Chapter 15
Nobody had expected the Dragon Duke to make a public appearance with his new wife so soon.
Cassian was not sure whether to bring his wife along, even though she had been invited. He knew that they expected him to leave her at home, for it had not been long since their wedding, but he wanted to prove that they were happy.
He needed to prove it.
Fortunately, Adelaide looked the part. She was radiant, and though she had been hesitant, she fell into the role well. Her posture was perfect, her chin lifted confidently in a way that he had never seen from her. But from the faint tremors in her fingers, he knew it was all an act.
Without thinking, he covered her hand with his own.
She glanced up at him, startled, but he did not pull away. He could not. Instead, his thumb brushed her knuckles in a gesture so gentle, he immediately regretted it. He was taking it too far by being intimate, and it would not go unnoticed.
“They seem so close,” a whisper came as they passed other guests.
“Look at how he holds her. Have you ever seen him touch anyone like that?”
Cassian heard every word, and he could not help but wince inwardly. He wondered just what Adelaide was thinking.
They did not love each other, and what they shared would never truly resemble that, but that did not mean he wanted her to think of other ladies he had known. It was not the time for it.
Eventually, they reached the host, Lord Poulston. Cassian bowed, and Adelaide curtseyed with a polite smile.
“Thank you for inviting us,” she said warmly.
“The pleasure is mine. I cannot thank you enough for making an appearance, and during your honeymoon of all time.”
“Fear not, we are more than happy to be here. This is important, after all, and it gives my wife the opportunity to meet some of the ladies here.”
Lord Poulston seemed to like that response.
Cassian sure hoped that the man believed him.
His actions had convinced those around him, but that did not mean nobody would question him.
Their courtship had been nonexistent, their wedding had been small, and they had never publicly declared their love for one another.
It did not help that their marriage was born of scandal, either.
“Indeed, and they have each asked me if she would be in attendance. Actually, Your Grace, I was hoping that you might greet the assembly together. They would all like to see it, and it would be beneficial to me, as it pertains to the discussion to come later.”
Cassian gave Adelaide a look, and she nodded slowly. It was what was expected of them, and they could do it.
They knew that they would have a role to play, but Cassian had not considered that he might be the one to have difficulty with it. He had expected to be the one encouraging his wife, but when she squeezed his arm, it almost felt as though she was the one encouraging him.
And so, one by one, they greeted the assembly.
They all seemed more interested in Adelaide than they were in him, and he was pleased with that. He did not want them to look at him too closely. He wanted them to see his wife for who she was.
Despite her apprehension, Adelaide seemed to enjoy the attention. It was as though she were an entirely different person, greeting those she met with warmth and asking them questions about themselves.
“How are you settling into your new role?” one lady asked. “It must be rather daunting.”
“Oh, not at all!” Adelaide replied. “I can only hope that I do it justice, and that I can do right by my household and the village.”
“And she is doing very well,” Cassian added. “They ask after her every time I see them already, so she has made quite the impression.”
That earned her a look of approval.
Cassian was settling into the act just as his wife was. Though he had to maintain as much cordiality as he could, and he was aware that perfection was demanded from him every bit as much as it was from her.
Then, he realized that he had to introduce his wife to his friend.
Rowan Hartwell was, in truth, the only man Cassian could stand to be around. He was a good man, of average height and build, but with startlingly bright green eyes.
Cassian respected him greatly, but his friend had a way of drawing confessions out of him that he did not like. Rowan was also not nearly as secretive. Cassian worried that the man would reveal things to his wife that he wanted to remain hidden.
Rowan ran a hand through his light hair, giving Adelaide a smile that Cassian had never seen before.
“It is good to meet you at last,” he greeted. “I must admit, the moment my friend here told me that he was getting married, I was most intrigued. I had not expected it.”
Nobody had, but that was beside the point. Cassian had only just asserted to his friend that he had no interest in finding a wife when it all happened, and it had been a strange letter to write. It meant hurting his pride, and he had not enjoyed it at all.
“It is nice to meet you, too,” Adelaide replied. “It is good to see the man my husband visits so often.”
“Oh, most certainly. We have been friends for many years now. Two decades, actually.”
