“So, how would this work, exactly?” he asked.
“Well, perhaps you could still purchase that extra property you mentioned to me earlier,” Ethel said. “Somewhere for James and his friend Maggie to live, if she’d like to come to the States. And for us to live in, too, sometimes. But, then, other times, you and I would be together in the city. Nottogetherin the... ah... the...”
“Biblical sense?” Cassian suggested with a bemused smile.
Blushing, Ethel smiled back. “Right. Exactly. But to others, it wouldlookas though we were together. And John could keep being your valet so that his continued presence in our lives would make sense. He could come with us whenever we choose to stay in the vacation home where James will be as well.”
“I’m not certain if it can be called a vacation home, exactly, since I’ll most likely want to spend more than half of my time there,” Cassian said. “As will you and John, since that will likely be the only place where you two can have some semblance of privacy yourselves.”
“Yes, well, whatever you want to call it, my suggestion remains the same.”
Cassian furrowed his brow and hummed. He liked the plan overall. It was a bold thing for Ethel to have suggested. Boldandkind. Incredibly kind. Cassian wasn’t sure that he’d ever be able to repay her for being hispretendwife.
Rubbing his chin, Cassian continued to consider it. He began to think back on everything that had happened since leaving Europe and how much had changed.
How muchhehad changed.
Over the course of only a few days, Cassian had learned what it was like to love someone. Not only romantically, either. Because, he now realized, he loved Ethel, too, in a platonic way. And John. And Jacob and Ingrid, too. Cassian had never once thought that he could love his friends. But now, he was surprised to find that he did love them. He loved them very much.
And Cassian did not expect either Ethel or John to repay him for finding them a spot in a lifeboat. And so, maybe Ethel did not expect him to repay her for this, then, either. Cassian wasn’t certain whether the exchange could be considered equal. But perhaps that wasn’t important. Perhaps what mattered, instead, was that they were friends. And, as such, they cared about each other.
Love, after all, was so much more than a series of transactions.
Cassian looked over his shoulder and caught James’s eye.
“Do you have any objections to Ethel’s proposal?” he asked.
Smiling warmly, James shook his head. “None.”
Returning James’s sweet smile with one of his own, Cassian walked over to him and took James’s face in his hands.
“You’re still the only one I want to be with, James. I hope you know that.”
“I know,” James said. “Only and always, I remember.”
Cassian exhaled with relief. “Only and always.”
After closing his eyes, Cassian kissed their foreheads together and breathed in the absolute enormity of the moment, recognizing how incredibly lucky he was to have met such an exceptional man.
After another few seconds of bliss, James and Cassian parted, and Cassian turned back to face Ethel and John.
“Alright, Ethel, I’ll marry you,” Cassian said. “Since you asked me so nicely.”
“Oh, thank you, Cassian,” she replied playfully. “I’m honored.”
Warmth settled in his chest, and Cassian walked over and pulled her in for a hug.
“Thank you,” he said into her ear. “Sincerely.”
“You’re welcome.”
Seconds later, Cassian released her. After a beat of silence, he clapped his hands and rubbed his palms together.
“So, should we head out? I believe we must be close to the pier by now,” he said.
“Yes, let’s,” Ethel said.
All four of them left the stateroom. On their walk to the saloon, where Ethel and John said others were gathering, they met up with Ingrid, who emerged from the stateroom in which she had been staying. Cassian’s chest pinched upon seeing her, the pain then intensifying when he noticed the small red spots beneath her eyes and the faraway expression on her face. Oh, he still felt so horrible for not having kept his promise to her.
