He’d been hoping it was Portia, come to stop her husband from doing something foolish. He was not so lucky. Cassie had found them, just as he’d feared she might.
He sighed, focusing inward and trying to keep his nerves steady. No matter her reason for coming, what he needed to do would be infinitely more difficult now that she was here.
A part of him wanted to go to her, to prostrate himself and beg for absolution. Or one last, perfect kiss before dying. It would be the stuff of poetry and a fitting end. Even in hell, he could survive on that final taste of her lips.
He shook his head and muttered, ‘Rot.’ Then, he went back to checking the gun Landers had handed him. It did not matter if it was loaded or not, but it was nice to keep busy. When he could find no other reason to delay, he walked forward to meet Julian in the centre of the open ground.
Cassie was waiting there, as well. She stared at him, and he could not look away. ‘I read your letter,’ she said.
‘You were not supposed to see it until breakfast,’ he replied.
‘Stop this,’ she said, holding out a hand to him. ‘We need to talk.’
‘It is too late for that,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘What I am doing is for the best.’
‘For whom?’
‘For you,’ he said firmly. ‘I think your brother and I agree that you deserve the best future possible. That is not with me.’ He reached for her, lifted one of her hands to his lips, then dropped it again and turned to face Julian, who gestured to the side.
‘Stand out of the way, Cassandra.’
She turned to him as well, hands on hips. ‘I told you yesterday that I am tired of you telling me what to do. I know my own mind. And I am going to marry Sebastian.’
‘We agreed a few hours ago that you were not going to marry anyone,’ Julian said in the reasonable voice men used with women when they were annoyed. ‘And that you were going back to the country to live with the Fisks.’
‘Circumstances have changed,’ she said. She was not smiling, but his heart leapt.
‘I was under the impression that he had not asked for your hand,’ Julian said. ‘He has not asked me, at least.’ He looked past her, glaring at Sebastian. ‘If he had, the answer would have been no.’
‘We are all aware of your opinion,’ Cassie said with a dramatic sigh. ‘As I said before, it does not signify.’ Then, she threw herself in front of Sebastian, arms spread wide and body pressed intimately into his. ‘Now put down the pistols before someone is hurt.’
Julian did not move, but Sebastian whispered into her perfect ear, which was very near to his mouth. ‘Let go of me for a minute and I will put it aside.’
He pushed at her with his free hand but she did not budge, following him to the ground as he crouched and set his weapon aside.
‘Cassie,’ Julian said in a warning voice. ‘You need to move.’
She reached behind her, hands fluttering for a moment before locking onto his hips and pulling him tight to her bottom in a way that was uncomfortably intimate for a public setting.‘Julian, if you shoot him, I swear that I shall never speak to you again.’
Sebastian squirmed, trying to put some space between them. But as it had been when they were by the fishpond, her hold was tight and hard to dislodge. ‘Cassandra,’ he said softly. ‘There will be time for this later. But now, you must release me.’ He swallowed nervously, fighting the first sparks of desire. ‘Let me go or I swear, I shall die.’
‘Do not talk of death,’ she said, pressing herself even closer to him and nestling her hips into his groin. ‘If my brother shoots you, I might not be able to save you this time.’
‘This time?’ Julian interjected.
‘The last time, you were trying to save your brother, not me,’ Sebastian reminded her.
‘That was last year.’ She planted her feet wide and refused to move.
He was painfully aware of each movement, the way their bodies aligned, his manhood shifting to nudge between her legs.
If she noticed, she gave no sign, but said, ‘As I told Julian, circumstances have changed.’
‘Changed in what way? What do you mean by last year? You had not met until our ball.’ Julian’s questions were louder, more insistent and not of interest to either of them.
‘Changed in what way?’ Sebastian whispered urgently.
‘Today, I am here to save you. Only you.’ Her head lolled back on his shoulder and she grabbed one of his hands, holding it against her waist. ‘A year ago, I hardly knew you.’ Then she turned her head and whispered so low that only he could hear. ‘But I know you, now. I could know you much better, if you let me.’
