Page 40 of His Loving Deception

“I thought you left,” she said finally, putting her feet down on the carpeted floor and easing herself into a sitting position.

He dragged a hand through his hair. “I did. I went to chase down a hunch I had.”

“And?”

“Well, I confirmed that I’ve been a total bastard to you for no good reason.” He sat beside her and reached into the pocket of his leather jacket. “Here.”

She took the black velvet bag and tipped its contents into the palm of her hand. Shock ran through her like a bolt of lightning. These were Alyssia’s jewels. “Benedict! What have you done?” She whispered, tears springing to her eyes as she thought of dear, desperate Nanny Kline. “Where did you get these?”

“Cassandra, why didn’t you tell me the truth?” His words were heavy, his heart even moreso.

“If you have these, then you know why I couldn’t tell you, or anyone, the truth.” She pointed out, tipping the expensive baubles back into the bag and handing them to him. She never wanted to see them again after all the heart break they’d caused.

“You let everyone believe you stole from your own stepmother, to protect your nanny.”

“She wasn’t just a nanny to me. I love her. I understood why she did it, but no one else would have.” She said simply.

He titled his dark head forward and propped it in his hands. “How can I ever begin to apologise for the way I treated you?”

She stared straight ahead, shrugged her slim shoulders. Her voice was devoid of emotion. “You didn’t know me. You said it a thousand times. You formed your opinion based on Alyssia’s complaints. Your loyalty to your cousin is understandable.”

“No! Don’t defend my behaviour. Even now, you’re too perfect to be true. Only, I know you are true. You have more virtue and strength of character than anyone I’ve ever known. And the worst thing is, I knew it. From that first moment we met, I felt how special you were. I’ve spent the whole time we were together looking for reasons not to admit to myself, and to you, how I feel.”

She felt her heart beating so fiercely in her chest that it could have burst from the rib cage. A sob racked her body as those sweet words penetrated her distraught brain. “How do you feel?”

“How do I feel?” He knelt before her, took his hands in hers. “Lady Cassandra Hervey, no man has ever loved more than I love you. I am so achingly in love with you that I’ve been driven quite crazy.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “When I think of the things I have said to you. What I’ve accused you of. I will never be able to make it up to you, Cassandra.”

She shook her head, and pulled a hand free from his grasp to wipe at a tear that had fallen down her cheek. “I’m sorry too,” she whispered, her eyes clouded with regret.

“You!” he responded jerkily. “What do you have to apologise for?”

“I wanted to tell you, so badly. At first, when you thought I was just Kate Harris, I wanted to confide in you, but something always held me back. Then, when I knew your connection to my family, I didn’t think you would believe me.”

“That’s because I wouldn’t have. I was looking for reasons to see the worst in you. It was so much easier to believe you had stolen the jewels and been

generally horrible to someone I care about, than to realise how at risk I was of giving you my heart forever.”

“I wasn’t welcoming to Alyssia,” she said frankly.

He swore in French. “You were a child, ma petite. It was up to Peter and Alyssia to make that transition a smooth one for you. I once accused you of playing the victim.” He shook his head, filled with anger towards himself. “You are a victim. Or you could have been, if you hadn’t taken matters into your own hands and turned your life around. Nanny Kline made me realise that Kate Harris was the re-birth of the person you’d been before all this.”

Cassandra lifted her head and stared into his eyes. “Nanny Kline! What... How did you... Why did you...”

Still kneeling before her, he said, “When those photographs ran of us, she finally knew where you were. She’d been looking for you. She never sold the jewellery, Cass.”

She gulped. “Aria?”

“Aria is now a happy and healthy six year old. She was able to get the operation in England.” He ran a finger down her cheek, watched in fascination as she pulled her lower lip between her teeth on a shuddery breath.

“You went to see her. When you left?”

“Yes.” He said simply. “I will always regret that I just didn’t trust my own heart. How could you steal anything?”

“It’s a lot to believe.”

“Cherie did. What did she say to me? You wouldn’t steal honey from a bee.”

Cassandra smiled.

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