The Duke's Unwanted Bride

13.

"You... You’re a... a,"

"I’m a girl," Cassy finished for her, daring to laugh. Anne staggered away from her, confusion suddenly written all over her face. Cassy felt her breath returning to normal almost immediately, although Anne was quite far from there.

"A girl?" she blurted out suddenly, still making no attempt to cover her unclad state.

"It would appear so," Cassy replied.

"My lord, is there... did lady Herenton put you up to this?" she asked. "Did she pay you to humiliate me like this?"

"I can assure you that there has been a bit misunderstanding," Cassy said quickly. "And none of this was at your expense."

"Then explain this," she grated. "Explain how you are a girl, and how you managed to fool them into thinking you’re not."

"You might want to sit down for this," Cassy said. "It’s sort of a long story, and I don’t even know where to begin."

Anne eyed her suspiciously, clearly debating whether she could trust this strange woman or not. It was bad enough that she had to discover her secret in the most literal sense, and she wasn’t keen on embarrassing herself any further.

"Perhaps you should consider putting on your clothes again," Cassy suggested, nervously avoiding Anne’s skeptical gaze. It was obvious that the woman wasn’t at all bothered by her unclad state, but Cassy was having a hard time keeping her eyes away from her slender body, her pointed, pink tinged n*****s staring back at her. She was more than relieved when Anne grabbed her bodice from the floor, throwing it up in a fluid motion which showed she’d done this countless times already.

"You’d better start talking," she said with a suspicious glance at Cassy. "Otherwise I’ll open that door right now and call your master up."

"No!" Cassy sprang to her feet quickly and barricaded the door. "I won’t let you do it. Please. You have to understand."

"Then start talking," she said, sitting on the edge of the bed with only the bodice thrown on. Cassy knew she couldn’t negotiate with her any further on her manner of clothing, so she held her peace, straightening up and tugging at her cravat.

As she told Anne her story, the latter listened with all the attentiveness of a genuinely curious listener. She gasped at the right moments, shook her head at the right ones, and smirked when the conversation demanded it of her. All in all, it meant that by the time Cassy finally fell silent, Anne was grinning widely at her, as though she’d just been robbed of her senses.

"How daring," she said finally, applauding. "You’re a brave woman, I’ll give you that."

"So you won’t rat me out?" Cassy asked hesitantly.

Anne stood up and walked towards the drawer beside the bed, pulling out a small pack of cigarettes. "Elizabeth-Anne Robertson is no rat," she said proudly, her nose haughty and her face dignified. "I understand the situation you’re in, and I will not be the one to expose you."

Cassy nearly sank to the floor in relief. At first, she’d thought Anne was merely indulging her, hoping for the right moment when she would run to the Duke and inform him of her true nature. It certainly looked like that was on her mind. But now, with her easy smile and the crease in her forehead no longer gone, Cassy could finally breath a little bit easier.

"He’s a viscous looking fellow he is, that man you came in with," she said as she lit one of the cigarettes, offering the pack to Cassy who immediately shook her head.

"Tell me about it," she replied, laughing.

"He used to come here often, you know," Anne said with a silent chuckle, returning to the bed. Cassy sensed that the air of companionship was tenable enough, and so she walked towards the bed slowly, sitting beside Anne who was puffing away lazily, blowing up a small cloud of smoke.

"He did?" she asked surprisingly. Of all the traits she could have linked to the Duke, she wouldn’t have guessed him a frequent guest of an establishment such as this one.

"Aye," Anne nodded slowly. "He did. Must have been several years ago though. Handsome fellow like him, you don’t forget a face like that easily. He came here often, but he never stayed long. The girls and I talked, but we never found out what he came here for. Most times, he just talked with Miss Herenton down in the drawing room. Which was odd because this is the last place men would come to ‘talk’. I’ve seen a lot of men in my days, haughty aristocrats and measly beggars. I’ve seen the lot. But a man like your Duke, I’ve never seen one like him. Stone-faced and frightening. That’s a combination I wouldn’t want to have to deal with."

"He’s not my duke," Cassy said with a bemused smile. It was easy talking to Anne, the simple, pretty lady who didn’t judge her for her choices or slight her for her shortcomings. It had been so long since she talked freely with another woman. Too long, in fact.

"He’s more yours than mine," Anne replied, shoving her lightly. Cassy laughed, a sound she was quickly forgetting, having to spend her days in the presence of the Duke or with one of her tutors.

"We should make some noise," Anne said suddenly.

