All the Wrong Reasons

Part 48

She nodded, tears gathering in her eyes once more.  What was it that her father had to tell her?  Was it as bad as Colin made it out to sound, or was he preparing her for the worse in hope that she would not be overwhelmed?  He leaned down, pressing a kiss to her forehead.  Standing to his full height, he smiled down on her.  “I will stay if you like.”

“Please,” she croaked with a nod.

A soft expression covered his face as he nodded back.  He stepped away from her and went to the door.  It creaked open, amplifying the dread that was settled in her stomach.  Her father walked in, his face drawn tight.  Cassandra scanned it; he looked tired, as if he had been awake for days.

“Cassie,” he whispered with tears in his eyes, “you’re awake.” She nodded at him, feeling her own eyes water at her father’s emotion.  He crossed the room quickly, and dropped to his knees beside her bed.  Grabbing her hand, he clutched it tightly.  “It is my fault.  If I did not meddle, then this would not have happened.  You would not be hurt as you are.”

“Tell her, Ashmore,” Colin demanded.  He stood above her father.  His back leaned against the wall, but he was still in touching distance.  How had he gotten there so quickly?

Her father took a deep breath, bringing her attention back to him.  “Remember that I love you, Cassie.  Everything that I have ever done was for you.”

She nodded.  “I love you too.”

His face crumbled before he cleared it, showing her the masked expressions that helped him so often in London.  “Your mother and I have been married for a long while.  It was an arranged marriage, which is the norm, but we fell in love with one another.  We love each other very much, and we wanted to expand that love.”

She nodded. “You wanted a child.”

“Yes,” he said with a sigh.  “We tried for years, to no avail.  Your mother was so broken up; she thought that it was her that was tainted, that if she were a better person, she would be able to birth a child.  I knew that was not the reason.  Sometimes, God does not bless a person with the ability to birth children, and neither your mother nor I were one of those blessed people.”

“What did you do?” she asked in a hushed whisper. 

He stared directly into her eyes.  “I traveled for the King.  I had been to many places, and once, on a stop, I met a young woman.  Her hair was gold, her eyes almost the same as mine, but that was not what caught my attention.  It was you.  You were snuggled in her arms, eyes wide, blonde hair plastered to your head.  You were the most beautiful baby I had ever seen.”

“You took me from her?” Cassandra accused.

He shook his head vigorously.  “No, I am not heartless enough to steal a child from their mother.  I sat there, on top my horse, and looked at you, wishing that I could be blessed with a daughter as wonderful as you were.  The woman, she noticed me.  How could she not, with me in the middle of the streets,” he said with a laugh and a shake of his head.  “She took a step towards me and held out her arms.  At first, I did not know what she meant for me to do, but soon I realized she wanted me to hold you.  As I grabbed you, I noticed something.”

He paused, causing Cassandra to groan in frustration.  He chuckled at her, but the humor quickly left his face as he finished his story.  “Bruises covered her arms.  As I looked closer, I realized that she had them covering her face.  I wanted to help her, but she just shook her head at me, and pushed me further into my arms.  I remember her giving me a small smile.”

“Did she say anything?”

He nodded.  “She is meant to be a princess.  Please, treat her like one.”

“That is all?” she asked, hoping to learn more about the mother who had given her up.

“No,” her father mumbled.  “She pressed a kiss to your forehead, mumbled your name, and ran.  Tears were in her eyes, Cassie.  She did not want to give you up.”

Cassandra bit her lip to keep the tears at bay.  Her birth mother was a courageous woman.  It did not take much to figure out what had happened.  A hand trailed down her face. Looking up, she noticed the small smile on Colin’s face.

“She gave you up so you could have a better life.”

She nodded.  “I know.”

“That is not all,” Cassandra’s father mumbled.  “Cooper, he looks too much like you for it to be chance.”

“You think he is my brother?” she asked in shock.

“I cannot think of another reason why the lad took to you so quickly.  You must look exactly like your mother.”

“That man,” she whispered with a quick glance at Colin.  “He was my father?”

Colin shrugged.  “It could have been, but we do not know, love.  It could have been a different man.”

She shook her head.  “It does not matter.  I would not claim a father who beat his wife.  The only father that I have is kneeling next to me.”

Her father took a deep breath, causing her to look at him.  “That is not all.”

“What did you do?”

A pained expression crossed his face.  “I had Ramsey write the letters.  I wanted to scare you into coming home.”  She attempted to snatch her hand away from him, but he kept his grasp tight.  “I should not have done that, but there is no taking back the past.  All that I wish is that you will learn to forgive me.”

She closed her eyes.  “It is too much.  Please, Papa, just give me time.”

His hand slipped out of hers.  She heard him stand, a light touch to her forehead let her know that he gave her a small kiss before he left the room.  Another hand gripped hers.  Opening her eyes, she stared at Colin.  “I cannot do it.”

“Yes, you can,” he mumbled while pressing a kiss to her lips.  “We will do this together.  If you want to attempt to find your mother, we will do so.  If you want to forget this ever happened, we will.  Whatever it is that you want to do, we will do it.”

She took a deep breath.  “Thank you.”

He smiled down on her.  “There is no need to thank me.  It is what you do for the ones you love.”

“I love you too,” she whispered with a smile.

“Now,” he started, “the Queen told me that the two of you heal faster if you are together.  Snuggle up to your friend, love.  He needs all the healing he can get.”

She nodded before turning on her side.  Pain flowed through her body, but she would endure it.  Wrapping an arm carefully around Will, she pushed herself into his side.  Her eyes closed, but that did not stop the tears from falling.  She needed him to wake.  She needed her oldest friend by her side, helping her along.  Whispering a prayer, she asked God to allow Will to come back to her.