Thread: Three's A Crowd Of Four ( MissKitty and BloodRedRomeo)

Nash Addington held no title. None of his family did. Five generations ago, they had been farmers, grueling away in a lord's countryside to provide their lazy ruler with bread. Yet now, the Addington family held an estate all would envy. Their coffers ran over with gold, more so than all but the crown itself held. Yet despite all this, they still still lacked the proper authority and respect that they were due. But they had been detirmined to change that. Nash's father, Frederick, was a clever man, as was his father, Aiden, who had started this rapid ascent to wealth. He had found a golden opportunity in a shipping investment, and gambled quite literally everything on it. But it turned out to be incredibly lucrative, betting him a large some of money. He used that to establish his own trading company. Within twenty years, he had built the most powerful trading company under the Queen's flag. Aiden had been unable to secure a noble bride for his son, and to his dying breath he claimed that had been his greatest failing. But Frederick would not let that happen to a second generation. His three sons, Edgar, Nash, and Henley, had all been arranged to marry daughters of noble families. These families received potential access to fantastic wealth. The Addingtons in turn received connections for lucrative contracts and the ability to obtain the noble rank they so desperately desired. However, tragedy struck mere months ago. Edgar and Henley, eager to show their abilities were equal to that of Nash, their father's favorite, arranged a risky expedition with great potential, but also great risks. Foolhardy young men that they were, they went along, hoping to see the fruits of their labor firsthand. It was six weeks that the news came in. The ships had sunk in a storm, and only a handful of sailors had been able to return. Edgar and Henley had not survived. No sooner had services been held that the bickering began. The Cart family didn't care as the man betrothed to their girl still lived. But for Helsworth and Kentworth, they no had daughters with no man to marry, having rejected many great prospects due to the engagement. They both insisted Nash marry their girls instead. This was difficult decision for the family. Angering any of the noble houses to this degree could be dangerous, and breaking off the engagement with the girl from Cart would be disasterous. There seemed to be no good options until Nash stepped in. He had found something, an obscure legal loophole in the marriage law. It stated that in a case where the woman's betrothed had deceased before the wedding and no equal prospects were readily available, the woman could legally be married to the deceased brother, regardless of marital status. It seemed like a desperate move, but the Addingtons tried it. They proposed that all the family's could still have their daughters marry into their family through becoming Nash's brides. Of course no one was thrilled about the idea it violated a sense of normalcy and tradition, but there were few better options on the table. And so all three accepted the proposal. Nash would have three brides. So now he waited in his finest clothes, eager and nervous to see his brides. He had met them all before in some place or another, but this would be the first time under the new arrangement. He had no idea how any of them would take it. But as the first of them was ushered into the main room, he was about to learn.