Adelaide gasped, her smile genuine. “That is so lovely. I think there is something very special about having a connection that has lasted a lifetime. It is something to be nurtured.”
“I could not agree more.”
“Yes, well,” Cassian grinned, “should my wife have a friend of her own, you might be fortunate.”
Adelaide giggled, and Rowan gave him a look. He did not want to marry, not for many years.
It was a quick conversation, and Cassian was pleased about that, but he knew that it was not over for him. Adelaide would go to the other ladies, and that would leave him with his friend, who would ask dozens of questions that he could not answer.
He was proven correct. When the ladies and gentlemen separated, Rowan joined his side and did not leave it. He could not ask too much, with others within earshot, but Cassian knew his friend would interrogate him at the first opportunity.
“Your wife is lovely,” Lord Remton noted, his graying hair shining. “I do wish that we had been made aware of her beforehand, for I was not expecting her.”
“Ah, I wonder why that is. She was invited, of course.”
“It has all been very sudden, Your Grace, that is all. I must congratulate you, though, for you have chosen very well. You will be a very happy man.”
“I told him that would be the case,” Rowan piped up. “I knew that he would be happier as a husband than as a bachelor. Most men are.”
“And yet,” Cassian pointed out, “you remain unwed.”
“Did I not specify that only most men are?” Rowan quipped. “Yes, I prefer my own company, but you will be better off with someone to spend time with. Especially one like her.”
Cassian wondered what that meant, for he knew that Adelaide was merely playing a part. Rowan was not a fool; he would know the very same to be the case, especially when Cassian had told him the circumstances surrounding their marriage.
Fortunately, it was not long before they had a moment alone, and Cassian looked at his friend with curiosity.
“What did you mean by that?”
“By what?”
“You said that she will be good for me.”
“Ah, yes. Well, she seems to be a pleasant young lady.”
“Come now, that cannot be everything you meant. Any lady would seem pleasant enough if she wanted to be perceived that way.”
“Yes, and I would see through it. She seemed nervous, but beyond that, I can see no faults in her. She is precisely as you described in your letter, for what it is worth. Perhaps I should have attended the wedding and met her beforehand.”
“No, it was for the best that you did not. It would have been a long journey for a single day, and there was nothing special about it. In all honesty, I wonder when she will feel able to tell me that she loathed every minute of it.”
Rowan gave him a look.
Cassian wondered if he was being unfair. He had not had plenty of time to arrange the ceremony, but he knew that he could have done more. He would have, if given the opportunity, for when he had first seen his wife stepping into his cold house, he wished he had given her a better day.
“How is your mother with her?” Rowan asked quietly.
“Displeased at best. She never wanted me to take a wife, as you know.”
“I do. I had hoped, however, that having a lady there might help her see the truth of the matter, and perhaps soften her edges.”
“My father returning from the dead and mending her himself would be more likely. Sometimes, I wonder if I am doing the wrong thing by keeping her in the house with me.”
“Where else would she go?” he hissed. “Bedlam? You know what they do to ladies like her.”
“I do.” Cassian grimaced. “I do not know what more I can do, though. She does not want to live with my wife, and my wife is here to stay. She is to spend a week by the sea at the end of the month, and I am hoping that she will find some clarity there.”
“But do you think that she will?”
“In all honesty, I can only hope that she will at least come back and see Adelaide alive and well, and realize that she was being hysterical.”
But Cassian was not really counting on it. His mother’s perception of him would never change, and the best he could do was to keep his distance when he could and protect his wife from what she would say to her.
Especially what she would say to her about him.
“All will be well,” Rowan said with a certainty he envied. “Come, let us handle matters here.”
Cassian nodded, and they made their way to the discussion.
He hoped that Adelaide was having an easier time of everything than he was, but he knew that she would have to lie more than he did.
The truth was that he was happier in his marriage than he had expected, for she had agreed to his every demand. But she was not.
She was alone, and he was part of the reason why. She would have to pretend that she was perfectly content, that she had taken her role seriously from the beginning, and that she was the one who ran their household. Though there was a nugget of truth there: she truly wanted to do well.
“Smile.” Rowan nudged him as they approached the others. “You are supposed to be happier than ever.”
And Cassian knew that he had to play that part well.