Page 116 of The Girl Out of Time
But the logical, cooler part of his mind advised him to calm down first. Sleep it over, think it through. He’d have to be diplomatic when he talked to Wescott, not reckless.
Yes. Sleep first—if he could get any of that. But before he moved, something rustled in the dark, and the flame of an oil lamp burst into existence, highlighting Cass’s face.
“Leon?” She made a step out of the parlor. “Oh, it is you. How was the ball?”
He looked from the staircase—inviting him to ascend and surrender to his dreams first—to his fiancée. “Can we talk?”
“Now?”
“I think so.”
Cass lightly scoffed at his choice of words and waved toward the parlor with the lamp. “Come, then.”
They sat down next to each other, and she put the lamp on the side table. “What’s wrong?”
He wrung his hands, looking at the carpet-covered floor. His emotions mixed and mingled inside of him, leading to a woozy nausea. Somehow, he felt he was wronging Cass by admitting his love to Emmeline; but he couldn’t shake the feeling he’d finally done something right, too. “I can’t marry you. You know—” he raised his eyes to her. “You know I care for you. As a cousin, a friend, would.”
“And so do I,” Cass said. “It could be much worse, couldn’t it?”
“But it could also bebetter.” He turned to her. “Don’t you wish that for yourself? We might be amicable to each other, but do you really want to spend the rest of your life with me? Because I—”
“You’re in love with someone else.” Cass pursed her lips. “Poor choice of words. It would imply there was something between us to begin with. But it’s still true, isn’t it?”
He nodded.
“Who is she—no, wait. The black-haired stranger. Miss Marshall. I should’ve known.”
“Do you hate me for it?”
“For falling in love? How could I? It’s the most wonderful thing that can happen to a person. Besides, she seems good for you.” She smiled. “I like how she fakes her fainting. Very clever.”
He laughed. “I shouldn’t explain what that was all about.”
“No, you shouldn’t. Let us keep our secrets.”
They pondered their situation in silence for a moment.
“I don’t want to be ungrateful,” Theo said. “For everything your family has done for me.”
“You’re not. You’re right.”
“Then you’ll allow me to go talk to your father?”
She paused, picking at a non-existent speck on her skirt. He thought his mind was made up, but he forgot about one very important aspect—Cass, herself. Wescott had put her in almost the same position as him, and he didn’t want to hurt her.
If she said no …
“Go,” Cass said, raising her eyes. “But I’ll go with you.”
“I can talk to him …”
“Ialso need to talk to him.”
Theo stood up, inspecting her. She locked her jaw and lifted her chin, eyes shining in determination.
“You’re in the same position.” He kneeled. “Who is he, if you don’t mind saying?”
Cass let out a bubble of sad laughter. “The last person Papa would approve of.”
