Page 73 of Outcast’s Return

Cromwell was the one who invited me here today. This meeting was not my choice.

He wants to talk to me.

I settle into my chair. Cromwell regards me carefully. He sizes men like me up for a living, and he already knows me so well.

I let him take the lead.

There’s a long minute of silence. Cromwell isn’t one to rush into a conversation.

“How are things with my daughter?” he finally asks, his voice betraying no emotion. It’s typical Cromwellian bluntness.

I hesitate. For a flicker of a moment. But it’s long enough for Cromwell to notice.

“It has been a challenge. As you may have expected.”

Cromwell leans back into his seat with the merest hint of a smile at the corners of his lips.

“It wouldn’t be a nearly impossible task without her presenting a challenge,” he purrs. “I’ve raised her well.”

“Indeed.”

There’s a long pause.

“Why am I here, sir?” I ask.

“Let me talk to you about my own experience of courtship, Fabien,” Cromwell replies. “I selected my wife. At your age, I was ambitious to become a Castaway, and so I pursued the woman I knew would give me the utmost leverage in my ambitions, both in the sense of her family’s connections and also in how her breeding ability would ensure my legacy. I was successful in my endeavor. I made her sign a contract. It was binding. I wanted her to be on the exact same page as me when it came to our... agreement.”

I take a deep breath.

Cromwell has admitted nothing like this before. Look, I knew the man has always been driven by the pursuit of power, but I never would’ve guessed to this extent. I never would’ve picked him as being this heartless.

Is this how he views his daughter now, as some pawn in a long game? Is that how he views his son?

How the hell does he view me?

“You want me to sign a contract with Jolie?” I ask him.

“No,” he replies curtly. “I very much doubt she would read it, let alone sign it.”

“No, she certainly wouldn’t.”

“Do you want to finish this week, Fabien? Can you ride out the rest of your week with Jolie? Or has she already broken you?”

I fidget with my fingers.

“You want honesty?” I ask him.

“Yes.”

“I don’t know, sir. Her? It’s... a lot.”

“I thought you might find that so, and that’s why I invited you here today.”

“In fact, I’m thinking I might walk away,” I reply. “There is still that last part of the task to complete.”

I don’t want to say it. Not to her father.

Take her virginity?