The Solicitation

by Bella Bryce

  All six former Prefects, Bennett and Damian laughed heartily. It would indeed.

  “But we don’t carry on as if she was,” Brayden said, suddenly appearing behind Alice. “Do we?” Brayden asked, raising his eyebrows and looking down at her.

  “No, father,” Alice responded, still standing beside Bennett, holding his hand.

  “We regard Alice at the age of ten years old; she’s not had the kind of upbringing she needs so I’m going back and doing it properly,” Brayden said, to his friends.

  “Here here,” Alex said.

  “Quite right,” Colin said. Although, he had a feeling it meant that since Alice was regarded as a child she wouldn’t be available for courtship anytime soon.

  “Have you put her into school then, or how will you do that?” Peter asked, looking at Alice. It was clear that Alice looked like a ten year old; she didn’t at all appear to be eighteen in the least. It actually made the whole situation more appealing to the friends of Brayden who had just discovered Alice was a legal adult.

  “I’ve thought about tutoring her at home, although at the moment I am just trying to get her up to par with proper behaviour at home. Yes?” Brayden asked, looking down at her.

  “Yes, Father,” Alice replied, shyly, realising that with such a formal response she received twice as much attention from his on looking friends.

  Colin had always felt a particular attraction to girls younger than him, and Alice was ten years his junior. Not only that, but she looked every bit of a charming, adorable little thing that he simply wanted to spend time with. Whilst on the outside, Colin was always well dressed, polite and gracious, inside he was beginning to hopelessly obsess over her. He thought about what it would be like for Alice to respond to him the way she spoke to Brayden; whether or not Colin was her father was completely beside the point and the fact of the matter was he wanted her attention and affections.

  “Are you properly raising her from the age of ten then? ” Colin asked.

  “Yes, that’s correct. So I shan’t be introducing her society for another seven years,” Brayden said plainly, before finishing his Champagne.

  Brayden knew Colin would be the one to have his eyes on Alice. He had known since they were Prefects together that younger girls were attractive to him. He had never behaved improperly, but it was clear he wanted a ‘little’ girl compared to whatever age he was.

  “I see,” Colin said, keeping his eyes on Alice.

  Brayden avoided further eye contact with Colin, knowing it would only encourage him. He turned to Damian and asked him to take Alice to retrieve another drink from where the hired events staff were hosting. The only non-alcoholic drinks for Alice weren’t available on trays by the floating wait staff and had to be collected across the room.

  “Let’s go and get a drink then, shall we?” Damian asked, taking Alice’s hand from Bennett and abandoning the crowd .

  Colin’s eyes even followed Alice as Damian led her. Alice felt as though someone was watching her and she turned around; it was no surprise Colin was staring at her – she noticed he’d been doing so since she had been introduced.

  “And what have you been doing with yourself?” Brayden asked, forcing Colin's eyes away from Alice and over to himself.

  “Enough to get my Ph.D. in half the time it should have taken,” Colin said, taking a sip of his Champagne.

  Brayden nodded, all the while thinking Colin was a completely arrogant cad.

  “I was invited to lecture at Cambridge but I’m considering a different career path altogether,” Colin said, walking around so that he was standing beside Brayden.

  “That sounds a little indecisive, doesn’t it?” Brayden asked, in his tone that told whomever he was speaking to that perhaps he needed to think things through a little more.

  “It’s only myself to consider at the moment, I see no reason why not,” Colin replied, making a point of glancing over at Alice.

  “She’s ten, Maxwell,” Brayden said, using Colin’s last name as if they were back at prep school again, before turning away and vacating the conversation.

  “We shall see,” Colin said, to himself.

  By eleven o’clock Alice’s eyes were beginning to get heavy, and she left Brayden’s side to sit on a nearby sofa. Within five minutes of resting her head on the arm she had closed her eyes.

  “Someone’s tired,” Bennett said, nodding toward Alice, who was fast asleep on the sofa in the middle of the room.

  “I’d best take her home then,” Brayden said, looking at his watch.

