Business, that would be good. If they could
just get back to business. “Oh?”
“I think I found a solution to all our
problems,” Derian said. “Your visa, keeping Martin away from the agency, and
taking care of the long term.”
“It sounds like a miracle cure,” Emily said.
“It might be,” Derian said, laughing. “I
think you and I should get married.”
Emily stared, the cold enveloping her
completely.
“It’s perfect, really,” Derian said, reaching
back for her wineglass. “No one could argue about succession. You’d be a
permanent resident, you’d be an insider—family, and you’d be the logical one to
take over after Henrietta.”
“And what would you get out of it?” Emily
asked, thankfully having recovered her powers of language. Her mind seemed to
be working although she’d lost all feeling below her shoulders. She was
actually numb. “Besides annoying your father, that is.”
Derian frowned. “My father? What does he have
to do with this?”
Emily managed to extract herself and backed
up until they were no longer in contact. That helped bring some sensation back
into her body, and what followed was anger. No, not anger, fury. “I can’t
imagine he’d be very happy to discover that you’d outsmarted him at one of his
own games. He’s wanted to dismantle the agency or, at least, take control of
it, and since you’d never shown any interest in it, he had the perfect opening.
And then you outsmart him by marrying someone who, I imagine, he wouldn’t
approve of, and making it impossible for him. You win.”
Derian frowned. “It’s not about winning some
game with my father.”
“Isn’t it? Then what is it about? This
arrangement you’re suggesting.”
“It’s a sensible solution,” Derian said,
caught off guard by Emily’s accusations. She wasn’t trying to get back at her
father. “I was trying to help you and Henrietta.”
“Help? By committing yourself to a marriage
of convenience.” Emily felt just a little bit crazy. “God, I’ve become a
character in one of my manuscripts.”
“Marriage of—no, that’s not what I’m
suggesting.”
“Then what are you suggesting, Derian? We’ve
had the marriage conversation already, remember? You’re not interested in
marriage. It doesn’t fit with your lifestyle. Why would you do this?”
“Because—” Derian stumbled over the swirl of
emotions tangled in her head, thrown by Emily’s anger, struggling to sort out
feelings she’d never faced before. Trying to see the future she’d never
envisioned. “I want you to be able to stay—isn’t that what you want?”
“For Henrietta. For the agency.” Emily
nodded, the numbness receding. Only her heart remained frozen. Not for her. Of
course, not for her. Derian didn’t love her. She took a deep breath. “I
appreciate your offer. It’s very kind of you.”