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“Honey, there are rules to this society.”
I sit down next to her; layers of satin puffing up between us. “And does one of them say I have to wear pearls from Royce Richardson?”
“No,” she drawls, pursing her perfectly painted lips. “But by doing this, he’s making his intentions for you known.”
“His what?” I snap my head back and laugh. “What is this, the 1800’s?”
“Well, in a way yes,” she says a little too seriously for my liking.
“I didn’t agree to go to this party because I want to date Royce,” I frown.
“Then why did you?” she asks curiously. “Because Lord knows that boy has had a crush on you since you were as tall as a June bug.”
I can’t tell her why I really accepted his invitation. That he more or less bribed me to be his date—information in exchange for a few dances.
“I went on dates in high school and not one of them ever sent me pearls,” I counter.
“Honey, I know that.” She places a gloved hand on my cheek. “But Royce has always liked you and by sending these over for you to wear tonight, he’s telling you, and me, that he wants more.”
“But I don’t want more with him. He’s just a friend. So if that’s what he thinks…” I look down at the box. “He can take them.”
“No one is telling you that you have to wear them, Ellery. Just know if you don’t, if you tell him you don’t want to wear them, you too, are making your intentions clear, and things could get…complicated.”
“Complicated?” I search her eyes. “Why?”
“Powerful men do not like it when they are refused.”
“Royce is hardly powerful,” I can’t help but laugh.
“I’m not talking about Royce,” she says pointedly.
I stare at her, confused at first, then it dawns on me who she’s talking about—his father.
“Royce’s dad was your father’s best friend,” she continues, confirming that I was right. “And he feels it’s his duty to ensure you are matched with a suitor worthy of your station.”
“Matched?” I scrunch my head. “Suitor? Are you talkingabout a husband?”
She nods and I can’t help but laugh again. “Well it’s a little early for that don’t you think? I’m not getting married anytime soon. I mean, I haven’t even packed for college yet. And my future is not his duty. He’s not my father.”
“I know that.” Her face softens. “But the time will come when you will need to marry. The wealth you inherited from your father and that which you will receive from me one day, is generational, and it must be passed down to an heir.”
“Maybe I will have kids and maybe I won’t,” I shrug. “I have time to figure it out. And if I don’t, I’ll adopt. Problem solved.”
She laughs and shakes her head. “It doesn’t work like that.”
“Why not? Who cares what I do with my money, or who I give it to?”
“This society does.”
“If marriage and money is such a big deal,” I counter, “then why didn’t anyone care when you married Antonio?”
“They did,” she answers truthfully. “But because he wasn’t my first husband, it no longer mattered. But as the only Butler heir, it is your duty to marry and have children to ensure the Butler name and wealth that comes with it carries on.”
I chew the inside of my cheek, knowing well the Butler legacy. It was why I was doing everything that I was, including going to this damn ball.
“Tell you what.” I reach for the box and open it, grabbing the pearls with one hand and holding them out to her. “I’ll wear these, and you let me worry about the message it sends, okay?”
Royce can think he’s collared me. He can think he has every shot in the world. But the truth is, he hasn’t a shot in Hell.
