𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 ✔

Chapter Twelve

During the second dance a young man, whom I did not know the name of at the time, cut in and saved me from Sebastian but also angered him. Sebastian removed himself from the dance floor and watched as the young man and I danced.

"You dance quite beautifully Mademoiselle Lafleur, not to mention you yourself are very easy on the eyes." He smiled as he twirled me around, "My name is Julien Pelletier the eldest son of the Pelletier family and it is my pleasure to meet you."

He was a tall, medium built young man who had short wavy brown hair, green eyes and a warm smile that could put anyone at ease. Like Sebastian, he wore an embroidered vest but his was green and white to match his eyes. He too had a sword strapped on his side, and though his paled in comparison to Sebastian's, I thought it was more attractive.

The Pelletier family came to Du Ciel not long after my family did. They were very wealthy farmers who flocked there, like many of the middle-class had, after the prince, in hopes he would give them titles and land. However, since the curse the noble worthy families had access to very few if any of their lands. Though, since everyone was affected by the curse financially, the town as a whole voted on a law making it so one's annual income would stay at whatever it was previous to the curse.

That it could only increase if one invested in the town by, for example, owning a shop and selling goods, or renting out homes or fields. Many of them struggled attaining businesses in town because the wealthier people were able to outbid them. That meant those families had no real power nor means to progress in the hierarchy, unless they happened to get their hands on a high-income business, which in turn left them to be mere peasants.

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine, Monsieur Pelletier."

The two of us danced half the dance until he broke the silence yet again.

"Shall I be frank with you?" He asked pulling me aside, Sebastian's furious gaze stayed fixed on the both of us.

"Of course, I would rather you speak your mind than beat around the bush." I smiled back.

"I am without a wife and came to this party to find someone not just beneficial to me and my family but also someone to make a life with, however hard that might be considering the circumstances."

I looked at him puzzled, "I have nothing to give you, monsieur, I am far too poor to be beneficial to you or your family."

He grinned, "That is where you are wrong. Your father owns quite the business and if he were to become partners with my family, we could turn it into something greater. See your father does not have the money to hire help, nor time to work on all the orders that he could have. But, with a little help he could be servicing all carriages and fixing all the breakages in town resulting in more money than he currently makes. Which would push your family into the middle-class and make it easier for you to climb higher."

This was a business offer. He made very valid points and could have given me a very promising future. This was an offer I had to think long and hard on, plus I had to propose such a thing to Papa before being able to accept. These people needed a way of extra income and if we did this correctly, we could have used that against them in turn keeping a larger cut for ourselves rather than being owned.

"That sounds quite interesting. However, you must let me get back to my father about this and see if this is something he would like to indeed consider." Marriage was something I did not want unless it was based upon love. Yet, with such a simple man like Julien, love was sure to develop along the way.

I wanted to consider the offer, but no matter how wonderful it might have been, I was unsure if I could have agreed to a marriage where there was only a possibility of being happy, not a guarantee.