Regency Romances

by Grace Fletcher

It was a good thing she was already in her hat and coat, or Cassandra would have had struggled to get ready. But she looked pointedly at the trunks just inside the door.

  "Well, if you desire that, someone is going to have to deal with my cases. It took a lot out of me to get them down the stairs on my own. I can't possibly carry them out of here."

  For a moment she thought Murkwood was going to lose his temper, his mouth twisting in displeasure. But then he grunted and waved over the footman.

  "Stanning, if you would?"

  "Please give me one moment, Your Grace. I have to say farewell to my aunt."

  Cassandra hurried away before he could say anything more. She could hear him grumbling as she stepped into the living room. Mary had stood at her entrance, tugging the shawl tighter round her shoulders. Cassandra shook her head in amazement.

  "He's here, but he's so rude."

  "But he's your new employer, dear." Mary reached out and took her hands. She gave them a squeeze and a reassuring smile came across her mouth. "Don't antagonize him too early on."

  Cassandra sighed. Her aunt knew her so well. She flung her arms round Mary's shoulders and hugged her tightly.

  "I'm going to miss you so much."

  "I'm going to miss you, too, Sandy." Mary hugged her back. "Write to me every week."

  "I'll write to you every day."

  Mary chuckled and eased herself away, cupping Cassandra's face in her hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  "I know you will. Now go."

  Cassandra nodded and hurried out the room before she gave in to the urge to burst into tears.

  Chapter 2

  Pushing Boundaries

  Marcus wasn't sure what he had expected to find when Cassandra Mable opened the door. Somewhere in his mind's eye, he had the image of a prim middle-aged woman with spectacles, her hair in a severe bun and stick thin with starchy-like clothes.

  Maybe he was putting the image of his nanny onto Cassandra. He had been totally unprepared to find her to be petite with golden-blonde hair held back in a chignon at the base of her neck, clear skin and sky-blue eyes. She was a pale brown, the kind of brown you got when you had been out in the sun a lot. And while she was slim, she wasn't too much so. She was quite agreeable looking in all the right places. Her outfit looked a little threadbare, but she carried it off well as if she was wearing a dress of silk.

  Marcus had been stumped the moment he set eyes on her. He was beginning to wish his father had taught him how to interact with people properly, especially with women. Now he was at a loss of what to say beyond the obvious.

  He knew he had come off quite brusque, which had clearly got Cassandra's back up, but Marcus didn't know any better. He just wanted to get away from any polite pleasantries and get out of there, taking the lovely new companion with him.

  Now she sat opposite him in the carriage, back straight with her hands in her lap, her bonnet on to the perfect tilt and her gloves in her hands. She stared out the window, purposefully ignoring him. Marcus would have thought this was her being haughty but saw the faint shimmer of tears in her eyes. He silently chastised himself for being so rude to her, but he didn't know how to apologize.

  He coughed and shifted in his seat, laying his cane across his lap.

  "Have you ever been a companion before?" He asked.

  "I have."

  Cassandra didn't look at him. She looked so poised, more poised than Marcus had seen with women in his social circle. He swallowed.

  "So you don't need me to tell you your responsibilities, then."

  "Not necessarily." Cassandra looked at him, her expression serene but Marcus could tell she was still annoyed at him. "I wouldn't mind a few more details about your expectations, though."

  "There isn't much. My sister, Susan is eighteen, just finished her schooling, and I am convinced she needs someone to keep an eye on her. Her health..." Marcus paused. It wasn't the best excuse, but it was the one he felt would carry the most weight. "It hasn't been the best, and it's not been that good in the last six months."

  "Sounds like you need a nurse, not a companion."

  Marcus grunted.

  "She refuses to believe she's sick. She wants to go out on long walks around the estate."

  "But that's good." Cassandra pointed out. "The fresh air does wonders to people who aren't well."

  Marcus gritted his teeth. He switched tack quickly. This woman was going to be asking too many probing questions he wouldn't be able to answer if he wasn't careful.

