by Lori Wick
“Hello, Lizzy.”
“Hello, Morland. How are you?”
“I’m very well. Would you and Cassandra be available to join me for tea? I’m going to Gray’s.”
For a moment, Lizzy was caught by his eyes. She had a full list to shop for yet, but right now all she could see was this man.
“What time?”
“In an hour. Does that work for you?”
“Yes.”
Morland smiled at her, his eyes warm as he studied her. “I’ll see you there.”
Lizzy only nodded, her face having taken on a dreamy expression. She wasn’t even aware of the way Morland had gone on his way. When she came back to earth, it was to find Cassandra staring at her.
“Are you all right?” Cassie asked softly.
“Yes. How long has it been? How much longer do I have to wait?”
“Only about 59 minutes.”
Lizzy’s hand went to her mouth to smother laughter. Cassandra’s did the same. With unspoken agreement, they split up. If they stayed together they would only laugh and carry on, and that wouldn’t do at all.
When Henry came looking for them close to 40 minutes later, they had calmed down long enough to tell him of their plans for tea. Even he managed a smile at the older of his two sisters. Lizzy thought that by the time she left town, everyone would know of her feelings for Morland, but then she decided it was all right. As long as the man himself knew, nothing else mattered.
Pembroke
Tate woke early on the second day of June, earlier than usual. He could tell the day was already warm, but something more was happening. His head felt amazingly clear, his eyes utterly normal. He hadn’t experienced headaches or throbbing for some time, but today was different. Today was better.
Dr Tilney was not scheduled to check his eyes for another month, but Tate needed him today. Something had happened in the night; he was certain of it. He didn’t hurry to rouse Hastings or the household but lay quiet, praying.
I’ve been foolish and worried about a lot of things recently, Lord, and I’m sorry. Help me to keep leaving things in Your hand and not run ahead of You. And if I’m wrong, Father, and my sight is not there, please help me to keep trusting You.
Cassandra traveled home in a state of shock. Of all places to learn about Tate’s returned eyesight, she never dreamed it would be at the manse. It wasn’t that she wasn’t pleased for him; she was. But how did word travel so swiftly that Pastor and Judith would hear ahead of her?
“And to think I was headed there to read,” she said to the empty coach, so glad that she had learned in time and could tell the driver to take her home.
Newcomb Park
“Is there nothing I can say, Cassie?” Lizzy begged, tears in her eyes.
“Please don’t cry, Lizzy. It’s not forever. I just need to get away to think.”
“Just wait for Henry to return. Just wait for that.”
Cassandra looked at her sternly.
“You’re hoping he’ll talk me out of it, Elizabeth, or tell me I’m not to leave at all!” Cassandra stopped and tried to calm down, pushing Tate’s ever-present face from her mind. “Send word to me as soon as he’s gone to London. He’ll return to his life, Lizzy, and I’ll come home. Everything will be as it was.”
Lizzy held on for dear life when they hugged, and Cassandra allowed her. The look on the younger girl’s face was so crushed and hurt when she let go that Lizzy almost snatched her back.
Lizzy waited only until the coach was out of sight before returning to the house, her tears coming in a torrent. Her pain would have been double had she known that Cassandra was doing the same thing in the coach headed for Bath and Fairfax Hall.
Pembroke
Tate looked down at the note he’d just penned to Cassandra, amazed at how clearly he could see the words. He explained everything to her concerning the doctor’s wishes and his own desire to do as much as he could.
Much as it pained him to do it, he sent the letter and did not deliver it himself. For all the time he’d waited, a few more days shouldn’t seem like much, but Tate had a feeling they would be the longest two days of his life.
Newcomb Park
“Oh, Henry, you’re home!”
“What is it, Lizzy?” He gripped her arm. “Are you hurt?”
“No, it’s Cassie. She’s left.”
Henry had seen Morland on his ride and brought him home. That man stood by while Lizzy told Cassandra’s story. She worked not to cry but wasn’t able to manage it.
“I’ll go,” Morland said at one point, and both Steeles turned to dissuade him. “No,” he clarified. “I’ll go after Cassandra.”
“She won’t listen to you,” Lizzy said.
“I won’t try to bring her home. I’ll just make sure she arrives safely at your sister’s. As soon as she’s settled, I’ll return.”
“Thank you, Morland,” Henry said. “I wish to send a letter with you. I’ll put it together right now.”
Henry strode from the room, leaving Morland and Lizzy alone. Lizzy tried to conceal her blotchy face, but Morland would have none of it. He approached without hesitation and took her hands in his.
“I thought if I came back to England, it would all be so easy.”
“Did you?” Lizzy asked, a little sniff escaping.
“Yes, and now I find that the lady herself is terrified of me, and never once did I imagine our sweet, stable Cassandra capable of running from any problem.”
Tears filled Lizzy’s eyes.
“She doesn’t think she’s beautiful. She doesn’t believe Tate would ever want her.”
“Well, at least I know that it runs in the family.”
“What does?”
