Chapter Twenty-Six
London
“Right this way, my lady.” Davis’s voice rose over the sound of bruising wind.
Using his coat to shield her from the torrential downpour, the older man helped Cassandra from the carriage.
They sloshed through ankle-deep water from the street to the entrance of the Cooper family townhouse.
Once she was under the awning, he rushed back to assist Matthew.
Through the dark, she heard more than saw her brother yelling orders to Davis and the driver.
It was the first time she heard Matthew’s voice in days.
She had tried to start conversations with him, to apologize, but he remained stoic and refused to meet her eyes.
Midway through the first day he went up top to sit with the driver.
He remained there for the duration of the trip, even after it started to rain, preferring the storm to being anywhere near her.
Entering the house, Cassandra dripped rainwater onto the threadbare carpet.
To her left, a warm glow emanated from the sitting room from a lit fireplace.
The hot air amplified the stale-musk smell of an old home and years of improper maintenance.
A steady plip-plip sounded as water dripped from the ceiling into strategically placed cooking pots and tea kettles.
Whistling and banging reverberated throughout the house as aged shutters slammed against glass windows.
Cassandra shed her coat and brushed water from her skirts. She moved down the hall, making a beeline to the stairs, prioritizing dry clothes over heat.
“Cassandra!” Caroline bounded out of the sitting room with a bright smile, went to wrap her arms around her, but scrunched her nose as she took in Cassandra’s sodden state.
Then, as if she couldn’t help herself, her expression morphed into a familiar teasing and all-knowing smile.
She clasped her hands together and rocked back and forth on her toes. “Did you have a successful stay?”
“Not particularly,” Cassandra grumbled.
“Is that so?” Caroline raised an eyebrow. “No suitors, no proposals? No gentleman so swept away by you that he would spend a small fortune on your happiness? Nothing?”
“Caroline, I’m exhausted, I’m drenched, and I’m cold. I’ve traveled for days and all I want to do is sleep. Whatever this is, can it wait until tomorrow?”
“It could, but you should see it now.” Caroline grabbed her hand and tugged Cassandra into the sitting room. “You have gifts!”
Cassandra stumbled after Caroline and froze, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.
Potted plants of all shapes, sizes, and species covered the floor, lined walls, littered tables and windowsills.
Bouquets of white tulips, pink camellias, and red carnations illuminated the corners of the room.
Inspecting a grouping of plants on the tea-table, Cassandra noted basil, mint, parsley, rosemary.
After removing her gloves, she ran her finger over its bristly needles and inhaled the cool, soothing fragrance.
Seth.
Days of heartache eased. He still wanted to be with her, still loved her. He wasn’t going anywhere. Your heart is safe with me. Her breath caught and her vision blurred. She blinked hard, and shifted her gaze to the wall next to the window, where over a dozen juvenile trees stood.
“Is that an apple tree?”
“And an orange tree, and a lemon tree, and every other tree that you can think of. They’re labeled,” Caroline explained.
“Whoever sent them better have a good plan for how to get them out of here. Poor Davis is beside himself trying to care for all of this, especially when it came with all of that.” She gestured crudely to a towering stack of books in the corner.
“They arrived this morning, with a note.”
Cassandra sighed.
“You’ve read it.”
“Clearly.” Caroline grinned and then whispered, “Who is S?”
Shivering, teeth chattering, Matthew entered the room and stopped.
“Is this a prank?”
“Matthew!” Caroline rushed to him. “Did we win?”
Matthew stood in front of the fire, crossed his arms, and snapped his gaze to Cassandra.
Caroline’s face fell, and she whispered, “…did we lose?”
Cassandra had to swallow past the knot in her throat as Matthew laughed. Tone as conversational as tea, he asked, “Why don’t you tell her, Cassandra?”
He slicked his hair back from his eyes and waited.
“No? Now you don’t want to talk? Fine. Shall we start with some good news?” He clapped his hands as if celebrating. “Cassandra is going to marry Mr. Reeves!”
“Truly? Congratulations! That’s wonderful!” Caroline gushed. Her head swiveled from one sibling to the other and she cautiously asked, “…isn’t it?”
Matthew barked a laugh.
“Isn’t it, Cassandra?” His voice grew bitter.
“Isn’t it wonderful that you landed a rich husband who is going to solve all our problems?
Isn’t it wonderful to get what you want?
” Standing too close to the fire, steam evaporated from his coat.
“But let’s not forget about the contest!
” Arms up, he turned to Caroline. “Here’s some sensational gossip for you, Caroline!
Not only did we lose the contest, we were disqualified because Mr. Reeves got into a knife fight after shagging your sister in a storage closet! ”
Caroline sprung to her feet. “I should go.”
