Page 10 of Alone with the Beastly Duke
“I will only tell you this: the person living in that house does not concern you, and you will do well to steer clear of its premises,” he replied, rather too sternly.
It was at this moment that they entered the house.
“What house?” a voice that Jasmine recognized to be Cassian’s asked before she even saw him.
“Our neighbor’s on the other side,” Jasmine replied quickly.
If one person would tell her what she needed to know about the house, it was Cassian. He made friends with many people from the Ton and had no problem telling everyone who needed to know what he knew.
“Cassian, do not!” William said in a stern voice.
“I suppose, I cannot tell you for free now,” Cassian said in his mischief-laden voice.
Jasmine sighed. “What do you want me to give you?”
“Ten shillings will do,” he replied.
Jasmine gasped. “That is a lot of money for a little gossip.”
“I suppose, you can get your gossip somewhere else then,” Cassian said as he made to leave.
Jasmine knew that Cassian did not need the money. Rather, he was simply asking to torment her.
“Fine!” Jasmine said, holding Cassian’s hand so he would not leave, “I will give you the ten shillings.”
Cassian finally smiled. “Ask me what you need to know, and you can only ask three questions.”
“That is not fair,” Jasmine cried out.
Cassian shrugged. “Nothing in life is fair.”
Jasmine retrieved the man’s stolen purse and gave Cassian ten shillings from the purse.
Cassian stared at the purse with interest. “I have never seen that purse before. Where did you find it?”
“It does not concern you. Just tell me what I need to know,” Jasmine said. Cassian shrugged.
“Who lives in that house?” Jasmine asked.
“He is called the Nordic Beast,” Cassian answered simply. There was a moment of silence where Jasmine expected Cassian to explain further.
“What?” Cassian said.
“That’s all?” she replied.
“I have answered your question. You wanted to know who lived in the house, and I told you his name, at least what everyone calls him. You can ask more questions if you would like to know more,” Cassian continued.
Jasmine knew that Cassian was mischievous, but she did not know that his mischief was to the point of giving her a limited amount of information even when she had paid him for answers.
“What does this Nordic Beast look like? Tell me in detail,” Jasmine asked.
“He is incredibly huge. He is the biggest and hugest man I have ever seen. In fact, he would tower over Father easily if they were ever to stand side-by-side. Members of the Ton believe that he has giant blood, but I say they are simply being ridiculous,” Cassian answered.
“I suppose he cannot be so huge,” Jasmine argued.
“He is. I once saw him while looking over our fence. He indeed looked like a beast.”
For a brief moment, Jasmine remembered the huge giant man she had met at the bookshop and felt a pang of guilt at how she had stolen his money. She wondered if the Nordic Beast was as huge as that giant man.
