The Billionaire's Bride

Chapter 5

"Thank you for coming to see me" Lady Dubois began. "I hope you don't think it impertinent, but I thought I might be able to help you, and wanted to offer my options for your consideration."

"I'm listening" Jack replied guardedly.

"First, let me see if I understand your situation correctly" she began. "It seems that you may have found yourself in a tight spot, having proposed to a woman you no longer intend to marry" she said tactfully. Jack gave her a slight nod, encouraging her to continue. "It also seems to be that some of your livelihood is tied up in the prospect of your marriage. And, if that doesn't take place, you could stand to experience a professional setback."

Lady Dubois paused a moment, to see if she was accurately representing Jack's situation. He looked at her curiously for a moment before responding, not quite sure how it was possible for to have such insight into what he thought were his private affairs.

"That is all, more or less accurate" he finally responded.

"Well, then let me make a proposal" she offered. "I have in my employ, a lovely young woman who is indebted to me for a small sum. To her, it is quite substantial, but for you and I, considering our resources, it's not very much. Anyway, at her current salary, she will be working for me for a few years before she has fully worked off her debt. What I'm proposing, is that between the three of us, we simply transfer that debt. I would be happy to sell you her loan, and in turn, if she's willing of course, she could step in for the matrimonial vacancy you currently need filled."

"You want to sell me a wife?" Jack asked, with a note of horror in his voice.

"Well that's not at all how I see it" she said indignantly. "What I'm offering is an option for you to consider, and nobody would be doing anything against their will. You need a wife, preferably one you can marry today, and I know a young lady who is eligible. Likewise, this young lady has a debt and if you paid that debt, she would be free of my employ and available to get married."

Jack stared at Lady Dubois, trying to wrap his mind around her offer. It seemed so ludicrous, but when she put it so simply and contractually, it almost sounded like a good idea.

"I'm going to need to think about it" Jack finally said.

"Of course, I wouldn't expect any less" Lady Dubois agreed. "Should I present the option to the young lady? Of course none of this will matter if she chooses not to participate. I'm very fond of her, and would never her push her into an agreement of this sort without her full consent."

"Of course, I wouldn't consider anything without everyone being in agreement and on the same page. Go ahead and mention it, and after I've considered it a bit, I'll let you know if I want to discuss further" Jack concluded in a very formal and businesslike tone. He then got up and let himself out of the hotel room, and made his way back to his own room to think.

At noon, Cassie knocked gently on Lady Dubois' room, ready to accompany her to the lunch room.

"Come in, dear" Lady Dubois said as she opened the door to her room.

"Are we going to lunch?" Cassie asked.

"I've ordered lunch up to the room for today" Lady Dubois said. "Please, come sit down, I'd like to speak to you about something" and she gestured for Cassie to take a seat, which she did.

"Is something wrong?" Cassie asked with concern.

"No, no, nothing like that. I want to present you with an option for your future, that's all."

"Ok," Cassie said, confusion in her voice.

"As you've undoubtedly heard, young Jack Carson was planning to be married today, but has since decided against marrying the young woman to whom he was engaged."

Cassie nodded, a slight blush creeping into her cheeks as she remembered the unpleasant scene in the elevator between Jack and his betrothed.

"For reasons I'll fill you on in a moment, it would be in his best interest for business purposes that he still get married, but seeing as the young lady in question isn't an ideal fit for someone of Jack's position, I came up with the idea that perhaps you might be interested."

Cassie was shocked at the suggestion. "What, me? Marry Jack Carson? I've never even actually met the man" Cassie said, feeling completely confused and bewildered at the bizarre direction of the conversation.

"That's all just a trifle, really. What is marriage these days other than a contract anyway" Lady Dubois dismissed Cassie's objections. "Just hear me out" she followed up.

Cassie was too shocked to argue, and couldn't think of a thing to say, which Lady Dubois took as her opportunity to present her proposal.

"You are currently contracted to work for me until your debt is paid. So, what I'm suggesting is that you simply transfer your contract. Mr. Carson can essentially buy your loan, and instead of working for me, you enter into a marriage contract with Mr. Carson and perform in a similar function. He will essentially need someone to attend business functions and run the household, much like you do for me."

Cassie looked at Lady Dubois unconvinced. Her working relationship with Lady Dubois was nothing like a marriage relationship, and no well-worded argument would convince her otherwise. But, the idea did have some appeal. Cassie could understand Lady Dubois' position and suggestion, especially as it would be a profitable business arrangement to her benefit. But Cassie seriously doubted that Mr. Carson would entertain the idea for even a moment.

"This doesn't seem like the sort of thing someone in Mr. Carson's position would consider" she said doubtfully, hoping to just put aside the entire idea as being something that wasn't remotely possible.

"I've already discussed it with him, and he's thinking it over" Lady Dubois said with a smug air.

"What?" Cassie asked, astonished that they were even having this conversation and that Mr. Carson hadn't shut it down immediately. She then began to wonder just how desperate Mr. Carson would have to be, and what kind of man he was, if this was an idea that even remotely seemed plausible to him. She then wondered what it would be like to be the wife of a man like that. He was certainly handsome, she'd admired him from a distance ever since he'd arrived at the hotel. But she really knew very little about him.

"It's all really very simple. Essentially you would live in his home, behave yourself appropriately and play the part of his wife, for a predetermined amount of time, after which you'd be free to pursue your own ventures, not unlike your situation with me now. You're working off the debt, and once paid you'll be free to pursue your own interests. It would be the same thing, just a different set of duties."

Cassie couldn't believe how simply and plainly Lady Dubois was able to make it sound. From the perspective of her current employer, it actually did make a lot of sense. Everyone would get what they wanted out of the situation, and once she'd played the part of wife to the rich and handsome man, she could go her own way. It wasn't at all what she had ever imagined for herself, but at this point she had no current plans or ideas of what she wanted out of her future. Maybe this would be a good transition for her into discovering what her next phase of life would hold. Cassie's mind was running wild, and she couldn't believe she was actually considering this as a valid possibility.