Virtue & Vanity (2 page)

Chapter Three

For the first time in my life, Mother had spent a fortune on me. Only the best dress and the most expensive shoes would do. She paid for the most expensive hairdresser in town to make my hair look perfect. She also treated me with a visit to the makeup salon. Even though the makeup artists tried to convince her that less was more, she acted like a crazed woman, demanding that they put more powder on my face and to accentuate my eyes or cheekbones more. The real surprise was yet to follow, because after the salon treat, she took me to the electronics store and bought me a cell phone. It was surreal, because apparently she would do anything to cheer me up so I would be in a good mood when the people who needed to seal my fate arrived. When we returned home, she seemed more than happy with the result. Looking at myself in the mirror, I thought I looked pretentious, and way older than I actually was. I looked artificial. I looked like something I was not—I looked like a piece of meat wrapped up in a nice package that was about to be sold.

Mother had instructed me to go to my room and wait there until the woman who worked for the Everett’s arrived. I wasn’t allowed to leave my room until she called for me. It felt like I was sitting on my bed for hours, not having the will to do anything with myself, when Jane opened the door, smiled at me cynically, and said that Mother wanted me to come downstairs. Suddenly, I felt very nervous and I tried to take a deep breath to calm myself down, but it didn’t help. I could hear Mother’s high-pitched voice, trying to woo whoever she conversed with. I entered the room awkwardly and everything went silent. All eyes were on me. There was my mother, a man in a suit, and a woman with a briefcase on her lap. Our eyes met for a moment, but there was something absolutely terrifying about that woman and I could feel her glancing down at me from head to toe. I blushed and looked away.

“This is Isabelle, my eldest daughter, the one I was telling you about,” Mother was saying in a cheerful tone, but the man and the woman remained serious.

“I see…” The woman glanced at me again with what seemed to be a critical look on her face. “You are the one who’s been eager to marry Sebastian? Your mother has told us everything about your secret crush on him.”

My secret crush on a man I hadn’t even seen or heard about until two days ago? Clearly, Mother was a master of deception. Obviously worried that the confused look on my face might give us away, she interfered.

“Don’t be shy darling. What about all those times I caught you looking at his pictures on the Internet?” Mother winked at me and I was more furious than ever.

How dare she lie like that?! We were almost never allowed to use the damned computer unless it was for school, and only then under her supervision. I felt like smacking her right then and there. But the look in her eyes told me everything—
remember what happens if you mess up
. I smiled shyly and offered a nod as a response. The whole situation was ridiculous. Everybody was talking about the rich heir getting married to a poor girl from Rosemont, like it was a perfectly normal thing. After looking at me for a short while, the woman had a confused look on her face.

“Isabelle, how old are you?” She looked suspicious.

“Nineteen,” I replied simply.

“Almost twenty,” Mother jumped in.

“That makes you seven years younger than Sebastian. I hope that won’t be an inconvenience for you.” She looked my mother’s way like she was the one who had to marry that man and not me.

“Not at all. If anything, I think it’s great that he’s a few years older than my Isabelle,” she stated and turned to me with one of her fake smiles. “Right, honey?”

I took a deep breath instead of replying.

The serious lady took it as an affirmative reply and continued.

“Well, then. I will have to take a photograph of you and email it to Sebastian’s father to see if they think you are—” she inspected my whole length again as if to suggest she thought otherwise than what she was about to say, “—appropriate.”

She stood up and started taking several photographs of me from different positions. I had to pucker up, smile and lift my head up, all the while being cheered by my mother’s mimicking, which were suggesting what I should do with my hands, lips or my hair. When the ‘photo shoot’ ended, the lady immediately returned to her seat and emailed the photographs to somebody who I supposed was the father of my husband-to-be. I could finally take a seat as well.

“Now, before we move on… Richard, would you be so kind and prepare the documents?” She glanced at the man who hadn’t spoken yet.

The man took the documents out of the briefcase and carefully laid them on the table without so much as saying a single word. The woman was obviously the one in charge, because she took it upon herself to explain what the documents meant.

“This is a non-disclosure agreement. If you sign this, it means that anything that was discussed in this room about the Everett family cannot be shared with anyone else. Please sign the document so that we can continue.”

Mother was more than eager to sign the papers and she urged me to do the same, without even giving me the chance to read what I was signing. The woman was apparently very pleased with our cooperation, because her cold mask of a face had produced a dry smile.

“Now that this is settled, we can proceed. My name is Rosario Moran and I am one of the lawyers who work for the Everett family. This is Dr. Richard Mayhem.” The mysterious man who turned out to be a doctor, nodded in response.

Instantly a red flag raised in my mind.
Why on earth was there a doctor here?
Mrs. Moran was happy to enlighten us.

