Capítulo 30: A Ring
Delaney felt the heat of Miles glare on her. She couldn't look at him. He wasn't wrong. Vincent had trusted her. She questioned now if she'd deserved that trust.
"He's in the hospital mostly alone trying to recover and here you are throwing a party at a gambling club."
"I own this club Miles. It was planned to open today long before your brother was injured."
"Oh you mean, while he was off at war, fighting to keep everyone here, including you, safe? That's when you were working on opening a club and planning a party?"
Delaney looked at him, not sure what to say. That was correct but what else was she supposed to do? Had Miles expected her to be sitting at home waiting for Vincent every single day?
"You're selfish," Miles spat, "Vincent deserves better than you."
"You're probably right," Delaney agreed quietly, making his eyes snap to her, "I don't think I can be what he deserves."
"Well, you'll have to learn how. You'll be married to him."
Delaney bit her lip for a moment and considered if it was her place to ask Miles anything about his brother. She felt like she'd given up that right when she had refused to go back to him.
"Has he... Has he had any improvement?"
Miles studied her, trying to gauge if her interest was genuine. "He seems to have," he took another drink but looked away, "The pain has eased some. He's able to be up and walk around now. He'll be leaving the hospital day after tomorrow.
His words made Delaney's stomach clench. He was recovering? She knew she didn't want him to die but now her heart raced.
If he was well enough to come home surely he would recover enough they would expect the marriage to take place. She swallowed hard as sweat formed on her brow.
"It's good to hear he can go home," she managed, "That hospital was horrible."
For a moment Miles's anger receded and he nodded, "It certainly is a sort of hell. It's not so bad in the spring and summer but in the winter it's a dungeon. Mother has been pushing the doctors to allow him to leave since she got there."
"Your mother is still there then?"
"She is," Miles sighed, "We have been living in the city house together. I haven't lived with my mother since I was young."
Delaney bit her lip to keep from smiling at Miles's obvious displeasure about his living arrangements. Their mother was something of a dictator and really always had been.
"I'm sure she's appreciated having so much time with her sons despite the circumstances," Delaney worked to sound polite now that Miles's anger at her seemed to be forgotten.
"I suppose she is. She has been wanting Vincent to get well enough to return to Edgewood. Now that the war is over she wants him to take his place there so she can retire. I suppose that will mean you will be taking up your position there as well soon enough. You turned eighteen so long ago, if not for the war I'm sure you'd be there with Vince already."
Delaney sighed. Miles did not mean that maliciously she knew. He just didn't know how much she dreaded the idea of marrying his brother at all now, let alone being trapped out at Edgewood.
"We never know what will happen," she sighed and he nodded. She knew he thought she was referring to the war. He had no idea she meant her future with Vincent wasn't as concrete as he thought. Or at least she hoped it wasn't.
"I told him I was coming here tonight and he actually sent something for you," Miles drained the last of his drink before putting it down and pulling something from his pocket, "I admit I've been rather angry with you and was considering not giving it to you but I suppose it was his to give not mine."
Delaney watched as Miles held out a small wooden box to her. She took it and carefully opened it, afraid of what it might hold. Inside she found a small silver ring with little aquamarine stones set in it. She took it out carefully to admire it.
"This is lovely," she smiled at the ring.
"I thought he should give it to you himself but he wanted you to have it as a gift to... sort of celebrate your club opening. It was our grandmother's ring. He has had it set aside for you for many years."
"Really?" Delaney asked in surprise.
"The day of my father's funeral, after the two of you had raced, he went to our grandmother and asked if he could have it for you. He told her the stones reminded him of your eyes so he thought it would look perfect. He's had it ever since."
Delaney felt a stab of guilt reach her heart again as she stared down at the beautiful ring. Vincent had had it for her for over ten years. He'd chosen it for her when they were just children. Now, because of the war, he was not here to give it to her himself and she wasn't sure she wanted to take it.
"It's so beautiful," she spoke, looking up at Miles, "But I don't think I should take it."
He frowned, "Why wouldn't you take it? You're going to be his wife and it's a family heirloom he's been saving especially for you."
"Because...because we're not married yet. I'm not his wife yet."
"But you will be."
Delaney looked down at the ring in her hands. He had saved it for her because he thought she would be his wife. Now, the guilt ate at her knowing she was actively trying to escape just that.
"Look Delaney don't you think the least you can do is accept his gift? I'm sure he would've rather given it to you himself but you're here living your life while he's there trying to get well."
His words were like a slap to her face. Delaney nodded quickly and slid the ring onto her finger, not knowing what else to do. Miles's words were cruel but there was truth to them.
"Please tell him thank you for me," she spoke, her voice cracking as tears stung her eyes.
