Chapter 4
Chapter Four
“Of course, she will not see our daughters again.”
Cassandra had held her head down ever since she had been seen at the ball. She had never expected to feel such deep shame as she did in that moment, and it felt like it would never leave her.
Even so, her aunt and uncle declaring that she would never see Rose and Sophie again felt like a knife in her side. It was brutal, and she saw no fairness in it whatsoever. Nobody seemed to care how it had all happened, only that she was now a wanton, and completely ruined.
“Mama, this is not fair,” Cassandra protested, but her aunt hushed her at once.
“You only have yourself to blame. You know what comes of wandering around unchaperoned. You should have known better.” Her aunt then turned to Cassandra’s mother, eyes accusatory.
“And you should have known that your daughter was like this. What did you think would happen?”
“That is quite enough. Cassandra understands that she has made a mistake, and she will accept the consequences for that, but taking her cousins away is–”
“I do not want my daughters to catch whatever it is that she has. I have always suspected that she has been ruining Rose, filling her head with such unscrupulous thoughts, but this is too far. I have all of the proof that I need that she is a terrible influence, and these are the repercussions. If she does not want to end up alone, should have thought about her actions.”
Her aunt and uncle left then, and Cassandra crumbled, collapsing onto the settee. She was trembling, and desperately wanted nobody to touch her.
“If it were not for that dreadful Lady Sylvia...” she whispered.
“Lady Sylvia is not the one that was seen alone with a man,” her father reminded her. “She cannot be blamed for what you did.”
“But what she did was cruel! She wanted me to be seen with Lord Lashton so that I would be tied to him for the rest of my life, after telling me how horrid he is.”
“And you were alone with a man,” he thundered. “When you told me that you were willing to try, I truly did believe you. I thought that you truly did want to do something to help your future, but now I can see that you were merely trying to ruin us all as revenge.”
“That is not– is that truly what you think of me?”
“At the moment, yes. Now go and make yourself presentable, so that the Duke might pity you and take you as his bride.”
Cassandra was so distraught by her father’s accusation that she went to her room to dress, and it was only as her maid applied her rouge that she realized what was going to happen. She broke away from her and ran to the stairs, eyes wide in fear.
“I cannot marry him!”
“You can and you must,” Lord Hurton called back.
She descended the stairs at a speed she had never done before, and found him waiting for her.
“Please, you must understand. I will be so terribly unhappy if I am forced to marry him.”
“Then you should have considered that before doing what you did. I did not force you to ruin yourself Cassandra, and now after years of warning you, you will have to suffer real consequences.”
“But I do not love him. I do not even know him.”
“And I do not care. This was a decision that you made, and you only have yourself to blame for it. Now go and finish readying yourself. I wish to travel while there are not so many people out.”
Even though her father had chosen the right time to leave, for there were not as many people in the square, it felt as though each person was glaring at her, casting judgment.
She kept her head down, but she could feel it.
It was the worst that she had ever felt in her life, and she only had herself to blame for it.
“So that you do not embarrass us even further,” her father sighed, “the man you were alone with was the Duke of Sherton. His name is George Vanden, and his sister’s name is Philippa. They also house their grandmother, the Dowager Duchess.”
Cassandra listened, but she did not feel that there was any use in remembering any of it.
The Duke would only do what any sensible man would and turn her away, saving himself and ruining her.
It was what happened to most ladies in her position, and she had already resigned to such a fate.
If anything, it was precisely what she wanted to happen.
She would be ruined, and she would never marry, but she did not care about that. She could be sent away to the country, out of sight, and live alone just as she had always expected. It was better than marrying a stranger, and certainly better than what Lord Lashton had offered her too.
Sherton House was, however, beautiful. It was large, but not imposing, with ivy crawling up the wall in tendrils.
It was one of the most spectacular residences in London, and if she were in love with His Grace then she might have delighted in the beauty of it, but she was not, and so she did not.
It was a pretty household and nothing more.