“The Everett family has only two conditions when it comes to choosing a wife for an heir of their wealth. She has to come from Rosemont, and she has to be a virgin.”

The color suddenly drained from my face and then returned as fire burning through my cheeks. As if she could sense my terror, Mrs. Moran continued explaining what I already knew.

“Dr. Mayhem is here to ensure us that all of the conditions are met, before we decide whether or not you will be presented to the family, or better said, your future husband.”

I felt my body jerk for a moment and I thought I was going to pass out.
Would I actually have to go through such embarrassment?
I closed my eyes to absorb the anticipating moments of silence, and prayed for a miracle that would make all of this go away. Some distant part of me hoped that Mother would stop this madness and prevent my further humiliation, but there was no such luck.

“Of course, it is understandable that the Everett’s want to make sure my daughter makes a suitable match for their son. Isabelle, dear, please wait for us in your room.” She gripped my hand, warning me it was in my best interest to listen to her.

I stood up and started walking. On my way, I looked at the front door and thought about running away, but it was not an option. I couldn’t sacrifice Ashley’s happiness and besides, there was nowhere for me to go. So, like an obedient dog, I moved up the stairs and into my room. I tried to be calm, but nothing could lessen my panic. 
What on earth were they going to do to me?
 Mother followed shortly after and entered the room before the doctor. She was carrying a blue hospital dress which made it clear she wanted to prepare me for the ‘check-up’. I sat numbly on my bed.

“Isabelle,” she spoke to me softly.

I looked into her eyes in desperation and whispered in a broken voice.

“Please, don’t let them do this to me.” I searched for my mother’s protection and comfort, but that was something she wasn’t willing to give.

“It will only take a moment. Just relax and let the doctor examine you. Two minutes of discomfort traded for a life of pleasure. It’s a fair trade, don’t you think?”

Only I didn’t want any of this. Didn’t it matter to her? She handed me the dress and told me to put it on and lie on my back. I had five minutes of privacy to comply with her demand. I was lying on my bed, when I heard the door open and I flinched when the doctor entered the room. Again, he didn’t say a word. He was busy with taking various objects out of his bag. It was clear he could sense my discomfort and panic, but he had no interest in easing my mind before examining me. Instead, he started giving me a number of orders while putting on a pair of white gloves. He told me to spread my legs apart and I complied without hesitation, but my discomfort didn’t escape him.

“You know, you don’t have to do this. There are plenty of other girls who would be more than happy to take your place.” He was annoyed, even though I tried to be as steady as possible. I didn’t even dare to breathe.

He had a flashlight and he was shamelessly observing the most private part of my body. I stiffened when I heard him take something from the metal plate and I tried to be still as his hand approached the area between my legs. No matter how hard I tried to suppress my fears and discomfort, I couldn’t help myself and I jerked violently when the cold metal object touched my skin.

“Jesus Christ girl, if you don’t want to get yourself injured, be still!”

His cruelty made my humiliation even worse, and I closed my eyes in an attempt to stop the tears from coming, but I wasn’t strong enough to fight it. I didn’t make a sound, but trying not to cry was a losing battle. He was rough and when he finished, he gave me a disgusted, quizzical look.

“There, that wasn’t so difficult, was it?” I didn’t dignify him with a response and I kept my eyes closed while he exited the room and told me I can put my clothes back on.

I started gasping for air and crying uncontrollably. 
Not so difficult?
 I’d never felt so humiliated and degraded in my life. I was about to be sold like a piece of cattle to a man I had never even met. I had to stop crying, because I knew Mother would flip if those people saw me in this awful condition.

Once I made my way downstairs, I knew Mrs. Moran stared at me suspiciously because it was clear that I had been crying. My face was a mess with swollen eyes, puffed cheeks and ruined makeup. I had seen how terrible I looked in the mirror, but had no will or power to do anything about it. I couldn’t even spare a glimpse at the obnoxious Dr. Mayhem without compromising my barely existing peace. Mrs. Moran finally took her eyes off me and focused on my mother instead.

“We are pleased to inform you that your daughter meets all of the required conditions for the possible future arrangement with Mr. Sebastian Everett.” She looked at me in search of a reaction but I remained as still as a wall.

“I knew my Isabelle would be perfect the moment I heard Mr. Everett was getting married.” Mother stepped in as usual.

“Then my further announcements will be even more pleasing to you,” Mrs. Moran said cynically, as if she wanted to make my mother aware of the fact that she was too upfront about being a shameless gold-digger. “Mr. Everett Senior has already replied to my email, and the Everett’s want to meet Isabelle as soon as next week.”