"You can tell him yourself when you see him next," Miles looked out across the room until his eyes landed on Cora at her table, "I'm sure mother will have him on his way here in no time to go over wedding plans with you."
With those words, Miles left her alone at the bar fighting to keep the tears from coming.
"What was that about?" Selina asked quietly as she came to stand by Delaney. Seeing her friend's tear-filled eyes she took her hand and pulled her from the bar, back to the living quarters out of the sight of the patrons in the club.
Delaney told her friend what Miles had said about the ring and about Vincent recovering. When she told her of what he Miles had said about their mother soon sending Vincent to marry her, Selina's eyes widened.
"Go first thing in the morning to your Uncle and tell him. Then he can call for the lawyer and see what progress he has made. He has to have found something."
Delaney agreed and wiped the tears from her eyes. There was nothing she could do tonight but tomorrow she would do as Selina said.
Late that night after Delaney left the club in the hands of her workers, she lay in her bed and stared at the ring on her finger and imagined her once handsome Vincent as a boy asking his grandmother for the ring.
Delaney for the first time then wondered what Vincent must think of her not coming back to see him. Miles had said he'd understood he'd scared her and was sorry. Did he know she found him hideous? Could he guess she would try to break the contract?
She fell asleep at some point and her familiar nightmares came back with Vincent again, the star. She tossed and turned as the dream got uglier until it got so bad she suddenly jerked herself awake with a start.
Breathing quickly with sweat on her face she worked to calm herself from the horrible visions she'd seen.
Unable to calm down she got up and paced around her room, eventually winding up at the window. She looked outside to see fat snowflakes spinning their way to the ground and admired how beautiful they were
She pressed her warm face against the cool glass and looked down below. She thought of all the times she'd stood in this exact same place and looked down at Vincent in whatever carriage he had shown up with that day.
She used to be so excited to see him and go out for their fun together. Now, seeing her betrothed was the absolute last thing she wanted to do.
Capítulo 31: Escape to a Party
"You... you really found nothing?"
Uncle Felix's weasely little lawyer looked embarrassed but repeated to her again that he hadn't been able to find any reasonable excuse for her to break the contract.
When Delaney had woken up that morning she'd gone straight to her Uncle as Selina had said. Constance was moving into the card club with her sister and mother so it was a busy day but Felix called for the man anyways.
The lawyer had broken the bad news almost as soon as he'd walked through the door.
Now, Delaney dropped into one of the office chairs feeling defeated. What could she do? This couldn't be the end of her trying.
The lawyer said he definitely recommended not following through with her idea of finding another man to get involved with. He said the King had not been looking kindly on those contract breaks and most of the time both people were ending up in prison.
He said her only hope was to speak to Vincent and his mother. Delaney and her Uncle could meet with them when the time came and try to find an amicable way out of the contract.
Delaney knew that was hopeless though. Violet wouldn't allow the marriage contract to be broken especially not now. After sending her the ring, Delaney guessed Vincent wouldn't either.
She twisted the little ring on her finger and imagined a different life when Vincent, still strong and handsome, would've given it to her himself, sliding it on her finger and giving her a kiss.
She couldn't imagine ever kissing him now.
The lawyer told them to just wait. Delaney should go on living her life and not worry about it until Vincent came. She decided she agreed and would do just that.
She was going to really live.
Delaney went back to the card club every evening where she'd have drinks, gamble, and laugh and talk with the others. She was so proud of Constance, the regal club owner in her fancy gowns watching everyone and ensuring they were having a good time even if they weren't winning.
Delaney began to spend all of her time either at the club or at the local dress shop. She had begun work on all the gowns she'd designed and was always checking with the seamstresses to make sure things were going as planned.
The only difference was these gowns had necklines that were cut much deeper and made of fabrics that were much more eye-catching. Delaney wanted to enjoy all her time being single while she could.
Every day though, she wore the ring from Vincent. She would often pause to spin it on her finger and get lost in thought. No more word came to her about his condition and she didn't ask. She preferred to imagine she'd been forgotten.
As winter turned to spring, Delaney actually did manage to put her troubles with Vincent out of her mind. She stopped worrying and obsessing over how to get out and it became something of a threat in the shadows. There, but never too close.
The men that had been off fighting in the war were all home now so parties were back in full swing and Delaney loved to attend all she could. She was still a beautiful young woman so there was never a shortage of men happy to get a chance to dance with her.
Everyone in the high society knew Delaney was betrothed but she didn't act like it so no one brought it up. She would flirt and have fun talking with any man who caught her attention.
Even though the lawyer had advised against it Delaney found herself still wishing one of these men might fall in love with her and stand up to the King and the Adairs with her.
