“Fine,” I tell her. “Consider it an early Christmas present.”
At once, the corners of her mouth go up.
“But there’s just one thing.”
“What?” Ellis asks eagerly.
“You’ll have to come as my fiancee.”
Chapter 11 ~ Consent to Proceed
Ellis
Rainier’s fiancee?
I mull over the proposition as I lie in my bed and stare at the ceiling.
I understand where the idea came from, where Rainier is coming from. If he brings a woman to a party, especially a party where the guests spend the night – two nights, to be exact – at the Northup Manor, there will be talk, and in order for that talk to go in a more positive direction, the woman has to be someone he’s in a romantic relationship with.
I understand that. If he says I’m his friend, no one will believe it. Others will still think I’m some woman he’s sleeping around with and it will make us both look bad. What I don’t understand is why I can’t just be his pretend girlfriend.
Why do I have to pretend we’re engaged?
Rainier says it’s for my own protection, so that other men will keep their hands off me and other women will not be as mean to me. Also, so that in general, others will scrutinize me less and not look down on me. They’ll be more approving and accepting of me, plus they’ll remember me, all of which Rainier said are important if I want to ask them for help later on.
I’m not sure I agree. I don’t want to be remembered as Rainier’s fiancee, and I’m not convinced it’s necessary. I mean, do I really need to be protected from the Northups? Are they that bad? Or does he mean he’s trying to protect me from the other rich people because I’m not rich? Well, sure, I’m no heiress to a fortune – at least, I’m not sure I am yet – but I’m smart and friendly and tougher than I look. And I’m not a child. I’m pretty sure I can take care of myself.
Then there’s the fact that it’s a lie, a deception. I’m not really comfortable with that. My parents taught me to tell the truth and that’s what I’ve been doing, more so now that I’m a doctor. If a patient looks bad, I tell him. If I don’t know how to treat something, I tell the resident or the attending physician. Besides, I’ve learned that lies have a way of getting back at you.
The other thing I don’t like? The fact that engaged couples have to display… a certain level of affection for each other. Not only will I have to lie and say I’m Rainier’s fiancee, I’ll have to act like it. I’ll have to pretend I’m madly in love with him, which is exactly what I don’t want to be.
I grab a pillow and press it to my face.
I really don’t want to play the part of Rainier Knight’s fiancee.
However, I do want to go to that party. I do want to meet the Northups. It’s quite possible that I’m related to them. If so, they could tell me more about my mother. They could tell me who my father is.
And I want to know. I need to know. I can’t watch a mother caring for her child in the hospital and keep wondering what kind of woman my real mother was. I can’t see a father in a hospital bed fighting to live for his children and wonder if my biological father is still around, if he’s in another bed somewhere, sick and with no one to care for him. I need to know both their stories so I can move on with mine.
I push the pillow away and roll over to the edge of the bed so I can reach the nightstand. I open the drawer and take the necklace out from inside. I let it unravel so that the silver chain hangs from my fingers and the pendant twirls. The gem glimmers as it catches the light.
Beautiful.
If only it could speak, I’m sure it could give me answers, but it can’t, so I have to ask somewhere else.
I have to know.
~
“Alright, I agree to your proposition,” I tell Rainier when I go see him in his office at the hospital the next day.
He leans forward on his desk. “You mean you’ll pretend to be my fiancee?”
“Yes.”
He grins. “Good. I’ll tell Tom you and I will be away on business.”
“Business?”
“The Northups are a big sponsor of the hospital, after all. This way, you don’t have to make up for the work you miss.”
So Rainier’s already thought ahead, has he? He looks excited, too. Weird. I thought he didn’t want to go the party.
I nod. “Right. Thank you.”
“Are you sure about this, though?” Rainier asks me. “I’m warning you. The Northups and their friends aren’t the best bunch of people to be around.”