‘Not quite everything,’ Daizell said. ‘I don’t have any money.’
‘No, but I do. I have money and I have power and place, and I have sat on my own for years with my money and power and place between me and everybody else. Is there any way we could not let it stand between us? Because if the obstacle to us being together is that you don’t have money, and the solution is right here in my hands—’
‘It’s not the sole obstacle.’
‘But it’s a big one. Forget where the money comes from. If you had a decent wardrobe say, and no need to cut profiles except for entertainment, and the Duke of Severn as your friend, do you not think you might be able to return to society?’
Another long silence. ‘Maybe,’ Daizell said at last. ‘Possibly. Although, with Vier continually spitting venom – I don’t want to be feeble, but it hurts when people make digs, or turn away, or sneer. I decided I wouldn’t play again because – well, the obvious, but also because I don’t think I could sit at a gaming table and wait for someone to make a joke.’
‘No. I see.’
‘I don’t mean to be difficult. If you think we can do this – I mean to say, I’ve the Duke of Severn begging me to be with him. An actual duke. Good Lord, you’re a duke,’ he added with something like his usual energy. ‘You should do something ducal.’
‘I have robes somewhere? And a coronet, a ridiculous crimson velvet arrangement with fur trim if that helps.’
‘Try it on for me sometime. Let me sort this out in my head. I would love not to ever think about money again in my life, and I quite see you could solve that problem for me. But I don’t want to be an appendage, or an addendum, or whatever the word is. I want to be useful. Needful. Tell me the truth, Cass. Can I make your life better?’
Cassian grabbed his hand. ‘You already have. If you left me today, you would have still made my life better, and I will always remember that. But please don’t leave, because I want you to keep on doing it. You make my life so much better, and I say that as one of the most privileged men in England. I want you with me because you are necessary to me.’
‘I don’t want to be an addendum,’ Daizell said again. ‘But if I can play a useful role in Severn’s household, even if that role is keeping Cassian happy—’
‘It’s a great deal more than that,’ Cassian said, the joy sparkling through his veins. ‘You got my ring back. You haveideas.I need you as a . . . a confidential facilitator of all sorts of things, including but not limited to my happiness.’
Daizell gripped his hand, tangling their fingers together. ‘I mean it. I want to be valuable, Cass.’
‘I will lean on you so heavily, you will stagger under the weight,’ Cassian promised. His heart was thudding with the possibilities: seeing Daizell happy, content,there. ‘Do you suppose you could think of a way to keep my greys, or at least prevent them going to Vier? Because I have lost the bet, and I have also upset Leo quite badly, and I must say I feel apprehensive. And then there are Miss Beaumont’s affairs, which I have rather made my responsibility, and your rehabilitation in the eyes of Society, and talking of Vier, I have several scores to settle there. So if you have any ideas on all that—?’
Daizell grinned at him. ‘I’ll give it my best shot.’
Daizell’s clothes were delivered an hour or so later. Cassian had paid quite a lot of money to expedite what he wanted, in case Daizell had been determined to leave. He might, also, have gone a little overboard in his guilt and remorse.
Daizell stared blankly at the delivery. ‘What the—?’
‘Your coat was ruined, and your linen was stolen at the gaol. I had to replace it. And, um. Your shoes were in an awful way too, and it was my fault, so . . .’ He gave an embarrassed smile. ‘I got carried away.’
‘Two coats, three pairs of breeches, two waistcoats, five shirts – Cassian, this is a wardrobe!’
It was the bare bones of one in Cassian’s view, though admittedly rather more than Daizell had originally possessed. Cassian had sent the remaining sorry garments to the best tailor in the vicinity and demanded clothing made to the same size, overnight, for suitable recompense. He’d need tovisit a bank again. ‘Try them on,’ he said. ‘If anything doesn’t fit or is missing, Martin can get it dealt with.’
‘Martin?’
‘He’s staying here. I, uh, felt I should pay for his stay, and reassure him of your well being, and I thought you might want to speak to him. And you said he was a valet so I asked him to help me.’ He was usually attended by tailors when he needed a new coat; linen and other necessaries simply appeared. He would, he thought, have been very capable of tackling the tailor himself, and rather regretted not doing so, but with Daizell in urgent need, it seemed more sensible to call on an expert.
Daizell was gaping at him. Cassian shrugged awkwardly. ‘He was determined to help you, and you said he wasn’t that bad, and honestly, if it hadn’t been for him I shouldn’t have met you. I thought I might forgive and forget?’
‘You are a remarkable duke,’ Daizell said, and kissed him.
The tailor had done a good job. Daizell’s two new coats – one in a similar green to his old one, one in a rich blue – fit very well. It all did, in fact, down to the shoes. Daizell stood, in new, clean, unworn finery, staring at himself in the spotty mirror. He looked like a gentleman of very certain fortune.
‘That makes a difference,’ he said at last. ‘Thank you.’
‘You look marvellous. Better than me, in fact.’
‘I didn’t like to say.’
Cassian stuck out his tongue. ‘I’ve sent for my own clothes to be delivered to Louisa’s house. I ought to go there, and I wondered if you’d come. I think we need to put our heads together about Vier and Miss Beaumont, and to be honest I ought to apologise for shouting at Leo, but also – well, perhaps this is a place to start bringing you back to the world. You know Leo, don’t you, and he’s popular.’
‘I know him,’ Daizell said. ‘He ceased to know me after my father’s incident.’
