TAMING THE BRIDE

Chapter 5

The weather was nice enough for a walk, so Gwendolyn was grateful, but she looked quite unhappy in her pink silk dress. She didn't want to go to the picnic, nor did she want to see Hornald or Goustav, or Salustti. But because Kendra threatened to feed her to her tarantulas, she didn't dare make a fuss. Her grandmother was known for being eccentric in her punishments, and what she says, she does. She remembered when Ethan refused to come down from a tree, so her grandmother threw eggs at the boy. The poor thing needed many baths, bath oils, and herbs to remove the strong and stinky odor of the eggs. Plus, Gwendolyn mocked him for weeks.

The scenery was lovely, the vegetation seemed to roll endlessly to the horizon. The smell of nature floated to her nose, through the mix of many flowers. Gwendolyn didn't complain much, she would rather be here than stuck somewhere where the streets were filthy, and the people smelled rancid. But she wished it was in a different situation and not to have to be exposed like an animal ready for s*******r.

Begrudgingly following her brother, she spotted the people participating in their party, their tents well-adorned, full of desserts adorned on tables, women laughing frantically, though there were faces she couldn't recognize and none she particularly liked.

“Gwen! It's so lovely of you to join us.” Marie spoke as she hugged her warmly, just as Gwendolyn pointed at one of the tents.

“And it's wonderful to see you again,” Gwendolyn said softly, holding the girl's arm for support. “If you'll excuse us.” She didn't wait for an answer from her grandmother or her brother, and walked away.

“What's wrong? You look like you're about to vomit.” Marie murmured as they walked, looking at her with her narrowed eyes.

“I have three options for my future, thanks to my useless brother: Hornald, Goustav, or Salustti.”

Marie showed a surprised look before commenting:

“ Well, you should choose the third one. Although the second one is not bad at all…” She said in a teasing tone.

“Marie!”

Marie laughed, shaking her shoulders a bit awkwardly.

“Gwen, you can't run away from this forever.”

“Look who's talking!” She raised an eyebrow at her friend, who was one of the biggest scandals in town. This was coming from the same girl who had spoken of her sinful hobbies. “I want the freedom you have to do whatever you want, honestly.”

Marie sighed in solidarity.

“Is it so hard for me to become a spinster?”

“Gwen.”

“Honestly, I don't need much to be happy…”

“Gwen!”

Stunned by her outburst, Gwendolyn closed her mouth.

“Gwen,” Marie parted her lips with a sigh, “I'm going to calm down and get married next month. These balls were just a way to play before I have a ring on my fingers.”

“WHAT?” Marie was not the type to settle down, she had vowed that since her youth.

“It's really complicated and also my fault,” Marie whispered nervously. “But it's because I'm pregnant.”

“WHAT? Pregnant?” Gwendolyn choked.

“Yes, and I don't want to allow my child to be maligned as illegitimate. It's better to end my ways and give a better life to the child.”

“Who?”

Marie nervously wiggled her fingers, looking down as she avoided her friend's curious eyes.

“Who?” Gwendolyn asked again, more forcefully.

“It's… it's Hornald!” he whispered.

Gwendolyn inhaled deeply before she let out in amazement:

“No, you didn't! Not with the slimy Hornald?! It's not possible!”

Marie laughed at the reaction of her friend, who was looking at her exaggerated and dumbfounded.

“Not the bald guy with the disgusting belly. It's his brother, Sávio.”

“And there's another one?”

Marie did her best to point the direction, and it was the same man from the last ball. He hardly resembled Will: where he was tall, Will was short. Where Will was old, he was young.

“His mother is his second wife, so that explains the contrast between them. And, well, we were very 'in love' with each other.” Marie blushed. “I told him about the child, and then he asked me to marry him. He's not a horrible person, he's very honorable.”

“I wish you happiness, Marie. I really do.” Gwendolyn whispered.

The news of Marie's marriage was the realization to Gwendolyn that she really had no other path to follow. It frightened her terribly, and Marie noticed.

“It's not as if your life will end when you get married, Gwen.” Marie comforted as she caressed her friend's cheek. “Let your heart open, maybe you'll find something more than a collar stuck on your finger.”

“Thank you, Marie.”

While Gwendolyn was walking with Marie, Noah was in the meadow watching another gentleman try to fish. He wanted to talk to her privately, but alone it seemed absurd, although he had devised a plan and begged his friend Marie for her help. At first, the girl stubbornly denied it, but when he spoke of his true feelings, she calmed down. Furthermore, she seemed to approve of him more than Will Hornald and Abby Goustav.

“I'll catch a fish! It will be an attractive gift for my love.” Will claimed proudly as he concentrated on his line, which hadn't been pulled for ten minutes. “I am sure that by the end of this week, I can ask for Miss Roz's hand in marriage!”

Noah kept his lips tightly pressed together, his mind flashing with all the possible things he could have done to the man just for suggesting such nonsense. He could have punched him, thrown him into the water and drowned him, tied the line of his fishing rod around his fat belly and swung him like a fish, or just shoved the fishing rod up his a*s! But he did none of that. He decided to behave.

Noah lived that night in his head over and over again. The night of the encounter with his beloved. She was absolutely divine, and he resisted every impulse he had to deflower her right there at that moment. He knew Gwendolyn was intimidated by his imposing demands, but he didn't care; he needed her to want him as much as he desired her. In fact, things looked pleasant. All he needed to do was remove the nuisances in his way: the idiots Will Hornald and Abbey Goustav. And he told himself that he would kick them with such will and vehemence if they looked or desired Gwendolyn unscrupulously again.

“You seem quite pleased with yourself.” Jio commented interested.

“I am. I intend to propose this year.” he said with satisfaction.

Jio Henn Salustti looked at his grandson with peculiar surprise. He knew him well enough to understand that the boy had never shown any interest in settling down. Noah had always caused a stir with his nasty hobby of snatching women: all a game for fun. And now that he heard his grandson speak the unbelievable, it was quite a shock. Noah seemed to take a person seriously for the first time. This was something Jio could not have foreseen, but the old man was pleased all the same. His grandson was finally becoming a man worthy of inheriting the title of Marquis.

“Who is the girl?”

“I will introduce her to you as soon as possible,” Noah said lethargically.

“Are you sure you know what you are doing, kid?”

“Yes. I have every intention of getting her.” He said determined.

“Get her? You're not getting a stray cat from the street,” Jio commented, one eyebrow raised. “Some have pets, some have books. You 'get' women.”

“Woman.” Noah corrected. “I want to marry only one woman. And I want her to love me as I love her.”

Jio snorted at his grandson's absurd comment.

“Love? Kid, when did you become romantic, and when did you fall in love? You only returned to Veldra a few days ago.”

Noah rejected his grandfather's words.

“It doesn't matter, Grandpa. She's different.”

“You look like an i***t, Noah.”

“I am. And a lovesick idiot.” He smiled genuinely.

“I hope this love of yours goes as well as you wish. If you love her as purely as you claim, then for God's sake, marry her by the end of the semester.”

“Okay.”

“Confident?”

“Sure. I'm pretty good-looking!” He joked.

Jio shook his head with a loud laugh.