Chapter 31 #2
“I received a few, but I think most of them suffered the same fate as my own,” he replied.
He put his arm about her waist. “It is no matter, my love. We are together now, with all the time in the world to catch up on events.” He bent down and lightly kissed the tip of her nose, then straightened and studied her quizzically.
“Though I did receive the most curious letter, Isabel, addressed to me with your handwriting. But the paper inside was blank.”
Kassandra started, her cheeks firing hotly.
“Blank? How odd,” Isabel murmured, perplexed. Then she gasped, her eyes widening like china saucers. “Well then, Miles, have you heard the wonderful news about Stefan and—”
“Oh Papa, it is so good to see you again!” Kassandra blurted, interrupting.
She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him fiercely.
“But I’m sure you and Isabel must have so much to discuss, and”—she glanced down at the dirty hem of her riding skirt for emphasis—“I really should change. One could practically choke from this dust!”
With an apologetic smile, she hurried to the staircase. “We can talk later, Papa,” she called over her shoulder. She wanted to gather her skirt and run up the steps, but she forced herself to walk, her heart thundering.
Sweet Lord, she simply could not face it, she raged silently. At least not right now. Perhaps later that afternoon, perhaps… Oh, damn it all!
Kassandra moved swiftly down the corridor to her chamber, swiping at the loose strands of hair that had fallen from the thick knot at her nape.
Her door was slightly ajar, but she thought nothing of it, her head down as she walked into the sunlit room.
She closed it firmly behind her and turned around, gasping in surprise as Stefan rose from the divan.
“Wh-what are you doing here?” she sputtered, backing against the door.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Kassandra,” he began, his expression grim. “Your father has returned.”
His voice sent a shiver through her. It was the first time he had spoken to her since… She shook her head, willing her thoughts back to the present. “Yes, yes, I know,” she said, her blood pounding. “I just saw him.”
Was this how it was to be, then? she wondered wildly. Her father had just arrived, and here was Stefan, ready to capture his long-awaited prize, like…like some relentless bird of prey.
Stefan sighed raggedly, reading the desperation in her eyes. It could hardly match his own.
He was being split apart, a final furious debate warring within his mind, his heart, his very soul. He had been possessed by it the entire week, unable to face her, unable to face himself. Even now, when it was time to make a decision, it raged like an unquenchable fire within him.
He knew he could still hold her to their agreement. At least then he would not lose her completely…
Or he could let her go…
She would be free to enjoy her newfound happiness, and most of all, free of the cruel havoc he had wreaked upon her life.
Stefan’s hands clenched into helpless fists. He knew well within his deepest heart that he had decided.
To take Kassandra for his wife knowing she loved another man was more than he could bear. It was not enough to possess her body. He wanted her love—the one thing that would never be his.
Enough, he thought with resignation. She’s lost to you. Get on with it.
Stefan took a step toward her, his tortured gaze meeting her own.
“I release you from your agreement to marry me, Kassandra,” he said abruptly. So easily spoken, he mused, for a statement that would haunt him for a lifetime.
Kassandra merely gaped at him, so stunned she barely registered his words.
“It was my plan to tell you this at the hunting lodge, but it was not meant to be.” He paused, swallowing against the raw emotion constricting his throat, then continued, his voice a dull monotone.
“You have nothing to fear from me, Kassandra. There will be no scandal. What happened in the tavern is between you and me alone…our secret. On that, you have my word. Now I must go.”
Stefan moved toward the door, not surprised when Kassandra quickly stepped out of his way. It seemed fitting that she would run from him, even now.
“I wish you happiness with your lover, Kassandra, whoever he may be,” he said softly. “He is more fortunate than he will ever know.” Then he left her and closed the door firmly behind him.
Kassandra could not move as Stefan’s footsteps echoed down the corridor before fading altogether. His words seemed to hang in the air—I release you from your agreement to marry me, Kassandra—as they tumbled over and over in her mind. She was free of her cursed agreement…free.
Yet how strange, she mused. She felt nothing. No joy, no wild elation, no relief, no sense of triumph, only a swirling emptiness. Never in a thousand years would she have expected this…
Her legs felt wooden as she at last walked to the divan and sank down upon it, her head resting in her hand. She stared blindly at the rose-patterned brocade, a single thought pressing in upon her, insistent, demanding.
What had Stefan said? It was my plan to tell you this at the hunting lodge…
Yes, those had been his words. But it was not meant to be… Why? Why wasn’t it meant to be? Why hadn’t he told her?
She drew in her breath sharply. Because before he’d had a chance, she’d spurned him, saying she loved another…
Kassandra raised her head, the haunting memory of his expression at that moment a striking image in her mind.
Why would Stefan have planned to release her from her agreement to marry him if his words of love were not true? After all that had passed between them, perhaps it was the only way he could prove he truly loved her…
“Oh, Kassandra, what have you done?” she whispered to herself, rising from the divan. She had sworn she would forgive him anything, everything, if only he spoke the truth. And he had, dear God, he had! Stefan loved her!
As she loved him…
A fierce ache welled up in her heart and she cried out his name as she fled to the door and flung it wide. There was only one thing she could do. She had to find him. She only hoped it wasn’t too late.
Holding up the skirt of her riding habit, Kassandra raced down the silent corridor and dashed down the stairs, almost running into Isabel, who was rounding the corner from the dining room.
“Kassandra, I was just on my way up to fetch you. Your father is in the drawing room changing out of his traveling clothes, but as soon as he’s ready, we’re to have dinner. We thought you might join us. The cook has prepared the most wonderful meal—”
“Isabel, please, have you seen Stefan?” she blurted breathlessly, her eyes darting to the closed door of the library.
“Why, he just left, Kassandra, only moments ago.”
“Just left?”
“Yes. I asked him to stay for dinner, but he mumbled something about going for a ride and wanting to be left alone for a while.” She shook her head. “He seemed upset. And if I know Stefan, I have no doubt he has set out for his hunting lodge. It’s where he always goes when he wishes to be alone.”
Kassandra gave Isabel a quick kiss on the cheek, flashed her a smile, then, without saying a word, hurried to the door and opened it before the footman had a chance.
“What shall I tell your father?” Isabel called out, her brow knit in confusion. When she received no answer, Kassandra rushing outside, Isabel shrugged her delicate shoulders, at a momentary loss. Then a slow smile spread across her features, and she laughed.
“What is so amusing?” Miles queried, walking up behind her and wrapping his arms about her petite waist. He bent down and nuzzled her neck, the sweet rose scent of her perfume enveloping his senses.
Isabel sighed and leaned her head back against his chest. “If I am any judge at all in matters of the heart, I believe Kassandra and Stefan are soon to end their quarrel,” she murmured, almost to herself.
“What quarrel?”
Isabel turned in his arms, her admiring gaze sweeping over him.
Miles looked so handsome in his light wool waistcoat and breeches, the air of a dignified statesman clinging to him like a fine fragrance.
He was no longer wearing a wig; instead his dark brown hair, graying at the temples, was neatly combed from his strong forehead.
She took his hand and walked with him into the dining room.
“Oh, it is nothing, my lord. Come, our dinner is waiting.”