Cassy watched with mounting horror as Sir Geoffrey walked into the dining hall with an innocent smile on his face. Behind him walked Colin, handsome as ever, his smile a lazy one. Cassy felt her chest tighten at the sight of him, and the entire hall suddenly felt much too small.
"No need for the warm welcome," sir Geoffrey said as he stopped right next to the duke. "We just thought we'd swing by since it appears that we didn't receive an invitation."
Eastland flexed his fingers slowly, his rage mounting slowly. Cassy could see the irritation in his eyes, and she could tell that he'd deliberately refused to invite the viscount.
"Sir Geoffrey," the duchess said with an exaggerated friendliness, "forgive my oversight. I had assumed that, being my nephew’s nearest neighbor, he would have invited you personally. Invitations were sent out to guests who were far away, and I was careless in my assumptions. Forgive my mistake."
"I think nothing of it, your grace," sir Geoffrey said with a flourish bow. "I cannot hide that fact that I was deeply hurt by it however, being close friends with the late duke as I was."
"My apologies, sir Geoffrey," Eastland said reproachfully. "I had assumed that my aunt would send an invite to you as well, regardless of the fact that we happen to be neighbors."
"Your mistake is forgiven, Eastland," the old Viscount said with a hearty laugh. It was obvious to everyone, from the way Henry gripped the table, that he was scorned by the way sir Geoffrey had said ‘your mistake is forgiven’. As far as everyone could tell, the duke had never been on the receiving end of forgiveness in a long time.
Cassy barely paid attention to all this however. Her eyes were on Colin, and he was watching her as well with an amused expression. He was dressed in formal trousers and a jacket, complemented by a blue waistcoat and an expertly tied silken cravat.
Pleasantries were exchanged all around quickly, and two chairs were drawn up at once.
"You can take mine, sir Geoffrey," Zack Hardwick said as he stepped away from the table. "I was just leaving."
"That leaves me with nowhere to sit then," Colin said with a slight glance at Cassy.
"Oh, don’t you worry," the duchess said. "I’m sure if Levington moved his chair a bit, we’ll have room for you right here."
"Thank you, your grace," Colin said with an elegant bow, although his eyes remained on Cassy. As they moved the chairs, she could have sworn that he placed his a few inches closer to her.
"Lord Levington," he said in a perfunctory manner, making sure to let everyone know that he had spoken in a perfunctory manner.
Cassy inclined her head towards him, not sure how to address him.
The brief interruption now past, conversations resumed once more. Cassy tried hard to focus on the contexts of what was being said around her, but she couldn’t pretend that she wasn’t acutely aware of Colin sitting right next to her. She also pretended not to notice the attention Colin was drawing, specifically from the ladies. Miss Hamilton in particular seemed to be quite stricken by the handsome young man, and from the way she leaned ever so slightly towards him, Cassy was certain she would have traded seats with either her or the duchess in an instant.
"Father insisted," Colin whispered suddenly.
"Beg your pardon?"
"He insisted on coming," Colin said, turning to face her. "I tried to tell him that it’s wrong of us to barge into an event we weren’t invited to, but he would have none of it. In a way, he feels slightly entitled because he was such good friends with the duke’s father."
"I see," Cassy muttered, concentrating on the back of her fork with such keen interest.
"I must confess that I was also eager to come," he added, leaning back into his seat. His voice was lowered so that their conversation wouldn’t be heard by anyone else.
Cassy turned to look at him.
"And why is that?" she asked.
"Because I wanted to see you once again, my lady."
Cassy’s heart fell to the pit of her stomach. So he knew. She looked up at him, trying to catch a hint of what his intentions were. Colin smiled back at her effortlessly, long eyelashes framing his deep green eyes.
"Don’t worry," he whispered. "Your secret is safe with me."
Cassy swallowed the lump in her throat, unable to say anything but give a weak nod.
"What’s your name?" he asked suddenly. "Your real name, I mean."
