you will return to Cheshire with Satiné and me.” The girl sobbed openly. “Your Uncle Samuel did not desert you, my Dear. He and I spoke of a Season for you and Satiné in the spring.” Ashton released his hold and instead cupped Cashé’s jaw in his hands, bringing her chin up where he might speak to the girl’s countenance. “It was a practical move; plus, Samuel missed his wife and daughter. Everything will be well, Child. Let Velvet take you to your room and to assist you in dressing for the day.” He kissed Cashé’s forehead and turned her into Velvet’s waiting arms.
Once the sisters escaped the room, the baron apologized to the rest of the houseguests and his hosts. “It seems my discussion with the viscount spurred the man to action. Unfortunately, it was not executed as I had hoped, but the results will remain the same. The girls are in my care now, and I most hardily agree to His Grace’s proposal for Velvet.”
Marcus turned to slap Fowler on the back and to offer his friend his genuine well wishes. However, he could not shake the feeling that something was amiss. Averette had given up too easily. It did not make sense that a man would chase a girl from Edinburgh to London in order to prevent a marriage and then just walk away when he met with opposition. Marcus barely knew the man, but from what he did know, this was not a typical response from Samuel Aldridge. This realization made him wonder what the baron had said to bring about so great a change of sentiments. Plus, why would Aldridge leave behind the girl he had raised as his own? It seemed more logical for the viscount to take his niece with him. The way the baron had manipulated the situation identified Ashton as a worthy adversary.
*
In the late afternoon, Cashé followed her sister outside to greet Kerrington’s coach. Still stinging from her uncle’s abandonment, the picture of happiness displayed by the coach’s inhabitants rubbed her the wrong way. Kerrington greeted his wife with a passionate kiss, while Fowler scooped his daughter from the carriage’s open door and swung her around in total disregard to the child’s deportment.
With her Uncle Samuel’s speedy departure, Cashé had found herself in a world she really did not understand. She had experienced Society briefly when the Aldridges had spent time with Thornhill after Eleanor’s marriage. However, she was very much out of place during this brief respite. She had attended several of the Season’s programs, but Uncle Samuel had been very selective and often spoke of the depravity on display. And although she had seen nothing wrong with the entertainment, Cashé had agreed with her uncle’s evaluations.
Now, that same uncle had abandoned her to the people he had often criticized. Did she mean so little to him? What had she done to make Uncle Samuel punish her as such? How could she earn his love again? And did she want to return to Scotland? Satiné appeared very content with Uncle Charles, but could she know happiness in Cheshire? Cashé simply did not know which way to turn.
Noting Velvet’s anxiousness, Cashé fell into her standard speech. “Such displays demonstrate a lack of good breeding. Are you certain you wish to align yourself to such a family?”
Before leaving her sister’s side, Velvet whispered, “Such displays demonstrate love. Do I want love in my life? Absolutely!”
Cashé watched her oldest sister walk into the duke’s open arms. Then Velvet had taken Sonali up with her. The child clung to Velvet’s neck, and they spoke of becoming a family. When they had returned to the house, they had passed Cashé standing alone and displaced as they had entered the main hall. Again, she was the person everyone overlooked.
Without knowing what to do with herself, reluctantly, she had followed, but instead of finding her way to the drawing room for tea, Cashé had sought privacy in a deserted alcove in the Kerrington library. Here, she could sit without
Once the sisters escaped the room, the baron apologized to the rest of the houseguests and his hosts. “It seems my discussion with the viscount spurred the man to action. Unfortunately, it was not executed as I had hoped, but the results will remain the same. The girls are in my care now, and I most hardily agree to His Grace’s proposal for Velvet.”
Marcus turned to slap Fowler on the back and to offer his friend his genuine well wishes. However, he could not shake the feeling that something was amiss. Averette had given up too easily. It did not make sense that a man would chase a girl from Edinburgh to London in order to prevent a marriage and then just walk away when he met with opposition. Marcus barely knew the man, but from what he did know, this was not a typical response from Samuel Aldridge. This realization made him wonder what the baron had said to bring about so great a change of sentiments. Plus, why would Aldridge leave behind the girl he had raised as his own? It seemed more logical for the viscount to take his niece with him. The way the baron had manipulated the situation identified Ashton as a worthy adversary.
*
In the late afternoon, Cashé followed her sister outside to greet Kerrington’s coach. Still stinging from her uncle’s abandonment, the picture of happiness displayed by the coach’s inhabitants rubbed her the wrong way. Kerrington greeted his wife with a passionate kiss, while Fowler scooped his daughter from the carriage’s open door and swung her around in total disregard to the child’s deportment.
With her Uncle Samuel’s speedy departure, Cashé had found herself in a world she really did not understand. She had experienced Society briefly when the Aldridges had spent time with Thornhill after Eleanor’s marriage. However, she was very much out of place during this brief respite. She had attended several of the Season’s programs, but Uncle Samuel had been very selective and often spoke of the depravity on display. And although she had seen nothing wrong with the entertainment, Cashé had agreed with her uncle’s evaluations.
Now, that same uncle had abandoned her to the people he had often criticized. Did she mean so little to him? What had she done to make Uncle Samuel punish her as such? How could she earn his love again? And did she want to return to Scotland? Satiné appeared very content with Uncle Charles, but could she know happiness in Cheshire? Cashé simply did not know which way to turn.
Noting Velvet’s anxiousness, Cashé fell into her standard speech. “Such displays demonstrate a lack of good breeding. Are you certain you wish to align yourself to such a family?”
Before leaving her sister’s side, Velvet whispered, “Such displays demonstrate love. Do I want love in my life? Absolutely!”
Cashé watched her oldest sister walk into the duke’s open arms. Then Velvet had taken Sonali up with her. The child clung to Velvet’s neck, and they spoke of becoming a family. When they had returned to the house, they had passed Cashé standing alone and displaced as they had entered the main hall. Again, she was the person everyone overlooked.
Without knowing what to do with herself, reluctantly, she had followed, but instead of finding her way to the drawing room for tea, Cashé had sought privacy in a deserted alcove in the Kerrington library. Here, she could sit without
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