An hour earlier Nat had lifted her up in his arms, too, and placed her on his bed, positioning the frothy nothingness of her lacy nightgown just so.
‘You cannot know how much I have longed for this moment, Cassie. To see you here at St Auburn as my wife.’ He clasped her hand and turned the wedding ring that he’d had resized in London. ‘We have done everything so far all the wrong way around. But from now on I mean to get it right.’
She shook her head. ‘You have, my darling, all the way through. Ever since you first found me and took me out of Nay with a bullet hole in your side.’
Standing naked in the half-light of the fire, he looked like a large, strong panther, circling for all that she might give him, muscles shadowed and harsh. The tattoo stood out as did the white scars of battle. Her knight. Her hero.
Opening her arms, she brought him against her. This was the bed and the room that they would live in together for all the rest of their lives. When tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks, he pulled back in question.
‘It is happiness, Nathaniel, only that.’
His forefinger came up to gently wipe away the moisture. ‘I will love you for ever, Cassandra Sandrine Mercier Northrup.’ The troth was given with a solemn honesty before his mouth closed down on hers.
* * *
The belltower attic was a place of wonder, a high-beamed room of generous proportion and a thousand forgotten things in it. With a new morning the old Earl seemed more fleet footed despite needing to manoeuvre around rolls of material and piles of papers. The toys were stacked on large, low shelves, numerous versions of balls and trains and soldiers and forts. One look at Jamie’s face told her that they might be here a while.
‘I like the big train best, Grandpa.’
The word grandpa seemed to sink into the deep lines of his face and flatten them out. ‘I think if I look there are tracks for it somewhere.’
Cassie glanced around. ‘I am sure Jamie feels as if all his Christmas days have come at once.’
‘I think he may deserve it. Three years without a father is a long time.’
‘Almost four,’ she said quietly. ‘His birthday is soon.’
They were interrupted by a squeal of delight. ‘Look, Grandpa, look what it can do.’ He pulled the string behind the head of a large wooden puppet and the garish mouth opened to reveal a full set of yellowing teeth.
‘That used to be my favourite, too,’ William replied, bringing a large white kerchief from his pocket to dab at his eyes. As Jamie continued to explore, William started to speak of the past. ‘Nathaniel is very like his father was, and forgiveness is not an easily won thing. When Geoffrey died, a part of me did, too, and I lost the little piece of him that I still had left in Nathaniel. Now it might be too late to find each other again.’
Cassie shook her head. ‘Family should always be forgiven no matter what happens between them, for blood is thicker than insult or misconception. It only takes honesty.’
He smiled. ‘My grandson was indeed lucky to find you.’
‘He rescued me from a desperate situation and he did not judge me as he could so easily have done. His job there in France was a hard and dangerous one and if he hadn’t come when he did...’ She stopped, the horror of what might have been evident. ‘England is fortunate to have someone like your grandson protecting its interests, and you should be proud that he carries your family name with such honour. I know I am.’
‘I should have known, of course, for Geoffrey was a good man, too. It was just after my wife passed on that I felt so marooned and lost, and in my sorrow the happiness of my son’s family gave me no relief. I pushed them away and never got them back.’
‘Nathaniel did not come here to St Auburn again?’
‘Oh, indeed, he did for a time after his parents died but by then we were set in our distance from each other and we barely talked. Later he wanted to modernise the place and I was determined to leave things as they were. After a while he hardly ever came home.’
‘Well, we are here to stay now, and you will have all the chance in the world to talk with him. If you told him what you have just told me...’
She stopped as he nodded his head, and Jamie came up to him with a small boat complete with sails and ropes in his hands.
‘Papa spoke about this in the carriage.’
‘He did?’ William took the craft and turned it this way and that. ‘Your father’s father made this, Jamie. If you bring it down we might be able to have a try at sailing the craft on the lake.’
‘I will jump in and rescue it if it gets stuck, Grandpa.’
‘Then we certainly have a deal.’
* * *
Maureen, Kenyon, Rodney and Lord Cowper arrived in the middle of the following morning, her uncle Reginald and his friend Christopher Hanley unexpectedly behind them in another conveyance. Nathaniel looked less than happy with the new arrivals as she glanced up at him. Something seemed wrong.
‘I saw your father in London yesterday,’ Reginald explained when the carriage stopped, ‘and told him of my plans to head to the coast. When he asked if I would like to call in here at St Auburn for an hour or two, I was most grateful. I hope having Hanley here, too, will not upset anyone.’
The old earl looked about as pleased as Nathaniel did, and the arrival of Stephen Hawkhurst seemed to heighten the awkwardness yet again. Cassandra did not fail to see the look that went between her husband and his friend as they turned inside, and the tension seemed to emanate from the presence of Christopher Hanley.
* * *
Christopher Hanley sought her out an hour later as drinks and a light repast were being served in the front salon.
‘You will not be so involved with your charity from now on, I suppose, Lady Lindsay? Being here should take up much of your time.’
‘No, in that you are wrong. I shall be as busy with it as I ever was, and London is not far.’
‘Was there ever any sign of Sarah Milgrew and her sister’s killer?’
‘No, nothing, though we are still hopeful of finding some clue to help us.’
‘Your father continues to fund the Daughters of the Poor, then?’
‘Indeed he does, and Nathaniel is involved, too. My husband has brought Stephen Hawkhurst in for added assistance.’
Hawk watched them now, Cassie saw, his eyes devouring Hanley’s stance and face and a small worm of uneasiness turned in her stomach. Something wasn’t right, but she could not quite put her finger upon it. She was pleased when her uncle came to claim his friend in conversation, allowing her to move away.
‘You look worried.’ William had joined her over by the windows. ‘I knew Hanley’s parents and they were not a happy couple. The father had a way with women of the night and the mother ran off with an Italian merchant and never returned to England.’
‘A difficult upbringing for him, then?’ Nathaniel had heard the last of the conversation as he came up behind her.
‘You have had dealings with him?’ William sounded interested in his grandson’s answer.
‘He has the unfortunate habit of poking his nose in other people’s business. Suffice it to say he did Cassandra and me a favour in Whitechapel, but it could have been different.’
Uncle Reginald seemed to be making much of conversing with her father and for the first time in months Papa appeared happy. She supposed she should overlook the presence of the others here for an hour or two for it was good to see Papa smiling.
When Kenyon asked Nathaniel for a tour of the grounds of St