Chapter 6
GRACE
“Grace. Grace, come in… what the hell is happening?” I hear Selena's panicked voice shouting in my ear as we take the stairs down to the main hall, where everyone is congregated
“I’m fine,” I try to discreetly get the message to them by bowing my head and speaking clearly into the chest of my corset; the last thing I need is for the girls outside to try forming a rescue mission.
As inconvenient as the situation I’ve found myself in may be, I can’t help being intrigued by what he wants to negotiate.
It goes against all my morals and standards, but the idea of being owned by this man feels oddly appealing.
I may have reacted defensively when he made the accusation, but I’d have happily seduced my way out of this situation; feeling his body pressed against mine, knowing I was the reason his dick was hard, felt enthralling.
I have to keep reminding myself that he’s got me in a vulnerable position.
“Did you say something?” he asks, looking suspicious as we get to the top of the staircase.
“No, nothing.” I shake my head innocently.
“When we get down there, people are going to ask questions. You can explain that we’ve been dating for a year or so.
That neither of us expected any of this to happen, and that you had affairs of your own to organise before you could join me here.
It would be far too rude for anyone to ask what those affairs were, and trust me, these people take manners and etiquette very seriously.
I’m not even sure it’s appropriate for unmarried couples to reside together here in the dark ages,” he explains, looking below us and seeming almost nervous.
“Residing together?” I almost choke.
“You don’t think I’d have my girlfriend residing anywhere else, do you?” He raises an eyebrow at me.
“That’s something we will be negotiating,” I assure him, questioning what the hell I’m doing and why I’m not trying to run.
“You can make up the story of how we met. I’m not good with that kind of thing.” He starts moving us on.
“Wait.” I quickly tug him back.
“What do I call you in front of them? I don’t want to make myself look stupid.” Oddly enough, I don’t want to make him look stupid either.
The grin he shoots back at me tells me I’ve done a good enough job of that already.
“Jack…you call me Jack. Or darling, if you’d like. It kind of has a nice ring to it.” He chuckles as I jab his ribs with my elbow.
“That won’t be happening,” I promise.
“Come on, Grace, it’s time to feed you to the wolves.” He goes to move us forward again.
“Wait…” I haul him back a second time. “How did you…? I never told you my name.” At least I don’t think I did; usually I’m pretty smart with that kind of thing, but around this guy I seem to lose all my senses.
“No, you didn’t, but whoever's been screaming at you through that cute little earpiece you're wearing made it pretty obvious.” His hand gently slides up into my hair, causing my skin to prickle, and when his finger scoops the device out of my ear, I wonder how he made the extraction feel so hot. “Best to lose it for the rest of the evening, it’ll only give you a headache.” Tucking it into his top pocket, he takes the first few stairs, and it doesn’t take long for everyone's head to turn. I glance at all the shocked faces, noting the shock and disappointment that every female here struggles to hide, especially the blonde who I saw greet him so enthusiastically earlier. But there's one of them who can’t hide the anger she’s feeling — the woman in the red dress, who’s staring at my neck and seething.
“Fuck, the necklace…! We forgot to take it off.” I slide my hand over it subconsciously while Jack continues to lead me down his elaborate staircase.
“Ooops.” The shrug he makes is accompanied by a clever smirk. It tells me that this man rarely makes mistakes, and the fact I’m still wearing this extremely expensive necklace is not one of them.
“A word, Jack.” The woman in red speaks sharply as she heads towards us.
“What can I do for you, Cecelia?” He smiles at her with perfect charm.
“I think this is a discussion we should have in private.” Her eyes sharpen like daggers as they zone in on my neck again.
“How rude of me, I haven’t introduced the pair of you. Gracie, this is my stepmother, the Dowager Duchess of Fairfax.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I hesitantly offer her my hand, and the rude bitch stares at it as if it’s covered in faeces.
“Jack, where on earth did you find this girl?” Her nose creases in disgust. “A festival. Whoa, that was a wild night, wasn’t it…darling?” I answer for him; he was the one who suggested I make up how we met.
“A festiv—Jack?” The woman looks to him in dismay.
“We’ve been dating over a year now.” I clutch his hand in mine and hang off his strong, muscular arm like a woman wrapped up in the clutches of lust would.
