Taken back by his cousin’s ungrateful attitude, Collin arched an eyebrow. “And pray, what else do you wish me to do for you?”
Lloyd flipped his hand in a dismissive wave. “I suppose it is too late, anyway. As much as I would like to redo the last few hours, what is done is done.”
Kentwood rolled off the bed, and thankfully was able to stand by himself. He shrugged out of his wet overcoat before removing his equally drenched suit coat and cravat.
Collin shook his head. “Kentwood, if you weren’t so intoxicated, I would punch you in the nose right now just for entertainment. Tell me, what in the blazes you are talking about?”
Kentwood released a low groan as he pushed his wet hair back on his head, flinging off excess water in the process. Collin wiped away the few splashes of water that landed on his face.
“I have dire news, cousin.” Kentwood stood up straight… Well, as straight as he could under the circumstances.
“And what is your news?”
“I am getting married.”
Collin had seen his cousin upset before, but never this miserable. “Marriage?Did you not tell me last night that you were never getting married?”
“Indeed I did, but that was before the wench’s father caught his daughter in my arms in what one might assume was a scandalous position.”
Biting his bottom lip, Collin held back a laugh. This was definitely not a laughing matter, and yet it surprised him thatKentwood—of all people—would get caught, especially since he had rambled about Cassandra trying to trap Collin. Not only that, but the man must have been so inebriated that he couldn’t talk the woman’s father out of the union or pay money to make the matter disappear.
“Did you try to pay the man off?”
Kentwood nodded. “Indeed I did, but the man was insistent…even to the point of threatening to have my title removed because I didn’t want to do thegentlemanly thingby agreeing to fix my mistakes.”
“Who is this man? Is he a gentleman himself?”
Kentwood rolled his eyes. “He is an impoverished baron. I figured a hefty bribe would sway the man’s demands. Unfortunately, he wants his daughter married instead.”
Impoverished baron?Collin’s gut twisted. He knew of only one man who fit that description. “Who…was the baron?”
Kentwood narrowed his glassy eyes on Collin and sneered. “Baron Featherstone. I am to wed his eldest daughter, Cassandra.” His face hardened. “You can thank me once I have sobered up.”
Anger rose inside Collin, pushing aside the helplessness trying to take over his heart. Growling, he marched to Kentwood and grabbed his damp shirt, shaking him roughly. “You ruinedmyCassandra?”
Kentwood snorted a laugh. “She obviously wasn’t yours, since she was willing to meet any man alone.”
Collin’s temper erupted and he went with his first instinct—slamming his fist into Kentwood’s nose. The moment it connected, his cousin stumbled back, falling onto the bed in a motionless heap. Blood flowed from his nose, running onto the bedsheets and staining the fabric.
The fingers of helplessness closed around Collin’s throat tightly as though to squeeze the life right out of him. Tearsburned behind his eyes, and he rushed out of Kentwood’s room and into his own suite, slamming the door behind him.
He paced his room, trying to regulate his breathing, hoping it would lessen the gripping pain in his chest. This couldn’t be right. Cassandra wouldn’t do that to him. She loved him! She was innocent, and while in his arms last night as they kissed each other passionately, she had shown him her feelings without actually saying the words.
Collin stopped in front of the window and threaded his fingers through his hair, trying to squeeze out the pain throbbing through his head. How had he allowed this to happen? And how had Kentwood ended up in a cottage with Cassandra…and in an intimate embrace?
A knot of emotion clogged his throat, and he swallowed hard to remove it. As much as he wanted to deny it, there was no way Collin could have her now. He would have to bravely pick up the pieces of his shattered heart and leave this place. Watching the woman he was falling in love with marry someone else would kill him for sure.
*
Inhaling a raggedbreath, Collin moved away from the window and found a chair to sit. The memory had brought too much heartache, and he wasn’t prepared for the exhaustion taking over his body.
His so-called friendknewCollin was falling for Cassandra, and yet Kentwood still enticed her to an unknown cottage, where they had been caught. The pain of being betrayed twice was too much to bear. And yet… Why was she acting as thoughhewas the one who had broken her heart? Indeed, there was still part of the past that he didn’t know.
He sighed and rubbed his forehead. She might want him to leave the manor, but he would stay here until he discovered the truth and put the past to rest.
He found the strength to finish his journey up toward the room. Just before reaching the door, he stumbled, falling against the wall. Closing his eyes, he willed the dizziness and the pain ripping through his heart to leave.
Behind him, a woman gasped loudly. Seconds later, he felt her grasping his arm, lifting it over her head, and pressing against him. Cassandra’s flowery fragrance enveloped him, making his mind want to return to happier times.
