Page 44 of Fatal By Design
“A hair was all we needed,” he commented with a goading grin toward Cassie. “You ladies are deceivingly robust. Well done.”
Audrey wasn’t certain she liked being called robust, but it was clearly meant as a compliment and she thanked him. However, he held onto her hand a moment longer than necessary, his attention again drifting toward her fingers. Discomfited, Audrey retracted her hand and brushed her skirt—and it was only then that she realized it was utterly soaked. The water splashing off the oars had drenched it.
“Here you are, duchess.” Sir edged past Mr. Henley and extended a length of toweling.
“Excellent foresight, Sir. Thank you.”
“I am ready for a rematch,” Cassie said, the color high in her cheeks. Audrey laughed.
“My dear Cassie, you’re just as competitive as Michael.”
“And where has the duke and the others gone off to?” Mr. Henley asked, his forehead beading with sweat, his shirtsleeves dampened by the same, as well as by lake water.
Lord Kettleridge also accepted a towel from a footman, and while drying the back of his neck answered, “Pyke-on-Wending. Montague Lodge, in fact.”
Had Mr. Henley not been reaching for the towel being extended to him, Audrey might have missed his reaction. He went still, his arm freezing mid-grasp—before then tugging the towel from the footman’s hand.
“Whatever for?” he asked, but just as Kettleridge began to inform Mr. Henley of the events of the last handful of days, a gentle hand rested on Audrey’s shoulder.
Cassie had taken two glasses of ratafia from a footman, one of which she extended to Audrey. “Cheers,” she said as Audrey accepted her small glass. Mr. Henley and Kettleridge had been joined by Mr. Filmore and they were ambling toward the grassy banking and a refreshments table. Though she wanted to follow and observe Mr. Henley as he heard about Millie’s abduction, Cassie’s next words stole her attention thoroughly.
“I want to explain about Mr. Knowlton.” Her voice was strained and soft. Her energy and delight from the regatta had transformed into something more dismal.
He wasMr. Knowltonnow, when before, she had referred to him as William.
“It is over between the two of you?” Audrey guessed.
She flattened her lips and nodded. “He isn’t a cad, as Toby called him,” she said, leading Audrey onto the grass and into the shade of an awning. The other ladies, soon to join them, were currently being rowed in smaller boats across the lake, George and his nursemaid among them.
Audrey kept her voice low. “What happened?”
“It’s inconsequential, really.” Cassie sipped her drink and attempted an insouciant shrug, but it came across as forced. Shedidcare. Whatever happened, it wasn’t minor to her.
“You two were smitten,” Audrey reminded her. “Or so it appeared.”
In fact, an official proposal had been expected early in the summer. It had not come to pass, but Audrey had assumed it was the result of William and Cassie simply being young. He was but twenty-two and Cassie, not yet twenty.
“I believe he was smitten,” she said after a moment. “And I wish I could say the same. More than anything I wish I could say it.”
“But you weren’t. Not like he was?”
She shook her head, and Audrey could now see the truth: Cassie felt guilty for not matching William in his affections for her.
“These things cannot be forced,” she said to her. “You were being honest with him. It was a kindness, in the end.”
“I know. William is wonderful, handsome, kind. I should have been in love. And now, with his attentions having turned elsewhere, I wonder if I’ve bungled everything.” Her eyes drifted toward Lady Veronica and Cynthia, who were waiting on the dock for other ladies. Understanding tolled through Audrey.
“Miss Stewart?”
Cassie nodded. “They became acquainted while I was in Brighton.” She sighed. “But Audrey, I just…I’m not sure I can ever trust any man again. Not after…”
Audrey lowered herself into one of the chairs that had been set out and, taking Cassie’s arm, invited her to sit next to her. “Not all men are like Renfry.”
The wretched man had used Cassie horribly, making vows of love and marriage to entice her into his bed. To gain her trust. With a twinge of apprehension, Audrey compared her own night with Hugh to what must have happened with Cassie and Lord Renfry. She could now understand how easily a woman could be led. Renfry and Hugh were utter opposites, however. Hugh’s intentions were honorable. Honest. Should she, as Cassie did, ever discover otherwise… With that unsettling thought, Audrey’s compassion for her young sister-in-law deepened.
“I know,” Cassie said. “Logically, I know.”
And yet, the wounds he’d caused had not yet healed.
