by J. A. Huss
Just keep cool, Princess.
It’s Five’s voice in my head.
“You’re OK.”
I look up and see Frank staring down at me. “What?” I ask, still feeling slightly sick.
“You’re fine, Aurora,” Frank says. “Just take my hand, follow me, and do as you’re told.”
I scrunch up my face at that remark. And the way he calls me Aurora. I hate being called Aurora and anyone who knows me understands that. The Bombshell in me wants to come out. The white-trash biker-bitch farm girl is about to give him a piece of my mind when Kallie whisper-yells, “Aurora, we’re waiting for you.”
That’s when I look out at the crowd. Thirty-eight men and women, all dressed up like this is some kind of backwards silver-anniversary party. And they are all staring at me.
So I smile at Frank Fulbright and let him lead. But I roll my eyes—and in the process of doing that, I lock eyes with the blonde woman standing next to Kallie, which makes her frown.
She’s not wearing silver, she’s wearing white. And she has no man next to her. And even though she’s young—not much older than me, I’d guess—she looks stern. Like a jaded older woman.
“Thank you for joining us, Aurora.”
Did she just seethe my name?
“Thank you all for joining us,” she says, looking at the crowd now. “You’re all here for the same reason. To pledge your loyalty to Palladium House.”
There’s nervous chatter from down on the floor as the girls smile and giggle and the men look smug.
“From this night forward you are one of us.” She lets the word us linger. Like a hiss. Like she’s a snake. Medusa, maybe.
Don’t look at her.
So I don’t. I look at the crowd. And that’s when all the things I thought I knew turn into self-delusional lies. How the hell did I get here? How the hell was I so oblivious for the past three years?
Five would say something like… Because you’re sweet, Rory. And trusting. A princess.
Naive is more like it.
“Please form two lines facing your pairing,” the blonde woman says. “Men on this side and woman on the other.” She turns to us and nods, indicating we should do the same, only we’re to stay up here on stage. Tera scrunches in close to me, Mia is on her left, and Kallie is on the other side of Mia. Frank is across from me, smiling like he’s about to win the lottery.
Hmm. Maybe he is. Not that I’m anything special, especially since he’s practically blue-blood royalty in this country. But in the real world, Frank Fulbright knows he’s not my type. And yet… here I am. Pairing with him.
“Rory,” Tera whispers as the blonde woman continues to talk. I desperately want to concentrate on what she’s saying because this is it, right? The secret. Why we’re all here. What’s coming next… but Tera whispers again, “Rory.” More insistent this time. “Look at what they’re holding in their hands.”
I look down at Frank’s hand to see a ring. With a diamond big enough to sparkle in the dramatic lighting from above. And when I look at the other men up on the platform with us, they’re all holding rings too.
“We really are getting married, aren’t we?” Tera’s voice is shaky. And when she reaches for my hand again, she’s ice cold and trembling.
“No,” I whisper back, turning my head so Frank can’t read my lips. “Don’t be—”
“Tonight,” the blonde woman says, interrupting me, “you will pledge your loyalty to Palladium by pledging your life to your pairing.”
Everyone realizes what’s happening in that moment. Because all the girls begin to squeal as all the men drop down on one knee.
I look at Tera. She’s squeezing my hand so hard, it hurts. Just smile, I mouth. She nods, paints one on, and then I force myself to follow my own advice.
I am not marrying Frank Fulbright. No. Fucking. Way.
But this can’t be a wedding. Next week—Eat Meet—that’s the wedding, I realize. This is just the engagement.
“Gentlemen,” the blonde woman says. “Commence your pledges.”
The room erupt with speech. Coordinated speech. Memorized speech. The question.
“Will you, Aurora Shrike,” Frank says, and every man in the room says it with him, substituting the name of their pairing for mine, “pair with me in the name of Palladium House?”
That’s it. One simple question. Not ‘will you marry me,’ which is a relief, even though they’re asking the same thing. ‘Will you pair with me?”
