Page 115 of The Dearly Departed

The question gave me pause as I lifted my chin and peered down at her, my tongue tied as she went on.

“I don't know what your relationship is to him, but I know he cares about you," she went on, as if to cover her own tracks. "And he definitely favors you more than Benjamin, but he has … less control over you for some reason. I don't know what that means or why, but Benjamin is … he's more of a puppet than you are.”

I couldn't help but laugh at the assumption she had about my relationship with Gerald Crowley and the control he had over my life. "If you truly believe I have any say over what happens in my life, then you know even less than you realize."

She turned her gaze onto me and tipped her head, resting her cheek onto her bent knee. "Then maybe that's what this is all about. Maybe he knows about your feelings—"

"Wait. Why would you think he'd want to pair us together?" I cut her off, now curious. "For what reason?"

She sniffled. "To continue his bloodline, I guess," she said. "And to ensure he, or at least someone in his family, is legally bound to this whole freakin' empire. And then, of course, there’s—"

"I’m sorry. What do you mean, to continue his bloodline?" I interrupted with the question, more confused than I had been before. "But Benjamin—"

"Is his nephew,” she finished for me.

The air left my lungs as I repeated, "Nephew?"

"Benjamin's father was Gerry's brother,” she answered, helping me to fill in the gaps. “Well, half-brother."

Benjamin is my cousin, I thought, suddenly desperate for a cigarette as I scrubbed my hands against my thighs and sat on the edge of the bed.

Gerald was arranging a marriage between his nephew and Virginia's daughter to ensure a spot within the family tree.

Is she right? If I had listened to him when he approached me when I was nineteen and taken him up on his offer, would he have insisted on me marrying her instead?

But no … no, that couldn’t be it. I shook my head at the thought. I had come into the picture years ago, before this engagement. If he had wanted us to get married, he could've put a stop to whatever arrangement he had with Benjamin.

"What happened to Benjamin's father?" I asked, not sure if it mattered or not.

"He was murdered," Analise replied matter-of-factly. "Shot in cold blood, right in front of Benjamin. He was thirteen at the time. Honestly, it’s very sad when you think about it.”

"Did they catch his killer?"

She shook her head. "No. Well, at least not that anybody is aware of. But supposedly, according to Benjamin, it was someone his dad was doing business with."

"What kind of business?"

She laughed without humor. "What do you think?"

"I'm going to go out on a limb and guess it was something illegal."

"See, Doctor, I knew you were a smart guy," she replied, a small smile tugging at her lips.

I sighed, swinging my gaze around the room. She truly was a princess, I realized, taking in the lavish surroundings and realizing that, even if Gerald had wanted me to marry her, Virginia never would’ve approved.

I was trash in comparison, and what could I ever offer a woman who’d been brought up in such magnificent splendor?

But what does good ol’ Benny have to offer her that I can’t?

“What does your mother think of all this?” I asked, curious.

“About what?”

“You and Benjamin,” I clarified, suddenly having a hard time believing that woman would ever agree to her daughter marrying a weaselly piece of shit like him.

Would Virginia have allowed Analise to marry me instead, knowing what Virginia’s interests in me were from the moment I’d sat across from her at Gerald’s birthday dinner?

Analise hesitated, and when I looked at her, I saw the cold expression that had blanketed her face.