The Accidental Countess (Accidental #2)(8)

If Cass did it, in the end she’d be alone with Julian. Possibly.

Very well, she would do it. It was her birthday after all, wasn’t it? What better birthday present could she ask for than a stolen moment with the man she loved?

Cass waited the interminable five minutes before carefully making her way down to the rose salon. The door was shut. She bit her lip. Oh, surely she’d be interrupting something. Then she remembered that was the entire point.

She glanced down at her pretty dress and a bit of confidence flooded through her. She straightened her shoulders and knocked.

“Come in!” Penelope’s overly eager voice rang out.

Cass pushed open the door and tentatively made her way into the room. Pen was there, sitting on a settee in the center of the room. Julian stood across from her with his back to the fireplace, his hands folded behind him. He wore his uniform and the sight of him in it was amazing, but it also brought tears to Cass’s eyes. He looked so handsome and noble and … Julian was an officer in His Majesty’s army. He would be in harm’s way in a matter of days.

“Yes, Cass? What is it? Are you all right?” Pen stood and Cass got the distinct impression that her cousin would have run from the room already were she not waiting for Cass to voice the reason why she must. She stared at Cass with hope brimming in her dark eyes.

“Good afternoon, Lady Cassandra,” Julian said, bowing to her.

Cass fought her blush and curtsied back. “Lieutenant Swift. So good to see you again.”

“What is it, Cass?” Pen asked, a note of petulance back in her voice.

“I … uh … er … Mother wanted to see you, Pen,” Cass murmured. As excuses went, it was particularly weak, but Cass had been preoccupied with the thought of seeing Julian. She hadn’t spent a moment of the last five minutes planning what she would say to extract her cousin from the room.

Penelope obviously didn’t need a better excuse. “Oh, dear. I must go and see what she wants. Do take care, Lieutenant Swift. Safe travels.”

Julian held out a hand to her. “Penelope, wait—”

She was gone from the room without a backward glance and Cass was left alone with a crestfallen Lieutenant Swift. She was a bit embarrassed by her cousin’s behavior. “I … I’m sorry,” she said, not quite knowing what else to offer him.

He stared at the empty space that Penelope had just occupied, a chagrined look on his face. “I was going to ask Penelope to write to me.”

Cass pressed her hand against her middle, trying to quell the nervous flight of butterflies there. “Pen isn’t much of a writer, I’m afraid. She rarely answers my letters from the country.”

“She didn’t seem quite eager to … Still, it would be nice to get a letter now and again.”

“I’ll write to you.” The words flew from Cass’s lips before she had a chance to examine them. She nearly clapped her hand over her mouth for her impertinence.

He turned to her with a bit of hope in his gray eyes. “You would do that?”

She tilted her head up to face him. He was so tall, so tall and—“Yes. I adore writing.”

“You do?”

“Yes. I can tell you what Pen is up to, keep you informed,” she offered.

He smiled at her, his white teeth flashing, making Cass’s insides feel all squishy. “I’d like that very much, Lady Cassandra.”

Cass blushed and glanced away. Had it been horribly forward of her to volunteer to write to her cousin’s intended? Would her mother be angry? Would Pen? Would her aunt? Cass tried to summon the requisite shame, but all she felt was an overwhelming sense of happiness. Contentment. She grinned like a fool. She would have a connection to Julian while he was gone. They might merely trade the usual bits of information, but it would be something, better than nothing, better than waiting to hear the odd piece of news from her cousin. Yes. It was just perfect.

“Thank you,” Julian finally said, and Cass dared to meet his gaze.

“Think nothing of it, Lieutenant Swift,” she replied, digging the toe of her slipper into the thick carpet.

Julian scrubbed a hand through his hair and pointed toward the door. “I suppose you’ll want to get back to the party.”

“It is my birthday.” Cass glanced toward the door as well. She hesitated. She couldn’t very well tell him that she’d rather spend the entire day alone in here just staring at him rather than set foot out the door again. That would be entirely inappropriate. Wouldn’t it? She nearly laughed aloud at her own thought.

“Happy birthday, Lady Cassandra,” he said. “I must admit I don’t have a gift for you. Please accept my apology.”

She smiled at him. “No apology necessary, Lieutenant.”

Cass turned to the door and stepped toward it. Unless. A voice stopped her, a clear undeniable voice. The voice of a devil, a devil who had not heretofore made his presence known to her. But now he was undeniable and he was standing directly on her shoulder, whispering in her ear. She’d never been so bold, had never even considered it. But somehow the devil nudged her with his fiery little prickly pitchfork and she turned back to face Julian Swift.

“Unless…” She murmured the word the devil had whispered in her ear.

Julian’s eyebrows shot up. “Unless?”