Mia’s brows wrinkled and she shook her head. “I’m not really sure I want to think about getting married after waiting around all of these years for Brett, and then watching us fall apart.” She wanted to say how hard it had been to find he had fallen in love with someone else. She doubted anyone would ever consider her as sought after or highly desirable. “I suppose I do dream of having a husband and a family someday, but if it’s with the wrong person, I’d never be happy. I’m content being single at present. It’s kind of nice not having to plan my life around date nights with Brett.”
“Oh, you’ll want one after you meet some of the wealthiest and most refined, successful gentlemen New York has to offer.” Her aunt smiled as she reached confidently for her teacup with a tilt of her chin.
Mia gripped the arm of the chair tightly. She had to be honest with herself. Her aunt could obviously see right through to her broken heart, as her parents had. She did long for a husband, but openly denying the fact was easier than showing others her heart had been torn and tattered by the loss of Brett.
“How can you be so sure, Aunt Sylvia? These men don’t know anything about me, and I’m not interested in their money. Obviously, I’ll have my own.”
“Well, first of all my dear, don’t use the word money. It’s bad form, but they will most certainly be interested in you. And they will definitely want to get to know you,” her aunt explained. “And I’d love the assurance of knowing you aren’t going to be alone for the rest of your life. Fred was one of the best things that ever happened to me, and I’d like to see you happily settled in a good marriage before I depart from this earth. You’ll need an heir to inherit what I leave to you.”
“They’ll be interested in me? Uh, just how much money are we talking about that I’m supposed to inherit?” Mia leaned forward, wondering what her aunt might say.
“Well, as I said, the wealthy don’t normally discuss money or use that word, but you do need to know—and frankly speaking since you’ve brought the subject up—you’ll need to become acquainted with my accountant to help you properly manage such a sum.” Sylvia leaned forward and lowered her voice, looking up once to be sure the household staff weren’t lurking nearby. “Billions my dear. You’re worth billions upon billions. Likely the wealthiest debutante of the year. Somewhere in the neighborhood of forty billion.”
Mia’s mouth opened to say something, but her aunt held up a hand and continued. “Mia dear, there are certain rules you’ll need to learn to manage and keep it invested properly, such as living off of the interest, and choosing a few key charities wisely. Everyone will ask you for donations, and you’ve got to know when to say no, and when to say yes. These are things you’ll learn from the tips I’m going to share with you, and what my accountant will divulge to you.”
Her jaw remained open as she took in these words. Dad hadn’t been joking when he’d said Aunt Sylvia was worth millions, but billions? “Billions...” she repeated softly, temporarily star struck.
Her aunt nodded with a smile as she glanced at Mia and sipped more tea, turning her gaze to the oriental area tapestry rug gracing the polished wood floors. Roxy stared at her with an occasional blink as if to say, I rule the roost here.
When Mia recovered from this information, she remembered the debutante balls her aunt had mentioned. It was a lot of nonsense to contend with in her mind. She was hoping to talk her aunt out of the whole debutante thing. “What about my age? Isn’t twenty-four too old to become a debutante?”
“If we were living in the 1800’s, people would talk about your age. They’d say you were getting too old and heading for spinsterhood, but here we are in modern times, thankfully. If you were twenty-six, I’d say yes, but you’re twenty-four, so they’ll accept you as a debutante until you are twenty-five, depending on which balls we attempt to enter. If you’re going to navigate through New York society properly, you’ll need to be introduced at some of these balls, the same way my friends introduce their children and grandchildren into society, or as in our case, my niece.”
“But I’m sure I don’t look twenty-four. I think I look twenty-seven,” Mia replied. “Won’t I look silly next to those seventeen and eighteen-year-old girls?”
“I don’t think you look old. You look sophisticated, and I hope you know to use sunblock to protect your flawless skin. You have your mother’s beautiful blond hair, the Morgan green eyes, perfect eyebrows, and a sculpted nose. You could be a model.” Sylvia sat back in her chair. “Besides, you have nothing to worry about. Those girls all want to look thirty, and I don’t think you look a day over twenty-one. Goodness, look at my hair and wrinkles. I have to pay exorbitant amounts of money to keep the gray out of my dark hair and at my age, lines are beginning to set in. You look young and beautiful, Mia.”
“Can’t we skip the debutante stuff?” Mia pleaded. “I’m more of a homebody anyhow. You could just set me up on a couple of dates or invite someone over for dinner. I don’t need a fancy, expensive ball to meet people or find a husband. I’m not even sure I want one yet.”
Her aunt shook her head. “It’s the best way for you to be properly introduced to New York and European society where you’ll make all sorts of new friends and meet the right kinds of gentlemen, and learn to interact with the wealthy. Most of these young men already come from wealth and have their own inheritances. Besides, many of these families are my friends. I’d like you to meet as many of them as possible.”
“How can you be so sure they won’t be after my wealth if I’m the heiress to all of this?” she asked warily. “My parents have always said to let the Lord lead me to the right husband, and I intend to follow their advice, though I’m not so sure I’ve been listening to the good Lord as much as I should. So how can you be certain these men aren’t after my inheritance?”
“Because we know who has real wealth, who is in trouble with their stocks, and who isn’t,” Aunt Sylvia explained, adding, “for the most part. We hear rumors and such.”
“Oh, I see.” Mia nodded. “Of course, and you follow the stock market and who’s investing in what. Well, if I did consider marrying someone, he’d have to be a Christian like my father. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even consider it, although that didn’t seem to work out so well when it came to Brett.”
“Forget Brent.” Her aunt waved her hand. “You’ll meet someone far better, more handsome, and more successful. Many of these gentlemen are Christians, too.”
“Brett,” she corrected as an uncomfortable silence settled over them. She drank some more of her tea and attempted to be quiet for a moment. She didn’t need anyone to pick out a husband. It would happen in its own way in God’s perfect timing.
Mia wanted to add that God didn’t measure success the way people tended to by placing value on the level of luxury of someone’s home, how many expensive cars one owned, or how much money was in their bank account. As attractive as Aunt Sylvia’s money appeared, in God’s eyes, she knew that sometimes success equated to suffering, obedience, and sacrifice. She also knew God wanted her to have an abundant, prosperous life. However, getting into a long discussion that might come across as an argument with a relation she barely knew didn’t seem like a good idea, so she continued to drink her tea in silence for a moment. She was sure her aunt only wanted the best for her.