by Meghan Sloan
“How do I know that?” Percy demanded. “I don’t know if you’re telling the truth anymore.”
“Percy…”
“No, don’t bother, Gabe.” Percy shook his head and stepped away as he held up his hand. “You’ve screwed up badly now. I should’ve done what Mother and Father did and cut you out of my life. But I didn’t because I’m a sap and I thought you loved me enough not to mess me around.”
“I do love you,” Gabriel reached for him. “You’re my little brother. I’ve always loved you.”
He flinched as Percy knocked his arms away and shoved him in the chest, pushing Gabriel back a few steps.
“Clearly you don’t, if you’re willing to treat me in such a way.”
Gabriel could see his brother withdrawing. He had messed up more than he’d imagined. Not only was he in danger of losing Cassandra, he was rapidly losing Percy. His brother had allowed him to have a relationship even when their parents said Gabriel should be treated with nothing but contempt. That had hurt to hear that, and Gabriel had been relieved his little brother had allowed him to keep in contact. They were only half a mile apart, but it could have been a million miles as far as Gabriel was concerned.
Now it looked as though this gap was going to get even wider.
“Are you going to tell Cassie about this?” Percy demanded. “Or are you going to keep lying to her?”
“I will tell her,” Gabriel swallowed. “Don’t tell Cassie about this. Let me do that.”
Percy snorted and turned away.
“You got yourself into this mess, Gabe. I’m not getting you out of it.”
He stormed off across the lawn, disappearing around the front of the house. Gabriel watched him go, feeling very cold as his brother moved out of sight.
“What did he mean by that?” Norman asked.
Gabriel closed his eyes.
“He’s going to tell Cassie what I did. He’s not going to wait for me to get the courage.”
Once Cassandra found out, she was going to be on the warpath. And Gabriel was right in the firing line.
Chapter 20
“Excuse me, Miss Seton?”
Cassandra looked up. One of the maids was in the doorway to the morning room. Cassandra put aside her sewing.
“What is it, Celia?”
“There’s a Mr. Percy Tattershall at the door.” Celia looked nervous, “He doesn’t have an appointment to see you, but he’s insistent about having an audience with you immediately. He doesn’t look happy, Miss Seton.”
Cassandra frowned. Percy was here? From the sound of it, he was angry. Had he found out about her and Gabriel? Unlikely, as Gabriel didn’t seem the type to tell his brother about what he’d done. She was tempted to send him away, if that was the case. But from the sound of it, Percy wasn’t about to leave quietly. And with her father sleeping upstairs, finally giving in to doctor’s orders to rest, Cassandra didn’t want to wake him.
“Show him in, Celia.”
Celia disappeared and Cassandra rose to her feet with a wince. She was still very sore when she sat down, and the throbbing was more of a dull ache than anything else. Gabriel had warned her that this would be the case afterwards, right before he made her body sing again.
She couldn’t hold back a smile. When she had arranged to meet him, taking him to bed hadn’t been on her mind. But when Gabriel had made his admission and suddenly looked so vulnerable, Cassandra couldn’t help herself. Her desire for him was far too much.
Last night, Cassandra had no regrets. Once things were settled down, she and Gabriel would make people aware that they were together. Gabriel’s declaration was enough for her to know that this was it for him. She didn’t care about what happened in the past now, as long as she was there for his future.
Maybe she should head over to the cottage later. Surprise him there. Gabriel had talked about his new home, and Cassandra was interested to see it. Gabriel had promised one day that she would, but Cassandra wanted that a little earlier than one day.
There were still a few things she wanted to go over with him. All of them required privacy and a softer bed than the one they had used last night.
Now’s not the time to be thinking about that. Focus on why Gabriel’s brother is here, and hope you can smooth over whatever it is that has upset him.
Cassandra headed towards the door just as it swung open hard enough to bang against the wall. Percy strode in, and Cassandra found herself backing up. She had never seen Percy look this upset. The man was normally as placid as they came. Now he looked like he had been crying, his face contorted into an angry scowl and his eyes red and bloodshot. Cassandra felt a shiver of fear. Had he found out about her and Gabriel together last night?
“Percy? What...what’s the matter?”
“Forgive me for my sudden visit, Cassandra,” Percy was breathing heavily. He looked like he had run all the way to Ipswich. “I wanted to get to you before Gabriel did.”
“What, why? Why would Gabriel want to get hold of me? What’s the rush?”
