Virtue & Vanity (SAMPLE)

CHAPTER FOUR

Though leaving the boring stillness of Rosemont had been something I had dreamt about all my life, I wasn't excited when the day of my departure to New York arrived. Somehow, I always thought that leaving Rosemont would feel empowering and liberating, but all that went through my mind was that I was heading towards a new kind of imprisonment.

I had flown in a plane for the first time in my life and although it was quite nerve-wracking, it had been far better than the rest of the experiences that followed my visit to New York. All of the examinations and doctor appointments made me feel like I was some sort of a thing, and not a person. Not to mention how much I hated being subjected to an army of stylists whose facial expressions screamed how inappropriate my country-style look was. I was scheduled to meet the famous Everett family, and my future husband Sebastian, at the end of the week. Questions kept forming in my mind but I had no one to answer them. Why would a rich guy from New York want to marry me when he didn't even know me? Why did that crazy condition which made Everett heirs marry girls from Rosemont, exist to begin with?

I walked up to the window and took in the beautiful sight of the magnificent city at night. Everybody was rushing and going somewhere, whereas I felt like I was stuck in time—frozen and desperately alone. I didn't have anyone to talk to, and it was beyond clear that I didn't fit in. Suddenly, my thoughts wandered off into the future and thoughts about what it would feel like to be married to this mysterious man I had yet to meet, and to live in the huge city that must have been about a million times bigger than Rosemont, filled my mind. I remembered Ashley's comforting words before I had left home. She'd told me that maybe everything would turn out better than I expected. My sister had tried to convince me that maybe I'd like him, or even come to love him after some time. I was a dreamer but I knew better than to fool myself with such childish dreams. I would hope for the best, and that best was that somehow I wouldn't have to get married after all.

***

A few days later I found out that I was in perfect health and all my hopes of getting out of this situation were crushed. This meant that the day to meet the famous Everett family had arrived. It seemed as though the preparations to make me pretty enough to woo the young Everett bachelor lasted forever. At this point, I was already passive and ready to accept whatever my fate turned out to be. Marrying a stranger was something I didn't want, but I had accepted that there was no way out from the situation I was trapped in.

There was a limousine waiting for me in front of the hotel. The driver had complimented me on my looks and opened the door for me. That was the first time I was riding in a limo and its luxurious leather seats and expensive screens made me panic all over again. How was I supposed to meet these people? They had money, class, style and they could afford the most expensive things one could imagine, whereas I was merely a poor girl from Rosemont. I had no money, no rank and no expensive things. Ironically, I didn't even have a good education, despite the fact that I'd always dreamed of being a literature teacher and a writer. It felt like I was headed for a suicide mission.

As the car pulled up into the huge driveway, I tensed, because I knew that nothing would ever be the same again. There was a huge garden and a mansion that was bigger than any other building I had ever seen. I stayed in the car, paralyzed and unwilling to move. Sudden fear crept into my bones and I couldn't help but wonder what I was doing there. A man in a suit was waiting in front of the door. I was curious if it was Sebastian's father, but then it occurred to me that it must be someone from the help, because these people would probably never bother to welcome any of their guests—let alone a penniless girl from Rosemont. When the driver opened the door for me again, I exited the car and the man in the suit addressed me.

"Good afternoon, Miss Walsh. I hope you had a pleasant trip," he said in a very official tone and gestured me towards the huge door. "Follow me, everybody's waiting for you."