“I’m so sorry for your loss, my lady,” Willow whispered against Lady Cassin’s shoulder. “So very sorry.”
“Yes, well, at least Felix has left us doing the work he loved so. From the earliest age, we could not keep him out of the dales and crags, digging up old relics.” She pulled back.
“I am so very sorry, my lady,” Willow said, squeezing her hands. “But will you take some tea to refresh yourself?”
“Aren’t youdear,” sighed Lady Cassin, sniffling. “And so beautiful. I knew from your letters that you would be beautiful. Only a very clever, very beautiful girl of good sense would suit my Brent. I am so delighted to finally know you. But you must meet my daughters. Girls?” she called. “But come and meet lovely Willow.”
Cassin’s sisters crowded around her then, and she found herself staring into the sad-but-curious green eyes of Marietta, Juliana, and Violet. They, too, forewent formalities and leapt at Willow, flinging their arms around her neck and holding fast to her. Cassin stood behind them, his face tight and grim, more agonized than ever she had seen. He looked to have aged ten years since they arrived. He stepped away to speak softly to Ruth, and Willow saw him nod and run a hand through his hair. How she longed to go to him, to hold him and urge him to cry if he wished, to rail or to curse, and to look no further into the future than one hour at a time.
More good advice for herself, Willow knew, but so difficult to accept.
She would tell Cassin this, she thought. She would tell him so many things when, eventually, they were alone. And when this happened, she would not add to his agony by pressing him about his legacy to Caldera or reminding him that he had married a woman who was as barren as a stone—not yet. Not until he could properly consider the new circumstance. Which she prayed God would not be tonight. Or tomorrow night. Or ever.
Just a little more time, she thought.We’ve only been married in earnest, a real marriage, for a matter of days. Just a little longer.
Cassin’s sisters had taken a step back, and she could feel them admiring her, whispering about her dress and her hair. They asked to see her wedding ring. She held out her hand, and they drew her to the couch, sighing over the stone. She was just about to tell them how Cassin had bought it in Barbadoes when they heard the loud creak and scrape of the castle’s front door.
All heads turned as Archibald Caulder strode inside, his gloves and riding crop tucked beneath one arm and hat in hand. A butler rushed to relieve him of these items, and he flung them at the servant.
“Inform my valet,” he said. “These should look like new before nightfall.” He turned to the group near the fire. He squinted the length of the corridor.
“Who’s there?” he called, striding to them.
Cassin’s sister Violet shot from the couch and raised her chin. “My brother has returned home, Uncle.”
“Cassin?” boomed the older man. “Returned from the great wilds of God-knows-where, has he?”
Willow saw Cassin go stiff.
“Yes,” Cassin said, stepping to greet the older man. His stiffness gave way to a slow, relaxed stride. He exuded confidence. “Ihavecome home. Just as you will now be off to your own home, far away from here. As soon as humanly possible.”
***
Cassin watched his uncle stamp across the great corridor, the familiar manufactured smile on his brandy-pinked face. The older man walked slowly; he would not wish to give the impression that he took orders from his nephew.
He was overdressed for the country, and his bright riding clothes were a marked contrast to the black-clad women’s mourning crepe.
Felix, he’d learned, had been buried just two days before. By the time his mother received the letter Cassin had dashed off in Falmouth, his brother was already in the grave.
His sisters had struggled to bear the shock and loss but they were enduring. His mother was on the verge of collapse. The very last thing the household wanted was a shouting match between earl and uncle, but God help them all, they were about to have one. He would mourn the loss of his brother soon enough; at the moment he felt only the desire to beat someone to a bloody pulp. His uncle was not only proximate, but he deserved it. It was all Cassin could do not to take a swing at the man’s smug, double-jowled chin.
“How goes your bird-dropping project in paradise?” his uncle asked breezily. “Barbadoes is a might pleasanter, one might guess, than the icy, grey spring of Yorkshire, while one’s brother lay dying.”
Behind him, he heard his mother muffle a sob. Cassin squeezed his hands into tight fists. “Barbadoes has far exceeded my expectations, in fact,” he said calmly. “We intend to clear £300,000 with our first shipment, due in summer.”
Archibald missed a step at this pronouncement, his smug expression going a little off. He chortled. “The devil you say. But surely you do not mean to speak of business in front of the ladies. Let us retir—”
“Surely, I do,” Cassin cut in slowly. “ ’Tis for their future this money will provide. Theirs and that of every family at Caldera. I am happy for my mother and sisters to learn how well they will be looked after. And I want them to know that the dangerous legacy of coal mining will not return to Caldera.” Cassin paused and then added, “Most of all, they should hear that your opportunistic presence will no longer be a burden or a threat.”
Archibald laughed. “Opportunistic? A threat? But what drama you employ. Such a fuss over a visit to my brother’s family. You are mistaken, my lord, if you believe this house to have known any unpleasant behavior from me.” Another laugh. “Caldera is my boyhood home, as you know. I’ve begun to feel some nostalgia for the castle, as I age. It does me good to remember days gone by. A simpler life in God’s country.”
“I’m well aware of what you miss,” gritted out Cassin. “I’ve been three days in London, undoing the mockery of a joint-stock company that you spun out of thin air with my forged signature.”
His uncle stood very still, blinking at him, and then some barely contained flow of rage inside him seemed to rupture.
“You’ve done what?” Archibald hissed.
“Oh yes, you’ve heard correctly. The joint-stock has been dissolved, Uncle. The Parliamentary hearing will not happen. It is illegal to take up residence on an estate that is not in your possession and begin digging mines and selling shares. I marvel that you even considered such a plot.”