  "I just want someone there so if she runs into difficulties she's not alone."

  "Fine. I can do that." Cassandra sighed. "Although it sounds like, I'll be rather superfluous."

  "Pardon me?"

  Did she just roll her eyes at him?

  "It means unnecessary."

  Marcus raised an eyebrow and bit back a smile.

  "We'll see."

  "I just wonder how much value I will be." Cassandra sighed and looked down at her hands. "But you requested me for the job, so I'll do it. I need this position, so I'll have to be happy about it and get on with it. For now."

  "For now?"

  Cassandra looked up. Her eyes seemed to have changed to a darker blue. Marcus couldn't help but stare. He had never seen eyes change colour with such emotion.

  "I don't abide rudeness, Your Grace," Cassandra said tightly. "The behaviour you showed at my aunt's house was reprehensible. I won't stand for it. Any more of it and I'll pull you up on it and take my leave."

  Marcus' first thought was to laugh. But then he found himself getting caught up in Cassandra's eyes. They were the most amazing looking eyes he had ever seen. He coughed and shifted again, glad that he was in the shadows.

  "I do believe you're serious."

  "I am."

  Marcus bit back a laugh and looked out the window. He had a feeling he and Cassandra were going to get along splendidly.

  Susan Murkwood was like a female version of her brother. She was taller than Cassandra, even at the tender age of eighteen. Her black hair was wild and curly, barely kept in place with the pins in her hair, and she was brown as a berry. Her figure was slim and looked like she went on regular excursions. There didn't appear to be any untoward signs of her being ill at all.

  But, unlike her brother, she seemed to always have a smile on her face. Her energy was infectious, albeit a little uncouth, and her blue eyes always seemed to be sparkling. She seemed to be the complete opposite personality of Marcus.

  Cassandra glanced at Marcus as he sat across from them at the round table in the corner of the dining room. He had been drinking heavily and barely touched his meal, which was still giving off the delicious aromas that Cassandra had been enjoying all evening. Now his food was barely eaten, and he was looking more and more glassy-eyed.

  Susan kept up the atmosphere, doing most of the talking and Cassandra found herself immediately liking the younger woman. This job was going to be a good one if her charge was like this.

  "I must say, Cassandra," Susan said as she spoke with a mouth full of potato and sipping her wine, "I'm delighted you're here. My brother is such a bore."

  She glanced meaningfully at Marcus. Cassandra bit her lip and looked down at her nearly empty plate.

  "I won't comment on that." She murmured.

  "Hey!" Marcus snapped his fingers, his arm shaking. "I may not be involved in your conversation, but I'm not deaf."

  "No, you're inebriated." Susan shot back.

  Marcus growled and took another swig of his wine.

  "Pardon me for enjoying myself."

  Cassandra ignored him. Their ride to the inn just outside Birmingham had been awkward, to say the least. She was just relieved when they arrived and found Susan waiting for them. Susan had swept her up, and Marcus soon been left behind. Cassandra was grateful for that, at least.

  Nevertheless, the presence of the handsome Duke sitting across from her made Cassandra nervous. She had come across better looking men, but there
was something about Marcus Murkwood that had the hairs on the back of Cassandra's neck standing up. It made her shiver with the intense way he looked at her, and she had found herself at a loss for words when their eyes met.

  No man cast her off the way he did.

  Cassandra focused on Susan, who was wiping up the last of the gravy with some bread.

  "It's a pleasure to meet you, Susan." She said as cheerily as she could. "I'm sure we'll get along fine."

  "I know we will," Susan said brightly. She grinned. "I'm looking forward to spending time with you at our home. Has Marcus told you about it yet?"

  "No."

  The conversation had been between limited and non-existent. Cassandra had wanted to talk but not to Marcus.

  "Oh, it's beautiful. It's really a sight to see." Susan sighed. "And the countryside is beautiful."

  "Your brother did say you walked a lot."