  “You can’t leave without speaking to Patterson, he’s been trying to get to you all evening. Lay her down upstairs ; there are seven spare rooms,” Bennett said.

  “Alright,” Brayden said, unsure if he wanted to leave Alice asleep alone in a house she’d never been in before. But it would be considered rude to leave before midnight, when everyone would have been expected to have spoken to everyone else. Brayden still had several people to catch up with, especially Patterson. With that thought in mind, he picked Alice up and carried her out of the Great Room, through the reception room and up one of the sets of staircase. Brayden came to a long corridor at the top, which was the opposite of Waldorf Manor which had a horizontal corridor at the top of the stairs running left to right. Brayden went straight ahead and opened the first door, which wasn’t Bennett’s; he could tell by the décor. Bennett’s bedroom was very traditional and smart with wood paneling. The second door along was a very elegant room and clearly unclaimed. He unbuckled Alice’s shoes after laying her on the bed and then lined them up neatly on the floor. Brayden covered her under the three layers of blankets and duvet, then kissed her forehead before turning on a small lamp across the room and closing the door behind him. Brayden looked at the door for a moment before returning to the party downstairs, attracting Patterson’s attention straightaway. He wanted to have a full recap of what Brayden had been doing in the last few years.

  .

  At midnight, the dinner party guests said goodnight and began making their way out of the Barton-Court House front doors.

  “Do you approve, mother? Will this house do?” Bennett asked, kissing her. .

  “Yes, I do,” she said, putting her hand on his cheek for a moment.

  “A very wise choice,” Jon said, before shaking his son’s hand.

  Bennett bid his parents and Damian a good night before leading Brayden back into the Great Room for a nightcap.

  “Grapes or grains, this evening?” Bennett asked.

  “Do I get a choice?” Brayden asked, studying some black and white photographs of the Fowler family.

  Bennett chuckled and brought two tumblers of brandy to the sofa in the middle of the room Alice had fallen asleep on earlier. Brayden met Bennett there and they sat down.

  “Thank you, Bennett, that was a rather delightful evening,” Brayden said. “And quite a success, I should think. It’s not easy with that lot after ten years, nobody knows who will have accomplished more,” he added, not entirely amused. Brayden didn’t like the competition talk that rampaged his social circle. Bennett however, did.

  “Yes, I’m pleased,” Bennett replied, and sat rather pensively.

  Brayden could see his friend was thinking through something and gave him another moment before he would ask what was on his mind.

  “You said that you had placed a solicitation online when you were looking for Alice,” Bennett said, rather out of nowhere.

  “Yes, I did,” Brayden said, placing his tumbler on a nearby table.

  “Do you still have the post available?” Bennett asked, looking at Brayden.

  Brayden wasn’t completely surprised by Bennett’s question, although he hadn’t expected Bennett to have made a solid decision on the matter, especially after just moving into his new estate.

  “Better yet, I have a shortlist,” Brayden said.

  Bella Bryce

  I started writing of my own accord when I was 13 years old; a fictional world
of rules and discipline which I hid behind to escape a broken home and trauma. Now in my mid-twenties, I'm still writing, but now I'm not escaping anything . . . rather bringing to life beloved characters and plots that have been with me for a very long time. My first proper book, "The Solicitation," was written during the first few weeks of living in the Mid-Atlantic region after my husband and I were seconded here from England in 2013.

  My stories must have a direction and a guiding inclination of some kind. They won't always be romantic or have happy endings, but they will challenge readers to look at themselves and reflect on their own behaviour, thoughts and belief systems. And I always include personal circumstances and memories in my writing, but those that are fact from fiction shall remain undisclosed.

  Please enjoy Chapter One of Bella Bryce’s next novel,

  The Short List, Waldorf Manor Book 2!

  Chapter One

  Brayden James stood confidently beside Bennett Fowler, his best friend of twenty years. It felt as though no time had passed since Brayden chose Alice.

  At the time, Brayden only advertised for a girl to move into Waldorf Manor to live under his guidance and authority - what had actually happened was the girl needed more than a disciplinarian - she needed a proper family, and Brayden realised he couldn’t be that without being anything less than her father. So that is what he became. Brayden had heard enough after only having met her properly at the interview to feel Alice was the right girl to move into Waldorf Manor.

