42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Cassandra sat stock still, struggling to process what had just happened. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the nightmare to disappear, but when she reopened them, nothing had changed.

They had all watched in awed silence as Jethro dragged Xander from the room, and then the others had started whispering. She only caught odd words of what they said, but it was enough. They pitied her and denounced her husband for his uncouth behaviour. It was so unfair it was ridiculous, but she felt no inclination to laugh.

How could her brother have treated Jethro like that, thrusting his friends on him in such an unreasonable manner? Pushing him, and pushing him, until he snapped—and then blaming her husband for the outcome he’d brought on himself.

She had not thought that relations between the two men could grow any worse, but she had been wrong. To think she had encouraged Jethro to try to get on with her brother. What a foolish idea. It could never work whilst Xander was so set against him.

Everyone fell silent, and Cassandra glanced up as Jethro re-entered the room. She dropped her gaze at once, unable to meet her husband’s eyes, because she felt so ashamed of her brother’s behaviour.

Miss Day broke the awkward silence by rising from her seat and uttering her thanks for a pleasant evening. Cassandra did not believe her, but as she shot her such a look of understanding as she took her leave, she thought that the teacher, at least, did not rest all the blame for Xander’s expulsion on Jethro.

Two of the officers agreed to accompany Miss Day back to the school, but Lieutenant Atkins remained on the sofa, sitting much closer to her sister than Cassandra cared to see.

No sooner had the footman shown them out than Julia rounded on Jethro. “How dare you treat my brother like that?”

Jethro’s mouth dropped open—in surprise or disgust, Cassandra wasn’t certain. How would her husband react to such an unwarranted attack? Would he give Julia the set-down she deserved, even though there was still a stranger in their midst?

Desperate to avoid another humiliating confrontation, Cassandra knew she had to say something to diffuse the situation. But how could she soothe her sister’s ruffled feathers without being disloyal to her husband? Perhaps she could reason with her sister. It was worth a try.

“You must recognise that Xander overstepped the bounds of propriety, Julia. He will see it himself in the morning.”

Her stepsister’s lip curled in disdain. “So Xander was right. You have become your husband’s puppet, too afraid to state your own opinion.”

“That’s unfair. Do not make it about me when it’s Xander who has behaved so poorly.”

Julia jumped up from the sofa. “I refuse to stay and hear you speak of our brother in that way. If your husband”—she sneered at Jethro—“had been more welcoming, this would not have happened. It’s clear where your loyalties are. You have abandoned those connected to you by blood for a man who—”

“That’s enough,” Cassandra said, before her sister could embarrass her even more. How could Julia be so rude about Jethro? Why was her family so set against her choice of husband? “I think you had better leave before one of us says something we will regret.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I wouldn’t stay for ten guineas after you’ve treated Xander so abominably. Come on, Danny,” she said, addressing the remaining lieutenant, who had risen to stand beside her. “Let’s go and find my brother. I’m sure we can pass the rest of the evening in a more amenable manner without the suffocating presence of my sister and her boorish husband.”

Cassandra winced to hear Julia on such intimate terms with the naval officer whose drunken fall had caused so much disruption. It was bad enough that the man had heard her sister’s impassioned speech .

Though Cassandra would have liked to prevent Julia from leaving with him, she feared the effort would be useless and would only enrage her sister more.

They parted with the slightest of bows, and when the door shut behind them, Cassandra’s control finally broke, and she burst into tears.

Jethro didn’t move. He just stood and stared at her, a pained expression on his face, and then he left the room without saying a word.

Cassandra couldn’t sleep. Wide awake, she gazed at the bed-curtains, reliving the day over and over in her mind, as she waited for the sound of Xander’s return.

What did Jethro think of her now? Why wouldn’t he speak to her? Did he blame her for her family’s dreadful behaviour?

The clock chimed one, then two, but her brother was yet to come back.

At last she drifted into a restless sleep, to dream of being put on trial for marrying Jethro, and she awoke with a start at nine the next morning, with shouts of ‘guilty’ still ringing in her ears.

A sense of dread weighed upon her, but to dilly dally would only delay the inevitable. She needed to talk to both her husband and her brother to see if she could disentangle the dreadful mess of the night before. If she couldn’t, she didn’t know how they would survive the rest of her brother’s leave without coming to blows.

When she entered the dining room, Jethro was alone. He looked up and gave her a weak smile. It was not overly encouraging, but at least he wasn’t scowling at her.

“We shouldn’t wait for my brother. He didn’t return to the house last night.”

“I see.”

That was it. Nothing more.

They ate their breakfast in silence, the tension between them almost unbearable. Cassandra wanted to say sorry for what had happened, but she could not find the words. How could she ask forgiveness for something she had neither done nor approved of?

It would require more than her apology to put things right with Jethro. Xander needed to take responsibility for his actions and make amends himself .

A footman entered the room and handed her a note. She recognised her brother’s handwriting and tore open the seal.

My dear sister

After what happened yesterday evening, I am sure it will not surprise you to learn I cannot stay under your husband’s roof any longer. His manner of dealing with me last night cannot easily be forgotten, and I regret you were forced to suffer because of our inability to tolerate one another. Please send Cottman over to the Golden Lion with my belongings. I trust you will find it in your heart to visit me before I sail.

With my love

Xander

Her spirits plummeted. The breach was even worse than she feared.

With a heavy sigh, she folded the note and laid it aside. “My brother will not be returning. He is putting up at the Golden Lion for the rest of his leave.”

“It’s unfortunate he feels that is necessary, but maybe it is as well. I’m sorry—”

“Please, do not apologise. What’s done is done.”

Jethro grimaced, but said nothing more, and they sank back into silence, leaving Cassandra to dwell on the contents of her brother’s letter. Though she was still angry with him, she loved Xander, and could not bear the thought of being estranged from him.

If he refused to stay with them any longer, she supposed she would have to visit him at the Golden Lion as he’d requested. Jethro would understand that, wouldn’t he?

Perhaps she had better ask him. She would hate to give him reason to accuse her of seeing her brother in secret.

“Do you object to me visiting Xander?” she asked, praying her husband would not withhold his permission and force her to choose between the two men.

Jethro looked up from his plate of toast, his brow even more furrowed than it was before. “You must think me as dictatorial as your brother suggested if you believe I would forbid you from seeing him. ”

“I just thought, after last night, you might prefer—”

“I have no desire to stand between you and Alexander,” he said, rising from the breakfast table. “Visit him as often as you choose, but I would ask you to take Mary Ann with you. I don’t wish you to visit a public taproom on your own.”

Jethro didn’t wait for her answer. With a brief bow, he left the room.

Cassandra stared at the door long after he’d gone. It was a reasonable request to make. She could not blame her husband for doubting Xander’s ability to look after her. So why did it leave her feeling so uneasy?

Because Jethro was controlling her movements again. First the man in the green coat spying on her, and now Mary Ann was to accompany her to see her brother, whether or not she wanted her to.

It deepened Cassandra’s fear that Jethro trusted her as little as Xander.