  "I do. And with the surroundings we have, you'll see why." Susan glanced across the table and giggled. "Speaking of Marcus, though."

  Cassandra looked over. Marcus looked very near to passing out. His eyes were heavily lidded, and he was starting to sag. She sighed, glad she had already finished.

  "I think we'd better get him to his room. He's going to be causing a scene shortly."

  Between them they got Marcus standing and helped him towards the stairs, Cassandra pausing to thank the landlord and his wife for their hospitality. Marcus didn't like being held up, and he kept pushing them away. But Susan and Cassandra were firm, keeping him upright as they pulled him up the stairs.

  The corridor to their rooms was narrow, and they kept bumping off the walls. As Susan moved away to unlock and open the door to her brother's room, Marcus slumped towards Cassandra, pinning her against the wall. Cassandra gasped as his hand landed on her shoulder, the other hand on the wall by her head.

  Marcus raised his head, his face inches away from hers. Cassandra found herself transfixed by his eyes. The colour seemed to swim around, and her head began to spin. This wasn't supposed to be happening. She should be slapping his face and pushing him away, but she didn't; overcome by his closeness.

  Then Susan was pulling her brother away and ushering him into his room. Cassandra felt as though she could breathe again. While Susan's back was turned, Cassandra quickly went to their room next door, hurrying to open the window and then slumping on the window seat as the cool air hit her in the face.

  She had no idea what had just happened, but it had knocked her out of sorts. And it wasn't something she wanted to experience again.

  No matter how many times she told herself that, something in the back of her mind said if something like that did happen again, she wouldn't be displeased.

  Chapter 3

  Understanding

  Her Role

  "See what I mean?" Susan swept an arm across. "It's a beautiful scene."

  Still trying to get her breath back, Cassandra straightened up slowly and looked out at the countryside below. They were up on the top of a hill, and they could see everything around them for miles. Seas of green trees and rolling fields, a sparkling blue river off to their right, and the village sprawling out below them. To their left was the Murkwood estate, and it glistened magnificently in the morning sun.

  Even after a week, the sight was incredible. Cassandra had a feeling she would be getting into fine form; she went with Susan for walks every day, sometimes twice a day. Cassandra found herself having to keep up with her and wishing she was eighteen again. She was only seven years Susan's senior, but it could have been seventy years from the way she was struggling to keep up with the younger woman.

  "It certainly is." She agreed.

  "You could get used to seeing this every day." Susan declared.

  "Steady! I may not be here for that long."

  While Cassandra was now permanently employed by Marcus, she wasn't sure how long it would last. Susan was clearly not sick. Plus the few encounters she had with the brooding older brother with no manners made Cassandra feel all flustered. It wasn't an easy interaction.

  Susan grinned and sat on the grass, stretching her legs out in front of her.

  "As long as my brother needs you, he'll keep paying you."

  "I thought you were the one who needed me."

  Cassandra sat beside her charge and new friend, drawing her legs up under her. She was hot, her dress was sticking to her from the walk, and her hair was plastered to the back of her neck. A respite was what she needed.

  "I think Marcus needs you more. He needs a nanny for me, more than anything." Susan sighed and picked at the grass beside her. Her mood dipped a little. "He doesn't know how to look after me if truth be told. Not his fault, really, under the circumstances, but I wish he wouldn't simply brush me off to the servants again."

  That was surprising. From the few interactions Cassandra had seen between brother and sister, it was clear Marcus loved Susan, but he didn't really know how to show it. He was disinclined to show emotions properly or how to react.

  It was strange to see. Most who grew up in wealth seemed to know how to behave in society. To see two people who were unprepared for any of it was strange.

  "What happened to your parents?" Cassandra asked.

  "Ma died of blood poisoning after she gave birth to me." Susan sighed. "Then I was six when Pa finally passed away due to drinking himself into the grave. He truly loved Ma and had taken to drinking himself into a coma more and more after she died. Marcus was left holding the baby, so to speak, when he died. He was only sixteen."