  Since inheriting Waldorf Manor two years prior after the untimely death of his parents, and although preferring to remain behind his electric gates and domestic staff, he had felt rather lonely. And due to his very formal upbringing and education he found he could not deviate from what he knew, and what he knew was routine, schedules, discipline and timekeeping. The very same Bennett Fowler knew, having grown up in the same kind of family. Bennett, having been Brayden's best friend, fellow prefect at boarding school and like a brother to him, also became Alice's uncle. It was important to Brayden that his adopted daughter had adults in her life who would maintain the same exacting standards he himself had for her. The very fact that Alice James was also eighteen years old, but regarded as a ten year old in everyone's eyes, meant that she got to experience some of the childhood which had been trampled by her alcoholic and abusive mother.

  Brayden had also known very plainly that while Alice would thrive at Waldorf Manor under his watchful eye and strict rules, she hadn't been born into privilege and it would be extremely difficult for her to behave how he wished her to without in-depth guidance. Hence, Brayden made the decision to regard Alice at ten years old, lower his expectations of her and help her to adjust to being a millionaire's daughter and all the things that go along with it. Bennett Fowler thoroughly enjoyed playing the role of uncle to his best friend's adopted daughter, Alice and it wasn't long before he felt he wanted a young lady of his own to live under his roof, whom he could discipline, guide and perhaps raise. Bennett certainly had no plans to make any girl whom he would take in to his own estate, legally his daughter. Although, neither had Brayden, although that is precisely what had happened.

  There they stood in the circular reception room at Barton-Court house, Bennett's newly purchased estate, about to enter the Great Room where five girls were waiting. Brayden had shortlisted those very girls when he had been following up his online solicitation some nine months earlier and gave the shortlist of names to Bennett when he told his friend that he definitely wanted to pursue a similar circumstance. The girls had been all been contacted and invited to interview with Bennett Fowler, if indeed, any of them were still interested in pursuing a similar opportunity they had missed out on when Brayden hadn't chosen them.

  “Bennett, remember that it is ultimately your decision. I quite realise the girls all want this – or they wouldn’t be here. But you must remember that you will be sharing your home with a complete stranger, essentially. You need to ask a lot of questions, even the ones which might disqualify one of them. It is better for you to know straightaway if it won’t work out rather than find out after you’ve invested time and goodness knows, money, into ensuring she is raised and outfitted properly.”

  He thought about Brayden's words for a moment and glanced in the reflection of the nearby mirror on the adjacent wall. He didn’t need to straighten his tie or his waistcoat. His three piece suit was always perfect and being happy with that, and glanced up at Sullivan.

  Bennett hadn’t taken Willis, the butler he had grown up knowing, from his parents’ estate at Greystone Hall. He didn't even follow up any on recommendations given to him by those in his social circle who knew good domestic staff, but instead hired a butler straight out of training and that fact alone had nearly disqualified the poor chap. Bennett Fowler had grown up with the best domestic staff his parents could find (as had Brayden James) and since Bennett just purchased his estate with a portion of his trust fund, he wanted to get down to business living independently from his childhood home, Greystone Hall. The last thing Bennett Fowler really needed was an inexperienced butler who needed direction as well as a young lady, whom he knew would need most of his attention. However, Bennett decided to give Sullivan the chance, and it was he who was standing in front of the double doors which lead to Bennett’s Great Room.

  “Thank you for that, I shall indeed remember,” Bennett said, to his friend. He pulled back the cuff of his starched white shirt, which peeked out from beneath a smart grey blazer. Sullivan opened the double doors in front of Brayden and Bennett and stood aside for them to pass.

  “Spot on time,” Bennett remarked, looking at his watch.

  Brayden walked beside Bennett as they entered the Great Room to find five girls ranging in age from 19 – 27, all wearing differing pinafores, shirts, knee socks and t-strap or flat school shoes.

