I wasn’t sure what to expect. I felt like Beau was going to march right up to him and start swinging. He didn’t. Beau stopped short just feet before the shimmering light. The men all seemed oblivious to it, but Hannah, Gretchen and I could see Mom.
Mr. Richardson spat out his words, fury seething through his pores, “I don’t want my son to meet you, not yet. However, I refuse to let my bloodline perish, as your mother nearly extinguished it twenty-eight years ago. My son, Gage, is twenty-four. If he is not betrothed by his twenty-ninth birthday, I will summon you, and you will marry him. You will not take a husband before his twenty-ninth birthday. If he should become married before that date, no debt will be owed to my family. If it is you he marries, your debt will be repaid by your wedding vows. Do you understand my terms?”
In my mind I was silently cheering—five years. I wouldn’t have to go through this whole ritual of finding a husband for five years! This was the best possible situation for me. No pressure, no reason for men to introduce themselves to me. I was ready to scream out “Yes!”, but I didn’t want to make a big mistake. “Mr. Richardson, I’m too new to this life to make this decision without counsel. I need to speak to my father, privately.” I saw Will’s posture straighten as his chest stretched.
“Of course, Camille, your family should counsel you on my offer.”
I stepped through the door and into the front hallway. Will followed me and closed the door behind us. I very nearly squealed, “This is great, right?”
A pleased grin spread across his face, “Yes, this is excellent news. I think he offered the fairest deal he could under the circumstances. I’ve heard that his son, Gage, is a good man. Without a formal promise to you, other Centaur women may still consider him. If one of them chooses him for her husband before his twenty-ninth birthday, you owe their herd nothing.”
I opened the door, not even waiting to be fully out of the house, “Mr. Richardson, I accept your offer.”
His words were slow as his eyes nearly burrowed into mine, “You understand the gravity of your words?”
“I do.”
“You will not commit yourself to another for the next five years?”
“I won’t.”
“Do you understand the consequences should you not honor your promise to me this evening?”
“I do.”
Mr. Richardson stepped directly in front of me, his hands tight behind his back. I didn’t know what it was about him, but he gave me one final threat, “If you dishonor our agreement, I will not hesitate to take my payment.”
My eyes narrowed. I didn’t need this added reminder. “Mr. Richardson, I am fully aware of the consequences. If at any time in the next five years you threaten my life or the life of someone in my family without justification, I won’t hesitate to take yours. Just so we’re clear.”
There was a collective gasp in all directions. No one expected me to make the threat, but I wanted this man to know my mother had not raised a daughter to be weak, to be submissive, or to be manipulated by anyone. It wasn’t an empty threat, and I would not hesitate to make good on it. I had not grown up with the luxury of a family – other than my mom. I grew up where if someone threatened your life, you’d better check their hands for a weapon. In a matter of days I knew there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my new family, including not allowing this reject of a man to bully them. I put my back to him and walked away, allowing my threat to hang in the air, daring him to test me moments after I had made it.
A little louder than was necessary, but definitely spoken for my benefit, I heard, “William, thank you for allowing me to join in Bruce and Hannah’s celebration this evening. It has been my pleasure to be a part of such an enchanting evening.”
Brent was the first one to catch up to me. He whispered, “Geeze, remind me never to cross you. I thought Dad was going to have a heart attack back there. I bet your lessons from Mom tomorrow include not threatening the life of Herd Leaders.”
“It wasn’t a threat, Brent. That was my promise to him.”
“Threatening to kill someone isn’t something to be done lightly.”
“Brent, you ever seen someone murdered right in front of you?”
“Uh. . . no.”
“I didn’t grow up here. I grew up in the real world: watching drive-bys, robberies and gang retaliation. I saw one guy killed over forty bucks. It can make you a little jaded. I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean to follow through. Gretchen can give me any lesson she wants. If Kyle threatens you or anyone else in my family – it’ll be the last thing he ever does.”
“Camille, this is the real world, too. We may put a higher price tag on life than the people you grew up with. It doesn’t mean our dangers are any less real or our warnings can be ignored.”
“Maybe you’re right, but I bet he doesn’t try anything that could be construed as threatening. Think of my exchange with him as modern warfare – a pre-emptive strike.”
Brent shook his head at me. He seemed unwilling to agree with me, but at least he decided not to argue the point further. Within minutes the party was again in full swing: Kyle Richardson was noticeably absent. As soon as the music returned, the makeshift dance floor was crowded, voices were again chattering loudly, and everyone was having a good time. For as massive as he was, Gus had great rhythm and was by far my favorite dance partner. I couldn’t help but wonder how cool it would be to go to all the NFL games. He asked, “So, any chance you’d want to catch a movie this weekend?”
I gushed, “Um, okay. We can do that?” I still wasn’t sure what was and wasn’t okay.