“The beautiful Steele sisters are all quite bad at letting a man know when he can get close.”
Lizzy could only nod, forced to agree.
“I know you’re heart is hurting right now, Lizzy, but I’m headed to check on Cassandra. I won’t come back unless I know she’s all right.” Morland stopped talking and bent very close before going on. “But hear me well, Elizabeth Steele. When I return I’ll be getting close—very close indeed.”
Lizzy could only stare up at him. She was completely motionless when he bent a little further and brushed her lips with his own. A moment later he let go of her hands. Henry was returning with the letter for Cassandra. Morland bid them both goodbye and went on his way. Lizzy didn’t remember taking a breath for the rest of the day.
Chapter Fourteen
The coach’s speed began to decline, but at first Cassandra didn’t notice. She had been dozing, not wanting to think about what she was doing, but when it began to bounce to a stop, she sat up and put her head out.
“Is there trouble?”
“No, Miss Steele,” their faithful coachman, Bernard, said. “You have a visitor.”
Only then did Cassandra see a horseman dismounting and coming toward her.
“Morland!” she exclaimed in shock and surprise. “Is everything all right?”
“At home? Yes,” Morland answered as he pulled himself inside and put his fist to the roof to send them on their way. “In this coach, I’m not so sure.”
Cassandra’s personal maid had gone up on top when Morland climbed in, but Cassandra almost wished for her presence. She had started this and would finish it, but Morland’s appearance made her doubt.
“Did Lizzy and Henry send you?”
“No. I offered to catch up with you and make sure you arrived safely at your sister’s.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I did, Cassie. Lizzy is very distressed, and you must know I can’t stand to see that.”
Cassandra nodded. She felt so selfish, but she didn’t know what else to do. She closed her eyes against the image of Tate’s face looking at her with disappointment and surprise. Her stomach rolled at the thought.
“Did he ever tell you he loves you?” Morland came right out and asked, breaking into her to
rtured thoughts.
“No.”
“Did you tell him you love him?”
“No.”
“So your fear of rejection is great.”
“Very great. I never thought myself so weak, but I am.” Cassandra took a breath. “He’ll return to London, and when he does, Lizzy will send for me and I’ll go on as before.”
“I’m going to marry Lizzy someday, Cassie. She won’t be at Newcomb forever.”
“But I’m happy there with Henry,” Cassandra reasoned. “He and I will do well together. I won’t pine for someone of my own.”
His look was so skeptical that Cassandra lost all patience.
“What am I to do, Morland? He’s never seen me! I think he might very well be in love, but it’s not with me. It’s with the woman he imagines me to be!”
Morland easily read the pain and frustration in her face and eyes, and his heart turned over. Hadn’t he known that very pain when he returned and Lizzy was as she’d always been, distant and uncertain around him? Even knowing how she felt didn’t instantly change everything.
“Are you angry with me?” Cassandra asked when he remained silent.
“I’m not, Cassie, and I didn’t catch up with your coach so I could dissuade you. I’ve come to see that you arrive safely at Charlotte’s. That is all. Oh!” Morland remembered the letter. “Henry sent you this.”
Cassandra took the missive from his outstretched hand but knew she couldn’t read it right then. Her satchel was nearby, and she tucked it in there.
Morland watched her and was again reminded of how close this action was to desperation. He thought to change the subject by asking her about the book in her hand, but tears came to her eyes when she answered, and he settled back to ride in silence.
Pembroke
“I had forgotten the beauty of this stained glass,” Tate told Harriet as he walked slowly through Pembroke, seeing it for the first time in years. “It’s magnificent.”
“Thorpe’s favorite window,” Harriet remembered fondly as they stood before the huge stained-glass window at the end of the upstairs hallway. It was an unusual spot for the art, and all the more eye-catching because of it. “I never did show Cassandra around Pembroke, but I know she would love to see it.”
“Thursday,” Tate said with a smile. “I’ll show her Thursday.”
“Is that what day she’s coming to see you?”
“No, I told her in my note that I would come to Newcomb Park, but I’ll bring her back here for lunch. Does that work for your schedule?”
Harriet agreed, looking into eyes that she’d waited so long to see—smiling eyes, eyes that loved her, eyes that looked at everything with a boyish new interest. Eyes that couldn’t wait to see the woman he loved.
Fairfax Hall
“Oh, Morland,” Charlotte said, the morning he prepared to climb back into the Steele coach for the ride home. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“It was my pleasure, Charlotte. Tell Cassie to take care of herself and that I shall see her when she arrives home.”
“Indeed, I shall.”
Giving his own word of thanks, Barrington shook Morland’s hand and then stood with his wife to wave the coach on its way.
“Are you angry?’ Charlotte asked of her spouse the moment they were alone.
“Why would I be angry?”
“We’ve only just arrived home, and we were looking forward to being alone.”
“Wanting to be alone or not, how could I take one look at Cassie’s heartbroken face and be angry?”
Charlotte’s eyes filled with tears. “How could anyone not love her?”
“We have only her word that he doesn’t, and I for one tend to believe that he loves her very much.”
