How it all began for the.., p.1
How It All Began For the Baron, page 1
How It All Began For The Baron
By: Tabetha Waite
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2019 Tabetha Waite
Cover art design by JB Graphics
This novella is dedicated to all the readers who asked for Cassie and Gregory’s story. I hope I was able to deliver a perfectly romantic tale, as that is always my one true wish.
Table of Content
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
About the Author
Chapter One
December 20, 1804
Ashcroft Hall
East Sussex, England
“Lord Gregory is coming here for Christmas?” Twenty-year-old Cassiopeia Brumhilda Agnes Mildred Ashcroft paced back and forth in front of her grandmother who had just informed her of the news. “Doesn’t he have his own home to go to?”
Isabel Ashcroft, the Dowager Countess of Rockford, frowned at her in disapproval. “That is rather ungracious of you, Cassie.” She stroked her hand down Sir Pugglesworth’s back. She seldom went anywhere without her prized pug. “His parents are going to Bath this year, something to do with his father’s constitution.” She waved a hand. “Besides, your brother invited him here, and you know that his presence is positive for Orion. They were quite inseparable until Lord Gregory graduated from school two years ago. Since then, I’ve felt your brother’s loss.”
Cassie sighed, before slumping down on the settee; her blond curls dancing around her shoulders. “It’s just that I don’t get to see Rion very often.” She defiantly crossed her arms over her chest.
“After this school term is over, rest assured, he will be here to bedevil you on a regular basis,” Isabel pointed out.
“I wish he could have invited Roarke instead,” Cassie grumbled. “At least he doesn’t do his best to annoy me when he’s here.”
Isabel pursed her lips together. “I’m sure Lord Gregory has matured. You haven’t seen the boy in three years. Don’t be so quick to judge his character. Perhaps he’s changed.”
“I doubt it,” Cassie said sourly, but seeing that another lecture might be forthcoming, she rushed to add, “but since it will make Rion happy, I will do my best to be… nice.” She gritted her teeth on the word. “I just wish it seemed more like Christmas. It’s entirely too mild for this time of year. At this rate, I won’t even get my yearly sleigh ride!”
Isabel’s lips turned up at the corners in the semblance of a smile. “It won’t be all bad. Besides, you still have your art room in which to seek refuge, should the young baron-to-be’s presence become too much of a struggle.” She patted the pug’s head. “And don’t forget that I’m inviting a few of your cousins to Ashcroft Hall to help celebrate the holidays. If all goes well, you won’t be alone until after Twelfth Night, after which Gregory will be preparing to leave.”
Cassie stood with a sigh, but not before she bent down and gave her grandmother a light kiss on her weathered cheek. “You’re lucky I love you so much, Gram, or I wouldn’t be so easily manipulated.”
Her grandmother’s blue eyes twinkled. “Of that, my dear, I have no doubt.”
***
Two days later Cassie was in the front parlor working on some embroidery when she heard the sound of an approaching carriage.
Her movements instantly paused, and she shoved the needle in the middle of the purple coneflower she’d been working on.
Rion was here! Her joy dimmed somewhat when she recalled who would be traveling home with him, but that didn’t keep her from jumping to her feet and flying into the foyer.
The butler had already opened the front door, and she craned her neck trying to get a glimpse of her brother. Naturally, Rion could be a rapscallion when he chose, but they had always had a special bond. When she’d been nine, and Rion only six, their parents had died in a carriage accident. In spite of the tragedy, they realized how short life could be. However, once Rion was sent to Eton, that bond had been stretched, but she was determined not to lose it entirely.
At the first glimpse of that familiar, dark head, Cassie squealed and brushed past the butler. “Rion!” she cried.
Instantly, his seventeen-year-old head snapped up and he grinned in that wonderfully charming manner, the one that would likely stop some lucky woman’s heart someday. Or break it.
“Cass!” he shouted in return as he opened his arms wide. She instantly crashed against him, feeling her eyes well with moisture.
“I’ve missed you dreadfully,” she said with a sniffle. She pulled back and inspected him from head to toe. “I swear every time you come home you are more of a man than when you left.”
He winced, although the blue eyes that mirrored her own danced with merriment. “You’re not going to get all weepy on me, are you, Cass?”
“I might,” she returned with a stubborn tilt of her chin.
“You haven’t changed a bit, Lady Cassie.” A deep voice drawled from behind them. “At least,” he amended, “Your charming demeanor hasn’t.”
Oh, yes. Him. Cassie barely refrained from scoffing when she turned to face Lord Gregory Dawson, the future Baron Ambrel. But the moment her gaze lit on him, she found her jaw going slack.
Three years wasn’t a particularly long time, but it had changed the boy she had known into the handsome, young man standing in front of her. While he still had the same sandy hair and green eyes that she remembered, he had gotten taller and his frame had filled out considerably. He had a day’s worth of golden stubble on his strong jawline and for a moment, all she could do was stare at the changes that had been wrought.
