Valen stood at the bottom of the Hartfield estate steps. This morning he took particular care to make sure his appearance was presentable and dignified. His sandy brown hair was combed so that every hair was laid in an organized fashion.

He shaved his face clean of the stubble from a soldier’s march, his handsome jawline ready for the touch of a young lady’s gloves. His big green eyes were anxious, but hopeful for the conversation ahead of him.

He was received at the door and was a bit surprised that Gwen had not greeted him. Women were not usually part of the arrangement of marriages, but since they had known each other for so long he had imagined she would at least see him beforehand. The butler greeted him, bowing deeply, and escorted him to Marquess Hartfield’s study.

“The Duke of family Cael has arrived, my Lord,” the butler announced preceding his entry.

Gerald had stood and they bowed respectfully to one another.

“Please have a seat Duke Cael, I am certain you are weary from your journey.”

“No need for the formalities, we have known each other for years,” he said, taking a seat across from Gerald at the large wooden desk.

Gerald tapped a couple of loose pages that were in front of him with a look of discomfort on his face. He picked the topmost document and passed it towards Valen.

“The Hartfield and Cael families have long been friends; I would like to formally propose a union between them. I do have some specific terms needed in the marital agreement though.”

Valen’s eyebrows wrinkled at the statement. A dowry was usually agreed between two houses, but having terms was odd. As he glanced at the paper his face became incredulous.

“No dowry?” Truly he needed no money to be enticed to marry Gwen, but this was a bit shameful for her as a member of the noble class.

“The suspension of commercial operations to divert efforts to farming will impact our family books quite heavily this year.”

Valen’s jaw clenched a bit at that statement. The Hartfield family was not in a position where a single year of hard business would leave them unable to afford an appropriate dowry. However, being that he was responsible for the farming that needed to be done, he would not be able to contest the point without guilt. The next term of the marriage proposal made his blood freeze.

“Fulfillment of your military service for the upcoming deployment?”

“This is a non-negotiable point, I am afraid,” Gerald said with a tone of apprehension.

“I have only just returned from the war front,” he stated, the anger rising in his voice. “Our estate does not have enough regiments to send out two new rotations in six weeks’ time. I would have to force men who have only just returned to leave again.”

“I am aware of the inconvenience to you, and I understand if you decline due to that requirement.”

“You would go to such lengths to avoid a military tour? Pinning a woman’s future happiness and honor on a proposal such as this?”

Gerald turned to look at a portrait of a commanding man on the wall. “My brother was the King’s greatest general, and he died in the first year of the war. What chance does a man like me have? I am a man of commerce, not war.”

Rage burned inside his chest at Gerald’s cowardice. The former Marquess of Hartfield was like a father to him, to speak so flippantly of his death was onerous. More than that, he had cherished his daughter and would be furious at the strings being attached to her betrothal.

Valen loved Gwen and would do anything for her. Even injured and doomed to die on the battlefield, he would have left immediately to go back out there to marry Gwen. However, asking his men to do it for his selfish desires was another thing entirely.

“I can fulfill your nobility requirement if you give me at least one of Hartfield’s regiments to take. I only have three and cannot ask the two that have just returned to leave again.”

“If you agree to the rest of the proposal, then I will supply a single regiment for you.”

Looking at the document, those were the only two terms. The rest of the document only listed the individuals that would be married. Reaching that portion of the document his anger began to boil once again. 

Gwen was not listed as the intended.

“Do you mean to mock me, Gerald?” Valen said with clenched teeth, “Who is Arian Rhodes Hartfield? I have known this family for years, and no such person exists.”

“I do not mean to mock you. I merely asked you out of love for Gwen.”

Valen slammed the paper down on the desk and stood up abruptly. An armored man in the corner shifted. Apparently, Gerald knew that this would be a point of contention and planned accordingly.

“Out of love for Gwen you would propose a marriage to another woman? A complete stranger?”

“So,” Gerald sighed, and leaned his elbows on the desk, “you decline the proposal?”

“Put Gwen’s name on it and I will sign it today.”

Gerald’s face looked perplexed at this statement, “That is not a request I can make.”

Taking a measured breath, he seethed, “Then I do decline this proposal of marriage.”

“Very well,” Gerald said calmly as he stood.

He picked up the marriage proposal and held it over a lit candle, the edges catching fire, blackening, and beginning to curl. He walked over to an unlit fireplace and tossed the burning proposal into the hearth.

“Gwen is out in the gardens,” Gerald stated nonchalantly, “I think you two have quite a bit to catch up on.”

His vision was clouded with rage as he turned to leave the room. The force of him throwing open the door seemed to knock a servant over. Normally, he would be courteous enough to apologize, but he was desperate to get outside. 

He had to find Gwen.

Author's Note:

Today I was selected to be on Novel Pick in the community section!  I never thought my tiny space here on the internet would get featured.

If you have made it this far into the story, I just wanted to give my sincere thanks for taking your time to read my work.  It means a lot.