“How can that be?” Her voice warbled.
He gave her a crooked smile. “It just happened. You are unlike any woman I have ever met, and when we got to know each other that night at the ball and then later at your home, I knew you had enchanted me.”
Tears burned her eyes, but she blinked them away. She must be dreaming. His words were so unreal. “No, I mean”—she inhaled a shaky breath—“that after blaming you for a year, and then embarrassing you in front of your friends and family at your brother’s wedding, I’m surprised that you don’t loathe my very presence.”
Sighing, he shook his head. “I don’t care what other people think of me. If I did, I wouldn’t have ridden after you when you left Adrian’s party.” He stepped closer. “Cassandra, all I wanted was to talk to you alone and find out what I had done to make you hate me. I didn’t know why you wanted to marry my cousin and not me.”
She hitched a breath. “I did want to marry you, remember? That was why I tried to trap you.”
He chuckled. “Yes, I remember. But I didn’t know that a few days ago.” He took her hand and caressed her knuckles. “My sweet Cass? Will you forgive me for not stopping your wedding?”
Her body trembled as she nodded. “As long as you will forgive me for believing your cousin.” She tried to gain composure, but his hazel stare made her weak in the worst way, and the guilt she had experienced was slowly fading. “Collin, you had my heart a year ago. That was what made everything soawful when my father forced me to marry your cousin. And that was why on my wedding day, I prayed you would come stop me from entering into a loveless marriage.”
A sparkle lit his eyes as he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “Oh, my sweet Cass. Why were we forced to live without each other this past year, we will never know. But I want to move forward with our lives and make things better. I want…”
He paused, and as she waited for him to continue, her heartbeat raced. She didn’t dare add words to finish his sentence, but she hoped they would be the words she had waited so long to hear. “You want…” she encouraged him.
He pulled her closer as he placed her palms on his chest. “My dearest Cassandra, you would make me a very happy man if you agreed—”
Suddenly, the door flew open and smacked against the wall. Both Cassandra and Collin jumped. Stuart stood at the open doorway holding a pistol, pointing it at Collin.
“Stuart, no!” Cassandra gasped.
Collin stepped in front of her, blocking her from the madman holding the gun.
“You don’t want to do that, Stuart,” Collin said slowly.
“Oh, believe me…this is what I have wanted to do for quite a while. I need to protect Cassandra from men like you.” Stuart glared at Collin. “That was why I convinced Lord Kentwood that she was only after you for your money. And that was why I wrote the note and signed your name.” He released an evil laugh. “It was easy to convince the drunken lord that you were planning on meeting Miss Featherstone at the abandoned cottage, and being a true friend, he set out to stop you from falling into the trap.”
Cassandra’s chest tightened and tears blurred her vision. Stuart had done that? Why would he? It couldn’t be because he thought he loved her.
Collin cussed and lunged for Stuart, but the servant had been prepared, and jumped back. His gaze narrowed on Collin as he shook his head.
“You best be careful, my lord, or your fate will be the same as your poor, drunken cousin.”
Confusion filled her, but her mind opened. He couldn’t possibly… No, she refused to believe it. “Stuart? What in the blazes are you talking about? Lloyd drowned. Why would you think that Collin would have the same fate?”
Stuart arched a bushy eyebrow. “Forgive me for not making myself clear,” he said. “What I meant to say was that I would dispose of the new Lord Kentwood just as easily as I disposed of his cousin.”
Cassandra’s gasp matched Collin’s. She swayed, but quickly righted herself. “No, Stuart. Why?” Her voice broke.
“Because he loves you,” Collin answered.
Stuart shrugged, wearing a smug expression. “Yes, I love her, but it is more than that. You see, I was a little boy when my father worked for the first Lord Kentwood. The lord had no sons, and promised my father that someday the estate would fall into my hands.”
Collin snorted. “That is impossible. The lands are handed to the next in line to inherit.”
Stuart threw him a glare. “You think I don’t know that? But then, when I was ten years old, the lord’s mistress gave birth to a boy—Lloyd.”
Cassandra sucked in another breath. “He was illegitimate?”
Nodding, Stuart scrubbed a hand over his chin. “Indeed, but the first Lord Kentwood was so happy to finally have a child that he made everyone believe Lloyd was legitimate.”
Collin folded his arms. “Let me finish this story for you. Now that the lord had a son, you were no longer in the running to get the estate. So then when you saw the opportunity to getcloser to Lloyd by causing him and Cassandra to get caught, you controlled every step of the way, hoping that one day Cassandra would fall in love with you and allow you tothinkthe estate was yours.”
Stuart nodded sharply. “You are more intelligent than I gave you credit for.”
“However, you have overlooked one thing,” Collin continued. “You do not have noble blood, and therefore, you willneverhave an estate of your own. Cassandra, being a widow, would have had to live wherever the current Lord Kentwood assigned her to live.”
