Page 32 of Enchanted By the Lyon
Cassandra held Patience back as Forbes strode around them. As he left, she heard crying coming from inside. She picked up the hem of her dress and hurried into the front parlor where Higgins was helping Emily from the floor.
“Good heavens! What did he do to you, Emily?” Cassandra shouted as she rushed forward.
“It’s nothing,” Emily answered turning away, but she could in no way hide the red mark across her cheek.
“He hit you!” Patience exclaimed.
Cassandra moved to Emily, reaching and gently turning her face so she could see the mark. “Higgins, call for a constable to come here at once.”
“No!” Emily shouted, pulling away from Cassie before she lowered her voice. “That won’t be necessary. It may actually cause more harm than good.”
Cassandra shook her head before addressing her butler. She knew better. “That foul man doesn’t step one foot in this house again. Is that understood, Higgins?” she ordered.
“Of course, Mrs. Vaughn,” Higgins replied with a bow. “I tried to bar his entrance, but he was most forceful.”
“I didn’t mean to suggest you weren’t performing your duties, Higgins,” she replied. On closer inspection, Cassie realized that the older man, too, was a victim of Forbes’ forceful and violent nature; his usual pristine suit had a tear on one ofthe elbows and his hair was mussed. “Did he knock you down? Are you all right?”
He reddened and tugged on the bottom of his jacket. “It was nothing, madam. I just wish I was able to stop him before he reached Mrs. Yates.”
With her fingertips, Cassandra touched his sleeve. “It’s not your fault, Higgins. You did the best you could.”
“Perhaps some tea might help calm Mrs. Yates’s nerves,” Patience suggested and Higgins left to see to the refreshments.
Cassandra took Emily by the hand and helped lower her onto the settee. “What was that all about? Was he the man who accosted you in the street that day?”
“I’d rather not say, Cassandra,” Emily replied but her face revealed much.
“You’re not telling me something. What did he want from you?” Cassandra continued to pry.
Emily burst into tears. “I didn’t want to do it, honestly, I didn’t, but Forbes all but forced my hand. He said he’d ruin any chances of me ever finding a benefactor again unless I complied with his demands.”
Patience sat in a vacant chair. “He’s blackmailing you?”
Emily nodded. “What else could I do but comply? I can’t afford to live on my own, without the help of a gentleman to help with expenses. Not to mention the cost of this house. While I do have sufficient funds to close this deal with you Cassandra, I do still have to hire servants and have enough funds left over to live. My money will only go so far.”
Cassandra gave a heavy sigh. “We should still call the authorities. We can’t have that foul scum continuing to harm or bother you once you move your things in. Let us help you. You just have to tell us all the details of what’s going on.”
Emily burst into tears. “I… I can’t and I don’t want to talk about it anymore!”
Before anyone could stop her, she ran crying from the parlor and Cassandra could hear her bedroom door slamming shut on the upper level of the house.
“There’s more going on than that little tidbit she told us. What could he possibly hold over her in order for her to comply with his wishes?” Patience exclaimed with a frown.
Cassandra nodded. “Maybe we can convince her to reveal everything once she calms down. We’ll let her be for now. In the meantime, we can begin to organize what needs to be moved, which is basically everything.”
“Hopefully we can coordinate with the new staff that Emily hires so she’ll have her own things around her once you move your things out,” Patience said.
“Yes. I think Emily is going to have a lot to deal with especially if the viscount is planning something involving the lady,” Cassandra answered before making her way across the room.
She pulled the bell cord and when a servant entered, she asked for tea to be brought to Emily’s room. Whatever Emily was hiding from Cassandra, she had the distinct feeling she wasn’t going to like it. Forbes was a scoundrel of the worse sort and based on her brief conversation with him on her doorstep, she didn’t think she had seen the last of him.
Chapter Nineteen
As Lucius’s carriagepulled up to Cassandra’s townhouse, he pondered if maybe he should have asked Saxton and his wife to accompany him. After all the hard work Cassandra had done in the past several months, or even years, to restore her reputation, now wasn’t the time for him to ruin all her efforts with an impromptu meeting. Dropping by unannounced was most likely a bad idea, but after Jones’s visit, he wanted to see if he could find out anything more about her husband’s will—or if it even existed.
His brother had made his attempts to dissuade Lucius from coming here alone. He probably should have listened to his advice. And yet, here he was ignoring what any decent man wouldn’t do. If anyone saw him entering the townhouse, they would probably think he had a liaison with its owner or even with his ex-mistress. Wouldn’t that give Constable Jones an advantage of trying to pin those crimes on him? Or even create a juicy bit of gossip for theTeatime Tattler?
Instead of calling up to his driver to return home, Lucius instead opened his own door and alighted from the carriage. He scanned the walkway in both directions. He felt as though someone was watching him and whether that was the authoritiesor someone else was anyone’s guess. It still paid to be cautious, and Lucius told himself to be prepared for anything that might come his way.
