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“Oh thank goodness you are well.” Chastity paused briefly to bend double and draw in a breath. “I lost you and feared...” She glanced between them all. “You look like hell,” she said to Luke.
“That’s hardly ladylike, Chastity,” Anton scolded. “Now step aside, Cassandra, and let me finish him.”
“You will do no such thing.” Her height at least allowed her to almost stare into his eyes. Cassie set her jaw and hardened her gaze. Anton shared her fair hair and blue eyes but there was nothing soft about him today. She’d never seen him look so furious. But she would not let him cow her. “You will not harm him. He just saved my life.”
“What are you doing here anyway?” Chastity demanded.
“I received a letter from a concerned servant.” Anton spoke to Chastity but did not remove his gaze from Luke’s. “He said there were men protecting the house and one of the servants had been attacked. I wonder, why it is my sisters did not inform me of such.”
“We did not wish to concern you and we had it in hand,” Chastity said firmly.
“Oh yes, it looks like it.” He glanced up and down Cassie. “Why does my sister have blood on her neck and why was she in the arms of this rake?”
Cassie scowled. “Luke is your closest friend.”
“He was,” Anton spat.
Cassie drew in a breath and held it. “Luke has had nothing but my welfare in mind since you left. He has watched over me, even when I did not wish him to.”
“He watched you very closely by what I just saw.”
“Anton—” Luke started.
“I am not talking to you, Whitehurst.” Anton’s fists flexed. “If I can help it, I shall never exchange words with a bastard like you again.” He looked at Cassie. “Now who is going to tell me what occurred here today?”
“It’s my fault,” Cassie said, pressing a hand to her chest. “I wanted to help a friend and—”
“It’s not just Cassie.” Demeter stepped forward. “We all wanted to help Jane.”
Anton scowled. “Jane? Mr. Parsons’ sister.”
Cassie nodded. “His death was suspicious, and no one would listen to Jane. So I—” She looked at her sisters. “Wewanted to help. Essentially, that led us here. These men are somehow responsible.”
“God almighty, and you allowed this, Whitehurst?”
“Not really,” Cassie said before Luke could respond. “He did shut me in the parlor room.”
“He also kissed you.” Her brother shook his head and eyed Luke. “I should have known I could not trust you. I should have realized your history would never allow you to be a true gentleman. I kept it secret all this time and now you have ruined my sister.”
“It was hardly ruination,” Chastity protested. “No one but us saw.”
Cassie glanced between the two men. Luke appeared resigned as he clasped his arm. Prepared to take whatever Anton would give him. A vein in Anton’s head pulsed. She’d never seen him so furious in his life, even when she’d spilled ink on his favorite and most expensive book.
She frowned and held up a hand. “Wait? Secret? What happened?”
***
BROKEN ARM CRADLED in one hand, Luke eyed Anton coolly. If his friend thought he revealed him, he was wrong. Luke thoroughly intended to tell Cassie everything. He regretted her finding out this way, but he’d known the minute he saw Cassie try to come to his rescue that there was no going back from this.
He needed Cassie more than his next breath. More than Anton’s friendship. Hell, more than his honor. If he was to ever fix the wrongs of his past, he was going to do so by being the best man he could be—for Cassie.
Cassie twisted to view him. “What is this secret my brother speaks of?”
He briefly glanced at Anton’s smug expression. “You know I am not exactly an innocent.”
“I do.”
“During our time at Oxford it was worse.”