  “Good morning, girls,” Bennett said, stopping in front of where they sat on meticulously straightened ladder-back chairs. Bennett and Brayden, as if synchronised, both put their hands behind their backs, causing their posture to appear taller and more authoritative.

  “Morning, Sir,” Elisabeth Warner replied.

  The other four girls shyly followed suit with, “morning.”

  “Well, I see Elisabeth seems to be the only one properly awake this morning. Either that, or the only one with manners,” Bennett remarked.

  The four other girls glanced at each other and then either at the floor or the nearest wall. They all genuinely wanted to be there, but seeing Bennett in the flesh made them quite nervous. And they should be; he was unfailingly strict and his 6 feet 6 inches of height was emphasised by his meticulously tailored suit, which seemed to elongate and intensify his presence. Besides that, he was without a doubt, very handsome.

  “Normally I would mandate you stand up when I enter a room, whether I end up choosing any of you in the end makes no difference; you should always stand up when someone elder than you enters a room, that is quite basic. Although, I daresay if you girls had come from proper homes you wouldn't have responded to my search to come and live under the authority of someone who will make you behave as young ladies should,” Bennett said. He simply couldn’t avoid saying so and hoped that regardless of which, if any of them, were chosen they would leave having learned something.

  All five of the girls had been caught completely off-guard by his statement. Bennett, although obviously closely acquainted with Brayden James, from their perspective, was far more deliberate in his commentary. The girls couldn't avoid feeling slightly ashamed after his unexpected telling off.

  “You of course remember Mr. James, who first interviewed all of you back in February. As you know, I am a good friend of Mr. James, and also Alice, who was chosen to live with him. I am Alice's uncle and for the last few months I’ve been considering searching out my own girl to look after. Might I first make it clear that at this time I have no intention of legally adopting anyone as Mr. James has done with Alice, that was a special circumst
ance,” Bennett started, looking over at Brayden.

  Brayden nodded in agreement with Bennett’s statement.

  “My purpose is to find out if there is one amongst you who is a right match to leave your current living situation and move here to Barton-Court House with me, to live under my guidance and authority every day and as someone who understands they will be held to very clear and rigid behavioural expectations. I am strict and traditional and I wish to share my own formal upbringing with a young lady who could benefit from such a lifestyle. I do not mess about, so if you wish to keep your Facebook page or cannot bear the idea of getting rid of your mobile phone then I must insist you tell me now. Neither of those things will be allowed here. The whole point is that you leave such things behind to embrace a disciplined, albeit very privileged life here at Barton-Court. Just because I am wealthy does not mean I will allow you to be spoiled, because it’s certain I won’t. Is all of that understood?” Bennett asked.

  “Yes, Sir,” the girls answered, at different times.

  “Good. Mr. James has let me see all of your previous applications and talked me through the interview notes he took when he last saw you. I realise that you girls might have different thoughts and opinions since February when he interviewed you and I certainly hope you've all changed on some level in the last nine months. Therefore, I will interview you with such knowledge and hear anything further to what I believe I already know of you,” Bennett said, and then watched the faces of the five girls for evidence of understanding.

  Brayden leaned over and whispered something to Bennett.

  “Elisabeth, have you brought your sketch pad with you as I requested?” Bennett asked, when Brayden returned to standing up straight.

  “Yes, Sir,” Elisabeth replied.

  There was a very obvious lightness in her eyes, Brayden noticed, when he looked over at her. Elisabeth Warner had been the one of few girls Brayden himself had shortlisted and rather thought he would choose in the end. She had also been the very first girl he interviewed back in February, but after Brayden told her she wouldn’t be allowed to do her sketching four hours a day under his roof at Waldorf Manor as she was used to at home, she was abrupt and insisted she couldn't stay. He had been disappointed at the time, but it worked out perfectly for Brayden because Alice was the right girl for him and despite he was only ten years older than Alice, she was thriving at his daughter. The commitment had worked wonders on Alice's broken heart and discombobulated approach to life. Bennett Fowler hoped his discipline would be just the same kind of positive influence to a girl who came from a broken or otherwise unfulfilling home.