Their stepmother did not seem to take offense. “No, I have all I need, and this isn’t a social call.” She looked over at the boys. Jonathan listened to the conversation with concern, while Christopher picked up marbles and put them in a bag for safekeeping. Disinterested in them, Cass swung her gaze back to Neal.
“Then what sort of call is this?” Margaret said. “You know you are not welcome here.”
“I am well aware of that.” Cass laughed. “And believe me when I say that I have no desire to behere. However, I promised I would deliver this to you, and so I shall. I’ve heard you are happy in your marriage, Lyon. Congratulations. I am pleased for you.”
“Thank you,” Neal responded briskly.
At his curt tone, Cass shook her head. “Always wary, never trusting. That’s sad. But I’m not here for me. I’ve come because I am honor bound to bring this to you. You understand honor, don’t you? You steep yourself in it.” She reached in her reticule and pulled out a letter, still sealed and addressedTo my sons.
“Who is it from?” Neal asked, making no move to take it from her.
“Your father,” she replied.
Chapter Fifteen
Neal stared at the letter as if it had been some live thing.
Harry denied her claim, shaking his head vigorously. “That can’t be from Father. Sir James had all of his papers.”
“If you are so certain, why be afraid to read it?” Cass answered. She gave the envelope a little shake as if to tease them. “Can you not see the wax is sealed with the same signet design as the ring you wear on your finger, Lyon? The one your father handed to you?”
“We are not afraid,” Margaret informed her. “But Father let us know directly what his wishes were. If he’d had a letter, he would have handed it to us. Now will you please leave?”
Cass glanced at Thea. “And that attitude, that certainty that they all knew their father better than I, his wife, did is the reason I haven’t shared this with them sooner. I thought things had changed.I’d heard that Lyon was happy in his marriage—as I had been in mine. I felt the time had come for this letter. And in truth, Lyon, I’m not giving this letter to you for your benefit. I promised your father I would do it, and so I have.”
Jonathan and Christopher stood silent. They had picked up the emotions of the adults in the room. Their allegiance was clearly with the Chattans.
Thea spoke. “Jonathan, Christopher, please tell Dawson we would like refreshments served in the library.”
Her sons did not want to leave. For a second they hovered protectively around the Chattans. But another word from Thea sent them on their mission.
Neal was glad they were gone. The conversation could turn ugly.
Still, he made no move toward the letter.
There was a moment of silence, and Thea made an impatient sound. She took the letter from Cass’s gloved hand and carried it to her husband. “Look at it. If it is false, then you may call her a liar and send her on her way. If itisfrom your father, don’t you want to know what he had to say?”
Did he?
Neal could feel his siblings waiting for his decision. They wanted to toss Cass out of the house.
But then he thought of his walk with Jonathan, of imparting advice to him. What didhisfather have to say?
Neal took the letter from Thea. The seal was still good, but the wax was brittle with age, giving credence to Cass’s story.
Breaking the seal, Neal unfolded the letter. Margaret made a small sound as she recognized their father’s distinctive handwriting. Cass could not have created a forgery this good. He began reading aloud.
“ ‘Neal, Harry, my sons—’ ”
Neal had to pause. He could almost hear his father’s voice.
“ ‘—if you are reading this, then you know we are still bound by this terrible curse. I sought to break it. However, continuing as I did with my father’s cautious ways, I have denied you, my children, the only thing of importance in life—love.
“ ‘I want you to understand that I have no regrets in my decision to marry Cass, and I expect her to be given all that is due her as my widow. Don’t let the biddies peck her to death, and let her be who she is.’ ”
Who she is. An opera dancer, a light skirt. Neal could see that Margaret struggled with this directive as much as he did, although as a family theygave Cass all she was entitled to as the dowager Countess Lyon.
“ ‘This curse has robbed our lives of happiness and joy. I want you to know that the six months I’ve spent with Cassandra have revealed to me a great truth—Love is the only true measure of a well-lived life. It is all that matters. I don’t know how I existed before falling in love. No, I didn’t exist. I was hollow, a martinet of a man.