Virtue & Vanity Read Online Free Page B

to woo the young Everett bachelor lasted forever. At this point, I was already passive and ready to accept whatever my fate turned out to be. Marrying a stranger was something I definitely didn’t want, but I had accepted that there was no way out from the situation I was trapped in.
    There was a limousine waiting for me in front of the hotel. The driver had complimented me on my looks and opened the door for me. That was the first time I was riding in a limo and its luxurious leather seats and expensive screens made me panic all over again. How was I supposed to meet these people? They had money, class, style and they could afford the most expensive things one could imagine, whereas I was merely a poor girl from Rosemont. I had no money, no rank and no expensive things. Ironically, I didn’t even have a good education, despite the fact that I’d always dreamed of being a literature teacher and a writer. It felt like I was headed for a suicide mission.
    As the car pulled up into the huge driveway, I tensed, because I knew that nothing would ever be the same again. There was a huge garden and a mansion that was bigger than any other building I had ever seen. I stayed in the car, paralyzed and unwilling to move. Sudden fear crept into my bones and I couldn’t help but wonder what I was doing there. A man in a suit was waiting in front of the door. I was curious if it was Sebastian’s father, but then it occurred to me that it must be someone from the help, because these people would probably never personally welcome any of their guests—let alone a penniless girl from Rosemont. When the driver opened the door for me again, I exited the car and barely caught my balance with my shaky legs. The man in the suit addressed me.
    “Good afternoon, Miss Walsh. It is nice to meet you. Follow me, everybody’s waiting for you,” he said in a very official tone and gestured me towards the huge door.
    As I followed the man in the suit who hadn’t even bothered to introduce himself, I was struck by the luxurious surroundings of this incredibly huge house. Marble floors, expensive furniture, paintings that must have been worth a fortune each, wide windows spreading down the lengthy hallway and chandeliers that looked like they were made of gold, all screamed money and even more frighteningly—power. The feeling of not belonging in this place poisoned my mind and sent my body into a state of fear, because I had no idea what to expect or how to behave.
    Finally, we stopped by a door at the end of the hallway and the suited man opened it, raising his palm as a signal that I should wait until he invited me to come.
    “Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Isabelle Walsh has arrived.” That was my cue to walk in.
    I was in the middle of the room filled with people I didn’t know—rich, powerful, and famous people. The room looked like a living space, only it was much bigger than all the rooms in my house combined together. In the middle of it, there was a group of people whose sole focus of attention was me. I could feel them measuring me up with their eyes and staring at me like they were wondering how long I would last before running away. My palms started sweating as I fought to breathe evenly. The situation was entirely awkward, because I didn’t know if I should introduce myself first, or wait for them to open the conversation. It looked as if they were all waiting for me to do something, but I didn’t know what. Every second felt like an eternity of torture and I prayed for them to make a move already. At last, the older man, who was probably in his late fifties, spoke to me.
    “Welcome, Miss Walsh.” His eyes pierced straight through me and I felt this was a man in charge, a man whose orders must always be obeyed.
    “T-thank you,” I said in a shaky voice and bowed slightly, which made the slim brunette who was sitting next to a young man, glance at him then back at me, before she chuckled mockingly. I felt like a complete