"What?"

"So they think we’re doing something up here," she replied. "We’ve been talking for some time now. Your duke might be listening. We should make some noise to fuel their imagination."

Cassy’s grin nearly split her face in half.

"I love the way your mind works," she said, leaping off the bed.

Eastland's head jerked up, and his eyes narrowed as he heard a resounding thud and a shriek from the second floor. He glanced at Miss Herenton, who had been trying to coax him into meeting Babette, a young lady she was certain he would like and saw the same concern on her face.

"Your... your ward is a rather energetic young man, your grace," Miss Herenton volunteered after a moment. Her voice shook slightly, and when another crash made the ceiling light dance and shimmer, she stood up.

"Perhaps we should check on them," she said grimly, noting the stoic expression on his face.

"Perhaps not," he replied simply. "Let them have their time."

"Of course, your grace," she bowed quickly, motioning for Babette to make her move. One frosty look from the duke froze her in her tracks however, and she quickly turned to Miss Herenton for advice.

"Perhaps next time then," she said, waving her away. When a loud thud came from the second floor again however, she turned to the duke once more.

"We really should check on them, your grace," she said, biting her lip hesitantly, afraid that she’d provoked him.

After a few minutes, Eastland replied, "I suppose you’re right."

It happened that as they were climbing the stairs, Cassy and Anne heard the footsteps and arranged themselves accordingly. Just as Eastland pushed the door open, it was to find his ward sliding off the bed and pulling up his trousers hastily.  Anne was spreadeagled on the bed, panting loudly with her clothes thrown all around the room. They both looked up as the intruders barged in, their identical looks of surprise matching those of Eastland and Miss Herenton.

"All done, I see," Eastland said with a curious gaze at his ward, who was blushing heavily and avoiding his gaze. For a moment, his gaze darkened suspiciously. But then Levington looked up at him and smiled sheepishly, and his doubts were cleared almost immediately.

"That will be all, lady Herenton," he said with a wave of his hand. "We should be leaving now."

"Of course, your grace," she curtsied deeply, her eyes still darting between the nervous young lad and Anne who was smiling sheepishly, as though she were a maiden anew.

Cassy’s relief didn’t settle completely until she saw them back in the carriage, rolling off along the streets with Eastland staring out the window in a satisfied look of disinterest. She leaned back into the seat, miserably tired after all the banging and stomping around. It had the added effect of making her sweaty and hot all over, which seemed to convince Eastland well enough that his plan had succeeded. Cassy sank into the seat a bit more.

"You’re even sitting more like a man, Levington," the Duke remarked with a cynical sneer on his face. "Perhaps you’ve learned a thing or two after all."

Cassy, emboldened by her success, decided to indulge him.

"I feel more like a man, your grace," she said.

"Better," he said with a minuscule nod of approval. "Perhaps now we shall see some improvement in you after all. And maybe now I won’t have to deal with your insufferably feminine mannerisms."

When they returned to Eastland hall, Cassy was the first to hop out of the carriage, her secret joy radiant even on her face.  Eastland mistook this for boyish delight, and so he let her be. It was late in the afternoon, not too late that it would be time for dinner, but too far gone for lunch also. Therefore, it wasn’t required of them to have lunch together. Cassy trudged up to her bedroom, and Sheldon arrived moments later with a tray in front of him.

"Sandwiches, my lord," he said. "In case you’re hungry."

"That’ll do, Sheldon," Cassy replied, strolling towards the window and throwing it open. She waited until he bowed and left the room before she punched the air in delight.

The day hadn’t been a complete disaster as she’d imagined it would be. Her secret was still safe, Eastland now thought her a man through and through, and she was just about to feast on a pack of delectable sandwiches.

All was well.

Consumed by her small victory, Cassy grabbed a few sandwiches quickly, stuffed them in her face and then headed out of the house before anyone saw her. The fields were deserted thankfully, but nevertheless she hurried along, not wanting to be seen by anything or anyone.

The lake was quiet, except for the gentle lapping of the water as the wind carried it around. Cassy pulled off her shoes and stuck her toes in it, sighing contentedly. Her eyes skimmed across the water, over to the other side of the lake where the object of her curiosity was sitting on the grass, watching her calmly.

For a moment, they simply stared at each other, two strangers trying to understand the thoughts of the other. Nothing was said. Nothing needed to be said.

Cassy waved across the water. Colin waved back, his smile too far away to see.

And then she turned around, picked up her boots and walked away.