The Gender Game by Bella Forrest (historical books to read txt) 📗

back to his side of the table and glanced over it briefly before nodding. "Good," he said. "Now…" He dipped behind his desk again, opening another drawer, before appearing this time with a small black velvet pouch.

He handed it to Lee, who opened it and drew out a single golden ring, then Lee twisted in his chair to face me.

"Do you, Violet Bates," Mr. Banks spoke up, "accept Lee Desmond Bertrand as your lawfully wedded husband?"

My voice caught in my throat as I stared at the ring. I realized that it was engraved with a name. "L. D. Bertrand."

It became clear to me in that moment that Mr. Banks would pull out no second ring. There would be no exchange of vows, either. Just a single vow. A single ring.

A single leash.

This ring means nothing, I reminded myself again firmly. I'm not actually getting married. Lee won't be my husband. We are business partners and this is all just an act.

I gulped before answering: "I do."

11

After Lee placed the ring on my finger, our business in the marriage office was done. On exiting the building, we both took a moment. As I stood on the sidewalk, the fresh air against my skin was soothing. I couldn't wait to get out of this dress. Out of these shoes. Out of Patrus.

I had to keep my mind on the prize at the end of the tunnel: my brother—seeing him again would be all the reward I needed.

Lee gestured to my ring and said in a low voice, "Whenever we're out of the house, you should wear it. It’s important that you have it on you at all times in case something happens—in case you get separated from me. You will be safe with that ring."

I narrowed my eyes on him. "What do you mean by 'safe'?"

He began to walk me away from the building, back to the alleyway at the other side of the street. "Let's just say there are some less-than-gentlemanly men here in Patrus."

Okay…

"I don't mean to worry you," Lee went on. "Most men here are decent, albeit different from what you're used to. Just keep the ring on your finger, eyes to the ground, and you'll be fine… Now," he said, looking straight ahead at the street we were about to emerge on—the street filled with women's shops. "I suggest we head home for lunch. By the time we eat, we won't have long before we have to return to the city for our lab visit this evening."

I'd hardly spent any time in Lee's house so far, but it was already feeling like a haven compared to the rest of this disconcerting place.

Lee and I changed into more comfortable clothing when we got home. He had cooked a lot the morning before and frozen the leftovers, so we ended up finishing them off for lunch.

As we sat at the table, I couldn't stop thinking about the marriage office, keenly aware of the new weight on my finger.

"Patrian marriages," I said, chewing slowly, "do they all take place in an office like that? Are there no proper ceremonies, like we have in Matrus?" Are they all so perfunctory? was what I was curious to know.

"No," Lee said, dabbing the sides of his mouth with a napkin. "There are traditional ceremonies here, too. Some men opt for lavish arrangements, while others prefer to keep it low-key. It just depends on the man… and how much he takes into consideration the preferences of his bride."

"I see," I muttered. Whatever weddings took place in Matrus were almost always accompanied by ceremonies. Even if they weren't grand or lavish, efforts were made to hold a small gathering at least.

"Well," Lee said, finishing his meal and standing, "I'm going to take Samuel out for a walk and then we can head off. In the meantime, feel free to do whatever you want around the house. Make yourself at home and maybe freshen up for this evening. I suspect we'll end up going to a restaurant for dinner, so we could be out fairly late."

My eyes followed him as he moved across the room to drop his plate in the sink and then headed out of the kitchen. He called for Samuel and led him to the door.

Finishing my food, I rose from the table and moved to the window, peering through the blinds as they left.

I glanced furtively at my ring again before walking to the sink to wash up the few dirty dishes.

Make myself at home. That was something I'd had to try to do a lot over the last decade, though I hadn't had a true home since my mother died.

I headed to the bathroom and after splashing cool water on my face, I decided to wander around the house a bit. I found myself roaming the stories of the triangular building, gaining a better understanding of Lee in the process. He really didn't like clutter, we were alike in that sense, and there were hardly any ornaments or decorations, except for the odd abstract painting on the wall. His own bedroom—bigger than mine but hardly containing more—also held a single bed.

There was an exercise room on the second floor, containing dumbbells and several large pieces of equipment, and next to it I discovered a library. Its walls were lined with tall glass bookcases, and I noticed he had an awful lot of books on guns, explosives and other weaponry, a lot more than he had about biology, which was supposed to be his primary occupation—this kind of unnerved me. Then there was a whole shelf dedicated to psychology.

I picked a book up—one about the history of arms development in Patrus, which listed every single gun invented by Patrian natives—and sat down with it in an armchair. A few of them were familiar to me from my training with Ms. Dale. Although I was sure the weapons I'd trained with had been produced in Matrus