And every woman looks at the diamond rings being held out to them from the men at their feet, and gasps.
Even me. Even Tera. Even Mia. Because none of us knew this was coming.
Kallie’s voice rings out in the momentary silence of the cathedral-sized room. A resounding, “Yes.”
And we all repeat the same answer.
Even me. Even Tera.
Because what choice do we have in this moment? Make a scene? Why would we do that? We’re standing in the most elite eating club at Princeton University, facing the most elite men, with the most promising futures, and we are being asked to join them in their quest for greatness.
So this is how it’s done? This is how American royalty is made.
I feel very stupid as Frank slips that engagement ring on my finger. I feel very naive, and small, and silly. Because all my life I thought people married for love.
But they don’t. They marry for status. For power. And money.
The room erupts in cheers as the men stand and pull us towards them.
The music starts and we are dancing. His hand has mine. The other is wrapped around my waist, gripping it tightly, trying to possess me as we twirl.
I say nothing. Just smile as the room spins and spins and spins.
There’s no way in hell I will spend the rest of my life as Mrs. Frank Fulbright.
I’d rather die.
Chapter Twenty-One - Five
Chen is looking at me weird. “What?” I ask.
“Why was Wen here?”
He might’ve gotten in undetected, but he didn’t leave that way. I escorted him out, shook his hand in the driveway, and when I turned around, there was a crowd waiting for an explanation.
Which I did not provide.
Chen isn’t leaving my apartment until he gets an answer, so I pour us each a drink, hand him one, and take it to the window.
He follows me and we stare out at Victoria Harbor at night. “It’s very pretty here,” I say.
“Cut the shit, Five. What the hell was Wen doing here? And how did he get in?”
“In?” I ask. “I have no idea. But he was here to offer me a deal.”
“There is no deal you can offer. You’re not in charge yet.”
“Right,” I say, looking over at him to smile. “And with any luck I never will be.”
Chen frowns. “You will be. If you don’t fuck it up by inviting your grandfather’s mortal enemy to his home. Now what did he want?”
“What all men want, Chen. More power.”
“And you gave it to him?” Chen’s face is red with anger. “What kind of—”
“I didn’t give him shit,” I say. “As you just pointed out, I don’t have that ability yet.”
“But you’re thinking about it?”
“I don’t know what to think right now. My grandfather is dead and you have no answers for me. On top of that, I’m somewhere I’d rather not be. I can’t go home or even leave this house until you tell me to. I’m practically a prisoner.”
“You knew what this was when your grandfather brought you in.”
“I was nine,” I say, trying very hard not to seethe those words. “You can’t expect a nine-year-old child to make a life decision like that.”
Chen is silent, so I continue.
“I don’t want this life, Chen. I don’t want to live in Hong Kong. I don’t want to run a mob. I don’t want power.”
“Since when?” he asks. “Because everything was fine before you went to Colorado
to see Rory.”
“I went to Colorado to put out a fire. Rory never factored into that.”
“But she was there and you saw her. And now things have changed.”
“Well,” I say, taking a sip of my drink, “as you well know, that fire didn’t get put out. I just left it smoldering. But it’s got a lot more fuel now. And I think we both know I’m not the man for this job.”
“With me by your side, you could be.”
Right.
“Do not make a deal with Wen. They will kill you if they find out you were even discussing it. You will say he came to offer condolences. That you gave him permission to meet you here. Had him smuggled in. And I will threaten some gardener to lie for you. Do you understand?”
“Sure,” I say, turning my back to him. “As I said, it’s not even my deal to make. And I made that clear to Wen before he left.”
I don’t look back at Chen, but I hear him let out a breath. Like he was holding it. Like he’s relieved.
“So what’s next?” I ask. “We have a plane to catch? Or what?”
Chen sets his drink down on a table and straightens his tie. It’s a habit of his. Something I noticed way back when I was a kid. A signal that we are transitioning from one topic to another. “Yes, let’s go.”
