Chapter 2: Lord Julien Gray

{A/N: Alright, so I know that Rosalina is the main protagonist of this story. BUT. I will switch to Julien's point of view every once in awhile, just so you know! This just so happens to be one of those chapters!}

{Julien}

"Young master Julien?"

My eyes open slowly and I take in the simplistic beauty of the clear sky. It looks like it's still pretty early in the morning; not quite lunch time. The air still has a little nip in it from the winter. Spring has just moved in, afterall. It's windy and the air feels nice nonetheless. It's not humid yet, so I'll take as many of these days as I can get.

"Young master Julien!"

I groan, stretching as I lay in the soft bed of grass.

"The ground is no place for someone such as you! You'll cause your clothes to ruin!"

I chuckle at my maid, sitting up. She gasps at this. "Young master, your formal button up shirt! Oh, this won't do. Take it off this instant!"

"Kali, it's fine. Really. I'm just enjoying the fresh spring air while it lasts."

To this, Kali huffs. "Well…"

I stare at her, my head cocked to the side. "So, why are you out here? There's a reason isn't there? Besides telling me to get off the ground."

Kali rolls her eyes. "I've just come to inform you that your father has requested your presence."

I frown. Of course he has. "I see. Then I suppose I should go grace him, yes?"

She makes a strange noise. "You better. Your father is not a man who is easy to please."

"You're telling me…" I grumble as I stand. "Where is he?"

"His study, young master."

As perusal. I think to myself as I make way through the house. He never leaves the place. Can't say I'd be too sorry to find that man dead one morning… And I also can't guarantee that he won't be dead at my hands.

I knock on the door, not waiting for an answer when I open it.

"Sit down, son."

I stay where I am.

"Or don't." It's quiet for a moment. There's already tension in the air. I can feel it. "What we've been looking for has been found. Or… the person who possesses what we want, rather."

"What you want," I correct him.

He ignores this. "The Hastings family is in debt. They need money." He turns around and gives me an unsettling smile. "They have a daughter."

My eyebrows raise as I see where this is going. "You want me to marry her and… it's her father, correct?'

He nods. "Charles Hastings is too weak for such a thing. A strong family should possess that. Not them. Retrieve it and do what you want with the girl after, but until then, lay it on thick. I don't think there's much to worry about. Victoria was rather eager to marry the girl off. That woman is as greedy as ever."

I nod. "When?'

"I've arranged a meeting for you today. Win over the family and the girl, and then the rest is easy. Be ready in an hour. Kali will prepare you."

"Of course, Father."

And I take my leave.

I am not my father's puppet. I can barely be considered his child. Little does he know this plan is going to backfire on him. He thinks he's getting what he wants, but really I'm just using him to my own advantage. He won't know hit him. Mark my words I will kill that man for what he did to my mother. I will destroy him.

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"Young master Julien, don't you look so handsome!"

Kali and I make eye contact through the mirror. I only nod, deciding the sooner I get to the Hastings Estate the better. Kali follows me down the stairs and to the front door where she and I give each other parting words.

"Play nice, please, young master. I couldn't help but overhear you and Lord Gray.. Don't torture the poor girl."

"I make no promises, Kali. Afterall," I say as a butler hands me my hat and cloak. "this is my game."

I exit the manor and climb into the carriage. It moves with a painful jerk forward and then I'm off.

In the hour between my talk with my father and now, I gathered as much information as I could on what my family knows about the Hastings. Their daughter, the girl I'm going to have to marry, is nearly eighteen years old. I can see why Victoria was so ready to get her married. Most girls already have kids by her age. Rosalina Marie Hastings… She's my next prey and she doesn't even know it. I could almost feel sorry for her.

My father wants me to win them over. I'll get the family on my side in no time, but the girl herself? I'd rather play with her a little. It's no fun if I do exactly what my father told me to. And, if I'm being completely honest, it's always more fun when you mess with people's mind. Then again, it could be just as fun to make her fall in love with me… Maybe I'll do a bit of both.

The rest of the ride is a blur as I figure out exactly how I'm going to go about this. I'm only pulled from thoughts when the carriage heaves once again, throwing me forward. Someone really needs to invent something with a smoother start and stop.

The door opens and the coach says, "We're here, milord."

I ascend the steps and walk towards the already-open double doors. It's a surprisingly nice estate for a family so deep in the hole. I give the maid at the door an alluring smile.

"Welcome, Lord Gray, to the Hastings Estate."

I step inside the home and look around. Yes, very nice indeed.

After standing there for a moment before the maid appears again and says, "It'll be just a moment."

I nod, continuing to wait. Suddenly I hear loud voices. Someone's having a heated argument. If I had to guess, it's probably Rosalina and Victoria. Charles doesn't strike me as the type to yell, and plus the voices I hear are pretty high pitched.

Next thing I hear is a girl saying, "He probably walks with a cane, too," as footsteps get closer.

Victoria and Charles appear, two girls behind them. One is a maid and the other is…

"Lady Rosalina!" The maid exclaims.

"His face probably sags. I bet his hair is thinner than—"

I raise an eyebrow as she makes eye contact with me. Those are so refreshing comments. She seems about as stuck up as any rich family daughter.

Victoria gives me an award-winning smile. "Ah! Lord Julien Gray, Here already! Welcome to our home."

I give her a smile in return before my eyes move to the girl behind her. "Lady Rosalina Hastings,"I say charmingly before I bow. "What an honor it is to finally meet you."

"I, uh—"

She's not too hard to look at. She has long, wavy auburn hair like her father, and green eyes that could cut steel like her mother. She's wearing a beautiful frock that brings out the color of her eyes. If it wasn't for the smoby expression on her face, she might just be perfect.

