Casciani frowns when I don’t immediately respond. “I would hope that suggestion meets with more than silent disapproval, Agosti. This is my daughter’s hand that I’m offering you.”’
“I’m aware of the honor, Don Casciani.”
“Then why the hesitation?”
“You’re aware, of course, that my father expected me to take up my brother’s duty to enter the priesthood when Arturo ran away?”
Casciani nods, snorting a little. “He was the shame of the Agosti household. Of course, I am aware.” He raises a thick grey eyebrow. “I am also aware of the loyalty you displayed to your family, Maximilian, when you accepted your place and stepped up for your brother–and the sacrifice that must have been.” A smile spreads across his face. “But now, there’s no reason for you not to marry. My daughter is very beautiful. An excellent reward for your years of service to your family, now that they have taken a different turn.”
“Of course. I would never suggest otherwise. It’s only that–” I hesitate, and Casciani’s face hardens.
“Spit it out, Agosti, before I lose my good mood.”
“Poverty, pacifism, and celibacy.” I hold Casciani’s gaze across the table, hoping that my one card to play will work in my favor. “I’ve broken one of those vows in revenge for my brother and a second in order to sit here in his stead. I hope to keep the third.”
Visions of Sasha beneath me, atop me, spread open for me, fill my head as I speak, reminding me that lying is a sin and that, at this moment, I’m doing exactly that. From the moment that she kissed me in the small bathroom of my New York house, I’ve been anything but celibate, no matter how hard I’ve tried again and again. But claiming my vow of chastity is the only way I might be able to avoid an arranged marriage without insulting Casciani’s dignity, and still secure his backing.
“Celibacy.” Casciani seems to consider for one tense, breath-holding moment, and then his shoulders start to shake with laughter that starts out silent and turns to guffaws of startling humor.
“That’s a good one, Agosti,” he says, when he can breathe again, shaking his head at me. “You almost had me going there, yes? It’s a good joke.”
“It’s–”
He interrupts me before I can speak, fixing me with a piercing, pointed gaze. “An excellent joke,” he repeats, enunciating the words so that there’s no missing his meaning.
He’s aware that I’m serious, buthehas no intention of taking it seriously. If I know what’s good for me, as far as he’s concerned, I’ll pretend I’d been joking all along.
“I’m glad you appreciate my humor.” I fix a thin smile on my face, forcing it to look as natural as I can manage. “I would appreciate some time to consider the offer, however, Don Casciani. I’m sure you can understand that I had no intentions towards a wife or a family before this. Your offer honors me, and I would not want to answer hastily.”
For a moment, I’m not sure if it was enough to mollify him. Casciani goes still, his eyes narrowing, and I steel myself for whatever reaction he’s about to have, violent or otherwise. And then he nods, slowly, and I feel some of the tension leak out of me.
“Very well,” he says finally. “But you will appreciate, Maximilian, that I can’t give you an answer either, until you give me yours. We will go from there, once that matter is decided.”
I feel faintly ill when I leave Casciani’s office, but the night is far from over. I’m surprised that he offered me Adriana so quickly, but by the time I return to the glowing party, I realize that I shouldn’t be. My family had, for a long time, a large portion of the wealth and power within the Families. The best way for Casciani to ensure that he benefits from that is to make sure that his family name is firmly entrenched within mine.
Most of the dinner is a blur. I barely taste my food or the wine, despite how excellent I’m sure it all is. It’s not until the music changes and I see a swish of forest green fabric approaching that I pull myself out of my daze in time to see Adriana approaching me, glittering under the chandelier lights, a satisfied smile on her face.
“I’ve come to claim that dance, Mr. Agosti,” she says breezily, holding out a hand. “You wouldn’t turn me down, now, would you?”
That question feels far more loaded than it might have before, but I stand up, forcing a pleasant smile onto my own face. “Of course not, Miss Casciani. It would be my pleasure to dance with you.”
“You should really call me Adriana,” she murmurs conspiratorially. “I know what my father is up to, after all. Unless you plan on calling your wife by such a formal title?”
I feel a sharp chill as we move onto the dance floor, my hand resting on the silky fabric at her waist. She’s very slender, and if I closed my eyes, I could almost imagine that it’s Sasha I hold in my hands, instead of a woman I have no desire for.
Even if I were to do such a thing, though, it’s impossible to mistake one for the other in the end. Standing so close to Adriana, I can smell the thick floral scent of her perfume, candy-sweet and not at all to my liking. I’ve only ever known Sasha to wear perfume a few times, at formal events, and it’s always a light and clean scent that doesn’t hide the soft smell of her skin beneath it. Adriana feels cloying, and the victorious expression on her face only adds to my instantaneous desire to slip away from the dance.
It’s not her fault,I remind myself.She might be much more pleasant than you’re giving her credit for. Under other circumstances, you might even like her.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the middle of the manipulations and machinations of the Families, and it’s a stark reminder as to why I had no desire to return. Adriana is a pawn in all of this, the eldest daughter good for bargaining with, a tool for her father to use. I have the urge to rescue her, not to marry her, but it’s entirely possible that those two things might be one and the same.
She dances perfectly, with all the elegance I would expect from someone who has grown up the way she has. We spin around the dance floor, the music and conversation around us rising to a pitch that makes easily conversing difficult, and I’m relieved by it. I don’t know what to say to her, but it’s clear from the expression on her face that she’s thrilled to be here with me. I know I should be equally as pleased to have her in my arms. She’s everything that a man in power could wish for in a wife–but I never wanted to be one of those men, and the only woman that I’ve ever wanted is Sasha.
I can’t help but wonder how Sasha would feel, seeing me dance with another woman in an effort to save her. I think I know the answer.
I just can’t accept the consequences of it.
“I hope you tell my father yes,” she says softly when we leave the dance floor. “I remember you from when we were younger, Maximilian. I’m sure you don’t remember me. But I quite liked you, and I was sad to see you leave. We never could have been together before–not with you being your father’s second son. But it seems as if fate might have other ideas, and I, for one, am very pleased that I might have that chance.” She looks up at me, a thread of heat in her formal phrasing that tells me that she’s more than justpleasedat the idea of marrying me.