“Poor little Anneliese. She’s been an orphan since she was a baby. Her mother died after giving birth to her. Since not a single relative ever came looking for her, she was passed from one orphanage to another until she was brought here. We have to make sure she gets the right foster parents.”
Nicolas fell silent. His teeth clenched with frustration. How could she still pretend to care about Anneliese? As if the girl were truly safe and happy in this place. As if Nicolas weren’t good enough to take the little girl with him. Nicolas admitted that he wasn’t a good man, but none of that mattered more than Anneliese’s life now. He had to make amends to the tiny girl as soon as possible.
“It seems our discussion is over.”
The stout woman had issued her ultimatum. She gave a rough snort before rising from her chair. Nicolas gasped. He didn’t want to lose this opportunity again. If today’s negotiation failed, it would be difficult to meet the orphanage matron again. That meant it would be even harder for him to see Anneliese again. He had even heard rumors that several children would be transferred elsewhere because they cost too much to maintain.
“Wait, ma’am!” Nicolas called out. He rose from his chair too quickly. He even put enough force into it to make the chair creak.
“What now?! I still have plenty of business to handle,” the woman cut in. More precisely, business calculating the children’s wages at the orphanage. She had to make sure the amount was enough to cover the cost of feeding them. If it wasn’t, she would send those tiny human beings to people in need of servants. Becoming eternal slaves wouldn’t be a problem, either.
“What if we made a deal?”
“What kind of deal?” For the first time, the matron showed interest in the foreign immigrant’s words.
“I’ll cover Anneliese’s living expenses here, as long as... you let me take her away.”
The stout woman narrowed her eyes. For the first time, she smiled sincerely. “Everything, Monsieur Foreigner?”
Nicolas swallowed, then nodded.
“She’s lived here for five years and gets sick often. You’re willing to cover her medical expenses, too?”
Of course she got sick when she was constantly starving like that.
Nicolas nodded again.
“She also ran away for three days once, and we spent a great deal of money searching for her. Are you willing to reimburse us for that, too?”
Nicolas was stunned by that one. Good grief! The cost of searching for a missing child? The woman in front of him was completely outrageous.
Unfortunately, his position was weak now. His precious pawn had been played against him.
“All right.”
The matron eagerly returned to her desk. Her flabby hands deftly moved a pen across the paper. With complete confidence, she handed the sheet to Nicolas.
The young man immediately began to tremble. His once-elastic forehead had grown stiff, and now it creased with several prominent lines. The amount was far too large. There were far too many zeros. She was bleeding him dry!
“When can you pay it?”
“Give me a week, ma’am.” Nicolas tried to bargain.
His opponent shook her head. “Too long. One day!”
Good grief, one day was basically tomorrow!
“What about four days?”
“Too long, Monsieur Foreigner. Anneliese will be transferred to another orphanage in three days.”
“All right. Two days! Come on, ma’am. Give me two days. Just two.”
Nicolas knew he had made the wrong move. But hearing that Anneliese would be transferred threw him into confusion and panic.
The woman smiled. Her chubby cheeks quivered as her grin grew wider. Her bait had worked. She could make a fortune in a short time—enough to pay off her crushing debts.
“I’ll expect you back in two days, Monsieur.”
At that moment, supply and demand met at a point of equilibrium. A meeting point considered fair, but never truly fair.