Page 82 of My Duke, The Stranger
She watched Cassian closely, desperate to see what he was thinking. It was impossible to tell, as his expression was detached and void of emotion. But that told her enough. The Cassian she knew cherished his emotional openness, and he would surely look at her with a smile just to let her know that he was on her side.
The room watched on. Cassian had been called out. He had no choice but to defend himself. But would he defend Isolde too? Or would he do as she suspected and turn her away to save himself?
“Very well.” Cassian cleared his throat. “If that is how it is to be.”
Everyone held their breath, and there was total silence in the room. Isolde wanted to shrink back, to turn and run from that place. And she just might have, too, were it not for what Cassian did next.
Finally, as her heart thumped and as her knees trembled, he looked at her. Not coldly. Not without emotion. But with the faintest of smiles, a soft light burning behind his eyes, and a look in them that she felt in her heart and her soul. It was a look she had seen so many times, so she knew what it meant. It was a look that told her that he still cared deeply for her.
She exhaled and nearly stumbled from shock, and she just might have, had Cassian not stepped beside her and rested his hand on the small of her back.
She gasped to feel it. Then she relaxed, looking up and smiling at her husband. He was with her, by her side, and ready to protect her. And he wanted her to know it.
I was right about him. I… he does care for me.
Oh, she felt such happiness that Isolde almost burst into tears.
“It has been brought to my attention that things are being said about my wife and me,” Cassian began, projecting his voice and taking command of the room. “Vicious rumors to smear my reputation and hers.” He cast a glare across the guests. “Allow me to take this moment to set the record straight. While it brings me no pleasure to say it, everything you have been told is true.”
Gasps swept across the room. Shock and awe painted each face.
Isolde grimaced as she looked at Cassian. He was standing up for her, which she adored and loved. But at what cost? Was he willing to destroy his own reputation just for her?
“When I married Her Grace, I told you all that she was descended from a noble family in Scotland, that her blood and her pedigree was as good as anyone else’s. This was a lie. More than that, I knew it to be one.”
More gasps. The guests started to whisper among themselves. Mr. Harwood beamed, and he made certain that Isolde saw it.
“However, as I have come to learn this past week…” He took a moment and looked at Isolde. His smile was assured, one that told her to trust him. “These lies make little real difference. In fact, they are completely irrelevant.”
Isolde blinked. “Cassian…”
“Trust me,” he said to her softly. “Please, Isolde. Trust me.”
She did. While he had no reason to trust her, she had every reason to trust him. She knew of his love for her, that he would do anything for her, and so she kept her lips closed and listened, with no idea where this was going.
“This past week, I have committed myself to learning a different kind of truth,” Cassian continued as he turned back to addressthe room. “One that I will reveal now so that we might move past this sordid business of my wife’s ancestry.” A warning scowl. “As I have come to learn, Isolde might not be of noble birth as it relates to her heritage on her father’s side. On her mother’s side, however…” A smirk on his lips. “She is as noble as anyone in this room.”
Isolde gasped in surprise. The others in the room also let forth their loudest one yet. The whispers grew. Shakes of the head followed. And Cassian waited until calm was restored before he continued.
“As I have come to learn, Isolde’s dear mother, now deceased, was the daughter of Lord Marcus Chester, the Earl of Westvale. Through my research, I can now confirm that she was forced to marry at eighteen years of age, and rather than going through with the arrangement, she ran away from home.”
Isolde gaped at Cassian, unable to believe what she was hearing. She felt the need to speak up, to tell him that he did not have to lie on her account. But she saw the hardened expression on his face, she considered what he was saying, and she knew that he was speaking the truth.
My mother… the daughter of an earl? How is that possible?
“Her travels brought her to my estate,” he continued, his voice booming. “To a small parish on its border, overlooked by Vicar Whitmore. As I now know, the two fell in love, married soon after, and had a daughter…” His expression softened as he looked down at Isolde. “A daughter who I have come to fall inlove with, and who I will do whatever I must to see her name restored and recognized so that there can be no doubt who she is.”
“This is absurd!” Mr. Harwood cried. “This… lies!”
“Truths,” Cassian growled at him. “All verifiable, of that I promise. Of course, there is the small matter of our marriage, one that must be annulled for reasons of propriety. But once it is, I will ask Isolde to marry me once more, and as her birth decrees, such a request is perfectly within my right.”
Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. Nobody dared to question the claims that sounded too good to be true.
“Well…” Cassian took Isolde’s hand and stepped back to properly look at her. “Isolde, while it is a strange request to make, I will make it nonetheless. Once our marriage is annulled, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
“Cassian…” She had no idea what to say or what to think. The room turned. She waited to wake up, as this had to be a dream. “Is it true? Is my mother…”
“Every word of it,” he said. “That is why I have avoided you all week. I had to make sure of it, Isolde. But you should know that even if such revelations had not been discovered, it would not matter to me.” He squeezed her hand, his eyes glazing over. “I love you. I loved you the moment I first laid eyes on you. I loved you after I learned who you were. And I love you now. Noble or not, that will never change.”