“That is wonderful.” Mother was beside herself.

“Of course, Isabelle will have to join us on our trip to New York tomorrow, in order to go through further preparations.”

“What kind of preparations?” I couldn’t help but intervene.

“Well, to answer your question. To proceed with this arrangement we have to establish that you are perfectly healthy. That means you will be tested to see if you have any serious diseases, especially the ones that could compromise your ability to have children.” I tensed at her words.

“I see.” It was all I managed to say.

“I’m glad you understand. Now, if you will excuse us, we have to get going. Isabelle…” Mrs. Moran lifted her eyebrows and glanced at me with a warning. “Make sure you are ready by ten tomorrow.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. She will be ready on time,” Mother happily replied on my behalf, and escorted Rosario and the doctor out of our house. 

Chapter Four

The following few days were a roller coaster. For the first time in my life I was leaving the boring stillness of Rosemont, and though it had been something I’d dreamt about my entire life, I wasn’t as nearly excited as I thought I would have been. Somehow, I always thought that leaving Rosemont would feel empowering and liberating. That was not the case. I felt like I was yet to be imprisoned and not liberated.

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 painfully 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 silly 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. I hoped that the results of the examination would be my ticket out of the mess my mother had put me in.

***

A few days later I found out that I was perfectly healthy 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 definitely 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 personally 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 barely caught my balance with my shaky legs. The man in the suit addressed me.

“Good afternoon, Miss Walsh. It is nice to meet you. Follow me, everybody’s waiting for you,” he said in a very official tone and gestured me towards the huge door.

As I followed the man in the suit who hadn’t even bothered to introduce himself, I was struck by the luxurious surroundings of this incredibly huge house. Marble floors, expensive furniture, paintings that must have been worth a fortune each, wide windows spreading down the lengthy hallway and chandeliers that looked like they were made of gold, all screamed money and even more frighteningly—power. The feeling of not belonging in this place poisoned my mind and sent my body into a state of fear, because I had no idea what to expect or how to behave.

Finally, we stopped by a door at the end of the hallway and the suited man opened it, raising his palm as a signal that I should wait until he invited me to come.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Isabelle Walsh has arrived.” That was my cue to walk in.

I was in the middle of the room filled with people I didn’t know—rich, powerful, and famous people. The room looked like a living space, only it was much bigger than all the rooms in my house combined together. In the middle of it, there was a group of people whose sole focus of attention was me. I could feel them measuring me up with their eyes and staring at me like they were wondering how long I would last before running away. My palms started sweating as I fought to breathe evenly. The situation was entirely awkward, because I didn’t know if I should introduce myself first, or wait for them to open the conversation. It looked as if they were all waiting for me to do something, but I didn’t know what. Every second felt like an eternity of torture and I prayed for them to make a move already. At last, the older man, who was probably in his late fifties, spoke to me.

“Welcome, Miss Walsh.” His eyes pierced straight through me and I felt this was a man in charge, a man whose orders must always be obeyed.

“T-thank you,” I said in a shaky voice and bowed slightly, which made the slim brunette who was sitting next to a young man, glance at him then back at me, before she chuckled mockingly. I felt like a complete idiot.

After a few moments of silence, which felt like an eternal torture, the older man finally introduced himself.

“I am Theodore Everett, Sebastian’s father. This is my wife Catherine.” He gestured at the lady sitting across from him.

“Nice to meet you,” I said, but all she offered was a small nod in response.

“My younger daughter, Helen.” The redheaded girl who was sitting next to Catherine smiled at me and all I could do was return the favor.

“And at last, my daughter Dianne, and her husband, Caleb.” He motioned towards the girl who had mocked me earlier.

“It... It’s a pleasure,” I stuttered and while her husband sighed and looked away to show how uninterested he was, Dianne was determined to prolong my torture.

“Oh no, Miss Walsh,” she chuckled again, “the pleasure is all ours,” she said sarcastically and I had to look away in an attempt to chase away the stress, but the loud breath I couldn’t stop myself from taking, revealed just how nervous I was.

“You look awfully pale.” Dianne tried to show her concern but was doing a very poor job at it. “Are you sure you’re alright?” This woman would definitely be no friend of mine—that much was clear.

“I am fine, thank you. Only a bit tired,” I barely responded.

“Make yourself comfortable, Isabelle.” Catherine invited me to sit down and I quickly glanced through the room, nervously searching for an appropriate place to sit.

“You can sit next to me.” Helen smiled warmly.

She was the only one who had been nice to me so far, and there was something about her that made me think she was sincere, something that radiated kindness and compassion.