The welcome that they received was anything but beautiful.
“His Grace is not here,” the butler explained, “but if you–”
“Leave at once,” a voice echoed through to the hallway.
Cassandra looked up to see an elderly woman with gray hair and accusatory blue eyes.
“Good morning, Your Grace,” Lord Hurton called.
“There is nothing good about this morning,” the dowager grumbled, approaching them.
Her clothing was as expensive as her grandson’s, and sapphire blue. She was graceful too, and would likely have been beautiful if her face was not contorted in anger.
“Your Grace,” Lady Hurton tried, I understand that the circumstances are not good, but we do not mean any harm.”
“You may not, but she does.”
Cassandra wondered, as the Dowager turned to her with a pointed finger, just how proper the old lady truly was, but she knew it was not the time to say such a thing.
“My grandson does not owe you anything,” she said bluntly. “You went and ruined yourself, and you will deal with the consequences.”
“She is only a girl,” her father tried, but that only angered her more.
“My granddaughter is eighteen, and she would never lower herself so much as to do what your daughter has done. We do not owe you our charity, and your daughter’s attempts have been in vain. You will not trap my dear grandson in a marriage that he does not want.”
“But the marriage must take place!”
Cassandra, meanwhile, stood to one side and silently hoped that the Dowager would win the argument.
If she did, it would mean that she would remain alone, and not tethered to a man that she truly did not understand.
He had assisted her both times that they had met, as if instinctively, only to admonish her for it after the fact.
It was not something she could deduce a motive for, and she hoped that she would never have to.
Suddenly, the door swung open again.
“What is all of this?” the Duke demanded. “I should not be able to hear you all from outside the door. People talk, you know.”
Cassandra almost smiled at the irony. Talk was already making its way through the ton, and there would be no quietening it.
The Duke’s eyes did not leave her from the moment he walked into the room, and his eyes on her made her shrink away beneath him.
She was not intimidated, not quite, but there was no denying the tremendous power that he held over her.
“Dearest,” the Dowager said softly, “tell these people that you will not be marrying their daughter. It is not your burden to bear.”
“Yes, I know that you believe that, but you know how I feel about all of this. I am the one that followed her into the library, and so I am every bit as culpable.”
Cassandra stilled. For the first time, she had witnessed a man accept his own responsibility, and it was the one time that she did not truly want him to.
“But George–”
“It is already settled. I have informed the parish priest of the wedding, and it is to take place in less than two weeks at the parish church near our country estate. I told you, this is for me to settle.”
“But—”
“Not now, Grandmother. I do not wish to quarrel when we have guests.”
“We do not have guests, we have intruders.”
“Do not tell me what is happening in my home,” he said firmly, and the old lady silenced herself.
Cassandra stiffened at his sudden change in tone. He had spoken to her so gently, but he had quickly changed his mind once provoked. Even so, he did not appear to be at all perturbed by what she had been saying, and if it were not for his tone she would not have thought that he was affected at all.
She could not keep her eyes off of him. It was aggravating, but he had such a commanding presence that she was drawn to him in the same way that she assumed countless ladies were.
“Now,” he continued, “you may all argue among yourselves, but I have done what was necessary for today. If you will excuse me, my sister debuted last night, and after spending time in my study making arrangements, I should like to speak to her about it.”
Cassandra’s heart ached at the knowledge that his sister had not been able to attend her first ball without trouble, and it was her fault.
It was clear that the Dowager thought she had been deliberate in what had happened, but she knew that the Duke had to know better.
After all, she had told him that she wanted to leave, and that they could not be seen together.
Then again, he did not seem too pleased with her, either.
He walked away without another word, and as the older people started their argument again, she knew that she could not stand to be around it a moment longer.
Instead, she wanted to ensure that the Duke knew her intentions were pure, and to apologize to his sister for ruining her night, and so that was what she was going to do.
Therefore, she followed the Duke to his study, and hoped that he would not then close the door in her face.