Chapter Seventeen
Collin straightened hiscravat and slipped on his overcoat. Now that he was fully clothed and presentable, it was time to leave the room and wait for Cassandra to join him. He suspected she would finally find him in twenty-nine minutes. Perhaps even with two seconds to go before reaching the exact thirty minutes.
As he walked out of his room, he heard a man’s voice down the corridor, talking to the housekeeper. Collin walked closer to the stairs. When Mrs. Thompson saw him, she gasped and turned. Her departure down the stairs was comical, but he wasn’t in the mood to laugh.
The servant who had been talking to the housekeeper looked toward Collin. The man wore the finer attire usually worn by butlers. Immediately, Collin recognized him as the driver Kentwood had hired when they were in Bath a year ago.
“My lord.” Stuart bowed slightly. “I hope you will forgive me for interrupting Mrs. Thompson.”
Collin nodded and stepped closer. “It is good to see you again, Stuart. However, I’m surprised you work here.”
The man smiled. “I’m good friends with Lady Kentwood. I worked for her family when she was younger, and she has appointed me her butler. Lately, I have made it my business to protect her. She has had a hard life.”
“Yes, I understand, and I commend you for being such a loyal friend.”
Stuart squared his shoulders and lifted his chin proudly. “I wanted to introduce myself to you and see if there is anything you need. Thompson tells me that you will be making this estate your home.”
Home?Pray, how could he stay here knowing that his sweet Cass wanted to leave? And even if he did want to make this his residence over the estate he shared with his brother, Collin couldn’t possibly displace her. But he understood her worry. Thanks to his cousin’s death, this land and estate was now his. Cassandra was at his mercy until other provisions could be made. Or…
Collin could marry her.
Suddenly, he was hit with a feeling he hadn’t expected. A familiar feeling that he had experienced the night of the masked ball, when he realized he was falling in love with Cassandra. Confusion filled him, especially when he had just been stewing over the fact that she had wanted to trap him into marriage right after they first met. But he didn’t blame her. Circumstances such as she was in at the time had made her desperate. And being the eldest, she’d had to do as her father suggested.
Closing his eyes, Collin rubbed his forehead.What am I thinking?He couldn’t marry her, could he? Yet his thoughts were clearer now than they had been since before losing his memory.
When Lloyd had told him about the marriage, Collin thought he would die from the pain piercing his heart. He had traveled around the world after that, hoping to get her out of his mind and heart. It hadn’t happened. He had even tried to fall in love again, but none of the women were his sweet Cass. He’d only wanted one woman—the one he couldn’t have. But now…what if hecouldhave her? Would she want him now that he had told her his cousin was to blame, and not Collin?
“My lord?” Stuart asked.
Collin looked at the butler, trying to remember what the man had asked him. “Um, yes. I shall only be staying here during my recovery. Once I’m fully healed, I don’t know where I will go.”
The man’s expression hardened into malice. Then again, Stuart was friends with Cassandra’s family, so perhaps he just wanted to protect her from men like Collin. However, the servant had no clue what misery Collin had suffered as well during this past year.
“Is that all, Stuart? Or do you have more questions for me?”
“No, my lord. I…I just wanted you to know I’m here if you need me.”
“Thank you. I shall remember that.”
The butler spun around toward the stairs, but he stood still with his hands flexing by his sides. His torso moved with the deepness of his breaths. In seconds, he squared his shoulders and turned back to face Collin.
“Forgive me, my lord.” He took a step closer. “But you must understand how much I care about Lady Kentwood and her family. I know how miserable she was when the wrong man showed up at the cottage and she was forced to marry Lord Kentwood. I also know that a year ago, when I worked for you and Lord Kentwood, you were womanizers.” Stuart paused, inhaling deeply. “I donotwant to see her hurt again. Do you understand me?”
Collin narrowed his eyes on the servant, feeling irritation rising inside. He had never experienced a servant talking to him in such a way, and within a few minutes, he’d hadtwobelieve they could voice their opinion in such a way. He wasn’t going to allow this treatment any longer. Not from the housekeeper, and certainly not from the butler, whether he was Cassandra’s friend or not.
“Are you threatening me?” Collin asked in clipped tones.
The man lifted his chin slightly higher. “Once again, forgive me, my lord, but if you plan on hurting her again, then this is indeed a threat. She was in misery before, and I shan’t see her go through this again.”
Collin folded his arms across his chest and moved closer to the butler, who arrogantly stood his ground. “Stuart, I don’t plan on hurting her. If you must know, I also care about Lady Kentwood.” He arched an eyebrow. “As I’m sure you well remember, since you were the one who caught us together in the thicket of trees the night of her aunt’s masked ball.”
“I do remember, my lord. However, she does not feel that way about you any longer. I beg you, please leave her to live this life without the painful memory of how you left her to wed your cousin.”
“Whether you want—or need—to know this, Stuart, I also had painful memories this past year, so I understand Lady Kentwood completely. Not only did my so-called friend compromise Cassandra, but Lloyd also tricked me.Hewas the one who sent the note, not I.”
“But…Lord Kentwood gave the note to me, stating that you wanted me to take it to her.”
Once again, Collin wished his cousin was alive right now, only so he could take his frustrations out on the idiotic drunken fool. “I suppose we can addlyingto the list of sins my cousin committed when he was alive. However, that is all in the past. I’m telling you, I did not send it. I wanted to meet her in secret, but the rainstorm stopped me.”
