She remained seated in the carriage, whereas Cecilia practically leaped from it.
“Come now,” she laughed, “you know that Dorothy is harmless.”
“Yes, but the Duke of Urkinshire may not be.”
“Believe me, he is. He is a gentleman, and I shall have you know that he has been defending you in your absence.”
Adelaide’s eyes widened.
“Do not look so surprised. He would tell anyone who said something unkind about you that he would not have taken a wife who befriends bad people, and that a word against you is an attack on his judgment, and therefore, your character.”
At last, Adelaide felt comfortable meeting him.
She stepped out of the carriage and linked arms with Cecilia.
“You are cared for,” Cecilia assured, squeezing her arm. “Believe me.”
Adelaide truly did want to.
CHAPTER 5
“You certainly know how to make a statement.”
Cassian, when he did know what else to do with himself, liked to see his friend.
Rowan Hartwell, the Marquess of Stanton, was a good man. But it was more than that. There was a calmness about him, one that Cassian had always desperately needed. When everything was at its most intense, his friend was always there to support him, and he needed that at that moment.
He had expected to be welcomed into Stanton House and be served a glass of brandy. He had expected to be sent immediately to his friend’s study and be invited in before he had even knocked. He had not, however, expected sarcasm.
“I had no intention to make a statement,” he refuted. “All I have done is help a lady who was in need. I did not mean for any of this to happen.”
“And yet it has. I will admit, I knew that icy little heart of yours would thaw one day, but I did not expect a social pariah to be the reason behind it.”
Cassian swirled the amber liquid in his glass, forcing himself to sip it rather than chugging it down. “What do you mean by that? I read that she is not the most proper, but I do not know anything more.”
“Then you should have asked about her before proposing. At least, you should have listened to what people have been saying in the square. She has only just returned from the north, as she had to leave in disgrace a year ago.”
He raised an eyebrow, leaning forward. He remembered Lady Adelaide claiming that she did not want to trap him in marriage, but he had not thought to question it. Given what Rowan was telling him now, it was perhaps an error on his part to have done so.
“She does not seem like the sort to cause trouble. She strikes me as a pleasant enough lady, which is precisely why I do not like what I am doing. I do not want to trap her in a life with me.”
“On the contrary. You are saving her, for no other man in London would dare take her as his wife. The last man who tried was viciously attacked by her, and he had to call off their engagement.”
Cassian thought back to how terrified Lady Adelaide had been when Hargrave had followed her. If she were indeed a violentlady, she would have handled herself, but she had not. That was why he had stepped in. He knew that something was wrong, and he did not want it to go any further than it had.
“But that is not how I thought she was at all.”
“And it may not be what truly happened, but not many men would admit to being so severely injured by a lady. Think of the shame!”
“An excellent point. Then again, if a man’s pride is wounded enough, who knows how far he would be willing to go?”
“In any case,” Rowan sighed, downing his drink and pouring himself another, “Edmund Hargrave is not the sort to be questioned. His word is gospel here, and anyone who defies him risks ostracism.”
The name echoed in Cassian’s ears. That was the very same man who had chased his fiancée, the same man who had accused him wrongly of assault.
He shuddered at the thought.
“What is it?” Rowan prompted.