I follow him out, through many corridors, until we’re back out front where the car is waiting to begin our long trek back around the world. What a monumental waste of time this was. It’s almost like… like someone wants me busy while other things are happening.
Chapter Twenty-Two - Rory
“We’re going to do great things together, Rory.”
“Mmmhmmm,” I say, smiling up at Frank. He gives me a questioning look, but then the music stops and everyone claps for the quartet on the far side of the room.
“Should we take advantage of the break to start discussions?” Frank asks.
“Discussions?” I do my best to act nonchalant.
“Sorry.” Frank smiles and I realize something I never noticed before. It’s not a charming smile. At all. “I forgot, they don’t tell the women anything beforehand. Everyone loves a mystery, right?” He chuckles, like this is all big fun. “Come on, there’s tables set up for this. And even though we have all night, it’s better to get it out of the way so we can concentrate on enjoying ourselves.”
Before I can answer—and I think he does this on purpose—he has my hand and he’s leading me over towards a doorway where two men with earpieces stand guard in front of the double doors leading to the senior study rooms.
Frank stops to speak to them. “Fulbright party,” he whispers.
I inhale a steadying breath and talk myself up with encouraging thoughts. This is it, Rory. This is why you’re here.
One of them turns his head, whispers into a nearly invisible microphone that wraps around his cheek, and then waits for an answer.
“You’re in room one, Mr. Fulbright. Enjoy your evening.”
A private room does not a table make. Which ramps up my nerves. I glance around, quickly, trying to find Tera in the crowd, but she’s not there. Has she been whisked away to a private room as well?
I’ve never been down this hallway. Everything in the eating houses at Princeton is segregated by class. Only upperclassmen can join an eating club, and only seniors are given full privileges of each house. So the private study rooms were never an option for me last year.
It’s nothing but a long row of closed doors, and you’d think that since we were assigned room number one we’d be first, but it’s the exact opposite. We are last. All the way down at the end where the light from the sconces on the walls is dim and the music from the dining hall just a fading memory.
“Come in, Rory.”
It’s not what I was expecting. I was expecting a… study room. A table, some chairs. You know, study room stuff.
But this is…
“This is my private meeting room. Do you like it?”
Do I like it? Well, maybe. If I wasn’t here under the pretense of arranged marriage and absolutely no idea what will happen next, I might like it.
“We’re not given much latitude in decor.” Frank laughs. “Most of this is standard. But the refreshments were my idea.”
It’s one couch, a love seat really. Upholstered in silver velvet. And a round brushed metal table set in front of it. There’s a tea service on the table. Silver, of course. With two white china tea cups and steam coming from the teapot spout. The three-tier serving tray is also silver. I’m beginning to hate this color. But the pastries meticulously placed on each tray are quite exquisite and look like they were made for a wedding reception, which totally seals the deal. I will not be eating or drinking anything in this room.
“Sure,” I say, forcing a smile as I look up at him.
“I get it,” he says, taking my hand and rubbing it. “You’re nervous.”
“Not everyone likes a mystery,” I say, trying to pull my hand from his as gingerly as I can. I officially have the creeps.
“Have a seat, Rory. Nothing bad is going to happen tonight.”
No, that’s for next week, I guess.
“We’re just going to go over the ground rules. And”—he brushes the back of his knuckles down my cheek, sending a shiver of chills up my spine. Not the good kind—“and make sure we’re all on the same page.”
“OK,” I say. I mean, what else can I say? So I walk over to the love seat, relieved to stop his creepy touching, sit in the middle and arrange the skirts of my dress so that they fan out around me. Maybe he’ll take the hint and stand for this… discussion.
But he doesn’t. He sits right next to me. Very close to me. And that’s when I notice that slit up both sides of my dress is baring my thighs.
His hand wanders, slipping in under the many layers of chiffon.
