Chapter 22
Austen appears on stage. His grandfather smiles up at him warmly, and he smiles back. I guess they are sort of on good terms, and things aren’t as bad as they say.
Me, Sebastian, and Sofie have seats at a table next to William and the girls, right at the front. Everyone else in the hall finds their tables.
Our sister Natasha is here with us. Tonight she looks like Russia personified; wearing white fur, sparkling diamonds. Almond eyes, round face, slicked back blonde hair, and incredibly polished. She has been working the room, but has her sights set on both of the twins, and I am quietly terrified.
The hostess dings her glass into the microphone, and the crowd quietens.
“I hope you all have your paddles ready,” she says. “We’re starting off strong tonight! For our first bachelor of the evening, we have everyone’s favorite rowing and polo athlete, William Blazey!”
My mind doesn’t register for a second that Austen has been mistaken for his brother. It only clicks when Kane and I look at each other. We both are slightly confused. Austen looks embarrassed.
The hostess continues to dig his grave. “William can fly helicopters and planes, and can arrange the date of your dreams anywhere on the Eastern Seaboard. He has a yacht in the Hamptons, and would be delighted to take his date sailing. Shall we start the bidding off at a thousand dollars?”
I’m amused at the turn of events. This means Austen will be auctioned for a date he won’t even be going on. Or will he? The bidding starts and heats up. We are up to eight-thousand.
Wait, can I just buy Austen right now?
I grab Natasha’s elbow and force her paddle up in the air. Her eyes bug at me in surprise. Sofie is giggling. She knows what’s up.
“We’ve got nine-thousand!” the auctioneer says, ecstatic. “Ten!”
The guests make a little “Oooh!” sound.
William is offended. He forces Isobelle’s hand in the air and she scowls at him.
“Stop bidding on me,” Will hisses. “You can’t. I’m off limits.”
Austen is staring into my eyes. He’s desperate to break into a huge smile but presses his lips together and tries to stay neutral. My face morphs into a mischievous grin. Natasha is now up to speed and fully on board.
“But I love helicopters,” she tells William, and bids again.
“Hey, knock it off,” he says, and forces Isobelle’s arm again while she looks annoyed.
“No,” she says, and goes again.
William is scandalized, and tries to take Isobelle’s paddle but she won’t give it up. He snatches it away and outbids Natasha. Now it’s a battle between the two of them. He’s so angry that he doesn’t notice when I switch our wine glasses. Then Austen can’t help but laugh.
“You know I don’t have forty-thousand dollars?” Isobelle asks William as things get intense.
“Alright,” William says to our table. “Fuck this.” He stands up and takes Isobelle with him. “One-hundred thousand.”
The crowd gasps and claps. Isobelle gags in disgust, Sabrina looks at the floor. Kane slaps his hand to his head, and Hayden is trying to hide his giggles.
“William,” Mischa chides him. “You are spoiling our fun.”
“Good,” he says.
Natasha gives him a death stare. She’s fired up, and stands up too. I grab her wrist and paddle, pulling her down, shaking my head at her not to bid again.
“I got a better idea,” I whisper in Russian.
“Going once!” the auctioneer yells, jumping in her high heels. "Twice! Sold to table two for one hundred thousand dollars! Mister William Blazey! We reached our goal! This is amazing!”
She is bouncing with excitement like she is on a pogo-stick. Austen gets off stage and Sebastian gets on. The crowd is animated. A healthy bidding war for him carries on between two ancient women. Austen makes his way to table two, and his grandfather makes his way there also.
“That was not good sportsmanship, son,” his grandpa tells William, “but it was entertaining.”
Will introduces his grandfather to us. The old man is polite, but then gives William a disapproving look and walks off. William finds it funny.
As Austen sits down, I introduce him to Natasha.
“That was hilarious,” he tells her.
One of the other organizers approaches with a checklist.
“We have Austen Blazey up soon,” she says.
William looks at Austen and he scowls.
“I’m not getting up there again,” Austen says. “No way! You can be Austen for once!”
Isobelle laughs at Will. He sighs, and goes with the woman.
“Kiss me,” Sabrina tells Austen. “Please.”
He looks around the table and then nods to her. She holds her purse up to cover their faces so nobody can see if they use their tongues or not, but I assume they absolutely did not.
Sabrina brings her purse away. I give her the side-eye. She laughs at me.
“Austen Blazey” is introduced and Billy steps out.
“Your eyes are not deceiving you,” the hostess says. “There are two of them.”
I watch the stage, and whisper in Natasha’s ear, and she nods. Then she whispers in Sofie’s ear, and she steals a knowing glance my way.
The bidding starts and William can do nothing but watch from the stage as Sofie and Natasha stand up, and push the bids up to nine thousand dollars. Other girls join the fun and soon we’re at sixty grand.
“Maybe lightning will strike twice,” the hostess says. “If we could have an identical set of one hundred thousand dollar donations for our identical twins, I think we'd make everyone’s night!”
I detect a small smile, and an even smaller cough. Natasha pushes Sofie’s arm, and her paddle goes up in the air. The whole crowd gasps at her and conversations break out around the hall.
Natasha puts her own paddle back on the table, sits down, and crosses her arms.
“One hundred thousand dollars?” the auctioneer asks.
Sofie looks terrified. “Yes, please.”
William’s brain is working overtime but he tries to hide it. There’s nothing he can do.
“One hundred thousand from table number two. Going once, twice, sold!”
Our table erupts in laughter. The ovation starts and Sofie is red with embarrassment. Natasha does a little wave to the crowd. The hostess is giddy with delight by this point and can barely concentrate as William gets off stage.
The hostess heaves excited breaths from her chest. “What a great night!”
Back at the table, everybody has got the giggles, Hayden is in stitches, desperately trying to pass it off as coughing. William stomps over, absolutely raging at me.
“I can’t believe you bid on me again,” he says, “like seriously, I will not humiliate myself by taking you on some goofy date for your own sick entertainment...”
“We didn’t bid on you,” Natasha interrupts, her fierce eyes drilling into his.
“What?” he asks.
“We bid on Austen.”
“Excuse me?”
“As a gesture to Austen and his fiancé.”
“To make up for my horrid behavior on your boat,” I explain.
“It’s romantic,” Sofie shrugs.
Sabrina is hanging off Austen’s neck and kissing his cheek.
“How sweet!” She gives him a big smile. “I can’t wait!”
“Really?” William frowns.
“I’ll borrow your helicopter if you’re offering,” Natasha raises an eyebrow, “and you could take me to dinner too, unless you think you’re too good for me?”
“N... no no,” William stutters, and looks to me for help.
Hayden loses it and walks away crying with laughter. Austen looks at me and his smile is infectious. Soon I’m taken away to be sold to the highest bidder.
As a Slav myself, an indentured one no less, I find a human auction all very distasteful, but I’m purchased for a good price anyway. When I look down at our table from the stage, I see Ausen is gone, and I head backstage. Kane finds me at the exit, and stops me.
“I think Austen was looking for you,” he says in a hushed tone. “Near the farthest lounge. Check inside the washroom maybe.”
I pass my table, and the girls have already left to mingle, and I can’t see him anywhere, so I go to the back lounge.