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“Well …” Father steeples his fingers together. “You see, we could possibly lose … the house.”
“What?” Greta asks, her eyes popping. We exchange a look.
“How do we make that not happen?” I ask. “There must be a way for you to pay this money back.”
Father nods. “There is a way.” He looks directly at me in such a way that I become uncomfortable. Something tells me I’m not going to like what he has to say. “You can marry.”
I grow still while Greta sucks in a breath. Sienna looks between Father and me while Imelda stares into her lap.
“Marry?” Greta asks for me.
“Eva,” he says to me, “You knew this day would happen. It shouldn’t surprise any of you girls that you will marry someday. That day has just arrived sooner than expected.”
“Who will I marry?” I whisper.
Father presses a hand behind his ear. “What was that?”
“Who will I marry?” I repeat louder.
“Well, that will be determined.”
Greta sputters. “Wait, so you don’t even know who Eva will marry? Then why bring this up?”
“And how does my marrying help you with your money troubles?” I ask.
“When you marry, that man will pay for your hand,” he said. “The money I receive will help our family.”
“Why would a man pay for my hand in marriage? Who would do that?” I ask. The brush is still clenched between my fingers while as I hold onto the edge of the couch.
“You’re marrying Eva off like she’s an animal,” Greta snaps.
Sienna has miraculously not said a word during the conversation so far. Her normally bratty expression has shifted to worry as she looks back and forth between our father and me.
“I know the families have arranged marriages, but I’ve never heard of a husband buying his wife,” I say.
“It’s a business deal like any other,” Father says.
“Except it isn’t,” Greta says, almost yelling. “It’s Eva. She’s the one some random man will be putting his hands on. She’s not just a business deal,Dad.” Other than Sienna, he hated us calling him “Dad.” He preferred the formal “Father.”
Imelda holds up a hand. “I don’t understand something.” Her quiet voice cuts through the room. “How will you find a husband for Eva. You said that would be determined. How?”
Father looks at me with no shame, like he hasn’t done anything wrong, even though he got us into this in the first place. And now I’m the one suffering the consequences of his actions.
“There will be an auction.”
All of us go silent. After a moment, it’s Sienna who speaks. “An auction?”
“You mean men will bid on Eva for her hand in marriage?” Greta asks. “Like she’s a prized horse?” The horror is quite definite in Greta’s tone.
“Yes,” Father says simply. “They will bid on her, and whoever offers the most will win her hand.”
“And you get the money,” I say, blinking back tears.
Father opens his hand in an expression of “what would you have me do?”
“That’s how I’ll pay off my debts,” he said. “This way, we get to keep the house.”
“But what if the man who wins me doesn’t offer enough money to pay back your debts?” I ask.
