The evening air hung heavy with the scent of lavender soap as Cassie knelt before Herbert, her hands cradling his feet in the warm water. The rare gesture of devotion made him shift uncomfortably in his chair—flustered, yet undeniably pleased.
Herbert reached down, his calloused fingers brushing her cheek with clumsy affection. "What's all this for?" He rumbled. "Did Werner's visit put you in such high spirits?"
Cassie kept her eyes lowered, lashes fluttering like a girl of twenty as she traced the arch of his foot with her thumb. "It made me think of our Alice… how she's nearly of marriageable age now." Her voice softened, honeyed with nostalgia. "And then I thought of us—back when things were simpler."
A shadow of memory crossed Herbert's face. Those early days—Cassie hidden away in that cramped cottage with Alice and Ryan, waiting for him to wrest control of his inheritance, to finally legitimize their love. The shame of it still pricked him.
"You bore it all so bravely." He murmured, stroking her hair. "I've spent years trying to repay that debt."
Cassie went very still. Then, with deliberate slowness, she let her forehead rest against his knee. A tremor passed through her—followed by two silent tears splashing into the footbath.
Herbert startled, hauling her up onto the settee beside him. "Cassie?" His thumb smeared the wetness on her cheeks. "What's wrong?"
Cassie collapsed into Herbert's arms with a sob that shook her entire frame. "Honey, I can't see Alice marrying Prince Werner. I just can't! Our Alice has never known a moment's hardship!" She wept, her fingers clutching his lapels.
"I raised her to be cherished—not to wed a man who looks down on her! Can you truly bear to see your favorite daughter shackled to someone who despises her?"
Herbert stiffened. With a rough jerk, he pushed her back, his face darkening. "Have you lost your senses? Werner is the Crown Prince! Alice will be a queen!"
"But Herbert—" Cassie's voice dropped to a whisper, raw with implication. "You saw how he was with that maid—"
"Enough!" Herbert slashed a hand through the air.
"Men of his station take lovers. It means nothing. So long as Alice wears the crown, what does it matter?" He chuckled, pulling her close again with condescending ease. "Gods, Cassie, you were once my mistress too. Look how well that turned out."
The words struck like a slap.
Cassie recoiled, her breath coming in shallow gasps. For a heartbeat, the room seemed to tilt—memories of those years in the shadows flooding back: the sidelong glances, the bastard children, the endless waiting.
"You would wish that pain on Alice?" Her voice trembled. "You know what it cost me—"
"Must you dredge up ancient history?" Herbert's patience snapped. "You weren't some blameless victim. You seduced a married man and won!"
Cassie couldn't help shaking with anger after hearing this, but for her daughter's future, she held back her anger and took a deep breath to force herself to calm down. Just took a second, she returned to that old gentle look, spoke with tearful eyes. "I hate to say that ,my love. The real reason I couldn't accept is that Prince Werner actually humiliated YOU! I can't accept Alice marrying someone who humiliated you. "
Herbert froze at that and spoke incredulously. "Humiliate me?"
Cassie nodded and explained, "Prince Werner had Evelyn wait at the door today while he and Tanya were changing. But in fact the two of them were actually in the room... doing...that kind of thing! God! I can't even say it! Honey, he's here to make us unite by marriage today, yet he's in his ..."
She paused and intensified her tone to emphasize "future wife's father's house of his, to do such a thing, isn't that humiliating to you?"
Herbert's silence was thick as a storm cloud. His fingers dug into the arms of his chair as he replayed the day's events: Werner's mocking smile, Tanya's disheveled state, Evelyn leading them upstairs —
Cassie's hand slid along his shoulders, her touch soothing even as her words fanned the flames. "Darling, consider why Werner sought our alliance. He needs your influence, your gold, your loyalty… yet he treats you like a provincial fool." Her lips brushed his ear, a whisper like a knife twisting. "You offered him your jewel—Alice, your most cherished daughter—and he spat on the gift."
Herbert's jaw clenched.
Cassie pressed her advantage, tears glistening with practiced precision. "I fought for the Campbell name—bled for it. And he dares drag it through the mud? In our own home?"
A brittle laugh escaped Herbert. He seized Cassie's wrist—not roughly, but with a chilling deliberateness. "You're right," he agreed. "Alice primped and preened all day, yet Werner couldn't take his eyes off Evelyn." His thumb stroked Cassie's pulse point, a grotesque parody of affection. "Very well. Let's give the Crown Prince what he truly wants."
Cassie's breath hitched. "You mean—?"
"I'll write to King Winfred tonight," Herbert said, smiling now. "Detailing how his son was utterly enchanted by our Evelyn. Who are we to stand in the way of young love?"
Cassie's lashes fluttered down to hide her triumph. "How… generous of you."
As Herbert strode to his desk, already drafting the letter in his mind, Cassie allowed herself one unguarded moment—lips curving, eyes gleaming like a fox who'd cornered the henhouse.