Page 25 of Enchanted By the Lyon
“Was this before or after your husband’s own death?”
She raised her eyes to stare at Lucius. “Before… by a few months. Rupert died shortly thereafter in a riding accident. He was racing with some of his friends and went to jump a hedge. His girth came unbuckled from his saddle and when he fell, his neck broke. There was nothing anyone could do for him.” She swallowed the knot in her throat and looked at him. It was hard to recall those memories, and painful. “Why do you ask?”
He stood again and went to the sideboard to pour a small draught of sherry into a glass. Returning, he offered her the drink. “What if their deaths, along with your husband’s, are all connected?”
At his words, she almost choked on the sherry as it slipped down her throat. She spluttered, and said, “How could they be connected? My parents never took the time to even remotely get to know Rupert.”
“But you mentioned he died after a fall. What if his saddle had been tampered with? Was Barlow among those with whom Rupert was riding?”
Cassandra shrugged. “How am I to know this? This all happened a very long time ago.”
“And I have the gut instinct that afterwards, Barlow’s finances took a turn for the better.”
A frown formed on her brow as she tried to recall the past. “I suppose it was possible Barlow could have been there. He was the one who reported Rupert had died. But the brothers were never close and as I mentioned with our meeting with Mrs. Dove-Lyon, Rupert didn’t trust him. I highly doubt he would have relied on him with his will if he had one at all.”
“You have given me much to begin investigating the matter, Mrs. Vaughn,” Lucius replied, slipping back to the formality she had asked from him. “I will do my best to right the wrong I believe has been done to you.”
He stood again, leaving Cassandra to do the same. Her private time with Lucius was at an end. “Thank you for looking into the matter for me,” she said, as was only polite.
He gave her a bow. “I will report back to you soon on what I learn. In the meantime, I hope to see you again during the Season’s round of balls.”
She curtsied without answering, and after a moment he took his leave. She sank back into her chair, reached for the remainder of her sherry, and finished the drink. The liquor burned its way down to her stomach, leaving Cassandra with the memories of her past running rampant through her mind.Good heavens!She’d never thought that her parents’ and her husband’s deaths as being connected. The idea made her wonder what Lucius might uncover about her past and especially, to what lengths Barlow had gone to in order to financially secure his future?
Chapter Fifteen
Lucius paced hismother’s front parlor as he waited with his brother for her to join them. They were to attend a ball this evening and she had asked for both men to accompany her. But Lucius’s mind was elsewhere and attending any social event where he knew a certain woman would be only added to his frustration on how the past month had gone.
To tell himself that the last encounter he had with Cassandra at the Lyon’s Den had been a foolish blunder on his part was an understatement. She may have been right when she had told him that his game was slipping. He should never had asked her to become his mistress, but his better judgment had fallen away from him much like the lady herself had through his grasp. He could hardly blame her. He had been a cad. To imply such an offer the first time had been a huge mistake. To repeat such a proposition was inexcusable. Small wonder she hated him. No… not hated… was disappointed in him instead.
Perhaps that fact alone bothered him the most.
And yet, he still had a job to do in order to fulfil his debt to Mrs. Dove-Lyon. Such an endeavor had become more difficult with the mixed emotions that consumed him each time he encountered Cassandra. The more he had to be in her presence,the more he wanted to knowmoreabout this woman. She was like a mystery he needed to solve as to why she held such a hold over him. And this wasn’t just about her past and whether or not her brother-in-law had swindled her out of her inheritance. There was a genteel grace about her that fascinated him. Each time they met so he could learn more about her husband and brother-in-law, she handled the encounter as though nothing untoward had occurred between them.
He eyed the bottle of brandy on the sideboard wondering if he should pour himself a glass but then dismissed the idea. He continued his pacing before he went to the window, pulled back the curtain, and stared out into the evening’s dark skies. He hadn’t been idle this past month. There were always estate matters to see to along with his other gentlemanly pursuits. More importantly, and after quickly coming to a decision, he had made a hefty payment to Virtue Darling and settled his accounts with his now ex-mistress. She’d hardly seemed offended that he had ended their association so quickly.
He had then put all of his efforts and free time into learning more about Barlow Vaughn. What he had been learning about Vaughn made Lucius realize that this man would have wasted little time taking advantage of his brother’s widow.
Debts had plagued the man until he suddenly came into a substantial windfall; it was easy for Lucius to speculate on the origin of those funds. It would still take some investigating to learn the full proof of the matter, but Lucius was committed to righting the wrong that had been done to Cassandra. In fact, she might still be able to gain back what was taken from her, given that Barlow had certainly turned his life around after benefiting from his brother’s estate.
“Do sit down, Lucius. You’re making me dizzy with all this pacing,” his brother scolded from across the room.
Lucius hadn’t even realized he had left the window since he had been so deep in thought. He finally gave in to the urge for a drink, went to the sideboard, and poured a small draught of brandy into a glass. With a wave of the decanter toward his brother who shook his head no, he placed the bottle down, took up his drink, and downed it.
“Father would be appalled that you wasted a good brandy in such a manner,” Leopold said with a smirk.
Lucius shrugged. “Call it reinforcement for the coming evening.”
His brother nodded, then asked, “What has you so preoccupied of late? I’ve barely seen you at the clubs.”
Lucius took a seat opposite of his brother. “I’m working on paying off a debt.”
His brother’s laugh echoed in the room before he contained himself. “You? In debt? Is the world coming to an end?” Leopold teased with another annoying grin.
“Far from it,” Lucius muttered while thinking of the loss of losing Cassandra. “Maybe…”
“And exactly who do you owe such a debt to that has you so befuddled?”
Lucius ran his fingers along the nape of his neck before he finally answered, knowing he would never live this one down. “Mrs. Dove-Lyon.”
