He whirled on her from where he was pacing back and forth behind his desk. "That is different," he roared, a vein in his head throbbing madly, "and you bloody well know it! A husband! Of all things! A husband!" He threw up his hands in the air. "The next thing you know, you'll tell me you wish to go to bloody fucking Egypt!"
"I would like to see the pyramids some day, should I ever have the opportunity," she replied calmly as if she hadn't just made a pronouncement that she had to know would upset his entire world. "But I would not demand to go, no."
Despite her outward demeanor, however, her voice shook a bit, letting him know that she was not nearly as calm and collected as she pretended to be.
Evan ran a hand through his hair, what there was left of it, for he could swear he felt great clumps of it falling out by the moment, uncertain as to what to do or say next. He had a thousand or more thoughts running through his head all at once, but one was more prominent than the others. Cassandra wanted a husband, and the very concept was not sitting well with him. Not in the least. What on earth had gotten into her?
"And when, pray tell, did you come up with this delightful little plan?" He knew he was acting like a raving madman, but he felt that he had the right. After all, she was his ward - technically anyway. Should they not discuss something as momentous as this first?
Fire flashed in her eyes, making them appear more brown than green just then. "While we were at Brambly the last few days. But I should add the necessity of this action only became clear to me when we arrived in London and that marriage was what I truly desired." She cleared her throat, obviously attempting to hold back her more fiery emotions. "All women dream of husbands, do they not?"
"You are not all women and you bloody well know it!" He slammed his hand down on the desk, making his inkwell rattle so hard it threatened to overturn. "Damn it, Cassie! What the devil has gotten into you? Are you mad?"
That, finally, seemed to stir both her passion and her anger, forcing both to bubble over. "No, Evan! I am not mad, but I am at a loss, even more so than when my father passed! No, I had not considered seeking a husband this Season, but then you announced your plans to wed in the very near future, so what am I to do?"
"I told you! You have a place here! With me! This is your home!" He was roaring with unchecked anger now, so loudly that the glass decanters on the sideboards shook with the force.
"And you are barking mad if you believe for one instant that any new bride of yours would put up with another available and of-age woman in her household! Especially one not related by blood! And, more to the point, one who already has an existing and some might say a far-too-intimate relationship with her husband!" Cassandra flew to her feet and was shouting now herself. Somehow that made Evan feel better. At least it let him know that she cared.
Also, her yelling was far better than her sitting there unnaturally still and controlled like the proper lady she was not and never had been.
"I am the marquess! Any wife of mine will do as I say!"
"And then resent you and me both, all at the same time!" Cassandra's chest was heaving now, and he made it a point not to look at her breasts. "My God, Evan, do you truly think that this as-yet-unnamed wife of yours would tolerate a woman who might be competition for her in your bed and in your house? She would not, for I would not! More to the point, do you not realize what sort of position that puts me in?"
"I. Do. Not. Bloody. Well. Care!" Each word he uttered was clipped and practically bellowed at top volume. "This is simply a reaction to me declaring that I need a wife, which you bloody well know that I do!"
Cassandra planted her hands on his desk as she had so many times in the past and leaned in until they were almost nose to nose, just as they had been a year ago. "What if it is?" It might be considered unladylike to raise one's voice, Evan thought, but he noted that Cassandra had no difficulty in doing just that. "I still cannot live here with you and your wife, Evan! What kind of blathering, cork-brained, mutton-headed idiot are you to even think such a thing?"
"Your home is here with me, and that is the end of this discussion!" He countered her move by moving forward himself so that this time, their noses did, in fact, touch. The skin to skin contact was highly inappropriate and made him want to back away, but he did not. Doing so would likely seem like a victory to Cassandra.
"You do not own me and I can do as I please, dragon!" Her eyes were narrowed now and full of an anger he hadn't seen in ages. He cared for that even less than he cared for the idea of her taking a husband.
"We shall see about that!"
