Read JCastle - H1 Bridal Jitters for Free Online

that
    marriages-of-convenience will morph into the real thing."
    "That's a highly unrealistic   expectation. Statistically speaking, most   MCs
    end   on the first or second renewal   date unless someone makes a mistake and
    gets pregnant." She paused meaningfully. "And there is absolutely no   excuse
    for that kind of mistake."
    "Right. No excuse."
    Few   mistakes of that sort were   made because the First Generation colonists
    who had   settled   Harmony   had   crafted   very   strict   legislation   covering
    marriage and family. The more lib- 14 Charmed
    eral   social policies   of Earth had   been abandoned when   the energy Curtain
    that had served as a gate between worlds had unexpectedly closed,   stranding
    the   settlers. The   founders, desperate   to provide a   social structure that
    would ensure the survival of   the colony, had opted   for stern laws. But   in
    their   wisdom, the First Generation   planners had also understood that harsh
    rules that did not take human weaknesses into account would ultimately fail.
    Failure of the social structure of the tiny band of desperate settlers would
    mean catastrophe.   In   an effort   to   deal   with basic   human   foibles,   the
    founders     had     provided     the    socially     and     legally    sanctioned
    marriages-of-convenience     to    cover    many    of     the    traditional    and
    less-than-romantic   reasons that drove people into wedlock: family pressure,
    business, or   simple passion.   Couples   who elected   to have   children   were
    expected to file for the more formal covenant marriage. The muted warble and
    twang of a   high-rez rock guitar   sounded from the   street. Sam crossed   the
    office   to   the window,   made a   space between   the blinds,   and studied the
    night-shrouded sidewalk. The Old Quarter   teemed with revelers tonight.   The
    heavy   river fog that had cloaked   Cadence nightly for the past several days
    had deterred no   one. People   dressed as witches,   goblins, and   ghosts--the
    fairytale   sort, not the very real   remnants of dangerous alien energy known
    as unstable   dissonance energy   manifestations--drifted in   and out   of   the
    mists.   Orange lights came and went eerily in the shadows. As Sam watched, a
    grinning   jack-o'-lantern   appeared   out   the   gloom.   Someone   shrieked   in
    pretended   fright. Raucous laughter echoed   in the night. This was Halloween
    eve, and the noise level was already high. Tomorrow night, Halloween   night,
    would   be bedlam. Half of   Cadence would flock to   the Old Quarter to party.
    There was   no place   in town   quite as   atmospheric at   Halloween as   BRIDAL
    JITTERS
     
    15
     
    the seedy districts adjacent to the ancient walls of the Dead City.
    In   this part of town, ambient   psi energy leaked continuously through tiny,
    often invisible cracks in the emerald-colored stones. It seeped up from   the
    endless   miles of green   quartz tunnels and   corridors beneath the pavement.
    The little currents and eddies   of energy were part of   the lure of the   Old
    Quarters   of all the cities on Harmony that had been built near the sites of
    ancient ruins.   Tourists   and   locals alike   loved   the   creepy   sensations,
    especially   at this   time of year.   Maybe there was   something to the theory
    that the flickers of psychic and para   energy were stronger at this time   of
    year,   Sam   thought. Ever   since   he had   been a   kid   running loose   on the
    streets, it had always seemed to him that he was more aware of the traces of
    ancient   alien   psi   energy   at   Halloween. Tonight   was   no   exception. The
    not-quite-human trickles of power that leaked out of the Dead City felt very
    strong. The stuff whispered through his mind, making him deeply aware of the
    unseen