“Ansell. I see you brought a crowd.”
“Only the people that need to be here are here.” I nod at William. “Nice to see you again.”
“Ansell.” He scowls at me and glares at Marie. “What’s all this about?”
“Let’s go inside and I’ll tell you everything.”
The whole group moves up the steps. Marie’s father looks bewildered, but he ushers everyone into the living room, a large and cavernous area with lots of seating. He brings out snacks and drinks and once people are settled, I stand in front of the couches with my arms crossed. Baptist lingers near the door, while William and Magnus are sitting in chairs, their backs straight, looking angry. Marie and Baby are practically holding hands and sitting on top of each other, and despite being around the two men that hate them most in the world, they seem utterly impervious to everything right now.
“Talk fast, Drake,” Marie’s father says. “I am very unhappy with my daughter at the moment.”
“She skipped our last meeting.” Magnus scowls at Marie. “Ran away like a child.”
I hold up a hand. “No more insults. If you want to end this, then you’ll be quiet and you’ll listen. Understand?”
Magnus’s jaw works but he doesn’t interrupt.
I take a deep breath. This is the part I’m not sure about. Everything else has been worked out in advance and I’m sure of the parts they’ll all play, but I don’t know how Magnus, William, and Marie’s father will react to my plan. It’s a good idea, and it’ll solve everyone’s problem, but it’s unconventional to say the least.
“We’re here for one simple reason, and that’s to put an end to the war raging between these two families.” I gesture at Marie then at Magnus. “And Bella Baby is the one person that can fix everything.”
Everyone looks at her. Confusion plays across Marie’s face. Magnus looks frustrated, bordering on anger, and Marie’s father fidgets from side to side in his chair. I give him a tight smile and he looks away.
“How can this gossip columnist fix anything? Short of going back on the drivel she wrote.” Magnus looks ready to get up and leave.
“She won’t be doing that,” I say quickly before Baby can speak up and say something a little bit more aggressive. “But she did agree to an alternative plan. See, Magnus, you still need a wife for your oldest son. You need a wife that will make him look good after the clusterfuck of an article Baby wrote. Marie’s not going to be that girl—that’s just not going to happen. But what if I told you there was someone else, someone better, and someone that came with all the same perks? Mr. Pearce here would still be involved, and his fund could still act as your personal money manager. Everyone wins. Even William will look better.”
Magnus chews on that. He glares at me, frowning deeply, and I don’t think anyone’s realized just what I’m about to propose, except for William. His eyes are wide and he’s staring at Baby with confusion written all over his face, but that confusion isn’t anger or denial, which is a good thing.
“Here’s what I propose. William will marry Bella Baby. She’s single, she’s eligible, and their match will rehabilitate his image. Marrying the woman that wrote horrible things about him will be an enormous story, it’ll totally eclipse the bad press you’ve been getting recently.”
“Absolutely not,” Magnus says, standing. His face turns red as he stares at Baby. “This gossip-rag nobody will not marry into my family. I’d rather die than see that happen.”
“Ansell, may I?” Baby releases herself from Marie and stands. Marie looks like she wants to argue, but she’s too blown away and confused to say anything. I sit down on the couch and take Marie’s hand in my own and catch a deep frown from William. I’m tempted to tell him that he could’ve had this, but he chose to pass it up.
Baby stands in front of the room. She looks so small up there, staring down some of the most powerful people in the city, but I know Baby fairly well at this point. If she says she’ll do something, she means it, and she’ll make sure it happens.
“I don’t want to marry into your family,” Baby says, staring Magnus in the face. “But you need me. See, what you don’t know is, I’m Geoffrey Pearce’s illegitimate daughter, which means I’m Marie’s half-sister. You’ll still be getting a Pearce girl, except you’ll be getting me instead of Marie.”
“This is absurd,” Magnus says, staring at Marie’s father. “Is this true?”
“It’s true,” he says, looking thoughtful. “I never acknowledged her, but I can see how this might work. She takes Marie’s place. That alone would help clean up William’s image and smooth things over.”
“It would be a scandal,” Magnus says, nearly shouting.