He beamed back at me, “You bet. You choose someone in your family to escort us.”
I thought of the choices. Although I was closest to Brent – he was not in favor of dating for the sake of dating. Maybe Beau? “Give me your number, and I’ll send you a text with the who and when. You’re sure no one will think it’s a big deal?”
“There’s a line-up of other Centaurs waiting to dance with you. You’re welcome to tell every one of them that we have plans for next Friday.” Gus’ smile was all encompassing, and I couldn’t help but smile at his jab against the others.
To be fair, I did dance with every other available Centaur. I don’t know how many turns I had taken on the dance floor, but enough that I needed to rest. I made my way to a table where Brent was sitting. I desperately wanted to ask him if a movie was okay, but decided to wait and ask Beau when no one else was around.
I had just barely arrived at the table when Drake and his beautiful fiancé, Bianca, came to the same table and sat with us. I was a little nervous given his reaction to me in the woods, but he wasn’t glaring at me or anything. The music was still going full tilt. I had seen the two of them dancing on the floor and knew they had to be near exhaustion as well. Brent and Drake seemed to be pretty good friends, immediately engaging in conversation about some sporting event. I lacked the energy to pretend to have interest in their conversation; Bianca’s interest mirrored mine.
Bianca looked over at me with a thoughtful smile, “Is it true that you are a long lost Centauride?”
I hadn’t heard of this word before. “Centauride? – I’m sure I should already know, but what is it?”
Bianca smiled sweetly, “A female Centaur.”
It still felt odd that everyone so openly spoke about creatures I’d considered nothing more than myths until a week ago. “That’s what everyone keeps telling me.”
“So, it’s true. You really had no idea?”
“My mom died recently. I didn’t know about my . . .” What was the right word? “ancestry.”
“You’re lucky to be a Strayer. They are one of the strongest herds.”
“Really?”
She smiled sweetly, “I’ve watched all the eligible Centaurs vying for your attention tonight. It’s hard to choose which herd to join. Trust me, I was where you are recently. I just picked Drake a month ago.”
“The choosing process still seems so foreign to m
e, but I guess there isn’t a rush.”
“I imagine you had people breaking down your door when news spread of your arrival.”
“The front door’s still intact, but I did meet a bunch of men today.” I leaned in and did my best to keep my voice low, “Is it true there’s no dating, or was Brent pulling my leg?”
Conspiratorially she answered, “Yeah, you window shop for a while, and you can go on a chaperoned date, but even those are frowned on.”
“Why?”
“Because if you go on a couple dates with a guy and then decide he’s not the right one, it almost looks like a rejection. If a Centaur is rejected by a Centauride, other Centaurides might not think to give him a chance. Why take someone else’s reject when there are so many to choose from.”
“And once you choose, then there’s no changing your mind?”
“No, it’s a final decision.”
“How long did it take you to decide?”
Her eyes darted to Drake, I’m sure to see if he was still engrossed in conversation with Brent. “It was the hardest decision of my life. I agonized over it for weeks.”
“Weeks? That doesn’t seem like a long time.” I realized we were whispering, and this was obviously not a conversation she wanted to share with her future husband. I motioned for her to step away from the table, and she quickly followed my lead. Both Brent and Drake stood up when they realized Bianca and I were going for a walk. I shot them both a look and motioned for them to stay at the table. They did.
We strolled across the grounds and were well beyond everyone’s earshot before she spoke again. “From the time I was sixteen I had men anxiously hoping I’d choose them. I went to college first. My mom told me she picked my dad at sixteen, and although she loved him and didn’t regret her decision, she knew that the things that were important at sixteen were different at twenty-two.”
“So you’re twenty-two?”
“Yes. These last few months almost killed me. I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer. My father had already made it pretty clear that he was going to arrange a marriage. I was terrified of who he might pick. He started bringing Centaur men home for dinner; all of them seemed to look at me like I was a piece of meat. I couldn’t take the chance, so I made my decision last month.”
“Drake? He’s really handsome. That was probably an easy choice.” I remembered his calloused hands catching me in mid-air right before I nearly fell off the porch and his quick reaction when I’d ticked off Kyle Richardson. Drake seemed like a great catch: smoking hot, kind, super-fast, and definitely protective. “I could see why you picked him.”
Bianca looked around to make sure we were still alone. “He wasn’t actually my first choice. Don’t get me wrong, I know he’ll make a wonderful husband, but I had planned to choose another until my mother disapproved.”
“Really? I thought all Centaur men were nearly perfect?”
I could tell Bianca was apprehensive talking about her first choice. “My mother hated the family of the man I wanted to choose, so she wouldn’t hear of it. She said it would be a terrible fate, and she would never give me her blessing.”
Chapter 14
Camille Benning – Charleston, SC