Cassie sniffed. “Attraction at first sight, at least.”
“Maybe hedidchoose you on purpose,” soothed Eliza. “Only he just didn’t fully know his own mind at the time.”
Cassie laughed bitterly. “Have you forgotten what he said to me before he swept me out onto the dance floor?”
“I remember.” Her sister shuddered.
“You’ll do,” she repeated the hurtful words aloud. “Eliza, I think something in me shattered at Almack’s, only I didn’t know yet. I held everything together…until today.” She put her hand to her head. “It just became too much.”
“Do you want to talk about what happened that sent you running off?”
She shook her head no. “Not yet.”
“Well, he doesn’t know how lucky he is.” Eliza chewed her lip. “Ihatehim and his cloven hooves!”
“I know what you’re trying to do,” Cassie said. “But I alreadyknowhating him is overwrought.”
“Doyou hate him?”
Cassie didn’t answer.
“When he was pretending to court you, you liked him,” Eliza reminded. “You called him gentlemanly.”
“Gentlemanly,” she sighed. He had been. Even though he’d been forced to court her, he’d been thoughtful in small, unnecessary ways, just as he’d been these early weeks of their marriage. “Harburyisgentlemanly.”
“See? Your voice softened! Youdon’thate him after all.”
No, she didn’t. “It doesn’t matter how I feel about him. Iwantto be sweet and nice, understanding and accommodating, but when I try to turn my good intentions into action, I feel a silent roar in my chest.”
“What did he do to make you flee?”
“I didn’tflee. I left him for a time. And not because of something he did, but something he didn’t do. He didn’t tell me the woman heswore he’d love forever had been his sister’s governess.”
Eliza winced.
“Eliza! You knew, too?!”
She nodded. “Adrian told me everything after he and I saw Lady Pennington at the Royal Academy. And, if you remember, I tried to talk you out of marrying him by revealing his infatuation, but you told me you already knew all about his first love.”
Cassie scowled. “Apparently he forgot to tell me a few essential details.”
“What did he do when you found out?”
“He held me. He let me cry.” Cassie’s shoulders slumped. “He repeatedly told me I knew him better than she ever had.”
Eliza’s eyes went soft. “The fiend.”
“Not you, too!”
“You must admit it’s romantic.”
“He’s romantic. And thoughtful. And when he smiles”—she jabbed her finger into her cheek—“he has a stupid dent right here that makes me want to kiss him.”
Eliza nodded knowingly. “Clearlyevil.”
“I’m so,soangry. I feel like the anger will never end.”
Eliza gazed at her with sympathy. “Maybe the anger you are feeling is not only about Harbury. Maybe your anger has something to do with Mama’s unhappiness, too?” Eliza held her breath as she studied Cassie. “Maybe,” she continued, “you’re just a little bit angry that following her example of sacrifice hasn’t worked?”
