Rowan raised an eyebrow in response.
Cassian knew why. His mother had said such things so many times that he had internalized them, and though he did not want to believe in them, they were difficult to unlearn.
“You never told me how things are with your mother. Is she warming up to her?”
“At a frightening pace, yes. I had thought that they would loathe one another and keep their distance, but my mother seems to enjoy her company, and it feels as though she wants Adelaide to crave her approval. I do not know quite what to do with that.”
“Rejoice, of course. It makes your life much easier, does it not?”
“Not when my mother hates me. She blames me for my father’s death to this day, and that will inevitably make Adelaide blame me for it.”
“That is not true.”
“You did not see the way she looked at me when I told her the truth.”
Cassian did not think that Adelaide had noticed it, but he had. She had shrunk back, and he had seen the disappointment in her eyes. She had been unable to meet his eyes after that, and though she had sworn that she was not passing judgment, he had felt it.
To her, he was no longer this impossible man who was above her. He was just a man, plain and simple, and a deeply flawed one at that. It did not matter that she claimed not to dislike him for that; he knew that she did.
“If you ask me,” Rowan said thoughtfully, “I would say that it was a surprise more than anything. You told her something very difficult to hear, as well as live through. More to the point, do you think that I have any less respect for you?”
“You are the exception. You already knew what had happened, and you never treated me differently.”
“And you know that because you gave me time to prove it. Give your wife the chance, and I assure you that she will prove herself in the same way.”
Though Cassian did not believe his friend, he wanted to.
He wanted to trust Adelaide, for in truth, she had not given him reason not to, and if he wanted a better life for both of them, he needed to act as though he did.
She had always tried with him, and he had to meet her halfway.
He did not stay that night. Instead, he traveled back home, his gift tucked in his pocket, ready for him to give her the moment he saw her.
But when he returned, she was not there.
CHAPTER 28
“If this is what he wants, then so be it.”
Iris smiled when Adelaide said it.
Adelaide had expected to be devastated by Cassian’s departure, but she found that she was not. There was an emptiness inside her, but not the anguish that she knew one should feel when abandoned.
“You are making the right decision, dearest,” Iris said softly. “I can only hope that you will now listen to me. He is a bad man.”
“Has he always been like this? He seemed like a man who was willing to fight, given what he did to Hargrave, but now…”
“He does what serves him best. It served him to assert his authority over that man, so he did. Now that it is better for him to run away, that is what he has done. I tried to warn you about him.”
“You did. You did, and I should have listened to you. I thought that you misunderstood him, that is all.”
Iris laughed ruefully as she guided her to the drawing room. Adelaide let her, taking a seat and staring at the newly decorated walls. The faint smell of paint lingered, and she wished she had never touched it at all.
Everything she did to better their lives seemed to anger her husband, whether he had his reasons or not, and at last she understood that it would never change.
“A mother knows her son,” Iris explained, standing by the window. “He is a decent enough duke, I will not deny that. But when it comes to being personable… well, he has always fallen short.”
Adelaide turned to her then, her head tilted. “Do you mean to say that you have always felt that way? Even before the—before the fire?”
