A Time for Honour

Chapter 26

Cassie quickly gathered together a few of her belongings and put then into the smallest valise she could find. She was careful not to take anything of any real sentiment, or anything that would remind her of the happier times she had spent here with Damien. She also knew, that to travel quickly, it would be easier if she were unencumbered by heavy baggage. A change of clothes and a few toiletries were all she was going to need for her journey. The money, she had taken from Damien's desk, would allow her to buy more when she was settled.

As she was gathering her possessions together, she kept glancing nervously out of the window towards the drive. It was hard to believe, that in the space of an hour, her whole world had come crashing around her. She had heard, once more, the name she feared most above all others; Major Ellington. She knew, that if he had seen the miniature that Damien had taken with him, the one that had once belonged to Verity, it would only be a matter of time before he would find her at Abbotgate. Ellington had proved to her time and time again, that he was a resourceful man who would stop at nothing to get anything he wanted. She was also aware that Delaney, even with all his bravado, had seriously underestimated Ellington's abilities for finding her. He was indeed a foolish man to think that he would be able to hide her. Even if they travelled half-way across the world, he would still come for her. If Ellington knew the provenance of the miniature, and there was no reason why he should not, then it would not be long before he found the subject portrayed in it.

Once she was satisfied that her valise was packed with only the essential items that she needed for the next few nights, she shut it and held it to see if it would be easy to carry. After establishing that it was not too heavy, she held it in front of her and opened the door to her bedchamber and walked into the corridor. As she walked past Damien's room, the one they had shared on the night before his departure, she felt strangely drawn to take one more look at the place where she had thought she had found true happiness.

Cassie walked into the room and looked at the familiar surroundings, recalling, in her mind, the memories of their brief time together. She walked over to his washstand and picked up the remains of a bar of soap that he had regularly used. As the familiar smell that had always reminded her of him filled her senses, she became slowly aware that a part of her had died that afternoon. When Delaney had told her that Damien had chosen to stay in London, she had put to death the part of her that had caused her pain; her capacity to love and be loved. As she placed the soap carefully back on the washstand, she felt a twinge of regret that she would never see him again. It was not as though she blamed him for not wanting to marry her. Delaney was right about that. How could she expect a new Earl, one who had to establish themselves in society, to become attached to someone with a notorious reputation like her?

What Cassie did not understand, was why he had not written to her about his change in station. When he had told her that he had loved her, the morning they had gone to the beach, she had thought that he had been honest with his feelings towards her. She would have been more than happy to break the betrothal herself and save him from the embarrassment of having to ask. Then, of course, there was the miniature. Why had he given it to another gentleman? Did not Delaney tell her that the man who now had it, Sir Henry Cavendish, was soon to be his father-in-law? Was Damien so indifferent to her, that he had given away a precious memento of their time together? And why, after everything he knew about her past at the mercy of Ellington, had he stood by while her image was shown to anyone who would look at it?

Nothing seemed to make sense to her, except the realisation that she would be much better off without the capacity to feel love. She had fallen in love twice, once with Ellington and once with Damien, and both times all she had ended up with was heartache and pain. That momentous afternoon, she had come to the painful conclusion that the sole purpose of love was to manipulate and control another human being. It had been a painful lesson, but one that Cassie had had to learn. She had realised that to love or be loved, one had to bare the most intimate part of oneself; the soul. And in that act of exposure, laying bare your innermost feelings left you vulnerable to pain. She remembered what she had told herself in the drawing room just ten minutes ago, 'I will never allow myself to be used by a man again.' She would suppress her feelings, and she would never let another living soul hurt her as long as she lived.

Maybe, she had thought to herself, it was time for her to use the tricks that Ellington had used on her. Cassie knew that men could not resist her beauty and that she could harness the power of her sexual allure to control them. She had done it before when she had worked for Ellington, and she could do it again. Why should she always be the victim? It was time for her to exert authority over her life, and not be at the mercy of others.

As Cassie was about to leave his room, she heard the sound of horses' hooves on the driveway. She quickly ran to the window, and to her horror, she saw a large, plain black carriage, pulled by four identical grey horses, approach the house. Cassie's blood ran cold, and she put her hand to her neck as she felt an invisible noose tighten around her. She had to leave immediately, or it would be too late. She knew that the carriage could not be Delaney returning for his answer. He had told her, less than half an hour ago, that he would not be back until tomorrow morning. She felt, by the sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach, that there was only one person it could be; Ellington.

Before she left the bedchamber, she scanned the room to see if there was anything she could use to defend herself. On the mantelpiece, she saw a penknife that had belonged to Damien. It was only a small knife, and Cassie knew that it was not particularly sharp, but it was better than nothing.

After she placed the penknife into the deep pocket of her dress, Cassie quickly grabbed her valise and fled the bedchamber. She knew that if she used the main staircase, she would be seen by the visitors. The carriage, no doubt by now, would have drawn up outside the front of the house, and the unwelcome guests would be making their way towards the front door. She wanted to be as far away from the front entrance as she could be when they entered the house.

Cassie ran as fast as she could down the servants' staircase. Once she had reached the bottom of the stairs, she ran through the scullery into the kitchen and then to the back door. She was grateful that neither Appleby or his wife, were there to watch her leave. No doubt Appleby, given half a chance, would betray her to Ellington.

When she reached the back door, her hands shook nervously as she tried to open the large iron latch. She had opened that door with ease many times, but now, when she needed to get out quickly, she found it almost impossible to clasp and twist the large metal ring that worked the mechanism. After what felt like an eternity, she heard the familiar click, and the door swung open.

Clutching tightly onto her valise, she ran across the courtyard and then across the overgrown lawn towards a small wilderness of trees that were located at the end of the garden. The dense undergrowth of the woodland would be the perfect place for her to hide until the unwelcome visitors had left. Then she could make her way to the coast and find a passage on a boat travelling to France.

Cassie was running as fast as she could in the long dress she was wearing. The safety of the wilderness was in sight, and she was pushing herself both physically and mentally to run a little faster towards it. Just when she thought she was about to make it, she felt fingers dig painfully into the top of both her arms and she came to an abrupt halt. Cassie struggled against the man's hold on her, but it was in vain. He had tightly grasped her shoulders, and no amount of struggling against him was going to free her.

'Now, now, my dear. Why would you want to run away from me?' a familiar voice said coolly.

Immediately after hearing that cold, emotionless voice, the one she had heard so many times before, Cassie gave up and stopped struggling.