“My business?”
The owner looked at him in bewilderment. “Your wife said that she was here alone, as you were away. I do not believe that she is expecting you.”
Cassian felt such immense relief, knowing that Adelaide was safe and that he had found her. He explained to the owner that he had wrapped up his business early and had come to surprise her. Soon after, he was led to her room.
He expected her to scowl at him the moment he entered, to show him no forgiveness. However, what he was not expecting was to see her in tears, surrounded by three ladies he did not recognize.
They looked sharply at him, before scurrying away, leaving the two of them alone.
“Adelaide, I?—”
“Do not say a word,” she whispered.
But he had not gone in search of her to remain silent.
He sat beside her and studied her. There was no light in her eyes, and he was tormented that he had caused that.
“Your mother,” she choked out. “She… Why are you here?”
“Because I have been the most foolish man in England,” he sighed. “I was wrong to run, Adelaide. You did not deserve it, and I can understand if you hate me because of it.”
“I do not. It is as I told you: I understand how you feel, or at least I would like to. I am pleased, though, that you see the error in what you did.”
“It was truly odious of me, and it will never happen again.”
Without thinking, he took her hands in his own. Her eyes widened at his touch, but she did not pull away.
“Adelaide,” he continued, “I am not the man you need me to be. I have known that since the day we met. Yesterday, I had the same thoughts over and over. They have all said that I am unworthy of you, and that I should continue to run so that I do not destroy you.”
“Then why are you here? What do you want from me?”
“One last chance. All I ask is a chance to prove that I can be a better man for you. I am a man of many flaws, but you are not worth losing. I want to try, to give our marriage a real chance.”
A single tear slid down her cheek, and instinctively, he reached out to wipe it away with his thumb.
They were closer than they ever had been, and when she looked up at him with the faintest hope in her eyes, he could no longer hold back.
He kissed her gently, hoping that it would prove to her just how he felt. Her arm snaked around his neck, pulling him closer, and at last he felt the acceptance he had spent years longing for.
When they broke apart, she was feverish, a small smile on her lips. But then it was replaced by the same darkness he had seen when he entered the room.
“What is it?” he prompted.
“I-I do not think I can say.”
“Adelaide, you want us to be open with one another. Whatever it is, we can get through it. I will not be angry with you.”
“It is not me,” she sighed. “It is your mother. Those ladies were in here because they wanted to tell me something, and it has changed everything.”
Cassian sat back, exhaling deeply through his nose. He had arranged for his mother to be sent away based on what he knew, and he could scarcely believe that there might have been more to it.
“She has wanted to get rid of me since the moment she heard you were getting married,” she explained. “She had a plan to frighten me away at first, and when that did not work, she decided to make me hate you instead. I do not know what she will do, now that it has not worked either.”
“So, all this time… How did those ladies know?”
“She came here one evening and over-indulged. Nobody ever said a word, for they knew she was grieving the loss of her husband, but the three of them knew. She said she was furious that I would be replacing her, and that she would get rid of me quickly.”
“So she stopped letting people care for her.”
