Page 75 of Indecent
How he missed boxing. He needed to pour himself into physical exertion. Where was a storm with a resulting mess to clean up when one needed it?
After several minutes, he began to relax. At least that was done. It had gone incredibly poorly, but now he could move forward with Prudence. Into a terribly uncertain future.
After a lovely visit with Ada that morning, Prudence felt almost happy. Ada had been thrilled to hear that Prudence and Bennet would be wed and hadn’t let the news that Prudence’s dowry wasn’t a certainty affect her sentiment. Prudence wished she could share that, but until Lucien returned with a confirmed dowry, she wouldn’t be able to rid herself of anxiety.
And now she needed to tell Cassandra everything.Everything.Her anxiety tripled.
Oh stop,she told herself. Cassandra had stolen away with her husband on several occasions before they were wed. Prudence didn’t know for certain what they’d been doing, but she could guess, and Cassandra wouldn’t think less of her for what had happened with Bennet.
She supposed she didn’t need to tell Cassandra everything, just that she was marrying Bennet. That was the important part, for she’d be leaving their employ as Kat’s companion.
The moment of truth arrived as Cassandra glided into the sitting room. “Mrs. Forth said you wished to see me. Is all well?” Cassandra’s brow was slightly creased.
Prudence was already seated in a chair and gestured to the settee near her. “Please sit. I’ve something important to tell you.”
Cassandra went to sit, her ginger-colored skirts draping against the settee in an effortlessly elegant fashion. “I can’t tell if this is good important or bad important.”
“Good important, I think.” Prudence managed a small smile. “I’m getting married. For real this time.”
“Oh!” Cassandra lunged toward her, but paused, her expression confused. “Are you happy?”
While she hadn’t ever thought of getting married, she couldn’t deny she was happy to be marrying Bennet. It was difficult to acknowledge that—even to herself—when she very much doubted that he felt the same. “Yes.”
“It took you too long to say that.” Cassandra frowned and sat back down. “First you eloped, only to return saying it was a mistake, and now you are unenthusiastically announcing your plans to wed. Are you being forced into something? I hope you’re going to tell me what’s going on. I’ve been worried about you, Pru. You just haven’t been the same since the aborted elopement.”
Prudence took a deep breath. “I never planned to elope. I didn’t even write that note.”
Cassandra’s jaw dropped. “Who did?”
This was the moment—tell her everything or not? Prudence decided to do the former. She had to—they were now truly family and though she’d promised Bennet she wouldn’t reveal what happened, he’d have to understand that this was necessary. “The Viscount Glastonbury.”
Cassandra’s jaw dropped even farther. “What?”
“He’d planned to, ah, abduct you. The note was intended to be from you, explaining your disappearance. He felt confident you would be happy to elope with him.”
Slumping back against the couch, Cassandra blinked once, then stared at Prudence. “I can scarcely credit this tale, but of course it’s true.” She sat up, straightening. “He abducted you instead?”
Prudence nodded. “It was because we switched cloaks. He instructed the men he hired to take the woman in the purple cloak.”
Cassandra put her hand to her forehead. “My God, this is all my fault.”
A laugh leapt from Prudence. “Hardly. This was entirely Bennet’s fault, and he takes complete responsibility.”
“Bennet?” Cassandra asked, her brows arching.
“We spent six days together near Hersham,” Prudence explained. “We were stranded because his coach required repair. Then the weather was terrible, and the roads were impassable. The storm was so bad that a tree fell on his coach, destroying it.”
Cassandra gaped once more, her expression growing more incredulous with each revelation. Then she giggled, putting her hand to her mouth. “I’m sorry. I have to ask, was the coach repaired before it was ruined?”
Prudence’s lips twitched. “I’m afraid so. He says he has the worst luck, and it’s true.”
Sobering, Cassandra, put her hand on her lap. “What did he do when he realized his men had taken the wrong woman?”
“He was quite disappointed,” Prudence said wryly. “And most apologetic. You see, they’d bound me and put a gag in my mouth as well as a bag over my head.”
Cassandra’s gasp filled the room. “No! I can’t believe you endured that and said nothing.”
“When you say it like that, it sounds as though I should have said something, but I wasn’t hurt. I was far more concerned about what my absence would mean for my reputation and my future chances for employment.”
