“Good,” Sebastian said simply.
“Tell her you missed her,” Benedict advised. “Women respond well to that. Particularly when they have been pretending not to notice that you have been equally miserable.”
“I was not miserable.”
“You have had four whiskeys, and your cravat is crooked,” Benedict said.
Cassian looked down, straightened it, rose, and reached for his cane.
“I wish you all the best,” Sebastian murmured sincerely. “Listen to her. There may be no need to argue if you do. But also remind her that it is a two-way street. She must listen to you, too.”
“All the best, Stonevale,” Benedict said, and then, more quietly, with the seriousness he reserved for moments that actually mattered, “She married you, Cassian. Whatever she said in that hall, she chose you. Do not forget that.”
Cassian limped toward the carriage, which was waiting for him. Even with his efficient coachman driving, the journey back to Stonevale felt longer than ever.
He thought of what he would say to her. He discarded it. Thought of something else. Discarded that too. By the time the lights of Stonevale appeared through the carriage window, he had settled on nothing but the truth, which was that he had missed her, that he was sorry he had walked away, and that he was willing to find a way through this together if she would let him.
He expected the house to be quiet because it was already late, but he did not expect the strange hollowness it exuded when he reached it. The house felt empty, which was ridiculous becauseJuliana, Marta, and a whole staff of servants lived there.
“Juliana!” he called out, his voice sounding hoarse even though he had only started yelling. “I am home!”
There was no answer, but that was not surprising. The place was huge. Still, he moved through the drawing room, peeking in, then into the library, where he did the same. His heart pounded as he moved through more rooms, and he still had not seen her.
A maid met him in the hallway, looking almost just as distraught.
“Have you seen the Duchess?” he asked.
“Nobody had seen Her Grace since the previous morning, but Lady Hawthorne is in the drawing room,” the maid replied.
“But I passed by there and glanced inside,” Cassian said, looking confused.
“Oh. She was probably sitting so still. The last time I passed by there, I barely saw her, too.”
True enough, he found Lady Hawthorne during his second inspection. She looked up at him. He could tell she had been crying. Her eyes were rimmed with red, and her usual composure was entirely absent. The sight of her, small and frightened in his armchair, did something unpleasant to the inside of his chest.
“Where is Juliana?” he demanded, feeling uneasy at how his wife’s grandmother looked as if she were mourning.
“Kit has been missing for three days,” the older lady explained. “Nobody has seen him since the dinner. Juliana was terrified for him. She said she could not sit still, knowing her brother couldbe lying in a ditch. She went to look for him.”
Cassian felt cold all over. For a moment, he could not even move. He and she both knew the circles Kit navigated. They knew what kind of people he kept company with. Why would Juliana go searching for him in the midst of a criminal underworld?
“She went after him?” Cassian asked, the words barely audible. “On her own?”
“Yes,” her grandmama said. “She was desperate.”
His mind raced through what he knew about Kit and his acquaintances. Where could he be now? Where would she go? Juliana, his wife, was out there. She was vulnerable and unprotected, yet she still persevered in searching for her prodigal brother.
Three days of wounded pride evaporated in an instant.
He was going to find her.
And then he was going to tell her everything he had rehearsed in the carriage, and several things he had not, and after that, he was going to ensure that she never did anything like this again, which he was already aware she would not agree to, and he found, with some surprise, that he did not care in the least.
He just needed her to be safe first.
He turned to the maid.
“Have my fastest horse saddled,” he said. “Now.”
