Cassandra slumped against the desk when Robert didn't move again, clutching the corners until her fingers throbbed. The relief she felt was momentary as she looked at her father's still furious face. What if he thought she had wanted this? The old Cassandra had welcomed the secret embraces of societal men. Could he think this was something she had chosen?

As the panic resurfaced in her heart, his dark eyes settled on her and narrowed. She bit down on her lip, unsure what to do. He solved it for her.

"Come with me." She'd never heard his voice so harsh.

"May I change first?" She said slowly. Could she have lost his love by being the victim of Robert's philandering? At the moment, she thought anything was possible.

"No. Come, now." He spun on his heel without offering her a hand and flung the door of his study open.

Sliding off the desk she followed him on trembling legs, wishing for nothing more than the comfort of his arms. As they walked, she noticed his hands were clenched into shaking fists. He had been angry when Ethan waited until they stood at the alter to tell them all that he had fallen for Lavinia, but that was nothing compared to the dark clouds of wrath she was witnessing now, and it terrified her.

They stopped for a moment, and she realized they were outside of her mother's sitting room. Lifting a trembling hand, her father knocked. There was no answer for a moment. Then the door opened a crack and the timid face of a maid appeared.

"Pardon me, my lord, but her ladyship is indisposed and isn't feeling up to seeing anyone just now." The girl was startled by the look on her master's face and quickly averted her eyes.

"Her ladyship's feelings be damned! Get the hell out of my way." Lord Antrucha growled. Oh, he was every inch the master of his home now, and the maid didn't hesitate for even a breath of a moment to step aside.

"Ezra, you needn't shout at the help. You'll only make matters worse. Society is already talking about the state of ruin your daughter has pushed us into; we shouldn't give them more ammunition." Lady Antrucha's voice was patronizing as though she were stooping to talk to a toddling child who couldn't understand her, and there was a sneer curling her lip as she looked at her husband.

"Don't you bloody dare!" The sharp tone of Lord Antrucha's voice startled Maria. She had become used to the way he gave in to her whims and desires without question, and her eyes widened in surprise at the sudden change. "Don't you talk to me about our reputation when you are working as hard as you can to destroy our daughter."

"Really, Ezra—" She began, struggling to gain her composure by sipping at her tea.

With a wordless roar, Ezra batted the teacup out of her hands. "Are you so far gone that you would give that vile animal the means to assault her irreparably? That you would sit here, drinking your tea while your daughter fought to protect her virtue?"

Raising an imperious brow, Lady Antrucha stood with all the regality she could muster. "I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about." She sniffed.

"To hell with that!" Ezra barked, grabbing hold of her arm to stop her from turning away. "Play the innocent all you like, but I know you're behind all of this." He spun her about to face Cassandra who stood watching from the doorway, eyes wide with the shock of the situation.

"You can't tell me you've brought her here like that, and he didn't succeed?" Maria scoffed, clearly disgusted with something. "Fool."

Lord Antrucha's features turned brilliant red with hot rage, and it was all he could do to stop himself from striking out at the serpent in front of him. Unable to stop himself, he threw her into a chair, hard. Gripping the arms of the chair, he leaned over her, his eyes dark with fury. For the first time in her life, she shrank from him out of fear and not repulsion.

"I'm done, Maria. You can walk over me all you like. I don't have much life to live anyway, not anymore, but when you mess with my girls, that's where I draw the line. I've reached my limit with you, and it's time you knew what was what." He paused for a moment, collecting himself before continuing. "There are going to be some. . .changes. Permanent changes." He growled.

"You can't mean—" Maria sucked in a sharp, abhorrent breath. "Divorce. That would ruin me."

"Unfortunately, no. Though I would gladly be rid of you if society permitted, but that's one rule I've never had the desire to change. You see, I made a vow to you, and while that means nothing in your eyes, I'm a man of my word, and I will not be made to break if for any harlot, no matter what shape she comes in. I'm bound to you, but that doesn't mean I have to put up with you."

There was a glimpse of the youthful Ezra in the way he spoke and moved. Something had snapped within him at the sight of his daughter bent across his desk like a woman of the streets, and the realization that his wife had been the orchestrator of the entire scenario was the cherry on top of the icing.

"You can't really think you'd survive without me!" Maria sputtered, struggling to find her old voice. Ezra cut her off with a sharp glare, and she cowered from him with a pitiful whimper.

