Chapter 3: The Proposal
1172 Words
MARCELINE'S HOME
POV MARCELINE
Before I could ask Grey any further on his proposition, my mother was setting the tea tray on the table between us.
"I hope black tea is alright with you Mr. Downing," my mother commented as she started pouring.
"You can call me Grey," he said, giving her a winning smile. "Mr. Downing is my father. This all looks wonderful, thank you." My mother's blush made me want to sink into the chair and never return. My father came out a second later with a tray of sandwiches and pastries.
I poured milk and several lumps of sugar into my tea before taking a sip. I noticed that Grey didn't add anything into his tea. I always found it strange when people preferred a bitter tea to something sweeter.
"You have a lovely home, Mrs.," Grey started. I realized I had never told him my name.
"Vernon," I whispered over my cup to him.
He nodded a small thank you to me, "Mrs. Vernon. How long have you resided in London?"
Just like me, my mother added milk and a few lumps of sugar into her tea. She took a small sip before responding, "I've lived here my entire life. My husband, Samuel, moved here from Germany when he was 20 years old."
"Wonderful. How long have you been in the apothecary business?" Grey continued.
"My parents were actually the ones who originally started the shop," my mother said as she grabbed a biscuit from the tray. "I took over after I married Samuel, and we had Marceline shortly after."
"You must be quite knowledgeable then," Grey admired.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that," my mother blushed, again, "I learned everything from my parents. But Marcy here is the one doing all of the studying to take over one day. She is the real smart one in our family."
"That's if we can keep the shop running," my dad hissed as he nibbled on a sandwich.
My mother swatted his arm, "Oh hush. Everything will be fine. My parents went through worse before we took over. I know that Marcy will do great."
"She seems to be doing an excellent job to me," Grey mused as he finished his tea. Sending him a sarcastic smile I set down my tea. Grey's "sweetness" was making my teeth ache. Was it always this easy for him to switch it on and off?
Grey made a subtle move to show that he was checking his watch before turning back to my parents. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize how late it was. My mother is expecting me home shortly."
I knew my mother was trying not to look as sad as she felt. I'm sure having Grey in our home would be the highlight of the month for her. An event that would cause her to gossip all over town tomorrow.
Grey stood up, "Thank you for the tea, it was lovely. I will be chatting with Marcy to get something together for my mother as well."
My mother set down her cup and stood up, "It was wonderful having you here. You are always welcome any time!" I held in my eye roll, but I saw that my father did not. I bit my lip to keep from smiling.
"Marcy, please walk our guest out," my mother said.
I sighed quietly and set down the pastry I was grabbing. "Of course, Mama," I replied with only a bit of sarcasm in my voice this time.
Shuffling around Grey, I led the way back to the front door. I stood aside as I opened the door for him. "Thank you for visiting…" I started to say before Grey tugged me outside and closed the door behind me. It was completely dark out now and only a few street lights illuminated the sidewalk.
Grey stood, towering over me. Even when I backed up to the door, he was still too close. So, close I could smell some rich perfume wafting from him.
"Why did you drag me out here," I asked, folding my arms across my chest.
"I think I have a way where we can solve both of our problems," he began.
"Yes, you said the same thing inside the house," I grumbled. "So, what is it?"
Grey looked around to make sure we were alone before continuing, "I'm proposing that you be my future bride and in exchange I will help fund your research department and your parents shop however I can."
My jaw dropped in disbelief, "What? How in the world did you come to that conclusion?"
"Hear me out," Grey went on. "I don't want to be married, and I'm sure you don't want to marry me." I snorted a laugh at the obvious statement.
"If we can convince my parents that we want to get married, they will have to go along with it and I won't have to be forced into an arranged marriage," he said, his face in total concentration.
"But wouldn't we still get married?" I questioned. This still made no sense to me.
"Not necessarily. Before the wedding we could have a big fight and break it off. I'll be able to tell my parents you broke my heart so badly that I just need to be by myself. Then I'd be able to move away without any problems," Grey finished.
"You still haven't explained how this all helps me," I said, jabbing him in the chest with one finger.
Grey swatted my hand away and continued, "In return for posing as my fake fiancé, I will provide your science department with all the funding it needs. I'll also help any way I can with your parents' shop."
That part I understood. I chewed on one of my nails as I contemplated his offer. It would help the shop and my department if we got the money. I only had to play the part of his fiancé for a little while anyways.
I stopped chewing on my nail and glanced back up at him, "Why do you want to move away?"
Grey looked taken aback at my question, "Why do you want to know?"
I shrugged, "Well if I'm going to play your fake fiancé I should know about your wants and dreams, shouldn't I?"
"Let's just say that I've had enough of being in the public eye to last a lifetime," he replied.
I changed the subject, "Okay but why me? I mean, you have a horde of women pursuing you. Why not just date one of them?"
"Because they actually want to marry me. You are…decent enough to get the job done," he said with a snide smile on his face.
"We are going to have to work on your complementing skills I see," I muttered.
"Look, are you in or not?" Grey demanded.
I sighed, there wasn't much of a downside to taking the deal. If anything went wrong, I could always pull out of it, right?
I nodded, "I'm in."
- Writer