In the temporary silence, he gave her a perusal of his own, although she knew what he would see. Her blond hair was pulled back from her face and left to hang down her back, tied with a simple blue ribbon. Her day dress was white with small blue flowers and the breasts beneath her stays were still rather disappointing, in her opinion. She suddenly wished she’d taken a bit more care with her appearance, for she felt like a child in the face of that imposing stance.
“Lord Gregory.” She offered the tiniest curtsy possible, and then turned her attention back to Rion, only to find that he’d disappeared.
Cassie clenched her fists, irritated that she’d allowed herself to be so distracted by that infuriating presence. She spun on her heel and found her brother in the foyer with their grandmother. The sight of the two most special people in her world together instantly brought tears to her eyes.
Unfortunately, a rumbling voice behind her ruined the moment. “Rather touching, isn’t it?”
Cassie instantly stiffened and turned to narrow her gaze on Lord Gregory. “What are you trying to say?”
He shrugged, coming to stand beside her. “Nothing. Only that it’s good for Rion to have such a steady foundation.”
She tossed her head. “How would you know? You’ve only known Rion since he was thirteen. I’ve known him my entire life.”
He turned his steady green gaze on her, looking infinitely wiser than she remembered. “I know more than you might think, Lady Cassie.”
With that, he bowed and walked away, leaving Cassie feeling rather unsettled.
***
Since they had arrived on a relatively mild, sunny afternoon, the boys decided to go fishing on the estate pond. Cassie refused to be left behind, so she gathered her things, tied her bonnet on her head, and marched off after them. She felt as if she was an annoying sister intruding on their time, instead of the other way around, and it made her resent Lord Gregory’s presence even more.
Gregory eyed her bamboo pole skeptically. “I never took you for a fisherwoman, Lady Cassie.”
“Perhaps you don’t know as much as you think you do, Lord Gregory,” she returned primly.
While she had intended to put him in his place, tossing his earlier words back at him, she frowned when he threw back his head and laughed richly. She caught a glimpse of the strong column of his throat, his green eyes twinkling in amusement as she quickly looked away. “You still possess that razor sharp tongue, I see.”
“You have no idea,” Rion muttered. In turn, he was rewarded with a sharp glare from his sister.
They were halfway across the manicured lawns when Rion suddenly slowed to a stop. Cassie followed his gaze to the short iron fence that surrounded the family cemetery. She swallowed tightly. “Do you want to—?”
“No.” Rion interrupted rather curtly. He continued toward the pond.
She felt an ache in her chest as she watched his stiff stride carry him away from the plot where their parents were buried. She couldn’t remember the last time he had visited their graves or even allowed himself to grieve, if he ever truly had.
“Give him time,” Gregory said quietly. “He’s had a lot to deal with—”
Cassie spun on him. “You don’t have to tell me what he’s been through, Lord Gregory. I’ve felt their loss as well.”
When she would have left him, he stopped her with a light hand on her arm. “I didn’t mean any disrespect. I was only pointing out that Rion was forced to grow up earlier than the rest of us. The responsibility of his title has dragged him down for a long time.”
She sighed heavily, the fight leaving her. She gave a brief nod. “I know.
He released her. “Come on. If you’re lucky I’ll teach you how to tie a proper lure.”
Cassie felt her lips twitch in the face of that smile. “Perhaps it will be the other way around and I shall teach you.”
***
Gregory watched the sway of Cassie’s hips as she sauntered away from him. He shook his head with a snort. Rion’s sister had always been a spitfire as long as he’d known her. As an only child, Gregory had always enjoyed his visits at Ashcroft Hall, because he felt as though Rion was the brother he’d never had.
Cassie, on the other hand, had never felt like a sister.
For years he’d been infatuated with her, and while he had never told Rion how he felt, he suspected that his young friend saw a lot more than he let on.
Unfortunately, that was what worried him. From the first moment he’d met Rion at Eton, he had been intelligent, a student with lots of potential, but as the years passed and his friend had matured, Gregory had noticed a steady decline in not only Rion’s studies, but also his frame of mind. He had become more closed off and subdued, choosing to push others away rather than make new friends. Gregory had considered` confiding his concerns to the dowager during his visit, but then he didn’t want to make Rion feel as though he’d betrayed his trust. Even so, when he’d received Rion’s invitation to spend the holidays in Sussex, he thought this might be the chance he’d been waiting for to help Rion deal with the pain of his past.
But then, his plan would work only if he wasn’t too distracted by the fair Cassie.
***
“You’re cheating.”
Cassie had sat with her pole in the water for over thirty minutes without a single bite, while Gregory and Rion had five fish between them.
“How do you imagine that?” Rion asked, perplexed.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Perhaps you’re using special bait to coerce them onto your hook.”
Rion rolled his eyes as he took his pole and moved farther down the bank. At his departure, Cassie turned her attention on Gregory, who had taken a break from his catch to tie a new lure on his line. She had noted the pile of flies made of feathers, fur, and thread that he’d withdrawn from a small pouch he’d carried in his jacket pocket when they’d arrived. She looked at the rather pitiful worm on hers.