"Yes, we shall!"
"Damn it all to fucking bloody Hell, Cassie! Be reasonable!"
Evan longed to reach for his cravat and loosen what was becoming an increasingly tight knot. Cassandra could not marry - at least not until he did. What if her marrying first upset the terms of the will? If she was no longer his ward before he wed, would some quirk in his bastard of an uncle's will mean that he, along with the Berkshire tenants lose everything? Would Follett then be given the title of marquess?
None of those scenarios sat well with Evan, but he couldn't very well say anything to Cassandra - for that in and of itself might be a violation of some sort.
Damn his uncle and damn the will that made it all but impossible for Evan to move forward with any of his plans - unless, of course, he had a wife.
"Children. Please. This is unbecoming of you."
Evan had been so busy glaring at Cassandra that he hadn't heard Aunt Louisa enter the room, though he wasn't surprised that she had appeared. She had likely heard them bellowing at each other. Then again, people all the way over in Whitechapel had likely heard them as well.
"Apologies, Aunt Louisa," Evan growled, pulling away from Cassandra before the older woman could notice how close they were and scold him for taking such a liberty - even if it was with Cassandra. "I did not mean to raise my voice."
She clucked in his direction. "Yes, you did, but it is quite alright. All Haddington man have a temper in my experience." She flicked a glance at Cassandra for good measure. "As do the women."
"I am not a Haddington," Cassandra grumbled as she, too, backed away from Evan's desk.
"You might as well be, child," Aunt Louisa countered primly. "Maybe not by blood, of course, but you've lived with this brood long enough to take on their habits. Why else would you be screeching at Evan like a fishmonger's wife? Especially when you know that ladies don't lower themselves to such base, coarse behavior?" She tossed a dark look over her shoulder in her nephew's direction. "Neither do gentleman, for that matter."
Immediately Evan felt ashamed of himself because he did know better and the last thing he wished to do was to embarrass Aunt Louisa. He wasn't even certain why he had been bellowing at Cassandra like some sort of crass commoner. That wasn't like him. All he knew was that the idea of her going off and getting married to some blathering fool who would not appreciate her did not sit well with him. After all, he had vowed to protect her, and how could he do that if she was living in another man's house as his wife? True, if she wed, she would be her husband's responsibility but somehow, that just did not seem...right to him, for lack of a better word.
"I am sorry, Auntie." This time Evan's apology was sincere.
"As am I. It will not happen again." Cassandra bit her lip, something she only did when she was feeling particularly contrite.
Louisa waved a hand in the air, dismissing them both. "Yes, it will. As long as the two of you are under the same roof, you will forever disagree. It is simply in your nature." She gestured to the window. "I would simply ask that the next time you disagree this strenuously, that you do it elsewhere. Or at the very least, not within hearing distance of the next house. I do not believe that Lord and Lady Eastham wish to know your views on marriage."
Evan straightened his spine, feeling properly chastised for his boorish behavior. "As Cassandra has said, we will endeavor not to allow this to happen again."
That comment
brought a smile to Aunt Louisa's face. "Well, at least the two of you can finally agree on something." Then she thumped her cane on the carpet, as she had taken to doing whenever she had a pronouncement to make. "Now, as to why I was on my way to see both of you when I happened to overhear the two of you screeching like banshees at each other."
"I was unaware that you were in search of us," Evan quipped, causing Cassandra to snicker. They shared a quick glance before he turned his attentions back to his aunt. "Apologies. As you were saying, Auntie?"
"Impudent scamp." Louisa shook her head, though it was clear she was not too upset by the scene she had just witnessed. "My point is that we have received an invitation to Lord and Lady Radcliffe's annual Crystal Ball. I know we had all agreed not to accept any invitations until we are more fully settled here in London, but this is a most coveted invitation. I do not think we should refuse. It would not be wise."