“To give you more of his lies, no doubt.”
Now Cassandra was confused. What was he talking about? Gabriel had lied to her? When he had held her in his arms, he had certainly not been lying then. But Percy didn’t seem to be talking about that. Something else had happened.
“I...I don’t understand.”
“You didn’t know that he was the one who put us together in the hopes that we would marry?”
“Considering he spoke to both of us, I was sure of it. But it…” Cassandra knew her face was going red, “It slipped my mind the last time I saw him.”
“I’m sure.” Percy drawled. “I bet he got you very distracted.”
“Percy!”
Cassandra wanted to sink through the floor. He knew. From the way he was looking at her now, he knew what had happened. Percy’s face fell and he looked away.
“Forgive me, Cassie, that was crass of me. Although your reaction’s told me everything I need to know.” He swallowed. “How long?”
“What?”
“How long have you and he been...intimate?”
“Only last night.” Cassandra bit her lip. She was beginning to wish she had refused to see him now. “I wasn’t about to betray you by doing it during our courtship. That’s not fair on anyone. And it...it just sort of happened.”
“It always does with Gabriel. He’s good at that.” Percy paced past her, running his hands through his hair. He looked less angry and more miserable now. “You know that he wants to buy Montgomery’s?”
“I had an inkling about it, but how can he buy something when he hasn’t got any money?”
“From what I can gather from other people, Norman Montgomery’s giving it to him on credit. Gabriel becomes the owner and pays him back over time, providing he keeps the place in business. But Gabriel’s impatient and he wants to pay Montgomery back quicker, but to do that he has to make sure any other rival businesses can’t take his profits.” Percy looked at her. “There’s only one other gambling hall in Ipswich that’s even anywhere close to overtaking him.”
Seton’s. That was the only place in town that could rival Montgomery’s in terms of success. Cassandra felt her stomach drop.
“Is he trying to buy Seton’s as well?”
“No, but he is trying to take something away from it.” Percy grimaced. “You.”
“Me?”
“Come on, Cassie, you’re not a stupid woman. You’re the reason Seton’s is so successful. Your father is the owner and he keeps it going, but everyone knows that you’re the driving force. I’ve spoken to several people about it and they confirm the reason Seton’s is thriving is because of your machinations.”
Percy slumped onto the couch, resting his elbows on his knees as he hung his head. “I guess Gabriel didn’t like the fact a woman could make a business run so smoothly and he didn’t want to be overshadowed. He thought if he could get you distracted and put your focus elsewhere, then maybe he would have a chance to be m
ore successful and pay Norman back faster than he planned.”
“And the way to do it was to distract me with a potential husband.” Cassandra felt like Percy had knocked her off her feet. “He directed me to you.”
“He played both of us.” Percy rubbed his hands over his face, “I didn’t know what was going on until I overheard him talking to Montgomery earlier today. He played us, and I thought you should know.”
He might as well have attacked her. Cassandra felt like she was falling and there was nothing to catch her. The room swayed around her and she grabbed at a nearby chair to stop herself from falling. She had been played for a fool. Gabriel hadn’t cared about her at all; he was only looking out for himself. But last night he had been so sweet, so gentle with her, whispering sweet nothings into her ear.
They had all been lies. Cassandra felt like she was going to be sick.
“I’m going to kill him.”
“Join the queue. It’s a pretty long one by now.”
Cassandra could feel the room tilting, but she wouldn’t fall. She was not going to collapse over this man. She had already fallen for him once, and it wasn’t happening again. Her anger began to flare up, her throat constricting until Cassandra was struggling to breathe. She didn’t know whether to burst into a fit of rage or burst into tears.
“He...he lied to me.” Cassandra managed to get herself to sit before she toppled over. The room was still swaying around her. “He said you were eager to make my acquaintance, that you would be a good choice for me. He tried so hard to push me in your direction. Now I know why.” She pressed a hand to her chest, wishing she could get rid of the ache. “I bet he lied as well when he said he loved me.”
“He said that?” Percy’s head snapped up. He stared at her. “He really said that he loved you?”
“I don’t know why you’re so shocked. He must say that to the ladies all the time.”
But Percy was shaking his head. Now he was looking dazed.
“No, he doesn’t. He’s known for his reputation, but Gabriel has never said those three words outside of the family, and even then it was rare. It’s like he wasn’t capable of saying them at all. That he said it to you means a lot.”