“You’ve never met the man. How could you possibly know that?”
“I’m in love with one of the Steele sisters,” he said simply. “I know how irresistible they can be.”
Barrington kissed her surprised lips and caressed her waist before slipping a possessive arm around her to lead her inside. And only just in time, for Cassandra was awake, dressed, and looking for her sister. That she had already been crying was only too obvious.
The newlyweds made no comment, however, but set about showing Cassandra around their home, feeding her a fine breakfast, and making her feel as welcome as she was.
Cassandra enjoyed the time immensely. She was quite willing for any distraction that would take her mind from Collingbourne and a man whose eyes she’d never seen.
Pembroke
“I can’t tell you how much the sermon notes meant, Pastor Hurst. It is indeed a pleasure to meet you.”
“I’m very glad to hear it, Mr Tate, and news of your recovery has brought joy to many.”
“I know the church family was praying for me. I plan to be in church this Sunday. I’m looking forward to meeting everyone.”
“Will you be returning to London soon?”
“My plans are not confirmed at this point. I’m in no hurry.”
“We hope you’ll be with us for a time. August can be rather warm, but most summers here are very nice.”
Pastor Hurst did not stay overly long, and it gave Tate great pleasure to walk him to the drive and wave as his small buggy took him away.
The pastor gone, Tate did not hurry back inside. He hadn’t seen the view from the front door of Pembroke in many years. He spotted a flower bush of unusual color, one he’d never seen before. Going over to study it, he made mental plans to show it to Cassandra on the morrow.
Newcomb Park
“She is well?” Henry questioned.
“Yes,” Morland answered, thanking Lizzy for the glass of water. “I didn’t see her the morning I left, but I know she’s in good hands. Charlotte was very glad to have her, as was Barrington.”
Both Steele siblings exchanged a look. They had not wanted to worry but had given in to that temptation. They wanted Cassandra home with them immediately, but knowing that Morland had seen her safely to Charlotte’s was the next best thing.
“I will confess to you that I am rather weary.” Morland had finished his water and set the glass aside. “I think I will head to my aunt’s now.”
“Thank you, Morland,” Henry said again. “Can you join us this evening for dinner?”
“I would enjoy that.”
Lizzy watched him leave, thinking she had never seen him so tired. The moment he was out the door, she went in search of Cook. Whatever they had for supper needed to be special.
Fairfax Hall
Dear Cassie, Henry’s letter began. It had taken until the next day for her to open it.
I am a very observant man, if not a vocal one. I had only one evening in the company of Mr Tate, but one evening was enough. He loves you, Cassie. He thinks you’re wonderful.
I know all about fears. They’re not logical, and because we have a God who is in control, they are sin. I’m not saying this to be harsh. I have no wish to scold you. But I would urge you to think wisely on this subject and listen to those around you.
Cassandra had to stop reading. If she listened to those around her, she would never have left Collingbourne. But then she would be forced to face Alexander Tate.
Folding the letter without looking at another word, Cassandra slipped it into the pages of her Bible. She had only just stopped crying. If she finished the letter, she would most certainly be in tears again, and right now she wasn’t willing to risk it.
Newcomb Park
Tate arrived midmorning. He asked to see Cassandra Steele, not noticing the servant’s moment of hesitation. The young gentleman was shown to the small parlor, where he stayed on his feet, eagar for his first glimpse of Cassandra. When the door opened just minutes later, the woman who entered was not a redhead.
“Hello, Mr Tate. It’s nice to see you.”
“You must be Miss Elizabeth.”
The two bowed formally to each other before Tate smiled.
“Do you know whether Cassa
ndra got my note? Has she forgiven me for not coming sooner?” he asked, not waiting for an answer. “The doctor wanted me to rest at home another week, but I was only willing to do that for two more days. I didn’t try to explain all of that in the letter, but I hope Cassandra understood.”
“She’s not here, Mr Tate,” Lizzy answered with regret. “And she never received your note. She left before it arrived.”
To Lizzy’s amazement, Tate smiled.
“She’s run, hasn’t she?”
“Yes. How did you know?”
Tate laughed. He was finding that regaining one’s sight had an amazing effect on one’s outlook.
“My aunt commented on your dark hair and beauty the first time she met you,” Tate now explained. “I had met your blonde sister, Charlotte, in London and thought her beautiful. When Aunt Harriet told me that Cassandra had red hair and freckles, it wasn’t hard to imagine her not feeling as though she measured up.
“But it was more than that,” Tate went on, Lizzy listening in surprise. “I could hear the hesitancy in her voice. One day we spoke of honesty, and I could tell she was trying to be herself with me but wasn’t quite able to manage the job. I know now that she was upset about how I would view her.”
“And how will you view her?”
“I’ll view her for exactly what she is: the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.”
Lizzy’s tears would not be stopped. Even with this near stranger in her midst, she began to cry and could not stop.
Henry happened by, heard his sister’s cries, and went in. Not bothering with formalities, Henry nodded to Tate and went to his sister.