“It shouldn’t. If you’ll recall, Katherine moved in before you moved out.” Taking a sip of her lemonade, Cassandra glanced back at where her parents had been standing and instantly froze. “Oh dear God, they’re coming this way.”
Her friends looked in the same direction as she. “Whatever happens,” Mary murmured, “you have our support. They won’t be allowed to be anything but cordial, or they shall have us to deal with.”
“And our husbands,” Emily said, alerting Cassandra to the fact that Caleb and Griffin were almost upon them. They’d been approaching from an angle that hadn’t been within Cassandra’s line of sight.
“Are you talking about us?” Griffin asked with a devilish smile as he came to stand next to his wife.
“Only in the context of the two of you possibly having to give the Earl and Countess of Vernon a set down, depending on how the next five minutes play out.”
“And where is Devlin by the way?” Mary asked. “He promised he’d be here.”
Cassandra’s mouth went instantly dry. “Devlin’s back?” How she managed to pose that question in a normal tone was beyond her. But she was grateful for her ability to do so.
“Arrived a few days ago,” Caleb said. He seemed to survey the room. “Speaking of missing people, I haven’t seen your brother either, Cass, and he assured me he’d be here.”
“He’s danced the last two sets with Vivien,” Cassandra said. She’d actually been hoping he and her sister-in-law would soon be done so she could ask them if they could go home. She was staying with them during her visit, so they’d come to the ball together by carriage.
Another swift glance toward the spot where her parents had been moments earlier caused a cold bite of angst to grip Cassandra’s spine. They still hadn’t seen her, but they were awfully close and now…now there was the added risk of running into Devlin – the only man in the world whom she had to avoid at all cost.
“Thank you for a lovely evening,” she said as she took a step back. “It’s been delightful. Really.”
“You’re not leaving already, Cassandra?” Mary looked slightly miffed, though not the least bit surprised.
“I’m sorry, but I have to go.”
“Don’t worry about your parents,” Emily told her. “We won’t let them hurt you.”
As much as Cassandra loved her friends for being so protective of her, she rather feared it was too late. Her parents had hurt her more than she would ever admit to anyone. “Thank you. But I prefer not to give them the chance. Please let Robert and Vivien know that I’ve gone back to their house.”
And with that she turned and hurried away, following the periphery of the ballroom until she knew her parents were somewhere behind her. Breathing a sigh of relief, she walked toward the open doorway, content in the knowledge that no one would try to detain her. After all, who would want to be seen in a fallen woman’s company anyway? And if there was any doubt in her mind about whether or not those present might have forgotten who she was or the scandal that clung to her name, it was swiftly dismissed by the critical glances and muted whispers to which she was now subjected.
Behind the pillar, she’d been safe. Out in the open, she was prey for the vultures.
Doing her best to feign disinterest, she straightened her spine, pulled back her shoulders, and marched past the lot of them, happy to climb the two steps leading out of the room and into the hallway. Until she almost collided with the one person besides her odious parents she’d been hoping to avoid.
Devlin Crawford, who’d been entering the ballroom as she’d been trying to exit, came to an instant halt. “Lady Cassandra,” he murmured, as if surprised to find her there. His eyes, warm and dark and with a slight hint of mischief, met hers.
And in that instant Cassandra was reminded of all the reasons why she’d been hoping not to run into him this evening, which she’d almost quite literally done. And really, when she put her mind to it, she had to admit all her reasons actually equaled one: the fact that he made her knees grow weak and her heart start to gallop, and lord, she was scarcely herself when in his presence. Which was probably why he was staring at her as if she’d lost her head.
Which she had. More or less.
“Lord Devlin,” she said, quite pleased with the level tone of her voice. “I did hear that you had returned.”
The edges of his eyes crinkled in a charming sort of way as he smiled. “Indeed.” He was quiet for a moment, during which Cassandra wondered if she ought to step out of his way since she was, in fact, blocking his path. But then he said, “I hope you’re not leaving just yet.”
“Now that you mention it—”
“For I promised my mother I’d dance at least one dance this evening. And dancing it with you, a longtime friend of the family’s, would be infinitely better than having to engage a young debutante.”
Cassandra knew he didn’t mean to insult her and that she shouldn’t be hurt by his referring to her as a friend, but somehow the comment still stung. Which was part of the problem. Because she’d loved Penelope’s father with all her heart and he’d loved her back. They’d made promises to each other and dreamt of the future they’d share once they were married. One indiscretion, the night before the wedding, hadn’t seemed like a bad idea at the time. They’d wanted to be together and knew they’d be man and wife the next day. But rather than the joyous occasion they’d both been expecting, tragedy had struck in the worst possible way. And Cassandra had never recovered from the news that Timothy Dorset, Earl of Lemfield and heir to the Marquess of Sussex, the man with whom she’d hoped to spend the rest of her life, had perished on his way to the church.
Now, thirteen years later, she was just as aware as she had been back then that falling for anyone else would be a betrayal. So the guilt that sank its venomous teeth into her conscience each time Devlin made her cheeks flush or her skin start to tingle or her heart begin racing was what propelled her to keep her distance from him.
“I’d rather not,” she said, then took a deep breath. “The last time we danced I stepped on your feet at least five times.” She’d been out of practice and incredibly nervous.
He smiled – that lopsided smile she loved so well. It melted her bones. “That’s a very long time ago,” he said, offering her his arm, “and it really wasn’t so bad.”
Cassandra glanced past his shoulder, at the front door barely visible at the end of the hallway. In that moment it seemed so close and yet so horribly far away. “I really must go,” she tried.
