Anthea raised an eyebrow at that, but Cassandra knew what she meant. Both of her friends had fallen in love with their husbands, and that had meant something. Cassandra wanted to love, and to be loved, but it had never happened for her, and so she had instead come to terms with her life as a spinster. It was easier that way, and it protected her.
“I do want happiness for you,” Anthea said gently. “If that happiness is found alone by the sea, with Luna of course, then that is perfectly fine.”
“Why does everyone think that of me? Do I really appear to want that?”
“Cass, you have told me many times that that is all that you want.”
Cassandra bit her lip, realizing that her friend was right.
“Yes, well… I am pleased to have your support at least. I will not keep you from spending time with your family.”
“Cassandra, you know that is not what you are doing. We are friends, and that is not changed by the fact that I am now a wife and a mother.”
But it was, and when Anthea did eventually return to her husband Cassandra wondered just why her friends had found their happiness, and yet she had not. She had her friends, andshe had her cat, but she had never felt lonelier than she did at that moment. It was not fair.
Then again, it was what she proclaimed to have wanted.
She was considering that as she walked, when suddenly she felt her olive skin collide with the fabric of a coat. She stumbled backward, gasping, when she felt an arm reach out to catch her. It was strong, and pulled her to her feet so that she was upright again, and when she was once again steady she dared to look up at his face.
For the first time in her life, she was almost able to call a man handsome. He was tall, very tall, and broad with an athletic build. His black hair was neat, and his eyes might have been considered icy to some, but to her they were captivating. Objectively, he could have been a very handsome man indeed, if not for the scowl he wore.
“Where is your maid?” he asked, his voice deep.
“She is… she was right behind me moments ago.”
She glanced around and saw her mere feet away, pointing her out.
“Rather a lot of distance between you,” he grumbled.
“I do not know what you are suggesting, but I do not think it is wise to do so.”
“Do you truly not? So you are saying that you are not trying to compromise yourself so that I have to marry you?”
The words rang in her ears, and she no longer thought that there was anything redeeming about him. She looked down and saw that he still had hold of her arm, and she pulled away sharply, eyes blazing.
“So you assume that all ladies wish to marry, is that what you are saying?”
“The ones that go so far as to accost a gentleman certainly do. Now, I understand that a lady in your position can be desperate, but that is no excuse for such behavior as this. I would actually assume that that is precisely what brought you to your situation.”
“If you truly believe that I would go to such lengths for you, then not only are you incredibly foolish, but you are evidently most full of yourself, too.”
She could see the surprise in his face, as though it were the first time in his life that he had been told such a thing. She almost scoffed at the audacity of him, his expectation that she would fall at his feet simply because he was a man and she was a lady. His comment about her position burned, but she had grown accustomed to it. Everyone saw her that way; a spinster that had to therefore be desperate to be wanted.
“Then, if you are not trying to trap me, that is to say that you are married already? And if so, pray tell, where is your husband?”
“Is that all you think ladies are good for? Trapping men and marrying them?”
“It is all I have ever seen them do.”
“Then you have not met very many ladies. We have ambitions of our own,desiresof our own, that are not confined to the men we are forced to walk down an aisle for.”
“So you have not been forced down any aisles?”
“No, and I shall thank you to not imagine me in such a way. I have grander plans for myself than being someone’s wife and someone else’s mother, and even if I did not, I would not chase such dreams by forcing another person’s hand. Do not think so lowly of others.”
She turned to walk away, but he caught her wrist again and turned her back to face him. She expected him to be furious, to admonish her for speaking to him in such a way, but when she looked at him she could see faint amusement in his eyes.
“I do not think lowly of others, for what it is worth, but consider this. If you were out alone, hoping for some respite, and some gentleman came to you and did something untoward, what would you assume?”
