rather young for a suitor, perhaps a couple years above twenty, but well-endowed financially. Le Croíx was a known name in La Rochelle, and there were rumors that the family had ties to the crown. Her uncle had chosen him, she supposed, because he was among society's elite in France. Beyond that, she knew nothing else about him; however, her uncle would certainly have something to say if she made an issue of it.
“Fara?”
She jerked to attention at her uncle's tone and focused on his set face. “ Oui , oncle ?”
“Will you not escort the ladies to the parlor for tea?”
She nodded, “Of course,” and rose to fulfill her duties as lady of the house. She detested the pointless chatter and gossip that masqueraded as conversation. She could remind her uncle that dessert had not yet been served, but that was pointless too. She'd lost her appetite.
* * * *
In the parlor, Madame Masson continued her grating laughter as she found humor in one of the servants who had dropped a tray. After the mess was cleared, Fara waved the girl away. She shook her head at Juliet.
Mademoiselle Fournier, who had attended the dinner with her mother, leaned forward. “ Mademoiselle Bellamont, you must tell us more about Jean Le Croíx. How did you meet?”
“I am afraid there is very little to tell. I do not know the man.”
Most of the ladies nodded. Women were often raised with the knowledge that their future husbands would be chosen for them. It was not anything new.
Madame Masson scoffed, “Surely you must have something to tell. Perhaps he took you into a corner, and your uncle discovered it? You cannot be so innocent, chère .”
Fara clenched her jaw before scolding her. “ Madame , please. This is not at all appropriate. And I have only entertained him in the presence of my uncle.”
Other remarks were made, some more obscene. Her cheeks flamed.
After she'd endured enough of those women, their ravings and cruel gossip, her fiancé appeared in the doorway. Desperate for a distraction, she strode to him, calling over her shoulder, “ Pardonnez moi , Mesdames ...” She reached him and muttered, “ Mon Dieu , you do not know what a bore these ladies have become.” She eyed the sudden pallor of his face and wondered what he was thinking.
“ Oui , I can imagine. Mademoiselle , I must speak with you.”
She smiled. “Surely we should not be so formal now. We are to be married after all, Jean.”
His lips thinned until they were pale and then he took her elbow. “Accompany me to the veranda, Fara...”
As he led her away, her eyes searched his face for something her uncle must have overlooked...malice, perhaps. When they reached the veranda, she pulled away from his biting grasp. “You're hurting me.”
He stepped back, studying her face. “I am sorry, Mademoiselle . It is only that we are to be wed in two weeks.”
“ Oui ,” she replied, feeling numb all over by his sudden show of violence and his apparent perplexity of the situation.
“I want you to be honest with me, Fara. I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to tell me the truth.”
“All right.” She looked up into his face and saw panic and desperation. But, what was causing it?
“Do you love me, Fara?” he asked softly.
She gasped. “We've barely just met. We don't know anything about each other...”
“Answer the question, Mademoiselle .”
His fingers were once again biting into her flesh and she felt a surge of pity for this man she did not know. “I do not love you, Jean Le Croíx.”
“You don't?”
Her breath caught. How could a man expect that kind of feeling at a moment's notice, without having had some kind of affiliation beforehand? Was he mad? Then again, perhaps he held romantic illusions, and believed, as very few did, in love at first sight. She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I cannot. Not now, at this moment in time.” She knew it would hurt him, but didn't know how to fix it without lying to him. It
Tim Curran, Cody Goodfellow, Gary McMahon, C.J. Henderson, William Meikle, T.E. Grau, Laurel Halbany, Christine Morgan, Edward Morris