Ordained

Chapter Eighty

Emmeline and Cassius left the grand entrance hall via the stairs, heading upstairs to the duke's office. Cassius hesitated when they arrived, his hand on the closed doors for a long minute.

"Are you okay?" Emmeline asked, moving to place a hand on his sternum. It was hard to describe but since arriving he had kept her almost constantly within arms reach. Even when he was holding her directly, she was kept within close proximity to him, like a planet held in orbit close to his torso. With his hand raised to the closed door Emmeline was in the small space between the door and his torso. Without thinking she wrapped her arms carefully around his waist.

Beneath her grasp she felt him tense and then relax. "It's okay Cass." She breathed, smiling against his uniform when he hugged her back very tightly.

"You're right." He nodded above her, pushing the door open for her to lead the way. She reached back and waited only a few seconds for him to take her waiting hand.

Mr Olivers was waiting for them inside, a pile of papers he had clearly brought with him, on the table. His nose was buried in one such document, the ageing man starting when they entered.

"Your grace." He greeted merrily, shaking Cassius' hand.

"Mr Olivers." Cassius replied, pausing for only the briefest second before he moved around Victor's vast desk to take a seat. Emmeline settled into a chair beside Mr Olivers, watching the flicker of hurt that showed across Cassius' features as he looked at the desk littered with his father's things.

Clearing his throat Cassius focused on the task at hand. "Mr Olivers, I want to thank you for your efforts in delaying my pair leaving the manor."

Emmeline frowned, turning to Mr Olivers. "What do you mean?" Confusion and hurt brewing in her chest. What did he mean, delaying her? She trusted Mr Olivers, the possibility that he had lied to her was painful.

Mr Olivers gave her a bashful look. "Your grace, Master Cassius, I - I mean his grace." He gave Cassius an apologetic look. "His grace asked me to find a way to buy time when his father decided to send you away with compensation. So... I fabricated the lie about needing to check the old bylaws."

Emmeline was stunned. Cassius had been trying to keep her here for that long? She had had no idea. "You were never checking the by-laws?" She asked, needing to hear him say it one more time before she believed it.

Mr Olivers nodded regretfully. "Forgive me your grace. When I saw how badly his grace wished to stay at your side, I had no choice but to assist him. The goddess Bivera makes no mistakes when choosing her pairs."

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she turned to look at Cassius. His gaze was heavy as he met her eye, wordlessly communicating everything she wanted to know. He had wanted her to stay, he had wanted her to stay for months.

"I forgive you Mr Olivers." She muttered, clearing her throat.

The man's pleased reply was lost on her, Emmeline being utterly unable to look away from Cassius.

"Mr Olivers, we will be moving to stay in the Capital for a while. My father's state funeral is sure to be a lengthy affair and I wish to stay in the townhouse whilst we are there. I trust no one more than you to make the arrangements for this entire event."

Clearly, this was a big task, one that Mr Oiliver's felt honoured to perform. "Your grace. I am delighted. I will serve you and her grace to the best of ability." He vowed, nodding first to Cassius and then Emmeline.

It felt weird hearing him address her as 'her grace' when she associated that title so strongly with Carmen.

"Thank you Olivers. The King has asked that we bury my father's heart in the The Grounds of The Honoured Fallen." Cassius explained, already sounding like this was wearing him out. "My mother will have a fit, but it was the only compromise Uncle would accept. See to that as well for me please." Mr Olivers nodded sagely, like the weight of the responsibility was his precious burden to bear.

"I shall see to it immediately." He promised, getting up and bowing his way out.

In the silence that followed his absence, Emmeline waited for Cassius to speak. He hadn't taken more than a few moments to rest since arriving home, and she wasn't going to be the first to break the moment of peace. After a couple minutes, Cassius held out his arm for her. She went to him at once, smiling when he pulled her onto his lap.

It was her first instinct to resist such an improper gesture, but this wasn't just anyone, this was Cassius. This was her ordained pair, her divinely chosen perfect partner, so who cared what was proper?

Snuggling into him, she leant her head against his chest feeling the rhythmic pounding of his heart beneath her ear. His bad arm came to tentatively rest on her back, his good arm moving to rest against her head, holding her close.

"This is hard." He admitted eventually.

Emmeline didn't move, not that she could've if she had wanted to. "I'm so sorry for your loss. Victor was a good man."

She felt his body tense and untense. If she looked up she would've bet his jaw was doing the same. The idea made her smile a little, remembering how often he had angrily made that face when they had first met. "There's so much to do, I don't feel like there's enough time for anything."

She could understand, he had probably felt this way for months. There was no time to rest when at war; no time to rest when organising the return home of troops; no time to rest when coming home himself; no time to rest when stepping into the role of the new duke; no time to rest when arranging his father's funeral. Just the thought of it all made her tired.

"We have time right now." She murmured, running her fingers along his arm.

Cassius shifted beneath her, moving her to face him. "I love you. I have for a long time. I just wanted to wait till I saw you to tell you. I should've said it before I left." Running a thumb over her jawline his brilliantly blue eyes tripped from her eyes to her lips and back.

"I-I-" She stuttered. Did she love him? She took in all of him, the set of his jaw, the shape of his ears, the straightness of his nose, the height of his cheekbones, the mess of his hair. For months she had longed to see him, to be with him. Was that not love? The thought of being away from him was unbearable, the prospect of him being hurt physically painful to her. If that wasn't love, she wasn't sure what was.

Moving slowly she pressed her lips to his, feeling him let out a small sigh of happiness as she did so. Their kisses before had been either drunken, or desperate, but this was different. Carefully, gentle, loving. She wrapped both arms around his neck as their kiss deepened, but stopped suddenly when he winced.

"I'm sorry!" She rushed to say, letting go abruptly. "I'm sorry!"

Cassius opened his eyes slowly, his nose still only inches from her's. "Emmie." He slowed her worrying, reaching up to press a rough palm to her cheek. "It's fine." She waited a few seconds to check he meant it, before kissing him again. She moved slowly, as if wanting permission as she lifted one hand up to rest on his good shoulder. He chuckled, meeting her lips and humming happily against her mouth.

"I love you too." She finally admitted between kisses.Cassius paused, pulling back to see her fully. "You mean it?"

Emmeline nodded, suddenly embarrassed. His answering smile was triumphant. "I will make you the happiest duchess this kingdom has ever seen." He vowed, kissed her hard before she could reply.

..........................................................................................

Author's Note:

Eighty chapter down... wooo!

Let me know your thoughts! I love seeing your feedback.

Also- happy leap year!

S x