large clock downstairs has only made one gong. We stop short of having sex. But it’s enough: I am spent. I can barely move enough to return the favour.
He carries me back to my room and sets me down on my bed.
“You will be my wife one day,” he whispers into my ear.
His words turn me back into putty. I try to cling to him.
Greg gently gets himself disentangled, kisses me once and leaves quietly. I can’t even hear him descend the stairs, but I think I’m asleep before he can get back to his uncle’s house.
Sounds awaken me. Exhausted as I am, yet I still can’t sleep soundly in this bed. I shall be quite stir crazy by the weekend if this keeps up.
I glance out the window. It’s still dawn. The sun has barely chosen to cross the horizon, and birds chirp fiercely.
Birds... clock noises... arguing people downstairs. I’ll have to start sleeping in a cement box if I want to get through the night without waking.
The arguing sounds like Greg and his mother. After a bit of searching, I find the heat register where the voices are coming from.
“I can’t understand what you see in that peasant girl, Gregory.”
“Aww, Mom, if you’d just give her a chance.”
“I’m giving her far more than a chance, but she just doesn’t measure up.”
I find it unlikely they randomly decided to have this argument right below me. Greg’s mother wants me to overhear this. She hopes it will break my resolve. She will be in for a surprise.
“You must make a choice soon. Girls of Alešan’s calibre don’t come along often.”
“I know, I know.”
So! Alešan is not just a random girl taking lessons. She’s the one Greg’s mother intends for him to wed. Now there’s two people to fight to get to Greg. This should prove an interesting challenge.
By the time I finish my morning ablutions and get to the kitchen, Mrs. Lanarr has left. Greg pokes his head in from the dining room.
“Eat fast so I can walk you to school, ‘kay?”
“My school’s far. I don’t want to put you out.”
“Too far to walk?”
No Greg. For you I would walk to the moon.
“It’s doable.”
“Right. Hurry then.”
There’s fried eggs on the stove and biscuits in the oven. I help myself, as I’ve been told to do in the mornings. There are two paper-bagged lunches on the counter. One for me and one for Panne. Alešan doesn’t take a lunch when she goes to school. I take one bag, then dash up to my room for my books.
Greg opens the door for me and we’re on our way. Once out of sight of the house he takes my hand.
His touch is vibrant-electric. He has a lot of things on his public mind. Like the morning’s discussion with his mother. And last night. I see Alešan’s shadow behind this mental collage. Sudden wariness breaks the reading.
“Are you scanning my mind?” he asks.
“We’re holding hands. I can’t really help it.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a partial rapport. I can’t help but get basic surface thoughts. I know you’re happy right now. I sense Alešan on your mind.”
“Oh her,” says Greg. “Yeah, she’s my mother’s pick. For my mom, it’s about scoring a good family tie by marriage. Marrying Alešan guarantees a form of safety. It will take me a while to convince her that you’re the one, not her.”
The images dancing above his head tell me the rest of the story. He finds Alešan pretty enough, but boring. And he knows she plays some political game past what his family’s money can handle.
For all the Lanarrs seem rich to me, Alešan’s family is far richer. Her parents own a bigger house with a six-car garage. Their house borders a private lake that feeds their sprawling ranch. If Greg marries Alešan, he becomes a pawn in her parent’s game.
“You must choose if you should marry her out of duty.”
“Or you, for love.”
“If you keep saying stuff like that, I’m
He carries me back to my room and sets me down on my bed.
“You will be my wife one day,” he whispers into my ear.
His words turn me back into putty. I try to cling to him.
Greg gently gets himself disentangled, kisses me once and leaves quietly. I can’t even hear him descend the stairs, but I think I’m asleep before he can get back to his uncle’s house.
Sounds awaken me. Exhausted as I am, yet I still can’t sleep soundly in this bed. I shall be quite stir crazy by the weekend if this keeps up.
I glance out the window. It’s still dawn. The sun has barely chosen to cross the horizon, and birds chirp fiercely.
Birds... clock noises... arguing people downstairs. I’ll have to start sleeping in a cement box if I want to get through the night without waking.
The arguing sounds like Greg and his mother. After a bit of searching, I find the heat register where the voices are coming from.
“I can’t understand what you see in that peasant girl, Gregory.”
“Aww, Mom, if you’d just give her a chance.”
“I’m giving her far more than a chance, but she just doesn’t measure up.”
I find it unlikely they randomly decided to have this argument right below me. Greg’s mother wants me to overhear this. She hopes it will break my resolve. She will be in for a surprise.
“You must make a choice soon. Girls of Alešan’s calibre don’t come along often.”
“I know, I know.”
So! Alešan is not just a random girl taking lessons. She’s the one Greg’s mother intends for him to wed. Now there’s two people to fight to get to Greg. This should prove an interesting challenge.
By the time I finish my morning ablutions and get to the kitchen, Mrs. Lanarr has left. Greg pokes his head in from the dining room.
“Eat fast so I can walk you to school, ‘kay?”
“My school’s far. I don’t want to put you out.”
“Too far to walk?”
No Greg. For you I would walk to the moon.
“It’s doable.”
“Right. Hurry then.”
There’s fried eggs on the stove and biscuits in the oven. I help myself, as I’ve been told to do in the mornings. There are two paper-bagged lunches on the counter. One for me and one for Panne. Alešan doesn’t take a lunch when she goes to school. I take one bag, then dash up to my room for my books.
Greg opens the door for me and we’re on our way. Once out of sight of the house he takes my hand.
His touch is vibrant-electric. He has a lot of things on his public mind. Like the morning’s discussion with his mother. And last night. I see Alešan’s shadow behind this mental collage. Sudden wariness breaks the reading.
“Are you scanning my mind?” he asks.
“We’re holding hands. I can’t really help it.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a partial rapport. I can’t help but get basic surface thoughts. I know you’re happy right now. I sense Alešan on your mind.”
“Oh her,” says Greg. “Yeah, she’s my mother’s pick. For my mom, it’s about scoring a good family tie by marriage. Marrying Alešan guarantees a form of safety. It will take me a while to convince her that you’re the one, not her.”
The images dancing above his head tell me the rest of the story. He finds Alešan pretty enough, but boring. And he knows she plays some political game past what his family’s money can handle.
For all the Lanarrs seem rich to me, Alešan’s family is far richer. Her parents own a bigger house with a six-car garage. Their house borders a private lake that feeds their sprawling ranch. If Greg marries Alešan, he becomes a pawn in her parent’s game.
“You must choose if you should marry her out of duty.”
“Or you, for love.”
“If you keep saying stuff like that, I’m
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