“Oh, indeed!” Mary practically leapt to her feet. “I’ll have the jewelry boxes brought down right away.” She dashed from the room.
Caleb grinned, then turned to Devlin. “Don’t look so glum. Having a wife and children is a blessing. You’ll realize that soon enough.”
Devlin wasn’t so sure. There was, after all, a difference between marrying for love, as Caleb and Griffin had both done, and marrying out of necessity.
There was also a very big difference between a willing bride and an unwilling one, he learned when he was admitted to the Aldridge House parlor a little over an hour later.
“What do you mean she’s gone?” Clutching the impressive bouquet of roses he’d purchased on his way over, and with what he considered a stunning ring nestled securely in his pocket, Devlin stared at Robert. “Gone where?”
“Back to Clearview.” Robert gestured toward a chair, inviting Devlin to sit, but Devlin’s feet refused to move. “She left almost three hours ago.”
When he’d just been starting to rise. Devlin scrubbed his jaw with his hand. “I thought she was going to be in Town for at least two more days.”
“That was before she learned of last night’s events.”
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Nothing was as it should be anymore, so perhaps…perhaps Cassandra turning him down was for the best. She would in all likelihood go on much as before since she rarely mingled with Society anyway. Clearview kept her busy. She didn’t lack company or a purpose and she already had a child of her own, never mind all the ones she’d taken into her care. So what could he really offer?
He had no intention of staying in England, which meant they would mostly be living apart. Of course, while he was home, he’d take great pleasure in warming her bed, provided she’d let him. Devlin frowned. As much as making love to Cassandra appealed to him, there had to be a better reason for them to marry. The threat of scandal obviously wasn’t enough, so then…
Something his brother had said last night came back to him with a pang. It wasn’t just about Cassandra. It was also about her daughter and the future she would have as an illegitimate child. He was a captain, accustomed to being responsible for others. The fate of those who depended upon him mattered. And while Cassandra might not need his help, he knew Penelope did.
Certain he was making the right decision, he handed Robert the bouquet of flowers intended for Cassandra. “I’m going after her then.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, damn it, I’m sure.” He and Cassandra had one thing in common and that was their dogged determination to see things through to the end. But it was also the sort of determination that could easily blind a person if one wasn’t careful. Angered and possibly even a little hurt, Cassandra was acting purely on instinct by running away. But in so doing, she’d neglected to think of her child, which meant Devlin would have to do so for her.
Chapter 4
It tookthree days for Cassandra to reach Clearview. Initially, she’d feared Devlin might show up at one of the inns she’d stayed at along the way, but in the end, the journey had been uneventful. Penelope and Rosemary, whom she’d managed to pick up on her way out of Town, had played several games to keep themselves occupied. In between, Cassandra had read to the girls fromThe Swiss Family Robinson.
“You’re back sooner than I expected,” Katherine said upon Cassandra’s arrival.
“Only by a couple of days.” Cassandra introduced Rosemary and was just about to suggest showing her around when Penelope grabbed the girl’s hand and pulled her inside the house.
“We’ll have tea and biscuits in the parlor in fifteen minutes,” Katherine called after them.
Cassandra smiled. “I think she’ll settle in nicely, don’t you?”
“Oh, indeed.”
They let the coachman help with the luggage and asked if he’d like to stay for some refreshments.
“Thank you, but I’d rather get to the village inn and rest before heading back to London in the morning.”
Once he was gone, Cassandra followed Katherine into the kitchen. Laughter drifted toward her from other parts of the house and filled her heart with joy. As much as she loved seeing her brother and her friends, it was good to be home.
“What made you return so soon?” Katherine asked once she’d hung a kettle over the fire.
“Actually, if you can believe it—” Cassandra grabbed some cups and saucers and placed them on a tray “—Devlin Crawford announced his intention to marry me.”
The tin can Katherine had been collecting from a shelf clattered to the floor. “I beg your pardon?” When Cassandra said nothing, Katherine scooped up the fallen tin and set it on the counter. She looked bewildered. “Since you’re here ahead of schedule, I can only assume you turned him down.”
“No. I did not.”
“What?”
Cassandra sighed. “To do so he would have had to ask me to be his wife. Which he did not.”
