“So you totally understand why we’re doing this?”
She nods slowly. “You want to be seen as more… serious.”
I cock my head at her, a little surprised. “That’s a very good way of putting it.”
She blushes. “Thanks.”
“That’s exactly it. You’re going to make me look more serious. That’s how I’ll gain favor with my father.”
She nods but doesn’t say anything, and I can tell she has a million questions. I’m grateful that she doesn’t ask them, at least not yet. I’d like to sign the paperwork and make this official before we dive into my complicated relationships.
We walk to Andrew’s office, mostly in silence, and stop outside of his door. She looks nervous again, and I can’t blame her. She doesn’t know me, and has no clue what she’s getting into. Court politics can be incredibly intense and difficult, and she has no concept of any of it.
On the flip side, I don’t know her at all. Of course, I had my steward look into her. Hazel’s background is all clear, and she seems to come from a decent family, although it appears as though their relationship is strained. She didn’t grow up rich, but she wasn’t dirt-poor, either. She was lower middle class, and maybe that’s even worse for her.
As far as I know, she has no family history of mental disease, no family history of chronic illness, and she looks healthy as fuck. I’m fairly sure I’m getting a damn good wife out of this deal, but I can’t ever say for certain until I’ve gotten to know her better. Anything can happen, and that actually excites me.
Men like Julian want to remove all the joy from the world. They want things in their little boxes, all lined up in neat orderly rows, but I like things messy. I want to get dirty and broken and to enjoy what time I have on this planet. And I’m not going to let him take that joy away from my entire country.
“Ready?” I ask her.
She nods once. “I’m ready.”
I knock on Andrew’s door and push it open before he can respond.
He looks up from his desk and sighs. “You again,” he says.
“Me again. And I brought company.” Hazel steps into the room and Andrew looks surprised. He stands up and nods to her.
“Hello, Hazel,” he says. “I’m Andrew. Second Steward.”
“I know,” she says, curtsying slightly.
Andrew shakes his head and looks at me. “You really got her to go along with this?” he asks me.
I pretend to be hurt. “This is a solemn occasion, Andrew,” I say. “We’re about to sign my marriage papers.”
Andrew groans, shakes his head, and pulls open a drawer. He drops a stack of papers on the top of his desk and looks at us.
“Let’s get started,” he says, gesturing at the chairs in front of his desk.
We sit down across from him and Hazel keeps fidgeting slightly. I can tell she’s nervous as Andrew begins to go over the terms of the contract.
“The basic idea is this: your official title will be Wife Consort, which is a very old but surprisingly real station,” he says. “You will be paid a yearly stipend in small chunks each month for the rest of your life. You will be allowed to live where and as you please, and you may even take a second husband. In exchange, you will give Nolan full custody of any children he sires with you, and you will return to Polovia twice a year to serve any ceremonial functions necessary. Do you understand?”
She nods meekly. “I understand.”
Andrew looks at her for a second. “This is a big thing,” he says finally. “Polovia hasn’t had a Wife Consort at court since… I don’t know, hundreds of years at least.”
“Quit trying to scare her,” I say.
“I’m not trying to scare her. But people are going to talk, and it won’t be all nice things. She should know what she’s getting herself into.”
Hazel looks at me and I look back at her. She hesitates before nodding at Andrew. “I get it,” she says. “I’m still here.”
I smile as Andrew sighs and continues to go over the contract. For the most part, is simple legalistic stuff, just outlining every single detail imaginable. Each of us initials the bottom of every page, indicating that we read it, or at least that Andrew went over it with us.
It takes almost an hour to get through that stack of papers, which basically all boil down to what Andrew said in the very beginning. As we go through it all, Hazel is totally silent, and the only way you’d know that she’s paying attention is by watching the way she fidgets in her chair. She keeps moving, like if she settles down then something bad might happen or something. It’s actually fascinating to watch, and I feel like it’s the first real glimpse into her personality that I’m getting.