“Nonsense. I mean…” He chuckled. “Imagine if I had woken up to find out that my fiancée was not the most beautiful woman in all of the world? If that is not luck, I do not know what is.”
“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Is that all that matters to you? Beauty?”
He grinned. “You will not make me feel guilty for thinking the sun shines only so that the world might be bright enough so that your beauty can be seen by all.”
She blushed furiously and looked away, hating how charming his words were, just as she hated how much she liked hearing them.
“It is more than your beauty, Isolde…” His voice turned serious. “It is everything. The way you make me feel. The way you make it so that I do not care about anything but being around you. And truly, had I woken up to find that you were a grizzled old crone…” He laughed as he looked at her, his eyes sparkling in the sun. “I would still feel the same about you. Know that to be true.”
The guilt inside Isolde crashed, and she thought she might be sick.
“Come…” She kept her hand in his and turned to lead him back along the garden path. “We are trying to restore your memory, no? It will be hard to do that if we spend the whole day in one place.”
“True, true,” he agreed as he allowed himself to be led. “A small part of me was worried about what might be revealed, but I ought not to be. The sooner I get my memories back, the sooner we can get on with our lives together.”
Isolde grimaced as she looked ahead.
What would happen when that day arrived? Mr. Pemberton was willing, for now, to put up with Isolde, not wanting to upset Cassian. But he knew the truth of it, and she did not doubt that he would not hesitate to expose her the moment he sensed the time was right.
Not that he would need to. Once Cassian’s memories returned, he would realize he had been lied to. And Isolde sensed that her weak reasoning of doing this to help him would not sound nearly so righteous when that day came.
Do not think of that right now, Isolde. Focus on the present… focus on why you are really here. To help your family… they are what matters.
It was a strange morning that followed that conversation.
At first, Isolde was beside herself with guilt. She was lying. She was taking advantage of Cassian. She was the worst of people, and no number of excuses would change that fact. For this reason, she assumed it would be a most wretched day, one sure to leave her feeling sick and shame-filled and wanting to be done with this place… and herself, for that matter.
Only, that wasn’t the case at all.
They started their morning walking through the back garden, and Cassian was nothing but friendly and loving and made wonderful company. He laughed constantly, he always smiled, and whenever he sensed that Isolde’s mood was not piqued, he sought to change it.
Next, they wandered around the nearby lands of the estate. There were rolling meadows and golden farms, framed by the bright sun, and the longer they walked, the more Cassian spoke, and the easier things became. Why, Isolde might have even gone so far as to say that she enjoyed herself.
“We really should have taken the horses,” Cassian said as they trudged.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you sure that is such a good idea?”
“I know how to ride a horse, Isolde!”
“Do you, now?” She looked him over. “How is your head, by the way? Still throbbing from… what was it again? An accident while riding a horse?”
“Oh, that is unfair!”
“Just the truth.”
He laughed. “But that was the old me. Anything that happened before the accident does not count.”
“It sounds like an excuse to me.”
He laughed and hurried to her side, again taking her hand and holding it close as if he feared letting her go.
Once they finished walking the estate, they returned to the manor for lunch. It was a simple meal, as Cassian did not wish to bother the cooks, and they spoke throughout—the type of pleasant conversation had when two people were getting to know one another better.
“You still owe me a story, by the way,” he said to her with a grin.
“And what story is that?”
“How we met, of course. Your father is a vicar, no? Strange that I would be allowed to marry the daughter of someone who is not noble.”
