Page 33 of The Midnight Blizzard
“Certainly.” With a flourish, Valencia signed her name.
My apprehension grew. It just wasn’t right. None of this was right. It was all too easy. Nothing with my stepmother was ever given freely. I watched as Valencia puckered her lips and blew on her signature to dry the ink. There it was, looking perfectly legal and official. Too good to be true was just that—too good to be true.
“Would I be able to have someone look at it before I sign?”
“Ah.” Her hand came to rest lightly on top of the parchment—“Only if he looks at it while I’m present. It took a great deal of work for your father and me to secure these signatures. I don’t want it out of my sight.”
It must be a forgery. Why else would she want to be present when it was examined? But for what purpose? If Jack and I would only gain from relationships like ours being legalized and I didn’t have to give Valencia anything for it, it would simply make her look foolish in front of the court to present a forged document. Did she intend to have me present it in order to discredit me or incriminate me for having feelings for Jack?
Although…there was the very slim, remote chance that she was telling the truth. Fatherhadbeen working on thisproposal for a long time. It still didn’t explain why Valencia was willing to help me secure a future with the man I was interested in, other than that it advanced her own daughters’ possibilities. But if it was real…I had to know.
“I’m not saying I agree to your terms,” I said in a rush, “but I would like for my…my friend to take a look at it.” Jack dealt with enough legal forms that he would be able to tell if it was a forgery or not.
“We can go now if you like. If you intend to withdraw, there is no need for you to attend the rest of the competition. Just imagine what you would gain—you wouldn’t have to teach in that miserable little hovel anymore. You would be able to build a mansion.”
My misgivings increased. What was her hurry? Was she so convinced that I would win the competition for Stephen’s hand that she wanted me to withdraw immediately? But she had also claimed that she would be willing to hand it in no matter if I withdrew or not. There was no need to stay and compete if I would be given my inheritance and the real possibility of a future with Jack.
I nodded stiffly. “If this is a real proposal, I’m willing to entertain the possibility, but only after it is accepted as valid and binding.”
“Of course.” She packed everything into her large handbag. “That’s very wise of you to make sure it is credible. You’re a very intelligent girl.” As she swept toward the door, she attempted to loop her elbow into mine as if we were best friends on a stroll together, but I avoided her touch. Even if she was offering something I wanted, that didn’t make us friends.
Chapter 11
“Stay here,” I ordered my stepmother once I saw Jack at the end of the hall.
Still clutching her handbag in a death grip, she nodded agreeably and fell back.
“Well?” Jack asked in a stage whisper the moment he got within earshot. “What did she want?”
I fumbled for words as I balled and unballed my fists, eyebrows knitted together. “She offered to submit my father’s proposed bill to King Wensecles to grant mages full rights—without asking for anything in return.”
Jack’s white eyebrows jumped up into his hair. “But that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” He glanced down the hall, where Valencia waited patiently, smiling at us in the distance.
“But she also said that she would give me the documents about my father’s estate and testify to the magistrate of their authenticity if I drop out of the competition.”
“Isn’t…isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Yes,” I answered slowly, “but it doesn’t feel right.”
“What’s not right about it? You would have yourfather’s estate and we could…I mean, if you wanted…we could…see each other.” Jack’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “I’d like that.”
“I would too, but…she wouldn’t just give up like this. I know my stepmother. She plays to win. She wouldn’t give up the entire estate for the possibility of one of her daughters marrying the prince.”
“But if she keeps her word, you would get everything you want. We could be together and you could reopen the school?—”
“I know, I know.” I wrapped a coil of hair around my finger and released it again. “I’m just trying to see how this would benefit her. She wouldn’t offer otherwise.”
“If you drop out and it’s her girls left, they do stand a good chance of being the last ones here. It would benefit her greatly to thin out the competition. She doesn’t need an estate if one of her daughters becomes queen. What does it matter to lose an estate if you gain an entire kingdom? Knowing what your opponent wants is the key to any successful negotiation. She’s willing to sacrifice for a greater gain in the end.”
“But why the offer to get the bill passed? That doesn’t benefit her at all!”
“It does if it gets you to agree to her terms. She must have known she would need to do something to make up for her previous actions and that you would hesitate to agree to any requests otherwise.” Jack reached for my hand but, with a quick glance at Valencia, simply swung his arm back and forth instead.
“She has all the necessary signatures to send the bill to the king besides mine. Then of course, we would need to get him to sign, too?—”
“He will. I told you, he cares about mages. He’ll sign.”
“Then…I can’t see any reason why I shouldn’t agree,” I said slowly. “Will you look at it first?”