Cassy checked to make sure no one was listening before she said, "Cassandra."
"Such a lovely name," he said with another smile. Did he ever stop smiling.
"Colin," Sir Geoffrey called loudly, "would you be interested in joining the hunt tomorrow as well? It’s been a while since I saw you chasing a fox through the woods. The boy is a born hunter, I tell you."
"I’m afraid I would have to decline, father," Colin said. "I have some urgent business to attend to tomorrow."
"And what business is that?" Eastland asked halfheartedly.
"Mostly finances," Colin replied in a bored tone. "I like to sit by the lake and sort out both mine and father’s finances, and it keeps me quite busy as it happens."
He said this with a suggestive glance at Cassandra, and she could tell that he’d said this intentionally so she would know he’d be at the lake tomorrow.
"Is there a reason why you’re in disguise?" he asked quietly as the final course was brought. Cassy glanced nervously at the duke before she replied, "It’s a long story."
"I’m free tomorrow," he said with a smirk. "Father’s finances are in excellent condition, as it happens."
"And what makes you think I’ll meet you tomorrow?" she asked with narrowed eyes.
"I don’t think you’ll come," he replied. "I know you will."
And he was right. Cassy would have to go, if not for anything then to remind him that her secret must be kept at all times. It was a risk, but she was willing to take it if it meant that Colin would be on her side.
She could hardly hide her relief when the dinner ended, and the women retired to the drawing-room while the men lingered with port and cigars. Unfortunately, she was expected to stay in the dining room with the men. Cassy felt out of place and uncomfortable, but managed to remain just out of conversational range for a while.
Eastland sat back, putting in a word now and then, but letting his guests argue to their heart's content as they imbibed generously from his excellent wine cellar.
Again and again, Cassy found her eyes drawn to Colin, and she wondered desperately just what sort of odd fixation she had formed for the man. She certainly didn’t know much about him to even create a profile, other than the fact that he could draw the attention of every woman within his line of sight without even trying. Miss Hamilton, for example, had been right on the edge of her seat with longing the entire evening, first directed at the duke and then at Colin ever since he arrived.
Cassy turned her eyes to the duke instead. Here was a man who certainly wasn't very nice to her, or polite, or even distantly friendly. He obviously regarded her, as Levington, a millstone around his neck. She was a duty to be discharged, and he meant to do his best by it, that she could see. But she could also see that he resented every moment of it.
When, at last, the gentlemen went into the drawing-room to join the ladies, Cassy saw escape at hand. She edged toward the door cautiously, keeping a wary eye on the duke, who was in deep conversation with Sir Randeville. Perhaps no one could notice if she left quietly. Colin was finally talking with Miss Hamilton, and she looked just about ready to faint with joy.
No one would have noticed, if not for the Dowager. She pinned Cassy with her sharp eyes and said in a commanding tone, "Come here, Levington. Let us hear what you've been doing since you've been in Eastland's care." Her gaze flicked to the duke with a faint glint of amusement. "Has my nephew been treating you well?"
Cassy shifted uneasily, fully aware of the duke's mocking gaze on her, and of the duchess's shrewd eyes impaling her. "Yes, of course, your grace. I have been treated very well, thank you."
"Have you now?" the duchess chuckled. "Somehow, I doubt that. Knowing him as I do, I would think that you've been treated to a most rigorous schedule, as well as all manner of physical activities. He was always mad over that sort of thing as a boy, and quite good at it, I might add."
"Thank you," Eastland spoke up dryly. "It's so unusual to hear you compliment me."
"It was inadvertent, I assure you," the duchess said with a smile. She was enjoying the interested stares of other guests, and arrogantly glad to see her nephew's polite facade remain unruffled. He'd never been one to publicly react even to the grossest provocation, and she admired that.
