“If you won’t confide in me, I can’t help you decide what to do.” She bit her lip. “However, you don’t need to worry about restoring our respectability any longer.”
“Pardon?” Eliza propped herself up on her elbow. She wiped the back of her eyes so she could better see her sister. “I don’t like your expression, Cassandra Wainwright.” Her heart thumped. “Don’t you even think about going to the Lyon’s Den.”
“Me? Go to the infamous Lyon’s Den?” Cassie shook her head. “I wouldnever.”
“Then what?”
“I’ve put into motion a far simpler plan. One that will sew everything up quite nicely.”
“What do you mean?”
“While you were out, Harbury and I—thanks to the assistance of the groomsman—have exchanged several messages.”
“About what?”
“Marriage. I proposed to him.”
“No!” Eliza sat up. “You didn’t!”
Cassie shrugged. “Harbury got all of us into this mess, but I bear responsibility, too. I was too timid to pull away or give him the set-down he deserved. Too timid because—oh, Eliza—Iwantedhim to notice me. I feel like Iwilledhim to notice me.”
“But everything I did was to save you from Harbury!”
Cassie cupped her sister’s cheek. “I know. And I appreciate everything you have tried to do—and for the best of reasons. I was angry that night. Harbury humiliated me when he said he’d simply needed a distraction. But I’ve since come to believe the duke is not quite as terrible as we first imagined him to be.”
“Cassie!” Eliza urgently grasped her sister’s hand. “Harbury’s long been in love with someone else.”
“I know,” Cassie replied, unconcerned. “He admitted as much. I might hesitate to marry him if Lady Pennington, returned his love. But she can’t, can she? She married Pennington just last year.”
“Are you sure about Harbury? I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself like Mother.”
“I’m not like Mother. Besides, I think Father was able to her hurt her so badly because she loved him. I have no illusions about Harbury. He’s demonstrated his faults quite plainly.”
“Then why?”
She shrugged. “I find him attractive. I find his company pleasant. Once, I thought I saw a rather heated look in his eye that I won’t mind seeing again.” Cassie grinned mischievously. “But my heart is in no danger, soIcan’t be in danger.”
Eliza stared at her sister in stunned silence.
“Eliza, he’s an honorable man—”
“What makes you say so?”
She shrugged. “He didn’t have to agree to this courtship, did he?”
Eliza snorted. “Asquith put a gun to his head.”
“Asquith,” she said derisively. “I don’t believe he truly frightened the duke, do you? Besides, I’ve spoken with Harbury’s sister. Lady Sarah agrees I would make Harbury an excellent wife.”
“But you could have anybody! Every man wants a sweet, biddable wife.”
“I choose him. My mind is made up. Please don’t waste time trying to dissuade me. He’s already accepted my demands. I’ve accepted his.”
“His demands? What demands—”
Cassie silenced Eliza with a finger over her mouth. “That is between Harbury and me. What’s done is done. Our betrothal is to be announced at the Harbury ball tomorrow. Trust me?”
Eliza frowned. “You aren’t giving me much of a choice.”