Well. An invitation to the Crystal Ball. That was...unexpected. If they had received an invitation last Season, Evan was unaware of it. Then again, he had also been attempting to fight his way out of the Scottish Highlands and return to London last year at this time.
"I agree." Evan nodded, running his hands through his hair once more. Strange. It no longer felt as if it was falling out in great clumps. Something about arguing with Cassandra must cause him to momentarily lose his faculties. "There are many reasons why we should accept and few why we should not."
"I agree as well." He was not surprised that Cassandra had voiced her assent as well. After all, the chit was in want of a husband so the Crystal Ball would be the perfect event at which to begin her hunt. "In fact, I shall go send a message to Madame LaVallier this very instant that both Louisa and I need at least one of the gowns we ordered during the Little Season delivered today or, at the very latest, tomorrow morning. We cannot be seen at such an important event in last season's frocks!" Then, without taking her proper leave of them, she scurried out of the room, the sound of her slippers slapping on the floor fading quickly as she rushed away.
For a long moment, neither Evan nor Louisa said a word. Then, rather unexpectedly, the older woman laughed, giving him pause. "Auntie?"
"Ah, the girl is a constant surprise." She shook her head and settled her wool shawl more firmly around her shoulders. It was thickly woven from Highland wool, just one of the many gifts Evan had bestowed upon the previously neglected woman after he was named the new marquess. "Just when I believe I have her deciphered, she surprises me anew."
"And me as well," Evan agreed, though he hadn't meant to be quite that honest in his assessment of Cassandra. "You knew before we departed Brambly that she desired a husband, didn't you, Auntie." His aunt's lack of surprise over his argument with Cassandra had hinted that Louisa had already been informed of his ward's plans. "When you came upon us arguing, I noticed that you did not say how shocked you were at her plans to marry."
The older woman didn't immediately reply but instead took her time settling herself in a chair, a smirk on her lips. "Not in the least. The day you announced your plans to wed this Season, I came across our fair Cassandra that very night already plotting out her own wedding." She shook her head. "I know a scared young woman when I see one, and that gel had the look of pure terror in her eyes that day, though she'd likely deny it if asked."
Evan took a seat on the edge of his desk himself, one leg swinging freely from side to side. It was his favorite position from which to think. "Why is she so afraid, Auntie? Nothing will change. I shall obtain a bride, and we will all go on as we have been."
His aunt shook her head sadly. "Are you daft, child? Cassandra wasn't wrong in what she said earlier, you know. A new woman in this house will want to put her stamp on things, do things her way and Cassandra? Your ward or not, she stands in the way of whatever plans your future marchioness has in mind. She also stands between you and this unknown future wife of yours, whether you realize it or not, for the two of you share a connection that you and your new wife cannot and never will."
"How so?" For the life of him, Evan could not understand his aunt's meaning.
"The two of you navigated the early days of the marquisate together. For as much as you felt your way into this new role you had been given, Cassandra did as well. For better or worse, you changed her life and she changed yours. And you did so together. That is not a bond that is easily broken, nor can it be shared with another who was not there at the time." Louisa shrugged. "I have been where Cassandra is and I know of what I speak."
"I...see." Evan hadn't quite considered the situation from that angle before, but perhaps he should have.
His aunt cleared her throat. "Cassandra is also not one to take orders, as you are well aware. Any sweet young thing you pluck from the Marriage Mart will desire to give them." She shrugged. "That said, Cassandra is still wrong as well. About a great many things where this whole marriage business is concerned, I'm afraid."
"In what way?" Fear clenched Evan's stomach for a moment. If Cassandra was about to do something foolish, he wanted to know now so that he could put a stop to it before she hurt herself. Or worse, was ruined beyond repair.
Louisa grimaced. "Not my place to tell you, so you'll have to ask your fair Cassie about that." He noted that she used his occasional nickname for Cassandra and was certain that Louisa was attempting to make a point, though he couldn't fathom what.
