‘Well, I still think the whole thing’s dashed odd, especially forgetting such a specific period of time.’ George leaned on his cue. ‘But I bow to your wisdom, my dear.’
‘Thank you, darling. The mind can do strange things, especially when it’s a period a person might wish to forget.’ Cassie looked accusingly at Leo. ‘Judging by your behaviour at the wedding, I can easily believe that she’s had a perfectly wretched month.’
He lined up another shot, feeling his hackles start to rise. ‘You make it sound like I’m some kind of wicked husband. I haven’t laid a finger on her.’
‘There are other ways to be cruel. You can hurt a person with words, or the lack of them, just as much as with deeds.’
‘How did you expect me to behave? She tricked me into marriage!’
‘So you keep saying.’
‘So Iknow. I was there, remember?’
‘Yes, well…’ Cassie reached for her husband’s whisky and took a large mouthful. ‘I fancy myself a good judge of character andIlike her.’
‘Father wouldn’t have approved.’
‘Exactly!’
‘Cassie, you’ve hadoneconversation with her.’ Leo rammed his cue forward again. ‘And I very much doubt that she got many words in.’
‘I say, steady on.’ George thrust his chest out.
Cassie held a hand up to her husband. ‘I mayonlyhave had one conversation with her, and I may be seeing what I wish to see, but the woman I met today is nothing like the one you described when you told us you were getting married. She’s no more conniving than I am.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘And I advise you to be extremely careful about what you say next.’
‘Then I won’t say anything. We’ll just have to agree to differ.’
‘For pity’s sake, don’t be so hard. You’re behaving just like—’
‘Who?’ He arched an eyebrow when she stopped talking.
‘Nobody.’
‘Who?’
‘Oh, very well. If you must know, you remind me of Father. I thought it the last time you were in town, but I hoped I was imagining things. Now I can see that I’m not.’
‘That’s not so extraordinary, is it?’ He clenched his jaw, aware of a muscle twitching there. ‘He was my father, after all.’
‘And mine, but I seem to remember us promising each other that we’d never turn into him.’
He tensed as the memory leapt into his brain. It had been after one of his father’s beatings, when he’d been too slow toanswer a question. Afterwards Cassie had come up to his room and wrapped her arms around him, telling him that it wasn’t his fault, that their father was wrong, and they should make a pact, just the two of them, but it had been easier for her. She’d always been so much more like their mother. And then she’d left soon after, going to London for the Season, and never coming back…
‘That was a long time ago.’ He potted the last ball on the table, pushing the memory out of his mind.
‘Not so long.’ Cassie’s voice softened. ‘Just give the poor woman a chance, that’s all I’m asking.’
‘Why?’ The last thread of his temper snapped. ‘Why shouldIbe the one to forgive and forget? I’m not the villain. She is!’
‘Ahem.’ George cleared his throat.
Damn it. He closed his eyes briefly before turning around to find that his wife was standing in the doorway. If her flushed cheeks and clenched fists were any indication, she’d arrived just in time to hear him launch into yet another attack on her character.
And now he had no idea what to say, though fortunately his sister did.
‘Florence.’ Cassie swung into action, smiling as brightly as if they’d just been discussing some pleasure outing. ‘How lovely you look this evening. Doesn’t she, Leo?’
He made a harrumphing sound that might, just about, be construed as agreement as he put his cue down. In fact, his wifedidlook remarkably pretty, despite the scowl she was currently aiming in his direction. He hadn’t seen her for a couple of hours, since, in a rare display of tact, his sister had allotted them separate, albeit adjacent, bedrooms, and it hadn’t occurred to him to see how she was settling in, but now she looked completely refreshed from the journey, dressed in a pale green, round-necked gown, with the same gold locket he’d noticed around her neck a week ago.