  For the first time since she had met Marcus Murkwood Cassandra's heart ached for him. He had lost his mother at a young age and then had to endure witnessing his father get drunk on a regular basis. It explained his drinking habits, and why he didn't know how to socialize. Children learned from their parents, specifically their father, on how to behave. If their father wasn't around for that guidance and the mother was dead, the children had no chance.

  "That must've been so difficult."

  "More so than you think." Susan twiddled with a strand of grass between her fingers. She looked pensive. "He's had to deal with a lot. He has no idea how to treat people because Pa was never sober enough to teach us; he was always wallowing in his own despair. I've always been a loner because of that. Girls think me strange and keep away."

  "I'm sorry."

  Cassandra could understand why people would keep away from Susan due to her uncouthness, but she didn't mind. Susan was like a breath of fresh air. To not be constrained like that must be refreshing.

  Susan then brightened and patted Cassandra's knee.

  "But, hey, you're here now. You should be able to rein me in. Marcus, too." She winked. "I think if you knocked hard enough on that head of his, he would listen to you."

  Cassandra doubted that.

  Marcus' head was hurting from all the reading. He had gone straight to his study as soon as he came downstairs, refusing breakfast, to get on with the paperwork that had been piling up. The accounts needed tending to, and while they were balancing up nicely, Marcus was feeling lightheaded.

  Maybe he shouldn't have missed breakfast.

  Plus he was having trouble trying not to think about Cassandra Mable. The blonde beauty had walked into his life and seemed to change everything around her. Susan was laughing and smiling as usual, but she was drawing Cassandra out of her shell. The first time he had seen the companion laugh had hit Marcus right in the chest. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

  But she was rather skittish around him, almost like a frightened rabbit. She kept away, preferring to busy herself with something else. Any time he tried to talk to Cassandra, she would quickly excuse herself. It hurt, but Marcus knew that his shameful behaviour towards her on their initial encounter hadn't helped matters.

  Neither had that night when he had accidentally slumped into her, causing him to embrace her inappropriately. The moment he had touched her, Marcus had had to fight the urge to kiss he
r. They had only met a few hours before, and she was meant to be his employee. Marcus may not know most of the social graces, but he knew that would have been most inappropriate. He knew that type of behaviour was unpardonable.

  Evidently, Cassandra still remembered that incident.

  He was staring at his account books when someone knocked at the door. Marcus barely looked up as he scribbled another calculation on his blotting pad.

  "Come in."

  The door opened and closed. Then Marcus heard the rustle of a dress as the person in question crossed the floor. He expected it to be the housekeeper, Mrs. Wallis. He looked up and did a double-take. Cassandra was standing before his desk, dressed in a pale blue dress. Her hands folded in front of her and her head up, giving him a scowl. Even scowling, she looked lovely.

  "Cassandra." Marcus put his pen down and sat back. "Is there something wrong?"

  "Possibly." Cassandra's eyes narrowed. "Why did you tell me that Susan was sickly? I've been here a week, and she's showing no signs of looking unwell. In fact, she's even fitter than I am."

  Marcus stiffened. He was tempted to tell Cassandra the real reason, but he didn't want the lecture of overreacting and taking it out of proportion. He forced himself to relaxed, lacing his fingers over his stomach.

  "She's very good at hiding it."

  Cassandra's scowl deepened.

  "Your Grace, with all due respect, you're not a good liar. Tell me what's going on. It sounds more like you want someone to watch her rather than a companion. Someone to keep her in line. What am I watching her for? I think I've earned that right to know."

  She did. More than she could imagine. But Marcus wasn't about to tell her. Not yet.

  "You'll find out, eventually."

  "Once again, with all due respect, please don't patronize me, Your Grace." Cassandra looked like she was close to stamping her foot. "I want to know the truth."

  Marcus smiled. He wanted to see the spritely little blonde lose her temper; it would make her a bit more human. She carried herself with the airs and graces another in his society circle would love to possess, but she did come across a little stiff at times. He wanted to see the real her.