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“Suspecting e into your carriage shortly after you arrived” Nothing would stop her leaving with Benedict today
A look of admiration and camaraderie passed between them “Then fetch your pelisse and meet me outside”
She didn’t need to ask what he intended to do He marched towards the study like Satan’s servant ready to unleash fire, bri occupants Cassandra hurried into the hall as Benedict burst into the study, ales
“How dare you!” he roared “How dare you hu day Everyone heard your vile diatribe Tregarth should have put you on your arse long ago But I swear, do anything to ridicule her again, speak distastefully of ouryou to a bloody pulp”
Awestruck, Cassandra stood and watched her husband berate her father If only he’d spoken with such courage and deterht have been
Benedict did not wait for a response He marched towards her, captured her hand and drew her to the front door “Forget your pelisse Buy a new one Buy whatever you need”
They sat in silence as the carriage covered the mile journey to Jermyn Street To Benedict’s home The place where he had throild parties and entertained his deain They were from different worlds They were more different now than ever before It was as if they stood on opposite sides of a river bank, resent between them
Anger still infused his tone when he introduced her to his servants—their servants now And while they greeted her with the polite respectfulness expected, she wondered what scandalous things they had witnessed during their service What did the staff really think of their master?
“I live modestly here,” Benedict said, his body stiff and tense as he escorted her upstairs “Meet with Mrs Ra
es you feel appropriate Hire more staff if you think it necessary You’re free to do as you please I’ his wife”
Anger, she could tolerate This coldness, this distance he placed between them, left a cavernous hole in her heart It was as if they were strangers forced to cohabit Thesense of loneliness took hold She rong to expect anything else, but if they were ever to find happiness they had mountains to climb
“I prefer to discuss any suggestions with you and come to a mutual decision” She sed down her nerves as he directed her to a bedchaht set aside some tiht work to heal the wounds of the past
Suspicion flashed in his eyes as he cast her a sidelong glance “We shall dine together each evening That should afford time to deal with household matters”
Her resolve almost cracked at his icy reply It shattered into a million pieces when he led her into the bedcha there alone
“The sa to the roo about ordering new curtains Perhaps you would prefer a more feminine scheme There’s an escritoire in another chamber Have a footman move it in here should you wish a private place to attend to your correspondence”