Contract Husband.

Being Mrs. Hernandez

The wedding of Lord Victor Hernandez and Lady Rosalind Blanco was the talk of the whole of Spain. Every aristocrat from all corners of the country came to witness the marriage, the king of Spain sent presents to congratulate the couple, he had his adviser come in his stead. Infact, the day of the wedding was declared a public holiday in Spain, celebration flowed freely from the upper class to the common folk. Everyone seemed to be happy and in high spirits apart from Rosalind. All the rowdiness made her feel emptier and more depressed, congratulations and salutations poured in from every corner but it didn't lift her spirits, although she was really unhappy, she still maintained her poise and grace. Luckily the day ran by quickly and the celebration began to die down a little, her parents and the rest of the family were about taking their leave and when Rosalind got wind of it, she decided to meet them one last time. She ran to her mother and hugged her tightly.

"Take care my angel, I know you will be fine" her mother whispered softly as she held her tight.

"Oh I'll miss you mama, I'll visit sometime" Rosalind whispered in return. The two women began to draw away from each other apart from each other slowly, Sir Alberto walked towards his daughter and scooped her in his arms.

"Thank you my dear Rosalind, I know this wasn't what you wanted but, thank you so much" Sir Alberto whispered, tears began to drop from Rosalind's eyes, the whole thing sucked and she was now stuck with it.

"It's okay father, I did this for all of us" Rosalind managed to whisper, "I love you dad" she muttered.

"I love you too Rosa, please remember all you have been taught" Sir Alberto said, Rosalind nodded in affirmation. "It's time for us to leave, we have matters to attend to back at home" her father smiled.

"I will surely miss you all" Rosalind said, her family smiled at her and soon, they began to leave the ballroom.Rosalind couldn't stay much longer, so she headed straight to an empty room, it was a poorly lit room but it had a bed in it. Rosalind lay on it, her thoughts consumed her that instant and now, she was the wife of one of the most powerful men in Spain. She wondered how life would be for her in this new household, she was more concerned about life with Victor whom she never loved,

"I wonder if we would ever consummate this marriage, I don't think I can handle his fingers running through my body" Rosalind thought, reality began to dawn on her and she became frightened, fright turned to sadness and then tears followed afterwards. In no time, she fell asleep and it seemed all was forgotten.

"My lady? It's morning" a soft voice whispered, slowly light began to sip in, first, it was a bit deam but suddenly, it became overwhelmingly bright, Rosalind opened her eyes immediately and she was greeted with the sight of a young fair maid who was opening the curtains.

"Good morning my lady" greeted the fair maid.

"Oh good morning, did I perhaps sleep in the wrong room?" Rosalind asked as she looked around the seemly dull room, she figured out that the Duke wouldn't probably sleep in a room like that.

"Oh my lady, you slept in my room, I couldn't afford to wake you up, you were sleeping so soundly" the maid giggled. Rosalind instantly felt a rush of embarrassment all over her body.

"I'm sorry" Rosalind muttered.

"It's fine my lady, I'm Alexa, your personal maid" the maid bowed.

"Oh, that's wonderful, uhmmm where is my room?" Rosalind asked.

"I will take you to your room my lady, follow me" Alexa replied as began making her way towards the door, Rosalind followed her immediately and the two women made their way out of the room and to make their way through the stairs. Rosalind was marvelled by the beauty of the Hernandez mansion, though she hadn't gone round it, the little she saw from the outside view and the stair impressed her beyond words, the pattern drawn on the ceiling and the stained glasses were all breathtaking. Finally after a few minutes, their steps ended in front of a large wooden door.

"Your room is right here my lady" Alexa gestured.

"Thank you Alexa" Rosalind smiled.

"Uhmmm my lady, Lord Victor says you should come to the grand room by 10 o'clock this morning, the whole household would be waiting and the time is already 9 o'clock" Alexa said.

"Then I guess your work starts now my dear, come let's get me ready" Rosalind smiled, Alexa bowed as she opened the large door, the two women walked into the room.

"My Lady it is time" Alexa bowed as she opened the door. Rosalind took a deep breath and stood up slowly.

"Lead the way Alexa" Rosalind said and Alexa nodded, on their way to the grand room, Rosalind couldn't help but think about what it would be like having the whole household fix their gaze at her. The very thought of it frightened her. "Perhaps they were looking for the slightest mistake to make my life in this household miserable, they could use any action or words against me" Rosalind thought as she gracefully walked through the stairs. "I mustn't give them whatever they are looking for" Rosalind thought again, "I've got to survive, for my sake and for the sake of my family" Rosalind concluded as they approached a gigantic wooden metal designed door.

"We are here my lady" Alexa bowed. Rosalind took a deep breath and slowly lifted her head.

"Open the doors" she ordered and Alexa did just that.

