A Match Made in Bed (Spinster Heiresses #2)(22)

“Was Dewsberry part of that couple?” her father demanded. “Did he force you into his room?”

“Force? Oh, no, absolutely not,” Cassandra hurriedly assured him. “I escaped the library, hopefully without that couple detecting who I was.” Another wave of heat crept up her neck. She hated how easily she blushed.

“Was one part of the couple Bainhurst’s wife?” her father asked.

Cassandra thought it an obvious question considering the way Lord Bainhurst had been carrying on. She didn’t wish to answer it. Her father had a taste for gossip, especially when he could use it in politics, but she would not lie. She nodded.

And then, as she feared, her father leaned forward with interest. “Who was the man she was with?”

“I couldn’t see his face.” That part was mostly true.

“You didn’t recognize him?” There was doubt in his voice. “He had to be one of the guests here.”

“The library was dark,” she answered, making herself meet his eye. “I was also worrying about how I could remove myself from the situation. I did not want to be involved.”

“How long were you there before you could leave?” He believed she was lying. He’d always been able to tell.

“It was a bit.”

“Then why couldn’t you tell who the man was?”

She hated this questioning. “Because they went down on the floor. The man was hidden behind a chair.”

“But you could see the woman was Letty Bainhurst?”

“Yes.”

Silence met her answer, and then her father shocked her by throwing his head back and laughing. Her stepmother appeared as confused as Cassandra until she made a gasp of understanding and laughed as well.

Cassandra frowned. “Where is the humor?”

Her father leaned toward Cassandra. “My sweet, na?ve little birdie.” Birdie had been his name for her from as long as she could remember. “Bainhurst will not want this story making the rounds. And if he can’t figure out who the man was, he’s a fool.”

“I’m surprised we didn’t see it immediately,” Helen agreed. “Camberly was by her side most of the evening except we thought he was paying attention to Cassandra or Miss Reverly. He kept one of them close to him at all times. Our young duke is clever.”

“But not clever enough,” her father answered.

“Not for us,” Helen agreed. “But tell me, Cassandra, how did you end up with Dewsberry? Everyone was whispering you were found in his room?”

“I was returning to my room when I heard Lord Bainhurst approaching. He was in a high tear. I panicked. I didn’t want to be part of the scene so I opened the nearest door and jumped in. I wasn’t thinking.”

“And it was happenstance that you chose Dewsberry’s room?” her father asked.

Cassandra nodded.

“What a bloody mess,” her father said with disgust.

Hope surged through her. “Then you believe people will understand that everything was very innocent?”

Her stepmother spoke. “No, Cassandra, you are ruined. It is through no fault of your own. This one night will give you a reputation. However, you needn’t fear being alone. You will be with us. My daughters, their husbands, their children, we will all gather around you.” She looked to her husband. “This is a good solution to our ‘predicament.’ ”

“Yes, yes, you are right. This is very good.” Her father stood and faced Cassandra, his arms opening to her in loving benevolence. “You were wise to reject Dewsberry’s offer. Everyone knows he made it under duress. It is actually a humiliation to you.”

“It is?”

Gentling his voice, her father informed her, “He wouldn’t have offered if he wasn’t being forced to do so.”

But Soren had made his intent clear, she could have said. Earlier. When they had their confrontation during dinner. He wanted to marry her—

No, she corrected herself, he wanted to marry her money.

“Don’t worry about your future,” her father continued. “As Helen said, you have your family. We’ll take our leave on the morrow. We’ll be gone from this place and these people. We’ll go directly to Cornwall and return you to Lantern Fields. The more I consider the matter, perhaps this is all for the best. You were never cut out for married life, birdie. You are too tall and too independent thinking.”

He wanted to return her to Cornwall? Cassandra challenged him. “Why send me to Lantern Fields? And how can I be too tall for marriage? You always told me to be proud of my height, that it wasn’t a deterrent.”

“Not to me, it isn’t. Your mother was taller than I was, God rest her soul.”

“And you just said that this whole incident tonight was not my fault.” Cassandra rejected his logic. “I don’t want to be buried in the country.”

“You won’t be buried,” her stepmother said, rising out of the bed to come around to her as if from maternal concern. “You can still plan your little literary salons. They will be traveling ones. Doesn’t that sound fun? You can go up to Manchester to see my Amanda and to Devon to visit Laura.” She spoke of her daughters, Cassandra’s stepsisters who were married to industrious young men.

“You will be in the bosom of your family,” her father said enthusiastically.