Page 30 of His Loving Deception

“You’ve nothing to apologise for.” He said firmly. “You were a child, and you were lashing out because of how badly I bungled everything up. I don’t want you to beat yourself up over a single thing. It is all in the past. Alyssia and I both feel the same. We are simply looking forward to having you back in our lives.”

Cassandra swallowed, and she felt that burning need to tell her father the truth about the diamonds well up inside her. But, as always, she swatted it away. She couldn’t tell. She couldn’t.

Cassandra felt like a huge weight had just been lifted from her shoulders. For years she’d felt a burden of responsibility for the manner in which she’d left, and she’d felt ashamed to think that not even her own father could love her. Now, it was as if all those doubts had clouded. The only blot on her horizon was Benedict. He didn’t love her. He never would love her.

She understood him so much better now. What his mother had been made to endure, all because she’d fallen in love with the right person, had given him a sort of love-paralysis. It all made sense. His emphasis on trust and truth. Vilifying her as though having kept her true name a secret was tantamount to having gone on a serial killing spree. He was afraid of her, and the strength of feelings she aroused in him.

Until he accepted that love was a risk worth taking, he would never change his mind. He would never see her as a safe bet. He was scared.

* * *

Benedict sat through the meeting with the government suits impatiently.

He had one night left with Cassandra, and he wanted to be home, waiting for her, when she returned from dinner with Peter. He was aching to have her back in his arms. For one last night.

He appeared to concentrate as the executive officer for the local council outlined his concerns for the provision of parking, but his mind was wandering. ....

Benedict thought the meeting would never end, but finally they left, and he was alone again. He sat behind the enormous bureau and flicked through some papers he had to review.

“Benedict,” his assistant popped her head around his door, “That Katherine Kline is becoming a bit of a nuisance. Several calls a day now.” She handed him a piece of paper with the woman’s name and number typed on to it. “Do you want me to pass her information on to someone else? She sounds quite insistent.”

Something about the name sparked a flash of familiarity in his brain. Katherine Kline. Katherine Kline. He frowned and looked down at the phone number. “Marilyn,” he asked urgently, “what accent does she have?”

Marilyn thought about it, always one for precision. “Lancashire, I’d guess.”

“Not Australian?” He bit out, already dialling the numbers into his phone. He looked at the Gold Rolex that adorned his tanned wrist and did some quick calculations. It was mid morning in the UK; a perfectly suitable time to call this woman.

If he was right, then this Katherine Kline and Cassandra’s Nanny Kline were one in the same person. He couldn’t be sure, but something told him she was pestering him with a very good reason. One phone conversation and he’d know for sure.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Cassandra managed to convince her dad to let her come up to their hotel in order to farewell Alyssia. She was anxious to show the other woman that she truly wanted them to turn over a new leaf in their relationship.

Her father had booked a floor of rooms in a top Sydney hotel, and his wife was sequestered in one, her face pale as she lay back on the sofa, idly flicking through a glossy magazine.

“Cassandra,” she actually seemed to brighten when Cassandra poked her head around the door after tapping out a quick knock.

“Are you up to a quick visit?”

“Of course,” Alyssia folded the magazine and placed it neatly on the coffee table beside her.

“I don’t want to keep you long when you’re not well, but I had to say goodbye.” She smiled tentatively, but the emotion on her face was genuine.

“Did you have a good dinner with your father?” The other woman’s voice was gentle and for some reason, it made Cassandra feel even worse for all that she’d put them through. She nodded.

“Come, sit here.” Alyssia tapped the seat beside her and Cassandra obliged. “Where is your father?”

“He’s just checking travel arrangements. He won’t be long.”

Alyssia surprised Cassandra then by putting a hand on Cassandra’s knee. “Dear Cassandra, I wish we had got off to a better start. I should have tried harder to befriend you. I never expected to be married with a stepdaughter almost my own age.” She grimaced.

Cassandra didn’t quite know what to say.

“Have we ever told you how we meet?”

Cassandra shook her head.

“We were in a coffee shop in London. He’d ordered the exact same coffee as I had, and we thought it was a bit of a laugh. I was lonely and so was he. We sat together and within an hour, I knew I loved him.” She coloured. “I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced something like that. It knocked me sideways. We always felt that we should slow things down, but the strength of emotion simply overtook us.”

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