14. Chapter Fourteen #2
Grace bit her lip, understanding now why Zack…or Zeke, hadn’t said a word. His jaw rippled, aggravation written clearly on his face as he watched her realize her mistake. Tiny creases around his eyes disrupted his otherwise flawless golden-brown complexion.
While she wasn’t sorry for spending time with Eli, she did feel guilty for not even knowing her other suitors’ names. She turned to Zeke and said softly, “I’m sorry. It was an honest mistake. Please forgive me.”
His expression softened a little, but his eyes still burned a hole in Eli’s back. “Of course. You can make it up to me by saving me a dance at next week’s ball.”
Her heart pounded against her chest. The next big celebration was a little over a week away, the eve before the second round.
Time was moving faster than she was prepared for.
While she’d rather spend the evening with her friends and Eli, she knew the proper thing to do would be to mingle with the other suitors.
It might even get her mother off her back for a few days.
“I will.”
Beside her, she felt Eli flinch and inhale sharply. Once Zeke and Jae moved along, she spoke before he had a chance to. “Please don’t be upset with me. If I’d turned him down, it would’ve been—”
“It’s okay, Grace. I understand.” His mouth said one thing, but his deep brown eyes said something else.
She leaned in close and whispered so only he could hear, “I’ll make it up to you.”
As much as she wanted to kiss him goodbye, there were many sets of eyes on them now. The shared dining space was full of people, some even hovering and hoping they would move from their table soon since most of the seats were now occupied.
Ali stood first and Grace took that as her sign that it was time to go.
Grace and Ali were two of the first council members to arrive in the chambers.
Nik escorted Grace but spent most of the time speaking in hushed tones with Ali.
She was envious that they could be open with their relationship and no one came up to them with an attitude, demanding that Ali give them her attention or that Nik give them his time.
One day very soon, she reminded herself.
The rest of the council members slowly filed in until every chair in the circle was filled. Her mother took her position at the head of the room, and everyone grew quiet as she sat down.
It was a typical meeting—long, tiring, and at some points boring. Grace loved helping her community and leading them, ensuring they were happy, healthy and prosperous, but even she had to admit sitting in a room for hours could be tedious and mind-numbing.
Finally, it was Walter’s turn to speak. As expected, he dove into his proposal to expand his farming practice. He gave an impressive presentation and then opened up the floor for questions.
Grace fidgeted but ultimately raised her hand. She could tell the sight of her arm held high irritated Walter, but he gestured for her to speak.
“Walter, in your proposal, you mentioned that you’ll need another twenty to thirty employees to help you raise and care for the new animals and maintain the land and by products. Potentially even more if all goes well.”
He nodded. “That’s right.”
“Are you aware that we currently only have six people on our unemployed listing? And”—she ruffled through her notes—“eight turning of age in the next twelve months?”
“I’m aware of the numbers, yes.”
“And how do you hope to fill the necessary positions for your operations to run smoothly?”
Walter huffed, and she knew she’d hit a nerve. “We can cross that bridge when we come to it. But if it comes down to it, we can have volunteers or perhaps people would like a second income.”
Grace bit her cheek and tried her best to keep her calm composure. “So your plan is to hope that people will work for free while you profit?”
Beside her, Ali cleared her throat. “If I may? You mentioned that there is another caravan of people coming soon. Surely there will be enough to fill the open positions?”
It was an innocent question from someone who hadn’t been privy to these conversations like Grace had.
Someone who didn’t realize just how misogynistic and arrogant these men could be.
Those who insisted they had all the answers and couldn’t fathom that a woman, especially a newcomer, might have better ideas than them.
As predicted, Walter’s face reddened. He sputtered but couldn’t find the words to admit that his proposal required growth and acceptance of newcomers.
The problem with men like Walter was they believed they were entitled to wealth, success, and influence.
But in order for him to succeed, others must as well.
Eamon saved him the embarrassment of trying to answer the question. “It’s an option, but I think we’d like to explore other options before simply opening up our gates to any stranger that stumbles by.”
Heat rose in Grace’s chest. “They’re not just some strangers. The group currently on the way had their homes destroyed by severe flooding. They have nothing but the clothes on their backs. We have been blessed here in Berland; the least we can do is offer them shelter and food.”
“Or we could encourage them to help themselves by rebuilding and staying strong.”
It took everything in Grace not to roll her eyes. “Wise words from a man who’s never had to display strength in trying times.”
“Grace,” her mother hissed.
She knew she’d overstepped, but the look of indignation on Eamon’s and Walter’s faces was worth every second of scolding she’d endure from her mother later.
“Apologies,” Grace said with as much bitterness as she could muster.
Eamon sneered at her in return but nodded. “No need to apologize, Miss Grace. We all just want what’s best for Berland, even if our ideas differ.”
Everyone in the room could see through his false niceties, but it was enough to move the meeting forward.
Grace tried her best to focus for the next few hours, but it was difficult with Eamon and Walter whispering to each other across the circular room.
Every so often they’d break apart to look over at her and she glared back.
If they thought she would back down just because she was a woman or younger than them, they were severely misinformed.
“And then they just sat there staring at me for the rest of the meeting like I was on the verge of exploding.” Grace sliced through a loaf of bread with far more force than necessary.
Eli came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his lips to the exposed nape of her neck. “They’re threatened by smart, beautiful, and charming women such as yourself.”
She jerked her wrist, and the jagged edge of the knife tore into the loaf, shredding it and leaving crumbs everywhere.
“You know, maybe I should slice the bread,” Eli suggested. “Would you like to stir the soup instead?”
“No,” she said, stabbing the loaf with too much force and slicing the tip of her finger. A small red sliver formed. “Shit.”
Eli sighed, then grabbed a rag and ran it under the faucet. He wrapped her finger and applied pressure to stop the bleeding. “Are you all right?”
She knew he was asking about more than the finger. “Yes,” she replied angrily. Frustrated tears welled in her eyes. “No.”
Eli simply wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. The sound of his heart beating helped calm her burning rage.
“What can I do to help?” he asked after a few moments.
“Just…be here. Be with me.”
He kissed her temple. “Always.”