considered, Ezra was absolutely the kind of man I could fall in love with, given the right circumstances.
If only that were the situation I found myself in.