Immediately the door swung open, Rosalind was greeted with a very stern sight, every family member was in this very large room, some where seating while other where standing and they weren't looking welcoming. Rosalind almost screamed but she held herself pretty well, she walked gracefully into the room with the cold stares crawling all over her skin. When she got to the centre of the room, she turned to her right and she saw her husband, Victor, standing a few inches away. He smirked at her and in turn she glared at him.

"The time is 10 o'clock, you are indeed punctual" an quite older lady spoke.

"Punctuality is something I have disciplined myself in, punctuality is one key to integrity" Rosalind said.

"Interesting" the woman said as she let out a faint smile.

"I am Madam Griselda, matron of the Hernandez household and mother to Lord Victor Hernandez" she answered.

"It is an honour to meet you madam, you are indeed as graceful as people say you are" Rosalind bowed.

"Don't flatter me child" madam Griselda smirked, her cat like eyes staring directly at Rosalind.

"I do not have such in my intentions madam" Rosalind said again. Madam Griselda smiled, and lifted her head and stared directly at Rosalind.

"You really have the aura of a noblesse, you remind me so much of the former queen of Spain" Madam Griselda said, "welcome to the Hernandez household, as the matron of this household, I official recognise you as a member of this household so, I'll tell you about the rules of this household, this would be done later but in the meantime, have a seat close to me" Madam Griselda said as she pointed Rosalind to the empty seat beside her, Rosalind bowed and walked up to her and took the seat beside her.

The other members of the household walked up to Rosalind, said their welcomes and did their introductions. Every member of the household seemed to be of very high standing, even though their positions varied in strength. Rosalind begin to understand why the family was so powerful, the introductions made her understand that. When the introductions were over, everyone began to leave the grand hall, leaving Victor and Rosalind.

"You pulled that off pretty well my dear" Victor said as he took a seat in front of Rosalind.

"Yeah, thank you for not telling me about the whole family reunion ahead of time!" Rosalind shouted.

"Tame that temper of yours woman, at least I told you earlier" Victor laughed.

"Just tell me a day before, that's all I ask" Rosalind muttered.

"I would have you yesterday but I couldn't find you, so it's not my fault" Victor said, "sorry about the whole thing though" he said softly.

"It's okay my lord" Rosalind answered.

"I know we are not so close, especially due to the circumstances surrounding our marriage, but mother insists we travel for our honeymoon" Victor said nonchalantly, Rosalind looked at him in some sort of suprise.

"We'll be traveling to Barcelona, I have made all the arrangements, just get ready, we leave in two days" Victor said as he stood up and left the hall. Rosalind sat there, her eyes widened, she couldn't say a word before he left and that made made her uneasy, "a vacation with Victor, alone?" she asked herself, "that's crazy, does he think he can win my heart because that is impossible" she said to herself as she stood up to leave the room.

"My lady, breakfast would be ready soon" Alexa said as she walked behind Rosalind,

"I wouldn't want to have breakfast, just bring some grapes and almonds to my room, also don't forget to bring me a jar of water, I will need that" Rosalind said as she walked towards her room, Alexa bowed and left her, Rosalind finally got into her room and slowly closed the door behind her. She began scanning every nook and cranny of the room with her eyes, it was indeed a beautiful room, and to her greatest delight, she saw a bookshelf at a corner of the room, she smiled as she walked towards the shelf, "I guess he knows I love books" she said to herself as she pulled out a book from the shelf. "I'll keep myself busy with these" she whispered. Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Rosalind asked.

"My lady, I came with everything you requested" a voice answered.

"Come in" Rosalind said and her door drew open, Alexa came in with a large tray of everything Rosalind had requested.

"Alexa, can I ask you about something" Rosalind asked.

"Of course my lady" Alexa answered as she placed the fruits and the water jar on the table.

"What is Lord Victor like?" Rosalind asked.

"Oh, he is very sarcastic, but very smart, he is also very ambitious and gets whatever he wants" Alexa answered.

"That's very typical of him" Rosalind sneered. "What about the household, can you tell me about the household" she asked again.

"Well this household is quite a handful, there is always an occasion to host or to attend, and when none of that is happening, there is always something scandalous happening, trust me my lady, the drama here is endless, least I forget, almost everyone has an agenda of their own, caution should be applied while dealing with them" Alexa answered.

"And what about Madam Griselda?" Rosalind asked yet again.

"Oh my lady I must warn you, to be careful of her, she is quite cunning, quite ruthless, thread carefully with her, but if she takes a liking to you, she'll protect you well" Alexa answered with a whisper.

"Oh, alright, thank you, that will be all" Rosalind smiled.

"Alright my lady, if you need anything else please do let me know" Alexa bowed as she left the room. Rosalind walked towards the pan of fruits and picked out a grape fruit.

"I guess I have a lot of things to watch out for while I'm here, I have to get some of that power here for myself if I really want to survive" she said as she threw the grapefruit into her mouth.