Page 94 of Miss Vincent’s Vow

“The Royal Hotel, eh? I shall have to secure rooms there on my return.”

“It’s right on the sea front, with picturesque views out across the bay,” she said.

“Splendid. When I come back from Bristol, I will repay your hospitality with a dinner to make your mouth water.” He chortled to himself. “Yes, yes. And I’ll invite Frampton’s wife to join us as well. Won’t that be a merry party?”

Cassandra had to make an immense effort to prevent herself from gaping. Did this gentleman know what he was suggesting?

Then she saw the spark in his eye. Yes, he did. Mr Wade knew exactly what he was planning, and if she was reading him right, he expected fireworks.

No one spoke while the table was cleared, and the next course spread before them. Whilst their guest carved some duck for her, she hurried to dissuade him from the proposed meal.

“It is kind of you to invite me, Mr Wade, but I fear I must decline. You gentlemen will do very well without us ladies getting in the way.”

“Nonsense,” he replied. “With no ladies present, we will be as dull as ditch water. I always include both sexes in my gatherings. Some of the most ingenious ideas spring from the minds of women.”

Cassandra appreciated Mr Wade’s praise for her sex, but did not let the compliment distract her from her purpose. “I hate to disappoint you, but we are expecting my brother tomorrow. He is a captain in the Royal Navy and has suffered terrible injuries. He is going to require all my attention for the foreseeable future.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Mrs Hunt. You have my condolences. But do not let that deter you. A man facing disappointment should not be left to wallow in his own misery. It’s essential he gets good company, and plenty of it, to see him through this change in his circumstances. I speak from experience. Isolation only bears a man down. Company is what he needs. You must bring him with you.”

Cassandra shot Jethro a pleading look. It would be heartless to thrust Xander into close contact with the woman he once hoped to marry whilst still adjusting to his injuries.

“I do not think—” her husband said.

“No, no. I insist. It will do him good.”

They had failed to dissuade him, and as neither she nor Jethro wished to provoke their visitor, they let the subject drop.

Cassandra rose to leave the two men to their port, hoping that her husband could stomach a single glass, for appearances’ sake.

She returned to the drawing room and picked up her embroidery, thrusting her needle in and out of the frame to release her feelings.

Bother the man. She would not have mentioned her brother if she had foreseen this outcome. Xander’s presence would threaten everything they had worked for.

Why did Mr Wade have to insist they all meet the Framptons? The last time Xander had encountered Eugenia, it had not gone well. The scene outside the church was too painful to recall.

If only there was a way to prevent him from attending that dinner, maybe all was not lost. She could cope with the dreadful woman, but it was not fair to put her brother through that again. Not when he had lost so much.

The prospect of Xander’s return was already making her husband distant, but now it jeopardised Mr Wade’s investment in his business as well.

Cassandra could not bear the possibility that she might let Jethro down. This was what he had married her for—to smooth over social situations like this.

If she failed him now, she feared he might regret marrying her.

And the thought hurt.

Chapter 51

Jethro studied Mr Wade’s face across the empty dinner table as the butler brought in the spirits. What was the man playing at?

Cassandra had done her best, but she had not been able to divert him from the worrying notion of hosting a dinner party for them and the Framptons. And Alexander.

Jethro could not think of a worse combination of people to have in the same room.

The gleam in Mr Wade’s eye had not passed him by. It was as if he knew that the meeting could prove explosive, and he revelled in the disruption that might arise.

Was it some test of his character, or was he weighing his investment options?

The bland tone of Jethro’s voice did not betray his uncertainty. “Brandy or port?”