Page 43 of The Lady's Last Mistake
The suggestive comment, which would have likely earned him a jab in the ribs, was cut off as another guest slammed into him. Grant was solid and tall enough to not be spun around by the force of it, but it did send a splash of champagne over the lip of his glass. It also shoved Cassie aside, for which he turned to spear the clumsy offender with a glare of annoyance. He was met with a red-cheeked man who stood as tall as Grant, his cravat loose, his eyes unfocused from too much liquor.
“Ho, there, friend, sorry about that. Thornton, is that you?” the man said, clapping Grant on the shoulder. It was then that Grant recognized him. He looked a bit sloppy and soft around the paunch and jowls. But he was nearly certain this was Lord Renfry, the heir to the Bainbury earldom. The sleazy cad had seduced his own stepmothers, both of whom had died. Both murdered, in fact. The investigation had been one Hugh and Audrey had solved a handful of years ago, and Renfry’s reputation had spiraled into the gutter since then.
At Grant’s side, Cassie’s arm transformed into inflexible granite. So, she knew of the degenerate, did she?
“Think nothing of it,” he said, and then started away. Cassie’s feet, however, stuck to the floor. Renfry clapped his hand onto Grant’s forearm, this time to stop him.
He looked pointedly at the drunkard’s hand, then to Renfry’s face with the intent to sear him with reproach. But he was not paying attention to Grant. Renfry’s eyes were hinged on Cassie.
“Lady Cassandra?” A mischievous grin pulled his wet lips into a leer. “It’s been quite some time. You look well. Extremely well.”
Grant had the urge to punch that leer clean off his mouth, but when he looked to Cassie, he forgot the urge. She’d lost all the pink coloring that had flooded her cheeks after leaving Madame Archambeau and Miss Stone. Her lips were slack, her pupils pinpricks as she stared up at Renfry. Her nostrils thinned as she took small, panicked breaths.
“My lady?” Grant whispered, alarm slowing his pulse.
Renfry chuffed a laugh, and instantly, Cassie averted her eyes. She turned her whole face away and loosened her grip on Grant’s arm, as if she was about to flee. He tightened his hold.
“We were just leaving, Renfry,” he said with more force and vitriol that necessary.
“Of course you were. Enjoy your evening, Thornton.” The man snorted again before moving off, but Grant and Cassie were already walking away, her gait stiff and awkward at his side. She clutched his arm.
“I’m not feeling well,” she said, breathless. “I’d like you to bring me home now.”
He murmured yes, of course he would, while his mind spun in circles. It had not been difficult to interpret Renfry’stone when he’d wished him a good evening. The man believed Grant would be winning Cassie’s favors. Why the hell would he suggest it? He clenched his jaw as they collected her pelisse and his coat and summoned the carriage.
He lost his patience as they waited outside on the crushed gravel drive, Cassie’s quick breaths fogging the crisp night air.
“When did you make Renfry’s acquaintance?”
She was no longer on his arm. Instead, she’d wrapped them around herself, her eyes on the drive, as if staring could make their carriage appear faster. She didn’t answer.
“Cassie,” he prodded.
“Some time ago.”
“How did you meet him?”
“I don’t recall.”
Her brief answers worked underneath his skin. He kept his mouth shut as his carriage and driver came forward. Once they were enclosed inside and Merryton was turning them back down the drive, Grant spoke.
“I’ve never seen you this rattled.”
“I’m not rattled. I told you—I’m not feeling well.”
Her voice was high and panicked. She wouldn’t look at him.
“What happened with Renfry?”
Cassie squeezed her eyes shut. “Please stop asking questions.Please.”
He rolled his shoulders, restless. Agitated. The way Renfry had looked at her, as if remembering something satisfying, pricked like a briar. Something had taken place between them. As they crossed out of Kensington and onto the well-lit King’s Road, to travel through Hyde Park, he recalled what Hugh had said to him at the Tennenbright ball.He’d had cautioned Grant against hurting Cassie; that she had already been hurt before.
He curled his hands into fists where they rested on his thighs. It had beenRenfry.
“What happened between the two of you?”
Unshed tears glistened in her eyes when she opened them again, the interior carriage lantern illuminating her beseeching expression. “It is none of your concern. We are not truly courting, so I don’t have to tell you anything.”