“Sit down, Caroline!” Matthew shouted.
Caroline sat as quickly as she stood.
“You want to be part of the family? Let’s have a family meeting.
You should know that because of your sister, I had to sign a ten year contract with her new husband to make weapons for the military!
I was only going to do this once, but now it’s my career.
People will die because of me, because of you, Cassandra.
” He jabbed a finger at her. “You have damned us both.”
“Ten years…?” she whispered, now understanding the pain on Seth’s face when he said the words long term. Matthew—who valued life above all else—sneered at her silence.
“Reeves didn’t bother to mention that? I guess you weren’t doing a lot of talking with his tongue down your throat.
” He faced Caroline again. “You should also know that our reputation is in shambles. By tomorrow morning, all of London will know that I thrashed Lord Bolderwood’s bastard within an inch of his life after finding him naked in your sister’s bedchamber! ”
Caroline squeaked and clasped her hands over her mouth, wide eyes darting between her siblings. Fists clenched, Cassandra grit her teeth. She had really done it if she shocked Caroline. Humiliation burned her face.
She was through with being punished.
Cassandra stood. “You overreacted! If you had given Seth a chance to—”
“Oh, it’s Seth now?! I should have buried him! If he steps within five feet of you I will shoot him with his own rifle! For defiling you—”
“Defiling?! You’re such a hypocrite! You can’t tell me that you’re a virgin! Why would it matter what I do with my body? He had already proposed! It wasn’t his fault, I was the one who—”
“Do not finish that sentence! All of this coming from the champion of propriety! It matters because you’re my baby sister, Cassandra!
It matters because you broke your promise!
You lied to my face, repeatedly! Both of you!
And Reeves—damn it, I ought to kill him!
” Matthew’s eyes narrowed to slits and his voice lowered to a growl. “If there’s a baby—”
“A baby?” Caroline’s shrill voice pierced the room.
“There won’t be a baby! He—” Cassandra clamped her hand over her mouth.
“He what, Cassandra?!” Matthew bellowed. Face contorting with fury, he asked through his teeth, “How precisely did he ensure that there won’t be a baby?”
Sharply turning from her, his hair shadowed his eyes. Cassandra fell to the sofa, holding her head in her hands. The house continued to creak, groan, and howl. Matthew stared into the fire. When he spoke, his shoulders trembled and his voice was small.
“Do you think this is where I wanted to be in life? I had my own dreams, my own goals for the future. I was in love, too. I was going to propose.” Matthew whispered as if lost, “But then Mother got sick, and I had to come home. I had to stay there after she died because Father was useless and when he fell—” Cassandra’s heart sank with his broken sigh.
“What I wanted didn’t matter anymore, because I had to take care of you.
I have put you above everything.” A sob fractured the room.
“I have worked, and worked, for you. I have cried, I have bled. I have gone without sleep, without food. And never once have I resented you for it. And now I’m ashamed of you.
” Matthew’s voice cracked as he pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes.
“Our parents would be ashamed of you, Cassandra.”
With a wrenching gasp from Caroline, the air left the room. Cassandra wept into her shaking hands. Matthew tore himself from the fire and stomped into the hallway.
“A bath, Davis!”
“Already prepared, my lord,” came Davis’ succinct reply.
After he had left, the silence stretched between the sisters. Caroline stared into the fireplace with her hands in her lap, the flame dancing in her eyes. Shutters collided with windows, water plinked into tea kettles, and the storm continued to rage.
Dress soaking the cushions, Cassandra hugged her knees to her chest. “I’m so sorry, Caroline. I’ve ruined everything.”
“Oh, sister,” Caroline murmured. Reaching out tentatively, Caroline took a breath, and in a rush, threw her arms around Cassandra.
Cassandra shattered in her sister’s embrace.
Long minutes passed before her crying subsided into coughs, hiccups, and finally resigned sighs.
Caroline clasped their hands, rubbing her thumb along Cassandra’s knuckles. Caroline tilted her head and smiled.
“I was certainly not expecting all of this when you got home.” She leaned in close with a twinkle in her eyes. Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “Matthew truly attacked Mr. Reeves?”
“It was a bloodbath,” Cassandra mumbled. “I thought he was going to kill him.”
Caroline digested that information with a giggle.
“A storage closet, Cassandra?”
Face reddening, Cassandra shifted her eyes away and groaned. “It’s a long story.”
Caroline laughed, surprising Cassandra, who couldn’t see anything funny at all.
“What?”
“I didn’t think you had it in you.” Caroline grinned, and she tugged Cassandra to her feet. “Up! Let’s get you in a hot bath, then into some dry clothes, and you can tell me all about this knife fight.”