“No,” said Warren. “I mean to them.”
I could practically see the wheels spinning in Jasper’s head as he tried to figure out how he might best get out of this situation with his business and reputation intact.
“Well, Mister Doyle, we run a pristine establishment. Honor and virtue are values we hold very highly. You’ve no doubt heard some sordid exaggerations about what happened last night—when the truth is much blander, I’m afraid. My son and this young lady, of course, plan to marry.”
Cedric and I exchanged only the briefest of amused glances at Jasper suddenly signing on to that plan.
“How kind.” Ice filled Viola’s voice. “You’re giving your son a beautifully wrapped, glittering gift. An expensive one at that, considering what you were trying to charge the rest of us.”
“And he’ll be paying the same,” said Jasper. “There is no special treatment around here when it comes to our girls. No gifts. Before they’re married, he’ll pay the base fee that any other man would have.”
Viola regarded Cedric incredulously. “And pray tell, young man, where will you be getting such funds? Are your father’s wages that good?”
“Many things are still being worked out, Mistress Doyle,” Cedric replied.
Warren gave us an indulgent smile. “Well, perhaps I can help them work a little more easily.”
From the way Viola’s head whipped around to look at her son, it was clear this was an unplanned turn of events. No one in the room really knew what to expect, and I had no reason to believe anything altruistic was to come, despite the smile Warren gave me.
“Adelaide, you’ve heard me speak many times about the gold claims in Hadisen and how we don’t have enough men to work them. I personally own a number of them, and they’re simply lying around. What I’d like to propose is that Mister Thorn take on one of those claims and mine it for me.”
That stunned us all to silence. After almost a minute of processing, Jasper unsurprisingly spoke first. “You want my son—my son—to mine a gold claim for you? You know he was a university student, don’t you? Studying business? He’s never done real manual labor in his life. He doesn’t even like the outdoors.”
I wondered what Jasper would think if he knew the truth about his son’s spiritual practices.
“Forgive me if I sound ungrateful, but can you elaborate on how this would help me?” asked Cedric.
“I own the land, and you would own the right to work and control it,” explained Warren. “And you keep whatever gold you can mine out of it—after paying me an owner’s commission, of course.” He beamed. “If you get lucky, you could strike it big right away and solve all your financial problems!”
“But most people don’t strike it big right away,” pointed out Jasper. “Otherwise, Hadisen and the other gold colonies would be filled with mansions instead of shantytowns. Your offer is very kind, but Adelaide’s fee must be paid in less than two months in order for her to meet the terms of her contract. There are no guarantees of that.”
“I’ll guarantee the fee,” said Warren. “Should he not mine enough within the time frame, I’ll cover the fee to meet her contract, and his debt will switch over to me.”
Warren’s face was open and guileless, but I felt a chill run down my back. I didn’t like the idea of Cedric being indebted to someone, especially this someone. And I certainly didn’t trust Warren’s being so generous about all of this. His mother, as it turned out, didn’t like it either.
“Warren,” she scolded. “This is preposterous! You have no business giving him a claim title. You don’t owe him anything. We were supposed to come here to express our outrage and hire an attorney to file a formal grievance! Helping him further this illicit relationship was never part of our discussion this morning.”
Warren turned to her, exasperated. “What good would any of that do, Mother? Soothe your hurt feelings? Or do you expect me to bully them into letting me marry a woman whose heart belongs to another?”
“Well, not anymore! Not now that she’s used goods.”
I shot to my feet, angered at being referred to as “goods” again—and in a much less flattering way. “I beg your pardon, Mistress Doyle, but there’s nothing ‘used’ here. I’m still a virgin and will stay that way until my wedding night. It’s true this situation has gone in a direction none of us expected, but my morals have remained the same.”
Viola crossed her arms. “I don’t like it, Warren. I don’t like it at all.”
“And I don’t like it that I have gold just lying around in Hadisen! Squatters have already started moving in. I want honest, hardworking men I can trust on those claims—law-abiding men who follow the rules. Would I have liked to marry Adelaide?” His eyes held me for a fraction of a second as I sat back down beside Cedric. “Yes. But as I said, I could hardly marry her knowing she loves someone else. And so, instead of a wife, I have a potential settler. Mister Thorn here is exactly the kind of person I’d like to help build Hadisen into greatness—assuming he wants to stay. Once your debt is paid, you’d be under no obligation, Mister Thorn. But our colony is going to need people like you—like both of you—to become a civilized place.”
Considering Warren’s attitude toward the Alanzans, I found it unlikely Hadisen was the kind of place we’d want to stay. Not that it mattered. There was no way we could accept this offer.