Ambivalent | Alois Trancy

Prologue

You tried not to throw up at the bumps. You weren't sick, nor did you have motion sickness, but the closer you got to the Trancy manor, the more you felt as though you would lose your lunch. There was a sickness in your stomach, one that you recognized as anxiety. You looked out the carriage window, trying to think of something else. 

Maybe the manor would have interesting books, ones that you could use to ignore the situation. 

Once you saw the big estate, you looked at the maid accompanying you and almost cried. You most likely wouldn't see her again, she would be leaving once the wedding happened, so you couldn't help but be sad. She was your midwife, the one that took care of you since birth.

"Do I really have to get married?" You decided to ask, knowing what her answer would be.

"Not mine nor yours choice," she said, trying to smile. You did think that she would be glad to get rid of you, but anytime you brought it up she denied it. "Look on the bright side, you'll be well taken care of. With what your father placed in your dowry, you are sure to be treated right there."

"I can't even use the money in my dowry," you pointed out, crossing your arms, "it's more like a bribe. Paying a guy to marry me." 

The conversation went quiet then, the carriage pulling into the estate. There was a beautiful garden, from what you could see, and with the manor being so big, you might not have to look at him at all. 

The carriage stopped and the footman opened the door and extended a gloved hand toward you. You hesitantly took it, walking out of the carriage. He let go of your hand and moved to the back, grabbing your suitcases and bags.

You turned to your maid and asked, "Did father even meet this guy? Or are we in for a total surprise?" You looked back to the house, your eyes looking at the various windows. You thought you saw someone peeking out of one of them, but you assumed it was just one of his servants.

"They've met," she nodded her head, taking some bags out of the footmans hand. "You would've been there too, but you were with your mother in Bath, remember?"

"So I could've avoided all this?" You gestured to yourself, and the nervous wreck you were, almost offended that you could've met him earlier.

"Maybe," she shrugged, walking to the door. You almost wanted to ask her to stop, but you wanted to get this whole meeting thing over with. 

She knocked on the door, you standing by her side, and immediately the door opened. There stood a tall man, who gave off a uncertain aura. "Miss [l/n], please come in. We've been expecting you," he opened up his arm, allowing you to step into the house.

"Thank you," you gave him a slight bow, looking around the front area. It was a nice place, you couldn't deny, and it was very clean. 

The butler closed the door behind your footman and walked a bit past you, "Master should be down in a moment, he's just finishing up some paperwork." You nodded, holding some of your dress in your hand. 

You were preparing a bow, while the butler went up the stairs to see the master. He soon came down, a boy following him.

Funny, you were expecting an old man.

You watched as he walked down the stairs, a smile on his face. He stopped in front of you, barely giving you time to look at his face before bowing. You curtsied as well, your maid introducing yourself after.

"[y/n] [l/n] of the [l/n] house," she said, bowing after. 

You all looked toward the butler, who was meant to introduce your betrothed. "Alois Trancy of the Trancy house," he said so boringly, almost like he didn't want to be here either.

Your maid stepped up and asked, "Could you show me to the room Miss will be staying in? I'd like to unpack her clothes." The butler agreed, and so, everyone aside from you and Alois left. 

"Well, uh, it's nice to meet you," you said. It was the truth and also anything but. You didn't hate him, but you didn't want to be in the same room as him either.

"You look boring," he said, the smile falling from his face. 

Well, now you really didn't like him.

Who was he to call you boring? He just met you and was already making assumptions. So, of course, you said, "And you look like a pompous fool."

That seemed to tick him off, maybe he just wasn't used to being insulted. Ah, the look on his face gave you joy. You almost wished you called him an ass, but everybody said that wasn't lady-like language. You knew that now you'd made an enemy out of what was supposed to be a friend, you'd have to be alert at every moment. 

You also knew that living here would be hell.