“I have a proposition for you," a pause as the dark-haired man reconsidered his words, “Or perhaps it’s more accurate to call it a proposal.”

“A proposal for what?” Delicate porcelain clinked as Calixtus set his cup of tea aside.

“Marriage.”

At that moment, Calixtus was very glad he’d not had a mouthful of tea. He stared in surprise at his guest, who calmly continued to sip from own cup. There was no indication that the man was joking. Not that Calixtus would know what to look for.

The man who’d knocked at his door—Aster, he claimed he was called—was someone Calixtus had never come across before. He was certain of that, what with Aster having a rather striking appearance. Calixtus had even found himself staring when he’d first opened the door.

Aster was a spindly-looking man—tall and far too thin even with the coat he wore, which helped to make his frame appear fuller. Dark haired and with eyes just as dark, his skin looked almost bone-white with the exception of the pronounced dark circles beneath his eyes. Right at that moment, those eyes the color of pitch were focused on Calixtus in a way that made him want to squirm in his seat. He cleared his throat—a nervous habit he’d thought he’d gotten rid of—and tried to think of an appropriate response.

“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid you must be confused,” Calixtus said, because there was nothing else he could think to say in the face of such a request.

“Confused about what?” Aster asked, dark eyes shining behind his finely crafted spectacles. The gold frame of his glasses sparkled in the light, the same as the delicate chain that fell from them on either side to loop around his neck.

Calixtus' eyes narrowed as he took a closer look at his strange guest, noting the scant few pieces of jewelry he wore—a brooch of silver and onyx and a single earring dangling from his left ear. Each was skillfully crafted and, though small, very clearly valuable. When Calixtus expanded his scrutiny to the rest of the man’s outfit, he found that the same could be said of his plain but well-made coat and perfectly polished shoes. Even the buttons on his coat glinted in a way that told him they could only be silver at the very least.

In short, Aster was wealthy.

There was a chance that Calixtus was reading too much into the few clues provided to him, but he was fairly certain he was right. After all, he’d often been in the presence of those with great wealth not so long ago. If nothing else, Calixtus had always been observant.

“As to that, I’m not certain,” Calixtus finally answered. “But I’m sure you don’t truly mean to be wed to me. I don’t recall ever making your acquaintance.”

“You haven’t,” Aster confirmed with a nod, voice calm even in the face of utter absurdity. “But I assure you, I’m very certain of this.”

Calixtus still had his doubts.

There was, after all, little reason for anyone to want to marry him. Especially someone as wealthy as Aster clearly was—in spite of him doing his best to hide it.

Calixtus could claim to have neither wealth nor beauty in great amounts. Neither was he particularly accomplished. As a matter of fact, his reputation had been on a downward spiral for close to a year. He absentmindedly rubbed at his right leg and could almost feel the thick scarring on his knee, even beneath his clothes. The sensation was probably in his mind, but the reminder of just how poor a choice of partner he was still stung, especially when he looked down at his tea and caught sight of the scarring on the right side of his face, only a small fraction of it poorly hidden beneath a fringe of red hair.

“Perhaps I should provide a more detailed explanation.” Calixtus thought that was an excellent idea and waited patiently for Aster to continue. “Due to various circumstances, I’ve decided that it would be in my best interest to get married as soon as possible. There are things I’d like to get done, you see, and marriage would provide me with the freedom to go about my business.”

“So long as it’s a marriage on your terms,” Calixtus guessed and saw the faintest hint of a smile on Aster’s face.

“Precisely.” He sipped from his tea. “Of course, I’m prepared to offer compensation. After all, I’d be taking both your time and any potential for you to pursue actual marriage partners.”

Calixtus could have laughed. If only there were any such people out there. Still, he was curious enough to ask for more details.

“What sort of compensation did you have in mind?”

“A very generous amount of assets”. Aster reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a slip of paper. Calixtus looked at him for a moment before taking the note from a too-thin hand. When he unfolded it and read what was inside, he nearly dropped the note in shock. “I’m prepared to offer half of that as soon as we are officially wed. You’ll receive the rest along with the annulment.”

That caught Calixtus' attention. His gaze snapped back up to Aster and Calixtus could feel the pulling on the scar tissue on his face as his brow rose. Aster looked entirely serious. Calixtus couldn’t help but wonder just who it was that sat across from him.

“Annulment?” he asked, trying to organize his thoughts. “You don’t mean to be married for longer than a year?”

“I only need half a year of your time. I’ll even save you the trouble of appearing at fault for our failed marriage.”

Calixtus found himself staring in disbelief. In the short time he’d known Aster, he’d been doing so more and more often. The man had a way of keeping him absolutely off-center.

“You mean to offer this much for a pretend marriage of half a year?” The words sounded just as insane coming from his mouth as they had from Aster’s. Still, Calixtus needed to make sure he wasn’t hearing things.

“Yes,” was Aster’s simple answer.

They sat in silence for a while, Calixtus doing his best to process everything while Aster nibbled on one of the biscuits that had been set out. His mother had made them, and though Calixtus was certain Aster was habitually fed food of the highest quality, he seemed to be enjoying the simple treat.

“I don’t expect an answer this second,” Aster said, breaking the silence that settled over them. “I’m prepared to give you some time to consider it, though I’m afraid it won’t be much.”

“How long?”

“Two days,” Aster said. “Later than that, and I’ll have to make other arrangements.”

"And why is that?” Calixtus said, curious in spite of himself. Aster’s lips twitched up into what Calixtus was starting to recognize as a smile.

“Perhaps I’ll tell you if you accept my proposal. After all, good relationships are built on trust. Or so I’ve heard.”

Calixtus suspected that was a joke. He supposed it would have been more amusing if he were not put in such an unusual situation.

“I see,” was all he could manage. “And how should I contact you once I’ve reached a decision?”

“I’ll return in two days’ time to hear your answer. Until then, I ask that you keep this to yourself.” Calixtus nodded in agreement, partly because he wasn’t certain anyone would believe him but also because there really wasn’t anyone he could tell.

Ignoring the dull pain in his knee as he stood, Calixtus showed Aster out. The sharp sound of his cane meeting the floorboards was too loud in the silence of the house. It grated on his nerves, self-conscious as he still was about the extent of his injuries—the last thing he needed was the constant reminder. Aster, at the very least, seemed unbothered as he kept pace with Calixtus.

They stopped at the threshold, Aster just outside the door. It was when he was about to walk away that Calixtus realized there was one more thing he needed to know.

“Why me?” The question came out of nowhere, but Calixtus was glad to have asked it, even if it was only one of many questions swimming about his head.

Aster turned, dark eyes staring intently for what felt like hours but could not have been more than a second. All of a sudden, his lips quirked up into the closest thing to a true smile Calixtus had seen on his face. Certainly, it was the most emotion the strange man had shown, and it was enough to make him look a little less gaunt.

“Because, Mr. Ducasse, you’re the man of my dreams.” With that—and one more amused look thrown Calixtus' way—Aster turned and climbed into the carriage he’d arrived in.

Calixtus stood there, watching as Aster faded from view, and tried to ignore the warmth on his cheeks as he finally turned and walked back inside. He had two days left and a lot of thinking to do.