Yet, as much as she admired it, she longed to break through it. Henry was entirely too cool and poised. She wanted to see real emotion, to know that he possessed some remnant of emotion, and was not as everyone in the ton claimed, a cold man with no personal feelings about anyone or anything. Devil Henry, they called him behind his back. Always behind his back, though he was aware of his name and shrugged it off. Not that she could blame him.
Giving up her game suddenly, the duchess added, "Of course, I imagine your straight sense of responsibility dictates most of young Levington's education."
"Another inadvertent compliment?" Eastland drawled, his brow lifting languidly and a smile hovering at the corners of his mouth. "How unusual."
"Don't get used to it," the duchess said with a snap. "I assure you it won't last."
"I didn't expect it to," he replied cooly.
"Your grace," Rebecca Spenser said, throwing herself into the breach, "you promised to show me your music room, I believe."
"Did I?" Eastland murmured, his gaze moving with some difficulty from his aunt. He sensed more behind her evening baiting than usual but knew he would have to wait until it pleased her to let him know what was on her mind. Adeline was a woman who enjoyed manipulation and keeping secrets.
"Yes," Rebecca was insisting softly, and he looked down at her at last.
"Very well. I'm sure our guests won't mind if we leave them for a moment," he said, and his words precluded any objections.
"Eastland, I'm certain Miss Hamilton would like to see the new glass ceiling in the music room," the dowager remarked with an innocent stare that did not fool anymore. She indicated the blushing Miss Hamilton with a wave of her jewelled hand, the former looking up from her conversation with Colin as though she were just realizing where she was. "She is Viscount Tarnhower's daughter, you know."
Eastland regarded his Aunt and the red-faced Miss Hamilton with a lifted brow and a polite smile. "I have the greatest regard for Tarnhower, and I shall be happy to show Miss Hamilton the music room when it is completed. Now, if you will excuse us?"
Rebecca Spencer had a definite gleam of triumph in her eyes as she sailed from the sitting room with Eastland on her arm, and Cassy felt a moment's rage at both of them. How casually they'd managed an escape, and she could tell from the steely glint in the duchess's eye that she wasn't at all happy with the duke's deft avoidance of her manipulation. Not that Cassy could blame him for that, because she hated being manipulated, too.
Cassy stood stiffly by the marble fireplace, trying to make casual conversation with Miss Deborah Princeton, who had taken a liking to Zack Hardwick. Miss Princeton was an innocuous sort of woman, young and rather silly, which perhaps explained her affection for Hardwick. Cassy did not have to be a member of the social set to see how it went with that not so illustrious gentleman. His jaded dissatisfaction was marked on his face, his eyes were constantly smouldering, and he had a secret, guarded look about him that made her uneasy.
It was a half-hour before she managed to escape from the drawing-room, murmuring polite apologies as she fled. Rebecca Spencer and the duke had still not returned.
Cassy avoided the west wing, where the music room was located, taking instead the flight of stairs that led to the east wing. She had no intention of running into the duke and his lady love.
Striding along the dimly lit hallway on the second floor, she passed a shadowed alcove and was halted by the murmur of voices. She immediately recognized the duke's low husky voice and knew that Rebecca must be with him. Her insides knotted, and she stepped quickly into the shadows of the opposite alcove as the voices grew louder and she was in danger of being seen.
"Henry! Darling! You know what I want..."
"I know more than you think I do, Becca." The bored drawl sounded faintly amused and decidedly indifferent.
Her voice was sultry, with just the right tinge of hurt. "I don't know what you mean by that, Henry."
"Don't you?"
There was a muffled sound, and Cassy visualized him raking an impatient hand through his hair. Her heart was pounding so loud she hoped they couldn't hear it, hoped they would hurry and pass her. She pressed farther back into the shadows, wondering what they were doing in the east wing. That was where the bed chambers were located, not the music room.
Cassy's stomach lurched. Unsavoury images popped into her head, images of them together. Though she wasn't certain what details were involved, she did know enough to let her imagination run wild, and it all had to do with the duke being much too close to the clingy blond with a large bosom and pouty face. Why should she care? But she did, and she wasn't even certain why.
