Criminal Royalty

Telling Rose

Now as with all marriages, John wasn't the only one they needed to participate. Every groom needed his bride. Unfortunately for John, this bride-to-be wasn't looking for marriage.

Rose was perfectly happy as she was. She was young. She was free. She was flirty. Marriage, especially an arranged marriage, just wasn't what she'd expected when her brother Erasmus had taken her for a chat. Okay, so maybe she should have expected something drastic like marriage for leaving the camp all those years ago, but honestly, she hadn't even considered it. Yes, all of her sisters and cousins had also been married by this age, but really, she always thought she would have more time. Being the hybrid of two cultures, she assumed that she would have to find her own husband, as an arrangement wouldn't be good enough for those more pure-blooded. If anything, she had assumed Alfie, with his power, would be the one to marry her off as part of some deal, not her Lee brethren who seemed so fond of freedom—the freedom she sought to keep. The freedom she had found in leaving and was about to lose in her return.

"You fucking what? Era, I don't know who the fuck you think you lot are, but there's no way I'm marrying some stranger just because you said so!"

Erasmus pinched his brow. He knew she wouldn't take this well, had practically begged their grandmother to consider one of the other girls—the more obedient girls—who would do what was asked of them for the sake of the family without so much as a question. But she said it was written in the stars. No man nor woman could argue with fate. This was just speeding up the inevitable. The leaves said so.

"Calm down, girlie," he soothed. "You know this wouldn't go ahead unless it was meant to be. I know these guys, may not like them, but I'm sure you'll be happy; I wouldn't let my baby sister ruin her life just to end a war."

She looked so miserable, heartbroken really. A believer till the end, she knew deep down that things would be okay. Nothing happened without good reason. She just wished she could see into the future and know what that reason was. If she really thought about it, marriage wasn't so bad; she loved love, and domestic bliss did sound appealing. Still, she was angry on principle that they felt entitled to plan her life out like that.

"It's a load of bullshit, that's what it is," she complained. "How can I marry a man I've never even met?"

Lord have mercy on him when he told her that her husband-to-be was from the very same family, they'd had her leave. She would take his balls for garters.

"Well, I wouldn't say you hadn't met them, Rosie."

There it was. That godforsaken nickname to prove her brother was guilty of something. They had all nicknamed her as children, 'Rosie,' after their late mother. Something was up. Something more than this preposterous betrothal. It was the 1910s for Christ's sake; wasn't it time to leave such arrangements in the past? Not in the opinion of her family, it seemed.

"You know the feud with the Shelby family, well, this marriage would put an end to that; forever," Erasmus blurted out.

A mirthless chuckle erupted from his dear Rosie. She couldn't believe it. Marriage with one of that lot? She only hoped it wasn't Arthur. The poor bloke clearly had a screw loose since the war, not to mention the startling age gap between the pair. Yet, she supposed it could be worse; as her brother had kindly pointed out, at least she knew her fiancé. But which brother would it be? John with his cheeky smile and fun-loving personality or Thomas with his quick wit and big ambitions? She wasn't sure she even wanted to know. Knowing would make this real. Knowing meant she was actually getting married and not simply stuck in a crazy dream.

"Please, Rosie, my beautiful baby sister, do this for us, for me. There's been enough fighting for a lifetime, you deserve some peace. You deserve a place in this new world, and the Shelby's will take you there."

She gave in to her brother's begging. Being honest, she would have done it anyway because of the peace it would bring. Her brother knew that she couldn't turn him down, even if she probably should. Just like John, she put her family first, and she would do anything to protect them—even marry a Shelby.

As Polly had told her many moons ago, becoming family was in the leaves, and the leaves never lied. It was time to face her fate. It was time to become Rose Shelby.