When I sat down and took in my surroundings one more time I started wondering why Sebastian wasn’t there. Didn’t he want to see his future wife? I certainly wasn’t interested in marrying him all that much, but at least I wanted to see him. Was that going to be taken away from me as well? For a brief moment, I considered asking about him but I didn’t dare to speak. Only five minutes with that family had made me realize that things were going to be much more difficult than I had imagined, and there had been some pretty horrific things running through my mind.

“Sebastian will join us for dinner. He is a very busy man, you see. But he’s very excited to meet you,” Theodore answered my question as if he was reading my mind. That scared me.

“Thank you.” It was all I managed to reply.

After that, a brief inquisition with the main goal of putting me in my place had followed. They asked about my education, my family, whether I’d traveled a lot before, my favorite food, and so on. Dianne was the leader, coming up with so many questions and mean comments, openly taking pleasure from my inexperience and ignorance, which brought me to the verge of tears, but I’d sworn to myself I would not cry and give her the satisfaction. It was the last shred of dignity I had in front of these people and I was going to keep it. After what felt like eternity, Theodore announced that he had a meeting to attend and Catherine informed us that dinner would be served within an hour and that I should rest a bit. Sudden discomfort overtook me for a moment, because being alone in that huge mansion full of strangers was scarier than being subjected to this snobbish family’s inquiring attention.

Thankfully, Helen took my hand and offered to spend some time with me, which I gladly accepted. She suggested we should take a short walk outside so that I could relax a little, and she was right, because walking through the wonderfully decorated garden helped me feel at ease. For a while, we walked without saying a word.

“I must apologize for Dianne,” Helen started the conversation. “She can be a little...” It looked like she was lacking the word to describe her sister.

I shrugged. “It’s alright.”

“I know you must be nervous about everything.” She smiled at me.

“I really am...nervous. Especially because I...” I trailed off.

“Because you haven’t met Sebastian yet?” she concluded.

I nodded and blushed like a little girl. 
What on earth was wrong with me?
 I needed to pull myself together, and fast, but the chances of that happening were almost nonexistent. The truth was that I wasn’t nervous about meeting him, I was absolutely terrified. If he was anything like the rest of his family, I was doomed.

“He’s not that bad, you know. He’s just a bit rough around the edges. You’ll have to work hard if you want to earn his trust and make him care about you.” She paused and looked at me as if she wanted to make me realize the importance of what she was telling me. “He takes great care only of things he cherishes. So make him cherish you. It’s the only way you’ll survive in our world.”

I gasped because of what she had said and couldn’t think of anything to offer as a reply.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you.” She smiled softly. “It’s just a piece of advice. We should hurry back, it’s almost dinner time.”

“Thank you,” I whispered and attempted to fake a smile, but I wasn’t very successful at it.

“It’s alright. You’ll be fine,” she reassured me as we headed back towards the house.

***

The tension in the dining room was growing with each passing moment. Everybody but Helen—who glanced at me with the intent to ease my nervousness—was quiet and looked generally bored. After what seemed like a torturously long while, the massive door opened and everybody’s attention turned to the suited man again.

“Mr. Everett has arrived. He stopped by the office to rid himself of some documents and he’ll be joining you in a minute.”

“Thank you, Frederick. Please inform Alice that she can start serving dinner,” Theodore addressed the suited man and I finally learned his name.

Soon, I heard footsteps approaching the dining room again and I knew it was
him
. My palms started sweating and I was shaking slightly.
Dear God, was this the way I was going to meet my future husband?
Dianne’s eyes were shooting fire at me, and I couldn’t do anything but lower my gaze at the table. The door swung open, startling me, so I looked up and met his gaze for a moment, and then lowered my head back immediately. A pair of piercing green eyes sent shivers down my spine in only a split second. Beautiful. They were absolutely freezing cold, and beautiful.

“It’s nice that you decided to join us, son. We were starting to worry.” Theodore’s sarcastic words clearly meant he was scowling at his son for being late.

“I had some business I needed to take care of at the company. No need to worry, Father.” His voice was cold, determined, and it scared me.

Theodore laughed and motioned his hand towards me. I still couldn’t make myself look at Sebastian, but I felt he was watching me.

“This is Isabelle.” Theodore gave me a sign to stand up.

I stood up but my gaze was still directed at the floor. Sebastian made a few steps in my direction, and then stared at me intently, without any indication that he would say or do anything. Apparently, I was the one who needed to break the ice. I bit my lower lip, took a shallow breath and made myself face him. Then I offered him my hand. He took it without hesitation and squeezed it in real businessman style as if he was letting me know that that was all this would be—business. Goose bumps rose from the core of my body, sending a tingling sensation all over my skin. Such was his immediate effect on me, and I didn’t know if I would be able to tell him my name without making a complete fool of myself.