“Why are you here?” he gritted out.
“Why, I was invited, of course,” Hargrave responded, blinking incredulously. “Do you know of any reason why I should not be here?”
“Do not play coy. You should not be anywhere near my wife, nor any other lady for that matter, given that you do not know how to conduct yourself.”
“Yes, well, you would know a thing or two about impropriety, Your Grace. Now, I do not wish to have any scuffles this evening, so I would prefer it if you kept your tone measured.”
“Or would you rather not engage, for you know what happened to you the last time you acted this way?”
At that point, people had turned and begun to stare.
Cassian was aware that he was drawing attention to himself and that the best thing to do was to stop, take Adelaide, and be on their way. But he could not bring himself to do so.
He hated the man, even more so when he was forced to look at his smarmy grin and wide eyes, as though he was both enjoying the spectacle and pretending to be utterly bewildered by it.
“I do hope that was not a threat,” Hargrave drawled. “The ton would be most disappointed to learn that the Dragon Duke has not changed his ways.”
At that, Cassian took a step forward, but then he felt pressure on his sleeve. It was Adelaide, who had taken his arm and was now looking at him hesitantly.
“My husband would never make a threat,” she said steadily. “I shall thank you for not accusing him of such a thing. Should it be a crime to protect one’s wife, then I would hope every husband here would be taken away. Have the evening you are deserving of.”
With that, they walked away.
Cassian saw her cheeks flush, but her words were precisely what he had wanted to hear. She knew that he was trying and that he was being good to her in his own way, even if he could never truly love her, and that was all he could hope for.
They returned to his mother, who was looking at them with narrowed eyes.
“Watch your tone,” she warned him. “You know as well as I do that?—”
“I thought you wanted to discuss this at home,” he cut in.
“And we will, believe me.”
Cassian resented the way she spoke to him, as though he were still a schoolboy. He was supposed to be the one with the power, and his mother knew that, but she had never accepted it. She had to be in charge, and she would never let that change. Adelaide, at least, accepted who he was.
“On that note,” Adelaide interjected, “perhaps it is time for the three of us to leave? We have shown our faces, and I think it is best that we leave before any further trouble is caused.”
“We do not need to leave because of Hargrave.”
“It is not because of Hargrave. It is because of us.”
Cassian did not question her further, and they left for the carriage after saying their goodbyes to the hosts.
As they climbed inside, Cassian wondered why his wife chose to sit as far away from him as possible, but only for a moment. After that, he asked himself what the others would think of him protecting his wife the way he had.
It was nothing bold or heroic, but it was proof that they were a united front. It was a good thing that he had done; he was certain of it.
But as they stood in the foyer at Ashford Hall, his mother having left immediately for her room, he noticed that Adelaide was glaring at him.
“Why did you do that?” she asked.
CHAPTER 20
Adelaide wanted to be pleased about what Cassian had done.
She wanted to take it as a sign that he cared about her more than he had led her to believe, and that she meant something to him, but she could not think that way.
“What do you mean?” he replied. “I was trying to help.”