"Henry," Rebecca was saying, her voice thick and throaty and intimate, "are you going to let a little gossip stand between us?"
"Don't be a fool," he said shortly. "You of all people should know I don't give a damn about gossip. But you're engaged now, Becca, and anything that was between us is over."
There was an edge of desperation to her voice when she replied, "But I would throw him over in a minute and you know it! All you have to do is say the right word, Henry."
Cassy could hear the rustling whisper of muslin skirts and the unmistakable sound of bodies pressing close, and a wave of nausea swept over her. She clapped one hand to her mouth and prayed wildly for a rescue.
She stood rooted to the spot, hidden in the shadows until the kiss ended, and was glad she at least didn't have to see it. It was bad enough imagining it, bad enough hearing the throaty murmurs and knowing that the duke was intimately involved with Rebecca Spencer. He must love her! She thought with a pang, closing her eyes.
Back in the sitting room, Colin was still searching for Cassandra.
Henry Blake, odd as it may seem, did not love Rebecca Spencer, nor was he particularly enamoured of her ripe charms. He'd been tired of her for some time and had welcomed the news of her engagement to Viscount Ravanel. It would effectively remove her from his life, he'd hoped.He should have known better, Henry reflected cynically as he removed Rebecca's arms from around his neck and kept his steely grip on her wrists. She gazed up at him with a pout, and let her curves lean forward to brush against his chest. His body immediately responded in spite of his irritation, and Rebecca knew it."See?" She whispered in a triumphant voice, rubbing her hips suggestively against his arousal. "You still want me!""Maybe I'm just too accustomed to having you, Becky," he said with a shrug. "It's not as if we haven't spent a great many hours in bed together.""Didn't you enjoy those times, Henry?""Immensely.""There's no reason why you can't continue," she murmured throatily and leaned into him eve
Cassy sat huddled in one corner of the black lacquered carriage that sped towards London. Eastland sat opposite her, his long legs thrust out in front of him and crossed at the ankles, looking every inch the splendid lord he was.Yet for the first time, she found it hard to admire him. He'd not spoken a civil word to her in a week and until he'd had Sheldon inform her that she was to accompany him to London, had not deigned to take notice of her at all. It was as if Lord Levington, his ward, has ceased to exist for him.Now they were going to London and she had no idea why. It did not seem like a good idea to inquire, with him gazing out the window and ignoring her. She shifted on the plush velvet squabs and wished she'd never agreed to decided to England. Anything else would have been better than that.Only now she was here, and mired in the masquerade, and did not know how to extricate herself. She was afraid of Eastland. Yes, it was true. Oddly enough, she wasn't as afraid of the th
"You... You’re a... a,""I’m a girl," Cassy finished for her, daring to laugh. Anne staggered away from her, confusion suddenly written all over her face. Cassy felt her breath returning to normal almost immediately, although Anne was quite far from there. "A girl?" she blurted out suddenly, still making no attempt to cover her unclad state. "It would appear so," Cassy replied. "My lord, is there... did lady Herenton put you up to this?" she asked. "Did she pay you to humiliate me like this?""I can assure you that there has been a bit misunderstanding," Cassy said quickly. "And none of this was at your expense.""Then explain this," she grated. "Explain how you are a girl, and how you managed to fool them into thinking you’re not.""You might want to sit down for this," Cassy said. "It’s sort of a long story, and I don’t even know where to begin."Anne eyed her suspiciously, clearly debating whether she could trust this strange woman or not. It was bad enough that she had to discov
