“It is very muchnoteavesdropping. In fact, it is the very opposite of eavesdropping, whatever that may be.”
There she was. There was the hellion.
He felt the involuntary tug at the corner of his mouth that he had been suppressing all morning.
“Whatever that was, My Lady, I want none of it in my house when we are married.”
“Married?”
“Of course.” He said it loudly for the benefit of her father. Then he leaned toward her ear. “It is a deal,” he murmured, his voice pitched low for her ears only. “Remember?”
She glared at him. The blush, which had been receding, came back. Her eyes flicked to her father, who was watching them with the long-suffering expression of a man who had rather hoped not to be present for any of this, then back to Cassian, and she lifted her chin.
“Father.” It was the voice she had used last night, just before she had announced that she must be ruined. “I should like to speak with His Grace alone.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Father, please.”
“Well,” Lord Westbury said after a moment as he closed the ledger on his desk with considerable care, “I suppose you have done worse than just talk to him alone. That is why we are here this morning.” He came around the desk.
Cassian watched him. He had thought he had taken Lord Westbury’s measure, but he had been wrong. The man was more difficult than he had assumed. He saw, in the way the man crossed the room, that he was reaching the end of a long tether.
“I shall leave the door open,” Lord Westbury continued. “And I shall return in a few minutes. But I warn you, you foolish girl, do not ruin this agreement unless you wish to be sent away from London. I will not have you ruin our reputation again just because you suddenly fancy yourself adventurous.”
The fire went out of her face.
Cassian saw it go. It was a strange feeling. He had spent two years wishing somebody would put Alice Lockwood in her place and promising himself that one day he would do it. He had pictured the satisfaction of seeing her chin dip, of seeing her fold the way other young women folded.
He had not, until this moment, ever seen it happen.
She did not fold dramatically. There was no scene. The fight in her simply left, and her shoulders dropped. She looked down at the carpet and said in a voice he did not recognize, “Yes, Father.”
Cassian hated it. He had stepped between them before he had thought about it. Alice was behind his shoulder. Lord Westbury was in front of him. He had not decided to do it; he had just done it.
“With all due respect, My Lord.” His voice came out colder than he had meant. “This is my bride, and I will not allow anyone to disrespect her again. Not even her own father. And I really do not like threats.”
Since his father had died, Cassian had spent a long time learning how to use his voice. Now, he used the flat, low tone his father had used in his worst moments and watched Lord Westbury’s expression do the quick reassessment of a man who realized he had miscalculated.
“Your Grace.”
“Five minutes, My Lord.”
Lord Westbury opened his mouth then closed it. He nodded sharply and then walked out of the room. The door swung half shut behind him, leaving them alone.
Cassian turned back to Alice. Her chin was up again. Her eyes were not. The fire was coming back into her face by slow degrees, and her mouth, when she opened it, did the thing it did when she was about to be unforgivable.
“Have you lost your mind, Your Grace?”
“He needed to be put in his place. No offense.”
“That is not what I am talking about.”
“Then what?”
“Your Grace, I—” She stopped and took a deep breath. The next part came out fast. “Thank you. For what you just said to him. You did not have to. Truly. Thank you.”
He held her gaze.