I hold an open hand out towards her. She places her hand in mine hesitantly as she galnces at her mother. I place a soft kiss on her knuckles, which I find are soft, much like the rest of her hand. But that makes sense; she hasn't worked a day in her life.

"I look forward to getting to know you, My Lady," I say.

"Rosalina," Victoria sings. I can almost feel Rosalina trying to pull away from me. "Lord Julien Gray will escort you to your birthday ball next week."

A mischievous grin graces my face as Rosalina's mouth hangs open. "Mother, you can't be--" She stops talking when Victoria gives her a hard look, leading Rosalina to say, "Yes, Mother."

It seems that Rosalina struggles with parental control too.

"If that is all, I'd like to be excused to my room, please," Rosalina says through her teeth.

"Nonsense, you'll join Lord Gray in the garden and wait for lunch, that is," Victoria suddenly turns to me and her voice raises a whole octave, "if you're willing to stay, My Lord."

I see Rosalina give me a side glance out of the corner of my eye before I give Victoria a dashing smile and reply with, "Why, of course."

Victoria Hastings swoons. "Rosalina. Show him to the garden." When she disappears with Charles on her heels around the corner.

"Come on," Rosalina says, not sounding the least bit interested. "This way."

She takes me to the garden in silence. When we walk outside, I find that it's a lot more stunning than I expected it to be. She leds me to a wrought iron table matched with a couple of identical chairs. I sit in one, crossing one leg over the other and placing an arm on the table top. Unlike me, Rosalina remains on her feet as she stares at the flower beds. She seems to really like flowers; especially the lilacs.

"I'm assuming there's more in this for you than just my hand in marriage?" She suddenly says, her back turned to me. "Not to offend you, but you don't seem like the kind of person to do things out of the goodness of your heart, giving us money, I mean." I don't really get a chance to reply before she starts talking more. "You do, however, give the appearance of a true, charming gentleman. Unless…" She glances at me over her shoulder. "...you're pretending."

I sigh. I knew this wasn't going to last long, although I didn't count on her being so perceptive. She may prove to be fun prey after all. "I won't lie," I state. "There's more to this than you know. I'll give your family money, and I'll entertain you in the process. I'll do whatever it takes to reach my goal."

Rosalina turns to me and I see her eyes light up. "Oh? And just what is this goal you speak of?"

Her tone causes me to smirk and raise an eyebrow. "Ah, it seems I've piqued your curiosity."

She cracks an unkind grin. "Perhaps."

"Well, princess," I taunt, " unfortunately, you don't get to know that detail. It's curiosity that killed the cat, you know."

"I'm sure I'll find out eventually, Lord Gray," She shrugs, turning her back once more.

She's pretending she doesn't care… but I know better than that.

"Please, call me Julien."

"Hm… So you say you will entertain me, and yet you don't want me to continue on with formalities? After all, I'll only be playing your wife."

I stand silently closing my fingers around her chin and pulling her close to me. "It's difficult to be my little wife when you walk around calling me Lord Julien, yes?"

Her eyes grow wide as she breathlessly says,"Women call their husbands by their formal name all the time--"

I cock my head to the side with a playful grin. "Tsk. Tsk. But you see, you and I have to seem madly in love. Our image is everything, my dear. I will not let your stubbornness be the reason that this goes to hell."

"You're disgusting," She all but spits at me.

My smile turns grim. "I've been called worse."

"Release me," She demands of me. I may be cruel, but I do try my hardest to respect women. So, I let go of her sit back down. "You strike me as a man of many secrets, Julien. Many dark secrets."

I almost laugh at this. She doesn't even know half of it. "And so maybe I am, dear. Maybe I am." Rosalina seems to get more and more frustrated by the second, so I decide to take it a step further. "You'll be a good wife, won't you? You wouldn't want your precious family in ruins, now would you?"

"I could care less about what happens to this family," She practically growls.

This finally does raise a laugh out of me. "Mm. But you don't mean that. And you know this."

She fists her hands at her side. "I will stay out of your way, but mark my words, make a fool of me or my family and will screw your so called 'image' all the way up."

She spins around and points an accusing finger at me and my eyebrows shoot up. "Because regardless of what you say, you need me. I'm not stupid. If you mess with me, I won't hesitate to mess with you."

I let out a low whistle, standing once more. "Alright, my dear, alright. You win. But just know," I lean close to my ear, lowering my voice, "there's so much worse I could do to you and no one would ever know. You can threaten me, but that would only make the punishment so much more painful."

Rosalina goes rigid. "You wouldn't."

My mind following the road she was making, I raise my hands in defence. What does she take me for? An abuser? I would never. I'm not that low. "I do not believe in hitting women. You'll just have to see what I mean for yourself. I never said it had to be physical. Believe it or not, I'll respect you, but I require no less from you in return."

She glares at me, making me supress a grin. She's trying to look intimidating. Cute.

"Just you wait," I say. "Our little adventure has only just begun."

"Lord Gray! Lady Rosalina! Lunch is ready!"

And just like that, a dashing, innocent smile is back. "Perfect timing! Shall we go, my dear?" I offer my arm to my future wife.

To this, Rosalina scoffs, continuing to glare as she passes me with grace and elegance.

I have to give the girl some credit, she's very intelligent and knows her way around an argument. That just makes this so much more entertaining for me. It's boring when they just obey without a second thought. I like a little fight. A little fire. Lucky for me, she's just that. She has no idea what she's in for... You better watch out, Rosalina Hastings. You're about to be hunted by your worst predator yet.