Chapter 2: The Proposition

The Saturday of the party came to pass. When I arrived at the house one of the servants handed me a glass of wine. It was not my tipple of choice. I preferred beer. I was not a stranger to it though; we sometimes had it at home on special occasions. No sooner had I taken the glass in my hand than one Sheila's friend approached me.

"Hi Bill, I'm glad you are able to make it. Sheila would like to speak to you. So if you would come with me, I'll take you to her."

This is getting more and more weird, I thought to myself. Then the butterflies started fluttering in my stomach. I wasn't used to getting summoned by beautiful, rich girls like Sheila Fraser. I dutifully followed her as she led me to my hostess.

As I stood before Sheila, she took my hand in hers.

"Thanks for coming Bill. Before you get too involved in the party, I would like to have a word with you in private. So, if you don't mind, bring your drink and we can go somewhere where we can talk."

"You're the beautiful hostess," I told her, "Your wish is my command."

She looked at me rather calculatingly and then said with a gleam in her eye,

"Now I wouldn't mind if that was true."

Then taking my hand she led me away from the party and into a large empty room. It was obviously a library. Books surrounded its walls. There was a long table with chairs around it. At the far end there was a wood-burning stove. It was alight and on either side of it stood two comfortable easy chairs.

She led me to the chairs and asked me to take a seat. She then seated herself in the other chair and looked across at me with speculation in her eyes.

"Would I be right in thinking that you are more than a bit puzzled by my invitation? I guess you are surprised at the attention you have been getting from me? Am I right?"

"Not just puzzled," I said with a nervous smile. "Amazed would be a better word to describe how I feel."

"I'm not surprised. So would you like me to get straight to the heart of the matter and tell you what is going on?" She asked with a smile.

"Well, it might lessen some of the tension and apprehension I am feeling right now," I told her.

At this she burst out laughing.

"I like the fact that you are willing to be honest about how you are feeling. What I have to say, though, may or may not relieve your tension. In fact," she said with a giggle, "It might even increase it."

"Now you really are making me feel nervous," I told her with a shaky smile.

"I'll cut to the chase then," she said. "A few weeks ago something happened that really drew you to my attention. This has made me take a good look at you. Would you like to know the conclusion I have come to?"

"If it isn't too derogatory or destructive, I would appreciate hearing what you have to say," I responded.

"Good, then I will start with the positives. You are a good student. You seldom get less than an 'A' in any of your subjects or your essays and things. That means you have a good brain, right?"

"Well, I spend the time studying what I need to in order to get those kind of grades."

"I accept that, but you are not the kind of student who buries himself in his books in order to achieve them. You still have time for your friends. You also make space for your Karate. Then you also find the time to help with the instruction of the youngsters who make up the beginners class"