False Betrothal

Chapter 1

Emily sat there, stirring her tea, watching the cream swirl in the tea cup. It reminded her of spirals, and ultimately the downward spiral that had led to her death. She was still in her mother's wedding dress and the ragged veil that came with it and they reminded her everyday of the tragic betrayal that made her once simple life come to an abrupt end. This is her story.

Emily was a quaint young girl. She was never outspoken and always did what her mother and father told her to without second guessing their request. Mostly their requests were "Tie your corset tighter" or "stand up straight". As a result of this, she never did anything that she truly wanted to, only what others wanted. It really didn't take a toll on her spirit though. She was a friendly girl and always was regarded to as "Miss Smile A Lot" as a joke that was set in by her one and only friend, the house maid, Miss Gale. She was also talked about in her small ton as being the prettiest girl of her generation.

She was taller than most girls, but she was very proportionate. She had lips that were the color of a pink rose no matter what season it was and no matter what her health was. She had long brown hair, but she knew that no one would ever notice how truly beautiful it was because her mother always dressed her hair with such elegance that her hair may as well have been considered a powdered wig. Her eyes were brown, but not just any old brown. They appeared as if they were a light golden honey color. Although she had these beautiful features, her parents were very strict with her about who she could converse with for it could ruin the family tree's reputation.

You see, Emily grew up in a rich family. Their safes were always towering with jewels and gold that could put even the most economically comfortable man into a state of mind that told him he was poor. She always had everything she never wanted. The reason it was all she never wanted was because at times she wished she never had it. She felt that if she was poor, people would treat her with respect for the right reasons, not because of her family's social class status.

Her parents always had parties on important dates such as holidays and when one of them had a birthday. These parties were intended for adults only of course, and since Emily was just 17, this put her in with the younger upper upperclassman. Although she socialized with these people a lot, she never considered them to be her friends. These half-wits were too stuck up for her liking, so that's why she befriended her house maid.

Emily didn't have to befriend the frail old Miss Gail of course, but she chose to out of respect and gratefulness. Miss Gail had been working for Emily's parents for 25 years, and since Emily's parents rarely had time for her, except to show her off in public and to scold her, she was raised by this friendly old woman. Emily's parents did not support her relationship with the servant, but it kept her out of "trouble" as they call it.

On one bright morning, Emily was awakened by the sound of her bedroom door being closed. She bolted upright, but no one was to be seen. She thought she was hearing things until she looked on her bedside table. There was a letter sitting there, and by the decorative art within the wax that sealed it, she knew it was from her parent. "Great", Emily thought. "They have to communicate to me through letters now?"

She opened the letter and what was written was this:

Dearest Emily,

Your mother and I have come to the decision to have you be married. We know not to whom as of yet, but we shall discuss it more thoroughly and let you know as soon as we have come to that realization. As far as we can tell, almost every young man in this town wishes to take your hand in marriage, but we feel none of them are quite worthy enough for such an honor. Take care and you shall hear from us soon.

Lovingly,

Your Mother and Father.

Emily could not believe what she had just read. She was to be married? To a stranger? Obviously this didn't come as a surprise because she had been told by her parents about being in an arranged marriage for some time, but she felt differently now that it was actually happening. Well more or less happening. Then she heard a soft. Rhythmic knock on her door. She knew who it was right away.

"Come in, Miss Gail." Emily said gently.

The door opened revealing Miss Gail, who had already been up for hours cleaning the mansion. "Hello, Emily. How did you sleep?"

"Very well actually. I think I may be rested for quite a few days." Emily smirked so Miss Gail wouldn't take her seriously and knew she was just merely joking about not going to sleep until three days had passed.

Miss Gail smiled the loving smile Emily had known ever since she could remember. "Oh, Emily. You're always making jokes at me. Don't you think you should be a little more serious now? I hear someone is to be married." Miss Gail glanced at her teasingly.

"Yes. I am. I received the letter this morning from my parents." Emily had said this nonchalantly, but Miss Gail knew better than that.

"Well you must be excited, so why don't you look as if you are?" Miss Gail had a certain way of knowing when something was wrong with Emily, even if she was trying her best to hide it.

"To be quite honest with you, Miss Gail, I don't know how I truly feel about this. How can someone be married without being in love? It just doesn't quite make much sense to me. It seems kind of foolish really. Don't you agree?"

"Miss Gail looked at the ground and smiled. "Believe it or not," she began, "It's not as bad as it seems. Sometimes people get married and never fall in love. They just are more content with being best friends than true lovers, and sometimes they even loathe each other the whole time they are together. I'm afraid it's not always about love in this world anymore. It's about marrying the young boy that your parents choose, which isn't right, I agree with that, but I'm afraid its just the way things are, my dear."

Emily thought about this for a moment and realized that she did have time to think about this more thoroughly.

"You know, Miss Gail," Emily said, with a matter-of-fact tone. "My parents haven't even chosen a groom yet, so maybe I shall think about this subject more."

"That's a very good idea."

Just then there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Emily said, wondering who else might possibly want to visit her. It was Alfred, her parents personal butler.

"Miss Emily, your parents wish me to inform you that they could not make their mind up about who you are to marry."

Emily almost let out a shriek of pure happiness that was rudely interrupted by the butlers unseen second half of the message.

"Therefore, they are going to have a closed event where all the wealthy eligible bachelors are to join you and your parents for a ball in the great room. They will make their decision based off of classified qualifications they must uphold in order to marry the most beautiful young woman in the town."

As Alfred left her bedroom, Emily gasped at the thought of her wretched parents making their decision based off of wealth and whatever else must be needed in order for them to be qualified as her groom. If only she had known the dark path that lay ahead , she might have been more cooperative with her parents decision.