“But Jack here promised to keep things under the radar. I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m not really accustomed to this kind of lifestyle.
I find it all quite overwhelming.” I fake a laugh before fluttering my eyes up at the man I supposedly adore.
It’s wrong that I get a kick out of how proud he looks.
Cecelia looks to Jack for some kind of explanation, and he simply shrugs before putting his arm around my shoulders and squeezing me tight.
“What can I say? It was love at first sight,” he tells the disgruntled woman with a huge grin.
“You know what that is, don’t you?” She eyeballs the eight-million-pound necklace that I currently have fastened around my neck.
“Of course, I know what it is. I’m a Ravenshaw. This is a huge part of my history. In fact, I do recall having a photograph of my mother wearing it. I thought it would be fitting for my fiancée to wear it when making her debut appearance.”
“Fiancée?” Her eyes stretch wider, and once I take in what he just said, my head turns to look at him so fast I almost give myself whiplash.
“You never mentioned anything about a fiancée?” Cecelia fakes a smile to the couple that passes, but she fails to hide the panic in her eyes.
“I didn’t see it to be your business.” Jack clasps my hand a little tighter, and despite its comfort, I also want to slap his face again.
Where was the negotiation on me becoming his fake fiancée?
“Jack, I am the lady of this house; everything is my business.” Celilia reminds him under her breath. I don’t know the woman, but I’m finding her unravelling quite entertaining.
“Well, now you’ve met the new one. I’m sure the two of you will get on like a house on fire. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I’ve promised Gracie that I’d introduce her to the commissioner.” Leaving her standing in shock, he moves us both forward.
“Fiancée? Jack…what the fu–”
“Swearing is quite unbecoming for a young lady of your new stature,” he tells me, acting as if all this is perfectly normal.
“Jack, I swear…”
“Graci—”
“Don’t call me that! My name is Grace. Gracie sounds precious and juvenile. I am neither of those things.”
“I think Gracie is cute. It suits you.” It’s obvious this man is on a mission to aggravate me. I guess it’s no less than what I deserve, considering I came here to steal from him.
“Well, I think you're an ass.”
“Commissioner Harvey, I’m so pleased you and your wife could make it.” Jack shakes the man who wears an impressive row of medals on the breast of his jacket, and I smile nervously at the man and his wife, who are wearing matching masks.
“Allow me to introduce my fiancée, Gracie. She’s been really looking forward to meeting you. You have an extensive interest in crime and punishment, don’t you, sweetheart?” I manage a smile, all while trying to simmer the urge I have to kick the sarcastic bastard in the balls.
“You know, Harold has worked there for over thirty-five years,” his wife tells me proudly.
“What an achievement.” I make polite conversation and try to hold my nerve.
“I’ll bet you’ve caught your fair share of criminals in that time, hey Harold?” Jack looks me directly in the eye as he pats the old man on the back.
“There have been plenty, but I won’t take all the credit; we at Scotland Yard are all part of a team.”
“It’s good to see modesty in a man.” Jack looks to his wife. “I’m sure there’ll be many more pesky criminals he’ll catch before he retires.” Jack reaches his arm around and rests his hand on my ass, and despite the glare I give him, he gives it a gentle squeeze.
“We must move on. I’m determined to introduce my beautiful fiancée to everyone in the room before the night is over.”
“And so you should.” Mrs. Harvey smiles fondly. “She is very beautiful.”
I smile awkwardly as Jack whisks me away to meet more of his guests.
“I need to make a call,” I whisper as we move across the floor.
“Who to, your getaway driver?” he speaks from the corner of his mouth, rigidly.
“Actually, yes. Me and my girls, we care about each other; they’ll be worried about me. If I don’t let them know that I’m going along with this through my own free will, they will be staging a plot to get me out of here,” I warn him, trying to keep my voice as low as possible.
“And are you here of your own free will?” Jack looks at me seriously, and when I see a glimmer of hope in his handsome blue eyes, everything suddenly seems very intense.
“Darling…” I place my hand on the lapels of his jacket, leaning closer and teasing him in the same way he did to me upstairs.
“If I wasn’t, I’d have gotten away from you by now.
” I place a kiss on his cheek and hope he realises that he’s gotten way more than he bargained for when he chose to enter me into his game.