“Does it? After what he’s done?” Cassandra blinked, feeling a tear trickle down her cheek. “I can’t believe I said it back to him. The fact he was completely wrong for me should have been enough for me to stay away. But I...I couldn’t…”
She ducked her head, not wanting to show that she was crying. She buried her face in her hands, wishing the ground would swallow her up. There was the rustling of clothes and then Cassandra felt Percy’s hands on her shoulders, urging her to stand up. She didn’t fight him, allowing him to pull her to her feet and lean her against his chest.
“It’s going to be all right, Cassie.” Percy wrapped his arms around her, cradling her gently as he rocked her. “Gabriel’s in trouble, and he knows it. It’ll work itself out.”
Would it? Cassandra didn’t know if it would.
#
“Right.” Norman closed the accounts book and put it to one side. “That’s all the paperwork ready for you. You seemed to have a better grasp of how the accounts work better than I do, so that’s something.” He glanced up at Gabriel, “I’m sure you know the place inside-out already, but now you get to go through every room, get to know the staff and understand the running of things.”
“I think I’ve got the general idea.” Gabriel murmured.
This should have brought up some excitement, knowing that he was now the owner of Montgomery’s. But Gabriel couldn’t bring himself to be happy. Instead he felt...numb. His goal had been reached and now he was in charge, and his happiness was just not there. It felt like things were beginning to crumble around him.
And crumble they would, once Percy told Cassandra what he had been up to. She would be on the warpath. Lying to her about his brother was one thing, but Gabriel had blown it taking her to bed. He should have left as soon as he realised where she was. Instead, he had given in to what he had wanted since first laying eyes on her.
When people had said that love was not ever simple and it could be painful at times, Gabriel had scoffed. He didn’t believe that at all. Now he was beginning to understand what they meant.
“Gabe?”
“Hmm?” Gabriel hadn’t realised Norman had moved, coming around the desk and holding out a glass of whisky. He shook his head. “No, thanks. I don’t want any.”
Norman arched an eyebrow. Then he shrugged and took a swig himself.
“I’ll stay here another week to see how you’re getting on, and then I’ll head back home. I must say, I can’t wait to get back. Running this place is hard work when your head is not in it.”
“You make it sound like you despise Ipswich.”
“It’s not that I despise the place I was born in.” Norman leaned against the desk, “I’ve just never liked cities. Which was why I suffered so much living in London during the season as a younger man. It was...I felt like the walls were closing in, so many rules you had to follow. On the coast, things are a little more relaxed. There are far fewer people and those I interact with are not judgmental about what I do with my time. It’s so quiet and peaceful.”
A wistful look passed over his face, and Gabriel could see that Norman was already going back to his home, where the sea view from his window was spectacular even in the middle of winter with the storms. Norman had spoken about it several times with much love for his home. Gabriel had a feeling that, given half a chance, Norman would never leave his house.
Now his father was dead and the business wasn’t in his name anymore, Norman could.
“I’m sure the women are more beautiful,” Gabriel said mildly.
“Don’t know. Haven’t been outside enough to notice.”
But even as he said that, Norman’s cheeks went red. Something told Gabriel there was another reason he wanted to get back to the coast. He was distracted from asking when he heard a familiar voice on the other side of the door and thundering footsteps. He recognised that voice. Gabriel closed his eyes.
Here it came.
The door burst open and Gabriel turned to see Cassandra storming across the room towards him. All the way down to town, Gabriel had been trying to think about how he was going to explain this to Cassandra, and hoping that she would listen. But he had barely opened his mouth when Cassandra slapped him. Hard enough to jerk his head. The sound reverberated around the room.
Cassandra stepped back. She was breathing heavily, the look in his eyes saying if looks could kill, he would be dead.
“If I had a gun, I would have shot you by now,” she snarled. “That’s what you deserve for what you tried to do to me.”
Gabriel grimaced. His cheek stung and his ears were ringing.
“I suppose I would deserve it.”
“You do deserve it! Percy’s just told me everything, what you were planning to do,” Cassandra pointed at him, almost poking him in the face. “Well, let me tell you, Tattershall, I am not going anywhere. You can’t force me to be diverted elsewhere, and I’m not going to let Seton Hall suffer because your greedy heart wanted it all!”
Gabriel knew there was a lot he could say to that, but he didn’t think it would matter anymore. Cassandra had made up her mind. He glanced at Norman, who was looking at Cassandra like he had never seen her before.