“Could you tie one of those on my line?”
Gregory glanced up, his surprise evident. “Sure.”
She handed her pole to him and watched his steady masculine hands remove her bait and replace it with his homemade one. He was so focused on his task that she couldn’t help but smile. “You’re so serious,” she teased.
He glanced up with a grin that caused her pulse to skip a beat. “I take fishing very seriously,” he returned, and then he handed her pole back. “There. That should take care of your problem.”
Cassie hated to admit when she had been bested, but after she threw her line in the water, from which she had a nice fat fish lying on the bank fifteen minutes later, she was forced to concede defeat. “I admit it. You’re a better sportsman. At least when it comes to fishing. Now a fox hunt, on the other hand…” She let her words trail off meaningfully.
Gregory merely snorted. “We shall have to see about that someday.”
“Indeed,” Cassie grinned. “We shall.”
***
Nearly an hour later, with a sizeable catch between them, a gust of wind blew across the bank, causing the temperature to drop several degrees. Cassie immediately shivered in her cloak. Gregory still sat beside her in companionable silence, although now his eyes lifted to the sky and the darkening clouds on the horizon.
“It looks like the December winds are preparing to blow in.”
As Gregory began to gather up his supplies, Rion jogged over to them, his string and pole at his side. “A storm is brewing on the horizon. We should get back to the house.”
They all took off toward the manor. Just as they went inside, the heavens opened up.
Chapter Two
For dinner that evening, Cassie had her maid assist her into a light green muslin dress, which she knew complimented her blond locks, and then to style her hair into a simple chignon. She refused to admit that her sudden wish to look more mature had absolutely nothing to do with Lord Gregory.
Cassie arrived in the parlor before everyone else, so she walked over to one of the windows. She pulled back the heavy draperies and stared outside. Already the ground was covered with a blanket of white, while large snowflakes continued to fall with no sign of letting up. It was amazing to think that just a few hours earlier, they had been enjoying some relatively mild weather. At least they had pleased Cook, for her face had lit up when they’d offered their bounty of fish to her.
“What a difference a day makes.”
Cassie turned a wry smile on Gregory, who had just entered the room. He came to stand at another window near her to look out at the winter scene beyond.
“Well, it is December,” she noted dryly.
“Indeed,” he concurred. “At least we didn’t decide to wait until tomorrow to go fishing, or else we might have had to cut a hole through ice.”
She laughed. “Then we would have had the opportunity to go ice skating,” she suggested. “Or even sledding.”
He grimaced. “That doesn’t sound very warm.”
“Perhaps not. But it does sound rather fun.” She lifted one shoulder and let it fall nonchalantly. “Either way, I’m sure we’ll find something to occupy our time.”
He turned to her, his green eyes caressing. “I’m sure we will,” he murmured.
Cassie felt that gaze all the way to the tips of her toes. It stirred something inside of her that she had never felt with anyone else.
Thankfully, she was saved by the arrival of her grandmother, with Mr. Pugglesworth held securely in her arms. The dowager sat down with a sigh. “I daresay this cold weather is brutal on an old woman’s bones.”
Cassie smiled gently as she walked over and joined her grandmother on the settee. She patted her weathered hand. “Is there anything I can get for you?”
Gregory moved to the mantle, where he could be a part of the conversation yet keep his distance as well.
Isabel waved her hand. “It’s something we all have to suffer with if we live long enough, I’m afraid.” She glanced around the room. “Where is my scamp of a grandson?”
“Right here,” Rion said as he strode in. He walked over and kissed the dowager on the cheek. As he straightened, he rubbed his stomach. “Is dinner ready yet? I’m starving.”
Cassie knew that if her grandmother carried a cane, that was when she would tap it on the floor. “Don’t be impertinent, young man.”
Instantly, Rion held up his hands and backed away. He walked over and joined Gregory.
As they engaged in their own hushed conversation, Cassie turned her attention back to her grandmother. “How is Mr. Pugglesworth today?”
Isabel looked at the small canine in her lap. “I’m not sure. I think he may be suffering from the same ill affects of this awful weather. He is nearly ten years old, which is quite aged for a dog.”
Cassie scratched behind his ear, causing the animal’s brown eyes to look at her adoringly. “Oh, I don’t know. He’ll likely outlive us all.”
Isabel smiled. “You may be right.”
***
Cassie did her best to ignore Gregory at the dining table, which was rather difficult, considering he was seated directly across from her. Thankfully, Gram was on her left, with Rion on her right, seated at the head, so Cassie concentrated on sneaking some of her food to Mr. Pugglesworth where he snuggled on the floor next to Isabel’s chair.
“Now that the snow has finally made an appearance,” Isabel spoke up. “I’d like to decorate this stuffy old pile of stones with some holiday spirit.”
