Have Faith

Chapter 11

"70 out of 100 people in the world cannot read... if you can read then you are the luckiest out of 2 million people in the world that cannot." Call Bain

--- 

Chapter Eleven

It became somewhat routine that Cassian would entertain Lucy during the day while the servants went about their business.

Much to Faith's reluctance, Cassian had purchased several story books for Lucy, and read them to her frequently. She never seemed to tire of the repetition. Lucy could also please herself playing make-believe when Cassian did have to pull himself away to complete the work that was piling up.

It was amazing how quickly he could fall behind in his correspondence when he was playing tea parties.

That was something else that he had purchased for Lucy – a tea set. Faith had protested, of course, but Cassian had simply quipped, "Faith, how can we possibly have a tea party without a proper tea set?"

Cassian had eventually persuaded Faith to join one of their tea parties. He loved to see her relax, and simply enjoy a few moments in time, without worrying about money, or Lucy being a bother, or whatever other worries lived inside her pretty head. Faith always seemed to have something on her mind.

Faith was so beautiful when she smiled. She was beautiful all the time, but even more so when she smiled. Cassian realised it did not happen often. He wanted to change that. She did not need to worry, if only she would let him help her.

Cassian's fleeting moments with Faith, and his time with Lucy, had quickly become the favourite parts of his day. Cassian forced himself to get through his work, and complete his correspondence so that he could spend more time with them.

He had been putting off visiting Angel Faith and his other nearby factories but he knew it was not fair to neglect his workers. He dreaded when he would need to travel north and be away for weeks at a time. It was nearly alarming how attached he was becoming.

When Tuesday came, Cassian skipped his weekly card game for a story about a princess and a frog. Cassian had no desire to drink whiskey and win money from those men when he had a better offer.

Cassian did not have any memory of his father. His memories of his mother were sad and brief. But he liked to think that Lucy was benefitting from his time with her. He knew he was not her father, but perhaps it was good practice for him in the future. Cassian had no desire to be the kind of father that Townsend, Hounslow, and Weatherby were, the kind that had staff to care for their children.

That thought made him laugh. A mere few weeks ago, he was scoffing at the suggestion that he would ever marry. Now he was thinking about the sort of father he would be.

Cassian found himself opening his bedside table drawer the following Sunday morning. He had not told Faith that he had kept her ring all these years. He was not sure why. Was he waiting for a special moment?

He held the little diamond ring between his thumb and forefinger. It was such an exquisite piece of jewellery. It had to be special to Faith, which only made it more important that he return the ring to her.

"Today is the day," he decided, as he slipped the ring into his pocket.

Just as he had slipped his arms into his coat, there was a knock on his door. Cassian wondered who that could be. His breakfast had been brought up an hour ago. About this time he usually locked himself in his study for a few hour's peace while the servants walked on down to the church for the morning service.