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“You’re entitled to your opinion Having been the one persecuted to the point of madness, I happen to side with your father in this instance” She stared out of the , too, watching two ht I would have married Lord Murray had a villain not opened my eyes I would have been lonely and htened and stepped back froht be difficult for you to believe, but I have always loved you To the depths ofthethe obedient daughter hoping for evidence of her parent’s love”

She turned and marched towards the bedchamber door

“Where are you going? You’ll prove too much of a distraction if you stand in the courtyard Your father will use you to gain an advantage”

Weary of the whole damned affair, she left the roo at her heels The hall was deserted Those ht of drunken tomfoolery had their noses pressed to the panes, too, while placing bets on the bout

“The sword is an extension of oneself,” Lord Tregarth said as he attacked her father with skill and precision “Every blow I deliver comes from the heart”

Her father was not as fit as Tregarth, nowhere near as agile on his feet It didn’t help that the thick s up to their knees, so one had no hope of gauging a man’s movements from his footwork

Tregarth attacked again in a sequence ofa ainst the force of the offensive He slipped on the flagstones, arth delivered a well-timed swipe to the face

“Aargh!” Her father’s cry rent the air He dropped his sword, and it clattered on the flagstones A thin red line marred his cheek Drops of blood trickled from the wound

Tregarth straightened “That is for the cutyou do to him, I shall visit on you tenfold” The lord lowered his sword and stepped back

She couldn’t bear to witness her father’s sharace and so raised the hood on her cloak and hurried along the narrow passageway leading to St James’ Street

It was a five-minute walk to Jermyn Street, but the need to escape came upon her, and so she took to her feet and fled The sound of booted steps pounding the pave up to her throat

“Cassandra! Wait!” Benedict called, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop running “Cassandra!”

She ran until her lungs burned, until she could barely catch her breath, until her husband closed the gap between therabbed her arm

Benedict whipped her around to face him “Did you not hear me call out to you?”

“I—I heard you” She heaved and tried to cal fron of rain Huge drops Huge drops that turned to strea down her cold cheeks