Chapter twenty-three – the proposal part 1

Fredrick's mind was made up; he would do whatever he had in order to keep Stacey Brown alive… even if it meant getting married to her. The idea did not seem so preposterous anymore. He'd rather take back control of his life than let Carina and her band of mystical weirdos dictate what he did with his life. 

But first, he had to make her want him… really want him.

From what he'd seen so far, Stacey was a very stubborn person. She'd rather suffer in silence than let go of her pride, and he was not going to just stand by and watch her throw her life away. Plus, he couldn't deny that he was beginning to feel more than just an attraction to her. And, he could swear that Stacey felt the same way.

"Sir… the Browns are here." One of the house keepers announced, pulling Fredrick out of his thoughts.

"Oh, okay, thanks. What about mum and dad?"

"They're in the garden. I am yet to inform them."

"Not to worry, I'll let them know. Just uhm… stand by after the Browns are seated and serve them."

"Okay, sir."

Fredrick closed the magazine he was blankly staring at and threw it on the table. He picked up his phone and headed for the living room, plodding down the stairs. It was finally time to come clean, and he was scared. Scared of what the repercussion of tattling on Carina might be… scared of what the future held for both his family and for Stacey's.

He pushed the thought aside and shrugged off the eerie feeling that tried to envelope him. 

"Good evening, Mr. Brown. Good evening, Susan." Fredrick greeted as the Browns stepped into his living room.

James gave a slight nod, before walking over to a couch. Susan stopped to give Fredrick a pat in the back before she proceeded to join her husband. 

"I'll go and get my parents right away." Fredrick offered. The tension in the house was already building, and nothing had been said yet. 

What exactly did his mother tell the Browns?

He turned to continue on his way when he almost bumped into Stacey. She put out a hand to stop him from running into her.

"Hey, watch where you're going." She had dark under eyes for the first time since Fredrick knew her, and the worry lines etched on her face were visible from a thousand miles away.

"Hey, sorry… I was uhm… what's good?" Fredrick stuttered.

Stacey gave a lazy smile, "I've been better. We came as soon as possible. What is this emergency meeting about?"

Fredrick let out a sigh. Seriously, mum? An emergency? "I'll explain when everyone is seated. You look rather tired though, Stacey… are you sure you're okay?"

"Honestly, no, I am not. There's just been too much to deal with in the last two weeks."

Fredrick noded, "I understand." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and a smile that made her relax her features just a little. 

He wanted to tell her that everything was going to be fine, and that he'd protect her. But he wasn't so certain of the first part of that statement, and the second part sounded like something the feminist in Stacey would immediately attack. So, he swallowed his words. 

Stacey looked over his shadow, scanning the living room. "Where are your parents?"

"I was just on my way to get them. They're in the garden. Want to walk with me?"

Stacey hesitated. But another look at her father's countenance made her link fingers with Frederick. "I think some air would be really nice."

Adrian cleared his throat, drawing Stacey and Fredrick's attention. Stacey turned to Adrian who was just behind her. "I think you can wait in the car, or take a walk around the house. I'm fine with Fred."

Adrian gave a grunt and a nod before turning to leave. 

Stacey and Fredrick did a little merry-go-round before arriving at where Henry and Louisa were. Stacey needed the time to breathe, and Frederick needed it to collect his thoughts.

"Stacey!" Louisa squealed as soon as she saw Stacey and Fredrick approaching. 

"Good evening ma'am… Mr. August."

There was an easy smile on her face which grew into a really wide grin when she noticed Stacey and Fredrick's hands laced together. Stacey hadn't even realized she still held hands with Frederick until Louisa's reaction. She immediately tried to pull her hand away, but Frederick held on tight. Stacey shot him a "what you doing?" glare. But, he returned it with a charming smile before turning to his parents. 

"Mr. and Mrs. Brown are waiting in the living room."

"Oh, good. Let's go in then." Henry responded, a serious look on his face.

Stacey gave up struggling after another failed attempt to free herself from Fredrick's grip. She wasn't even sure why she struggled against him. His hands over hers made her feel safer for some reason. But she would be the last person to admit that fact. 

They got to the living room and everyone settled in. There was an awkward one, maybe two minutes of silence before Henry cleared his throat, pulling everyone's attention. 

"This meeting was called because Frederick has some very important things he would like to share with the rest of us."

Fredrick grappled with the right words to begin with, his thoughts suddenly going every-which-way. 

He gently unlaced his fingers from Stacey's own, and got up to address everyone. Stacey hands felt strangely cold without Fredrick's own. She looked at where their hands had been locked together some seconds ago, a slight ache in her chest before raising her head. 

"I met Carina some weeks ago," Frederick began. He told them everything except the part where Carina alluded that his destiny is to drive a knife through Stacey's heart. He couldn't bear to say those words to Stacey. 

All the while that he spoke, he kept his eyes on Stacey; trying to read what was going on in her head. But she kept a blank expression. The only time something about her feature had seemed a little different was the frown on her face when he made his first statement. Was she angry that I met with Carina? Was that jealousy?

Although getting on Stacey's side nerves was the last thing he wanted to do, he hoped it was jealousy he saw flash through her eyes. If Stacey was jealous, then it confirmed that she felt more for him than she was letting on.

"Is there a way to get a hold of Carina? And… what's his name?"

"Oded." Frederick supplied.

"Yes, Oded. Is it possible to lure them somewhere?" James asked.

"I doubt that would work. Remember he said they were already aware of the recorder in his pocket." Susan commented.

"What exactly are they??!" Henry growled, frustrated. "And why bring my late wife into this again? Haven't they done enough?"

The room went still. Nobody had any answers, and there was so much they didn't know. Every day, things became more precarious, and they had no idea who to turn to, who to trust. Louisa placed her palm over Henry's hand, an attempt at comfort. 

All the while, Stacey had not said anything. She just stared at Frederick. 

"Aren't you going to say something?" Frederick finally asked, looking Stacey in the eye.

"I don't have anything to say." Her reply was abrupt. 

"Come on, Stacey. You can't have nothing to say after everything you just heard." Frederick pressed.

"Well, forgive me. I am still trying to get over the fact that you kept all of these to yourself this entire time. Why? If she contacted you the same day we left the hotel, shouldn't you have told us immediately?" Stacey asked, her tone icy.

"I wanted to get answers for myself, and I wanted to keep everyone safe."

"Or, you wanted to get some more action from that Carina girl. I guess she really knocked you over." She made sure the disgust and judgement in her voice was loud and clear. 

Frederick chuckled, "Are you being serious right now?"

"Do you see me grinning happily at you?"

"Are you jealous?"

Stacey opened her mouth to shoot back a response when her father's voice cut her.

"Stacey, enough!" James interjected. "There are more serious issues to talk about." He returned his attention to Frederick. "Did you say that Carina mentioned something about you being some sort of priest?"

Frederick nodded, looking between the faces of everyone that sat there. He liked tha Stacey was fired up. It only meant he was right. 

"So, what exactly did she say you need to do… and how does it involve Stacey?"

"She hasn't quite mentioned it yet," Frederick lied. "But she seemed very bothered when I mentioned getting married to Stacey."

"Hmm… I think this just confirms our theory about you two getting married." Louisa voiced.

"So… what are we waiting for? Let's get these two married, and save ourselves this headache." Susan piped.

"But mum, we still don't know for sure if marriage will be enough to save us. Besides, Frederick and I have made it clear that we do not want to be married…"

"I don't mind." Frederick cut in, holding Stacey's gaze. "The question is, will you marry me, Stacey Brown?"