“OK,” I say, swatting his hand off and standing up. “I don’t know you, Frank. I mean, we’re acquaintances, I guess. We’ve had a bunch of classes together and stuff. But if you brought me in here to—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he says, putting his hands up. “No, Rory. Sorry. You’re just so pretty. I lost my head for a moment.”
He’s lying. He was probably told to do this. To see how I’d react. I bet Mia is getting fucked in a room just like this one at this very moment. Kallie too. Hell, probably every girl out there tonight except me is happy to be here.
And Tera, I remind myself. I don’t think she wants to be here either.
“You can stand if you want. I don’t mind.”
“I don’t really care if you mind, Frank. I don’t need your permission to stand, OK?”
He just smiles at me. It comes off as an indulgent smile. Which means I totally do need his permission. “Rory,” he says. With the practiced patience of a well-privileged man used to getting his way. “I’m getting the impression that you’re… here against your will?”
I do something that’s halfway between a snort and a laugh. “No, of course not.”
“Of course not,” he echoes. “You’re the one who asked to be part of Palladium House. You ran for office, became secretary—the third highest-ranking female official. You’re here tonight, dressed up for… what? Exactly?” He lets the question hang there in the air between us.
“I don’t know. It was a secret, Frank. None of us knew except Kallie,” I huff. “And she never told us anything. I don’t understand what’s going on.”
Frank gives me another one of those infuriating smug smiles. “Yes, you do. You know exactly what’s going on. You let me put that ring on your finger, right?”
“So this is an arranged marriage?”
“Did you hear anyone talk of marriage out there?”
“No, but—”
“It’s called a pairing, Rory.”
“So we’re not getting married?” I’m so confused.
“Of course we are.” He chuckles, taking my hands in his. “You just said yes.” I open my mouth to object, since he’s talking in circles,
but he cuts me off. “How could we ever be paired if we’re not legally bound to one another? That makes no sense. You’re going to get all my secrets. I need to trust you, and one way we ensure that trust is to use the legal act of marriage to make sure you can never betray me.”
“Because a wife can’t be forced to testify against her husband,” I say, catching on. “So this is just… a legal partnership. A business transaction.”
“Yes,” Frank says. But then he leans into my ear, and whispers, “But that doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy you.”
Jesus Christ. I’m officially on the train to Crazytown.
“If you want me that way,” he adds.
I throw him a suspicious look.
“I’m not here to force you, Rory. And come on, let’s relax and have tea while we discuss this. That is why we’re in here.” He pans his hand towards the lone love seat and I just stare at it for a moment, running all my options through my head.
I could leave. Walk out of the ceremony and then keep going. Walk right out of Palladium House. But then I wouldn’t ever learn the secrets that come after. The secrets that will be divulged during Eat Meet next weekend.
So… I let out a long breath of frustration and comply. “I’ll stay. But don’t think this gives you permission to slip your hand under my dress again, Frank.”
He just laughs at me.
“I’m fucking serious,” I say. “I will take you out, buddy.”
“OK,” he says, still chuckling. “Deal. I’ll keep my hands to myself.”
“Now explain everything. I need to know just exactly what I’m getting into.”
Frank Fulbright takes a deep breath, convinced I’m gonna be rational, and starts talking on the exhale.
“Well, I can’t tell you everything until we seal the deal.” This elicits another chuckle. I control my eye roll because this is why I’m here. All of this has something to do with why Five was in Denver this summer. I just know it. “But what this is, Rory, is a global… fraternity.” He smiles, like this is the most perfect explanation ever. “Just like any fraternity we have our secrets, and just like any fraternity, we help each other out. I, for instance, am going to be a supreme court justice in twenty years. The time between then and now will be spent preparing for that eventuality. And if you don’t get cold feet, you’ll be there by my side. Our children will go to the best boarding schools on the East Coast, they will excel in everything they do, get into Ivy League schools, just like we did, and the cycle will repeat itself. It’s self-perpetuating, Rory. That’s why we’re so few people.”
