Chapter 150: The Ring

Chapter 150: Chapter 150: The Ring

The morning after the ball arrived far too quickly.

Cassian spent most of it attempting to convince himself that he was a reasonable man.

The effort failed almost immediately.

Yesterday, he had spent an entire evening with Marian.

For the first time in five months.

For the first time in five months, she had been close enough to touch.

Close enough to speak to.

Close enough to dance with.

And somehow that had only made leaving her more difficult.

The realization was deeply unfair.

He had spent five months away from her.

One evening should have improved the situation.

Instead, it had made him want more.

Not less.

A knock interrupted his thoughts.

"Your Grace."

Cassian looked up.

His steward stood in the doorway.

"The carriage is prepared."

Cassian nodded.

Then rose.

The destination was not the Imperial Palace.

At least not yet.

Across the capital, Marian unfolded a letter.

Then frowned.

Then read it again.

The contents stubbornly refused to change.

Lady Marian,

Several matters require my attention in the capital today.

I fear I shall be occupied for most of the afternoon.

Please forgive me.

I will call upon you as soon as I am able.

— Cassian

Marian stared at the signature.

The irritation arrived immediately.

A moment later, she felt guilty.

Then irritated again.

The entire situation was unreasonable.

Cassian had only just returned.

Unfortunately, he was also a duke.

Duty remained duty.

The realization did little to improve her mood.

By afternoon, she found herself attending a small gathering.

Partly because remaining home seemed pointless.

Partly because she was curious.

The previous evening’s ball had undoubtedly become the capital’s favorite topic.

Marian intended to discover precisely what people were saying.

The answer, unfortunately, appeared to be:

Quite a lot.

"Duke Ashford seems remarkably busy today."

Marian’s attention sharpened instantly.

The reaction was involuntary.

Lady Arundel smiled.

Far too knowingly.

"Oh?"

The response sounded calm.

A remarkable achievement.

"I heard his carriage was seen outside Laurent’s this morning."

Marian paused.

"Laurent’s?"

"The jeweler."

Several ladies exchanged glances.

The conversation immediately became more interesting.

Marian reached for her teacup.

The movement was perhaps a little too deliberate.

The jeweler.

Cassian had spent the morning at a jeweler.

The realization settled quietly into her thoughts.

Then stubbornly refused to leave.

"Perhaps he commissioned a gift."

One lady sighed dramatically.

"For whom?"

Nobody answered.

Nobody needed to.

Marian immediately regretted remaining in the room.

The conversation eventually moved elsewhere.

Her thoughts did not.

The situation became steadily worse as the afternoon progressed.

Every mention of Duke Ashford immediately caught her attention.

Every time someone spoke his name, she found herself listening.

Which was unfortunate.

Because people seemed determined to discuss him.

His return.

The ball.

His territory.

His future plans.

One lady even remarked that Duke Ashford appeared to be in unusually good spirits.

The observation was entirely accurate.

Marian knew because she had spent most of the previous evening watching him smile.

The realization immediately made her wish to disappear beneath the table.

Deeply unhelpful.

Worse, she found herself wondering whether he had smiled that much while she was not looking.

The thought was absurd.

And yet it lingered.

By the end of the gathering, she was no longer certain whether she was more curious about the jeweler or annoyed with herself.

The conversation eventually ended.

Her curiosity did not.

Why had Cassian gone there?

The question followed her all the way home.

A repair.

A purchase.

A commission.

Any number of explanations existed.

The fact that she continued thinking about it was deeply unfortunate.

At one point, she even considered writing to him.

The impulse lasted less than a minute.

Then she imagined explaining why she wished to know what he had been doing at a jeweler.

The letter was abandoned immediately.

Some questions were better left unanswered.

At least for now.

Across the city, Cassian turned a velvet box over in his hands.

For several moments, he said nothing.

The jeweler waited patiently.

The ring caught the afternoon light.

Months.

It had been commissioned months ago.

The evening after the dissolution.

The evening after Marian had come to him.

The evening before he left the capital.

At the time, the decision had felt strangely simple.

Not because he expected an immediate proposal.

Because for the first time, the future felt possible.

He remembered standing alone in Ashford House after Marian left.

Remembered the silence.

Remembered the certainty that had followed.

He wanted to marry her.

The realization had arrived with startling ease.

An hour later, a jeweler had been summoned to Ashford House.

Five months later, nothing had changed.

If anything, the certainty had only grown stronger.

"You’ve done excellent work."

The jeweler visibly relaxed.

"I am honored by Your Grace’s approval."

Cassian closed the box.

Then slipped it into his pocket.

The weight was surprisingly noticeable.

Not because the ring was heavy.

Because of what it represented.

The future no longer felt distant.

It felt close enough to reach.

That evening, Duke Valmont received an unexpected visitor.

Although perhaps unexpected was not the correct word.

The moment Cassian entered the study, the older duke looked at him.

Then at the velvet box.

Then back at him.

Understanding appeared almost immediately.

Cassian suspected he should have hidden the box.

A little late for that now.

"When?"

Cassian smiled.

The question required no explanation.

"Soon."

For a moment, Duke Valmont simply stared at him.

Then laughed.

The reaction caught Cassian slightly off guard.

"That quickly?"

There was no disapproval in the question.

Only surprise.

Cassian found himself smiling in return.

"I had five months to think about it."

"You spent those five months in the north."

"I spent those five months missing your daughter."

Silence.

Then Duke Valmont sighed.

"Fair enough."

The answer relieved Cassian more than it should have.

The older duke studied him quietly.

Then nodded.

"The timing is fortunate."

Cassian glanced toward him.

Duke Valmont folded his hands.

"Had you asked five months ago, half the capital would have convinced itself there was a scandal."

A faint smile appeared.

"Now they’ll simply call it inevitable."

Unfortunately, the older duke was probably correct.

"Society was always going to talk."

"Of course."

Duke Valmont sounded entirely unconcerned.

"They’ll simply be forced to find a different topic."

The older duke was silent for a moment longer.

Then finally said the words Cassian had come to hear.

"You have my blessing."

The words settled heavily between them.

For a brief moment, neither spoke.

Cassian had imagined this conversation countless times.

Reality felt strangely different.

Better.

Duke Valmont rose.

Then clasped his shoulder.

"You make her happy."

Cassian swallowed.

Then nodded.

"I intend to spend the rest of my life doing exactly that."

A faint smile appeared on the older duke’s face.

"Good."

When Cassian left Valmont House later that evening, the ring remained safely in his pocket.

The blessing had been given.

The decision had been made months ago.

Now, at last, he could begin turning it into reality.

And for the first time since returning to the capital, the path ahead seemed remarkably clear.