No man ever came too close though, apparently, all were aware of the dangerous ground they would be walking on by fraternizing with her. Delaney didn't know it but Constance was making sure the men in the club knew about her betrothal as well.
As it drew ever closer to her birthday, Delaney began to plan a party at the club, her worries of Vincent all but gone.
Constance wasn't all that comfortable with throwing a big party and not inviting Vincent or having him there. She mentioned her feelings to Delaney and Selina who was helping her party plan, but they were dismissed
Selina had been spending most of her time with Delaney lately. Duncan had been spending half his time at his estate and visiting her and the other half he spent back in the King's City with the Adair brothers and doing whatever the kind required of him.
Selina and Duncan hadn't made plans for their wedding yet which was making their families nervous but neither of them seemed to mind.
"I always thought you would be married as soon as you turned eighteen," Delaney had teased her one day.
"And I thought the same of you," Selina had sassed back and that was the last they said on the subject. Delaney couldn't stop herself from wondering though what was really going on.
Unlike when they were young girls at Win's club, Selina now let her guard down and flirted with the men around her at the club owned by Delaney and Constance. The other women were a little concerned with this but who were they to stop her?
Delaney hired extra servers and dealers to work for her party and since the weather was nice, had additional tables placed outside the under enormous canvas awnings. She used her earnings from the club to hire a group of musicians to play and deemed the area a dance floor.
With all her money coming in from the club, Delaney allowed herself to go overboard with her party planning. The bigger it got the more excited she and Selina got but the more uncomfortable the other women got.
"Delaney are you sure about all this?" Olive asked hesitantly one day, coming to visit after getting a worried message from Constance, "It seems a bit... much."
"It's perfect," Delaney smiled spinning around under the recently erected canvases, "It's my birthday. Why shouldn't I make it everything I want?"
"Invite Vincent then," Constance crossed her arms, "If it's going to be this enormous event then you have to invite him."
Delaney glared at her, "I don't have to do anything."
"Well then I'll send him an invitation," Constance replied raising her eyebrows, daring her stubborn friend to try to argue.
"Why would you do that?" Selina demanded, looking at the woman in disgust, "Why would you want to ruin her birthday?"
"She's betrothed to him," Olive sighed, folding her hands over her much larger, rounder belly, "If she doesn't invite him its a very obvious insult to him and his family, including the King."
"Fine," Delaney shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly, "Invite him if you want. I can't imagine he'll come. Unless his marks have faded why would he? He'd just embarrass himself."
"Delaney," Olive hissed in disapproval, "Don't be so cruel."
Delaney felt a hard stab of guilt in her heart again. Olive was right. She was being cruel and Vincent didn't deserve it.
"I'm sorry... I'm just so tired of talking about him," Delaney confessed, "His injuries, our marriage contract, me not being there with him. All of it is hanging over my head like an ax waiting to cut it off! I've been letting myself be happy and have fun planning this party and having something that doesn't revolve around Vincent and my future with him."
The other women were quiet. Delaney quickly dashed the tears from her eyes, not realizing they had formed while she was talking.
"You're right Constance," she admitted, "Send a messenger with the invitation today and have them hurry so inviting him won't look like an afterthought. I do pray that he won't come but I agree I can't not invite him at all."
So the invitation was sent with haste to the Adair city home. Delaney felt her stomach twist when she thought of it. She so hoped he wouldn't come. Surely he wouldn't come. He was still recovering, wasn't he?
She worked to forget about the invitation or assure herself that he wouldn't come anyways. He hadn't come to her club opening. He had still been in the hospital then though. He was out now.
Surely he still wouldn't come. She thought it over and over again like a mantra.
For the night of her party, Delaney had a blood-red gown made with a strapless, sweetheart neckline. The front dipped down almost inappropriately low but she didn't care.
For all she knew, this could be her last chance to enjoy being admired by everyone around her. If she were forced to marry Vincent no one would ever wish to be her.
When she walked into a party with Vincent before the war, all eyes turned on her in awe and even jealousy. If she were to walk in anywhere with Vincent now, those same eyes would hold only pity, possibly disgust.
Delaney felt the now familiar guilt pulling on her heart. She knew Vincent didn't deserve this but it was just the way things were now that he had been in his accident. She found herself wondering what he thought about that.
Did he think about all the problems that would arise for them in the future if they were to be married now? How could he think they could ever have a happy life together?
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES
Erin_McLain_4927
Erin_McLain_4927
Hey Everyone!
First of all, I want to thank you all for reading! I hope you are enjoying it! Please vote for me :)
Secondly, I just wanted to let you know that, because of the virtual learning schedule brought on by the pandemic, I will be forced to slow down on my chapters being published for now.
I will pick up October 1st though and then I will be publishing a new chapter every day without fail :D
Thank you for your understanding!
<3
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