Chapter Thirteen #2
Then, he left the club to set the rest of his plan in motion.
Cassie had just finished writing a letter to her mother when the note arrived.
The outside was blank with no indication that it was meant for her and the seal on the back was blank, as well.
But the maid who handed it to her said the footman who’d brought it had made her swear that it would come to Cassandra Fisk and no one else.
‘Thank you,’ Cassie said, waiting until the girl left before popping the wax and unfolding it.
Meet me at one on Hyde Park Corner. Come alone.
There was no signature.
She should not be surprised. Nothing she’d received from him so far had been signed. She had no doubt he was the sender of this. And now he had summoned her.
She closed her eyes and smiled. It was not a love letter.
Why did it make her feel as if he had whispered those few words in her ear?
Her skin tingled. Her heart beat faster.
And deep inside her, something strange and indescribable was happening, as if someone had opened a door that she had not known existed.
What he was suggesting was simply not done. She should throw the letter in the fire and berate him at the ball tonight for even suggesting it.
Instead, she went up to her room and rang for Bessie, so she could change into a walking dress. Then, she said. ‘I am going out. You are staying here. If anyone should ask for me, you will tell them that I am napping and do not wish to be disturbed until it is time to dress for the ball.’
The girl looked surprised for a moment, then nodded. ‘Very good, miss.’
Then, after pinning the stick pin to her dress, she hurried down the stairs and out the door.
As she walked to Hyde Park, she could not help imagining what Sebastian meant by his message. He had not suggested she pack anything. He was not planning an elopement. It was foolish of her to be thinking of such a thing. But perhaps he meant to offer again, as he had last week on the street.
It had to be something of a personal nature, else why would he have told her to come without a maid? Of course, there were many things that a wicked man might attempt when no chaperone was present. She had only to think about Andrew Rutland to know that.
Her steps slowed. Sebastian Morehead was not like Rutland. He was far worse. He had never denied that he was a rake. The fact that he had not tried anything inappropriate lately was not a reason to trust him or assume that he meant anything honourable by luring her out of the house unchaperoned.
Even if his intentions were good and he meant to marry her, how would she hold his interest? He was used to the likes of Harriette Wilson and the Duchess of Ashton. There was nothing so very special about her. He would be bored with her before the honeymoon was over.
She stopped.
She should go home immediately.
She turned back, staring at the way she had come.
Then, slowly, she turned towards Hyde Park. She walked, her pace growing faster with each step. Perhaps the Duke was wicked. Perhaps he was not. She knew only one thing with surety: she loved him. Whatever happened today, it was something that she wanted, for herself.
That made it different from many of the other things that had happened since she’d been in London.
Julian might love her dearly, but he was trying to make her fit like a piece into a puzzle that he’d made without consulting her.
From now on, she would make her own decisions, and let the results tell her if she had been right or wrong.
She was out of breath when she reached Hyde Park Corner.
Only then did she realize that she’d run the last few blocks in her eagerness to learn what was going to happen.
She stood, looking around her, not sure what she was expecting to see.
She was not alone. Walkers passed her from all directions, coming and going from the park.
But none of them seemed to take a particular notice of her.
Then, a carriage pulled forward from the place it had been parked and the door was pushed open. A man’s hand extended towards her.
Without looking, she reached for it and was pulled inside and onto a seat.
The Duke shut the door behind her and smiled as they pulled forward and out into traffic.
‘You wished to see me, Your Grace,’ she said. He sat across from her, looking handsome and dapper as always, not flushed and breathless as she was.
‘I think, under the circumstances, you should call me Sebastian,’ he said.
‘And just what are the circumstances?’ she said, before adding, ‘Sebastian,’ enjoying the delicious way the name felt on her tongue.
‘I am kidnapping you,’ he replied, still smiling, then added, ‘Cassandra. Or do you prefer that I call you Cassie?’
‘Either will do,’ she said, trying to control the fluttering feeling inside her so she could banter as they usually did. ‘And is it really a kidnapping, if I came willingly?’
His smile faded, but only a little. ‘Willingly at first. But I expect, very soon, you will have second thoughts and be quite angry with me. You will demand that I take you back to your brother’s house. When you do, I will refuse.’
This sounded a bit ominous, but not really frightening. ‘Where are you taking me?’ she said, hoping the answer would help her decide.
‘To some rooms I keep in Soho, where I entertain especially close friends.’
‘Female friends, I suppose,’ she said, giving him a cynical smile.
‘You understand the situation perfectly,’ he said.
‘Do you mean to seduce me?’ It was surprising that her voice did not shake. Her insides felt like a swarm of fluttering moths.
He tipped his head to the side and gazed up at the roof of the coach, considering. ‘That depends. I wish to talk to you where we can be alone. We need to settle some things between us. What happens after that?’ He looked down at her and shrugged. ‘We will decide when the time comes.’
This sounded positively reasonable. She was not in any danger, as of yet, and he made it sound as if she would have some say in whatever proceeded.
She probably should not be orchestrating her own ruin.
But it was better than what might have happened had Mr Rutland continued to pursue her. For now, she would smile and wait.
A short time later, the carriage drew to a stop, and Sebastian leapt to open the door and help her down.
She hesitated for only a moment before taking his hand and letting him lead her towards a nondescript building.
He unlocked the front door and urged her up a short flight of steps to a landing with another locked door.
He fumbled with the key for only a moment.
Then he let her into a darkened sitting room.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim light and realize that they were not alone.
Harriette Wilson was sitting on a velvet chaise on the other side of the room.