"I don't have to think, wife; I know I can." He growled, pushing away from the chair and turning toward the door, his eyes landing on Cassandra as if he were realizing that she was still present. Suddenly, he wanted nothing more than to remove her from the presence of the woman he called wife. He wanted to shield her from the turn he knew the conversation would take next. He had to discuss some. . .things with the woman, and Cassandra needed some time to collect herself properly.

"What are you going to do?" Lady Antrucha's voice quavered with uncertainty.

"I don't know exactly where at the moment. Perhaps I'll find a way to get you back to hell where you belong." Ezra didn't even pause to look back. "But I can tell you one thing: you'll be far enough away that you can't hurt my daughters again. Ever. I've stood by and watched too much: your outcasting of Lavinia, your treatment of her in general, and now this. There's no way I'm going to sit idle while you destroy Cassandra."

"Perhaps if you had been this much of a man before, Penny would still be alive." Maria spat, finally finding herself again.

Ezra visibly flinched, pausing mid-step. It was all he could do not to turn and tear into the woman upon whose finger sat his ring. But that was probably what she wanted. A bruise or scratch to flaunt around the ton as a means of completely destroying him.

"You're right." He said, sucking in a sharp breath of air. "And not a day goes by when I don't wish I'd done something back then, but I'm not going to let myself live to have more regrets heaped onto my shoulders." His voice was quiet and reserved now, but there was no less fire beneath the words.

Without another word, he took Cassandra's arm and pulled her out of the room, closing the door behind them. He drew a shaking breath, his eyes narrowing. At some point, he would have to give some attention to the varmint in his study. Disgust flooded his veins at the thought of Robert Smithers.

"Papa?" Cassandra's voice was weak and small, and when he turned to look into her vibrant eyes, it was as though he was looking at the little girl she had been so many years ago. There was fear and turmoil in her expression. Could she think he blamed her for any of this mess? "I—" Tears pooled in her eyes, and she wetted her lips, looking away, shame in her posture.

Without hesitation, he pulled her to him, folding her in his arms. She sniffed as though she were trying to keep her emotions at bay.

"Don't lock it up, love. Let go." He whispered. She drew a deep, shuddering breath and released it as a heart-wrenching sob.

"I tried to stop him, but he kept coming. I didn't want it—" She cried, burying her face in his shoulder.

With a frown, he held her at arms length and tilted her chin until she looked into his eyes. "You need never explain yourself to me. Especially not in a situation like this. And there is nothing in this for you to feel badly about. You are the victim, and shame has no place in your heart. Don't ever imagine I feel otherwise." She nodded, blinking away her tears. "Now, I'm sure you want to get out of those things, so run along. I have some things to see to. I'm sending Hunter to stand guard outside your room. You needn't be alarmed as I have no thought of any other attacks just yet, but I have no desire to take unnecessary risk. Not after that." He said with pointed emphasis.

She nodded quietly. "What are you going to do?" Her voice was still small, but there was a certain relaxed slope to her shoulders as though a great weight had been lifted.

"I don't know yet." He answered truthfully. "But I'm about to find out." The words were filled with promise, and when Cassandra looked into his eyes, she could see cold determination in their depths. Her encounter with Robert was by no means the end. What would come next? The future that had seemed so sure a few days before churned with chaos. She'd had her uncertainties, but this was something else entirely, and she had the uncanny feeling that her life was about to shift irreversibly.



This was posted later than I had planned (I'm attempting to post every Friday from now on...attempting being the key word ;P ), but the second half of my week was crazy hectic, so I wasn't able to get it up. I hope ya'll enjoy this chapter. I'm gonna go one of two ways in the next chapter (I'm not sure which at the moment), so I'm looking for opinions. Do you want more of Ezra and what happens between him and Lady Maria or a bit of a skip to get us further into the story? I can do either, but I'd like to hear your thoughts. I can always add more Ezra stuff as a bonus chapter or something???

Anyway, thanks for reading! What did you think of this chapter? I hope you enjoyed it!! Your thoughts are more than welcome! In fact, I'd love to hear whatever you're thinking at this point, so go ahead and shout it out!

On another note. . .I just made it to 300 followers. . .300!! Y'all are amazing! Every last one of you! I know I haven't had the chance to personally thank all of you yet, but you really are appreciated! As a way of showing thanks, I intend to update mid-week as well as Friday (if I get enough feedback on what the next chapter should be about that is. . .) ;). Anyhoo, thank you guys so much! <3