Ordained

Chapter Sixty-Two

Cassius fell into his chair, his limbs too long for the piece of furniture. Emmeline looked at him, sprawled in his chair like always. However, today he didn't look like he usually did. Cassius was always so... polished. His hair was neat, combed perfectly. His clothes were never creased, tailored to fit him perfectly. His appearance and demeanour unshakably and perfectly well groomed and collected. Today however, his hair was messy, his clothes looking like they had been thrown on rather than carefully selected. Rather than the flawlessly well mannered man she had gotten to know, today he seemed like he couldn't give a damn about the world outside just the two of them. His shoulders were hunched, his posture terrible.

There was something about seeing him so, not put together, that just appealed to her all the more.

A silence had bloomed between them but it didn't feel uncomfortable. "Last night was fun." She finally said when a pot of tea was brought for them.

Emmeline wondered how the staff always seemed to know when they needed refreshments, perhaps they spied on them through the walls. The thought was stupid, but it amused her all the same.

Cassius stretched, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "It was. I like your friends, and your brother."

Emmeline waved the maid away, pouring their cups herself. Adding the one sugar Cassius had, she stirred and handed him the cup and saucer. "Atticus is the most fun out of all my siblings, and my friends..." She trailed off with a smile. "Well, they are my favourite people for a reason."

"You are a good dancer." He added, vivid memories of him holding her making him smile down at his hands. Alcohol had clouded his memories of last night, large chunks of the evening gone completely.

Emmeline made an amused sound. "Careful Cassius, flatter me too much and I might just think that you like me." It was a bold thing to say, and part of her felt embarrassed but another part of her argued that she had already been bold enough to embarrass herself.

Cassius looked sharply up at her, his eyes keen as he studied her expression. "Would that be such a terrible thing?"

Emmeline didn't reply, sipping her tea instead. She needed to stop herself, she told herself sternly. You need to put distance between each other if you are ultimately going to be sent away. Her mind battled with itself internally before she decided that she simply didn't care. She could be responsible tomorrow; today she was enjoying spending time with Cassius.

Cassius had tilted his head skyward, a grin playing amongst his lips. "Gods, I drank too much last night." He lamented, rubbing his forehead.

Emmeline hummed her agreement. "Me too. I barely remember the second half of the night."

Rolling his head to the side he looked at her. "I don't even remember how we got home."

Emmeline felt her inside clench at his words, did he not remember? Staring at him, she searched for any hint, the merest whisper of a suggestion that he was joking. He must remember surely? She felt like the images were burned into her brain.

"Are you okay Emmeline?" He asked, noticing how her face had fallen. Concern creased the space between his dark eyebrows, his blue eyes full of gentle worry.

Shaking off her disappointment she forced herself to smile. "Of course. We took Emily's carriage."

Cassius frowned a little deeper, thinking, trying to remember. "Emily's carriage... we took Emily's carriage and-" He stopped abruptly and Emmeline saw his eyes flash with sudden recollection.

The silence between them shifted, suddenly expectant rather than relaxed. She had the sudden sensation of being pinned to the spot by his eyes. It was amazing how just the tiniest twitch of his expression could turn his gaze from soft to unbearably intense. Taking in a breath she fought very very hard not to give anything away, a small fake smile across her lips as she took another sip.

"Did we... did anything?" He began, not really formulating a proper sentence, his eyes on her lips. She wondered if they were bruised, they felt they were. Part of her wanted to reach up and press her fingers to them, but that would give everything away.

It pained her but she tilted her head to the side a little, looking politely confused. "Did we what?" She asked. "Honestly I hardly remember a thing. Emily's signature cocktail is as delicious as it is deadly." She grinned but internally she felt her good mood withering away by the second. It was better this way. They had crossed a line last night, and while she didn't regret it, objectively it would have been better if it hadn't happened. In the long run it would just make things more complicated. Their relationship had an expiry date after all. Her attention drifted to the figure of Mr Olivers hunched over a desk some ways away. Was he checking on the laws of the pairing right then and there? Double checking that the Marcellus' could be rid of her for good once they had paid her off.

Turning her face back to Cassius she hated seeing the dejected expression on his features. Sitting up in his chair a little straighter, he nodded, his smile also a little fixed now. "Me too. I hardly remember anything either." He chuckled, a forced sound.

...

When Cassius finally returned to his room to get ready for dinner he felt like he could finally let out what he had been holding in all day. He flung open his doors, slamming them closed behind him as he pressed a hand hard against his chest. His heart had been hammering all day, painfully aching against his ribs. He had kissed Emmeline, and Emmeline, gods she had kissed him back and then some. The entire day he had been dedicating brain power to trying to recall exactly what had happened inside the Baroness' carriage. He remembered hanging off the side to make her laugh, recalled how they had tumbled into the carriage.

They had spoken about fun, too much fun, then she had fallen and then the rest was a delicious blur.

Throwing himself unceremoniously down onto a sofa, he closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. Emmeline had grabbed the back of his hair, yanking his head up to meet hers as she climbed onto his lap.

He must have dreamt of it, Emmeline, his Emmie, Emmeline Elva who was always so guarded and reserved. There was no universe in which she would ever act that way, was there.

Curious burned in him as he considered this morsel of information. Pressing his free hand to the edge of his jaw, he remembered how she had grazed her lips and tongue over the skin there. "My godssss." He groaned, lust making him want to run across the manor to find her, duty holding him rigidly in place.

She acted like she didn't remember, but she hadn't been angry with him when he had hugged her first thing in the morning. He had expected her to be cross with him, as she had been before. Maybe she really didn't remember, but gods he had no idea how. The feel of her was branded on the inside of his brain permanently.

He didn't talk about it, but during his teenage years in the Capital he had enjoyed himself with many women. Noble women, merchants' daughters, even a maid here and there; but no one, not a single person held a candle to his ordained pair. The goddess Bivera had known what she was doing when he had paired him and Emmeline. One thing was for certain, there was no way he was ever going to let her go. For a wild moment he considered eloping. What could his parents realistically do if they ran away and got married? They couldn't annul a marriage between pairs could they? Perhaps he should go to his uncle, the king. Maybe if he plead his case to him, he could make his parents accept Emmeline.

These ideas were not completely unrealistic, but they would mean breaking his parents' hearts. He thought of how disappointed his father would be, how upset his mother would be. It pained him. Regardless of how he felt about their mounting control over his life, he still loved his parents. They might forgive him eventually, maybe. Or they might not.

No, he needed a better solution. He needed his parents to see how wonderful Emmeline was for themselves. Then they would have no choice but to agree to his marriage.

The plan with Mr Olivers had bought him some time, but not an indefinite amount. He needed a new play. Sitting upright he adjusted his clothes, fetching a fresh shirt and readying himself for dinner with Emmeline and his parents. The thought of Emmeline climbing onto his lap last night had him hurrying to get ready, eager to see her again despite having only been away from her for less than an hour. 

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Author's Note:

I'm so loving developing Cassius' character.

S x