"And if she won't tell me?" Because really, for all that they had shared, Evan could not quite see Cassandra trusting him with the secrets of her heart. That was a step too far.
"You'll have to find a way, child." She paused. "What I can say is that I think the girl is being a...what was it she called you? Ah, yes. A mutton-headed fool. Daft girl likely thinks she can run back to Little Bromley and wed that preacher's son she was soft on in her youth."
Frowning, Evan settled himself better on top of his desk. "How is it that I don't know of this man? Who is he and how serious is he about courting Cassandra? Has he even been in contact with her?"
"Pish-posh," Louisa responded with a grimace. "He's a real enough man, to be certain, but all the rest? It's a fairy tale our lovely Cassandra has concocted out of fear. Girl talks in her sleep and snores like the very devil himself. Leaves her writings scattered about for anyone to find as well."
"Auntie," Evan warned. "Were you spying on Cassandra?"
She sniffed indignantly. "No. Of course not! Proper ladies do not spy. They do, however, assist a frazzled maid from time to time and you know that Cassandra is not exactly a neat person."
"What did you see?"
Louisa thumped her cane on the floor again. Apparently, she was willing to share what she knew after all. "Her diary or journal or whatever you want to call it. She has some fool notion in her head that she can run back home and wed her childhood friend, a Mr. Matthew Taylor, and move the two of them into Ivy Cottage, neat as you please."
Evan eyed his aunt warily. "Why do I have the feeling you did a bit more than just read her private papers?" Likely, he thought to himself, because he would have investigated further as well and Aunt Louisa was a Haddington by blood if nothing else.
"I had to protect the girl, didn't I?" Louisa sniffed. "I didn't do much. Just sent a note to a friend of mine in Little Bromley, inquiring about this Mr. Taylor." She gave him a rather indignant look. "Miss Cassandra isn't the only one with friends in that area, you know."
"And?" Evan prodded, wishing his aunt would hurry along with her story. If he needed to take some type of action to prevent Cassandra from making a tragic mistake, he needed to know now.
Louisa smiled sagely. "It was as I had thought. This Mr. Taylor wed at his father's direction as soon as he returned home from the war. He has a new son and another babe already on the way. Still, the man is a snake and will do whatever he can to benefit himself, even if it means harming others and pilfering their pockets in the process." Then her gaze darkened. "So while he is not free to wed our girl, once he learned of Cassandra's good fina
ncial fortune as of late, he has mentioned on more than one occasion that he would be amenable to taking a wealthy spinster as a mistress and his father, unsurprisingly, is rather agreeable to the notion. It does not take much to imagine what unfortunate lady this man has selected for the role of his mistress."
"No, indeed it does not." Evan drummed his fingers on his desk. "And Cassandra is in love with this man?"
"She imagines herself to be, I think. Or she once did, at any rate. Now? If she knows of his true nature, I cannot image how she still could, but then I cannot discount the possibility either." Louisa shrugged. "But who can be certain? The girl is more complex than all the maths in the world. And maths were never my strong suit."
Silently, Evan considered the situation for a long moment. He still did not like the idea of Cassandra finding a husband. However, as a man who had kept many mistresses over the years, he did not like the idea of such a fate befalling her either. She was no fool, but if somehow she convinced herself that she was in love with this Mr. Taylor and he with her? Then she might likely take him up on any offer he might make. Including one as his mistress.
More than anything, Cassandra sought stability. Evan had known her long enough to figure out that much. If she believed, even for a moment, that this Mr. Matthew Taylor could offer her that? Then she might well betray her principles and take him up on such an offer - particularly if she thought it would provide her with security. And love.
"Very well," Evan finally sighed. "Though I do not like the idea any better now than I did earlier, I do think that it is a good idea if Cassandra finds a husband, for once she gets an idea in her head, she will not let go of it for all of the tea in China."
Louisa glanced at him askance. "Much like someone else I know."
A Scandal In the Making Page 5