Life at Eastland hall had never been better. Cassy found it a shocking turnaround that she could actually smile now, and she was actually beginning to grow fond of the place. Even more shocking, perhaps, was the sudden improvement in everything the Duke laid out for her. The activities which she’d failed at earlier, now seemed like mere chores That’s she could expertly breeze through. It was almost as if the Levington that had gone to London with the duke was replaced by another one, more apt and skilled than the other one. Cassy slowly began to understand the intricacies of fending which her tutor desperately wanted her to understand. "Yes, yes, my lord," monsieur Fournier would exclaim excitedly whenever she successfully parried his thrusts or when her blade would skim right under his arm and straight at his rib. "Zat is exactly what I was saying."Tutoring went well enough, and she soon began to catch up on the many subjects which she was supposed to learn. Her tutors noticed this
Everything started to fall apart from the moment Colin kissed her. It was on a Saturday evening, right after he’d finished teaching her how a man was supposed to shake. Cassy’s grip hadn’t been firm enough, and he’d taught her how to position her fingers, even slightly squeezing the person’s fingers. And then he’d pulled her in and kissed her on the cheek. It wasn’t supposed to mean anything, but it was dangerously close to her mouth and Cassy had bristled at the sudden invasion. "What do you think you’re doing?" she asked, shoving him away. Colin regarded her coolly. "I didn’t mean to offend you," he said quietly. "I was just...""Don’t ever do that again," she said. "Just don’t."He stepped back, stung by her anger. "Cassandra, I..."Cassy ran from the spot, leaving him staring after her with a confused expression. She ran all the way back to the house, willing herself not to cry. She’d known Colin was attracted to her; had suspected it from the first day he found out her secr
For a long moment, Eastland didn’t speak. Cassy stood frozen before him, desperately trying to cover all that he’d already seen. There was no hiding no; no secrets that hadn’t been exposed already. His formidable gaze swept over her once. Twice. "Get dressed," he said in a clipped tone. "I shall wait for you in the carriage."He turned around and left, leaving her shaking in the wake of his inaction. What on earth just happened? Why, oh why did she have to leave Colin’s letters lying around in her bedchamber? It was over now. Eastland would surely finish her off for good. Cassy dressed slowly, methodically. Her heart was pulsing as she wondered what he had in mind. But even when she met him afterwards, sitting in the carriage with a vacant expression, he didn’t let anything slip. The carriage lurched forward with a jerk. Eastland said nothing, and when the carriage stopped a while later, she flashed him a worried look. From they lamplights standing on each side of a doorway, she kne
When Cassy woke the next morning, she was slow to realize that she was in a different bed. It looked much the same, yet something was different. She blinked, then it all came back to her, the unpleasant bath from yesterday, arriving at London, and the unpleasant events afterwards.Eastland had gone out the day before, and he never returned, leaving her roaming about the town house and retiring earlier to her room than usual.She groaned as she slid from the bed, and found sore muscles where she hadn't known she had any. It had been a perfectly horrible day yesterday, to end a perfectly horrible month.At least, she thought with a sigh, she didn't have to hide her sex anymore. What would Eastland do?The answer came quickly enough, as there was a discreet knock on the door and a pert ladies maid announced that she was there to help Lady Cassandra dress.Glancing down at her rumpled clothes, Cassy opened her mouth to say that she was already dressed, but the maid had beckoned to someone
"I knew it will get to this!" The duchess said as soon as she arrived at the house. "And I knew there was something about you I liked at that party. You're indeed the feisty little thing I thought you were!"Cassy’s smile was indulgent as she curtsied before the duchess. The townhouse suddenly came alive with the arrival of several visitors. Two days after Cassy’s arrival at the house, the duchess’s personal dressmaker arrived. She was a pompous old woman, who regarded Cassy over the edge of her nose, as though sizing her up on sight. The woman was accompanied by two young, bright eyed girls who smiled openly and warmly at her. They kept her busy, talking about fabrics, the latest styles, what would look good and what wouldn’t, their ramblings seeming to be endless until Cassy’s head began to spin. Their madame stopped them then, asking them to take Cassy’s measurement and be done with it. That was the purpose of their visit after all. Barely an hour after they left, Cassy was force