“Oh, I see,” Cassie said.
Relief flared inside her even though she did her best to suppress it.
“The photos, the memories, are all part of the same process. We agreed after we’d had drinks with the Robinsons that this divorce will be amicable. We have to respect what we’ve built and shared. For the kids, we want to do this in the least confrontational way possible.”
Then Cassie remembered what she’d seen in the filing cabinet, while searching for any evidence of an upcoming divorce.
“You had a wedding anniversary and vow renewal earlier this year!” she accused him. “That’s not exactly reassuring to me.”
Ryan stared at her as if she was crazy.
“Cassie, who told you that?”
For a moment Cassie didn’t know what to say. Now she would be the one who’d have to lie, because she couldn’t tell Ryan she’d searched through his private files.
“One of the children mentioned it,” she said, hoping he wouldn’t ask which one or what they had said.
“That’s so strange. Why would they have said that to you? Look, we did talk about it early in the year. Trish looked at venues and I think we even had invites designed. I guess, during that process, she might have told the children. When it became clear that a vow renewal wasn’t on the cards, for many reasons, we canned it. If I remember, Trish was actually away over our anniversary, and I took the kids to Brighton for the day.”
“Oh.” Cassie felt overwhelmed by shame that she’d assumed wrong. “Perhaps I misunderstood.”
“You must have done.”
Then Cassie remembered what else had happened that morning.
“And what about Harriet?” She clenched her jaw and stared up at him, daring him to prove her wrong.
“What about her?”
“She said you two slept together!”
Cassie felt herself tensing in his embrace as she waited for his response. But instead of an outraged denial, Ryan started to laugh.
“No way! She never said that to you! Please, Cassie, tell me you didn’t believe her.”
Cassie remembered she’d doubted some of what Harriet had said, but not that.
“I believed her. She was genuinely devastated.”
“Well, it seems to be her modus operandi, as I found out yesterday.”
Ryan’s voice was hard.
“Her modus operandi? What do you mean?”
“The Robinsons also hired her for a few months. Vaughan told me over drinks that she stole a number of valuables from their home during that time. When his wife confronted her, Harriet burst into screaming hysterics and said that Vaughan had made passes at her and that she wasn’t comfortable working for them any longer, and was considering pressing charges.”
“Really?”
Cassie was disturbed by how plausible this sounded.
“Given that she’d already asked me out to the pub, and that Trish couldn’t find her gold bracelet yesterday, I decided to nip this in the bud. I called the agency first thing today and asked if they could send someone else. Unfortunately they could only make the change from Friday, but we locked the jewelry away while she was here. I’m glad you’ll no longer have to put up with her rudeness—it was unacceptable and out of line.”
“Oh. Wow.”
Cassie didn’t know what to say. It seemed that Ryan had canceled Harriet and not the other way round.
It was a possibility. Everything he’d said made sense. Cassie felt utterly confused. It was like looking through two ends of a tunnel and seeing two completely different scenarios inside.
Ryan gently released her and smoothed her hair back from her face. The wind was getting stronger and it was becoming bitingly cold.
“Please, angel, can I help you carry your bags back inside?”
“OK,” Cassie agreed.
In a couple of minutes, her bags were stowed in her bedroom again.
She thought Ryan would leave her then, but instead he reached into his jacket pocket.
“You might have wondered how I knew you had gone. It was because I came to find you. I wanted to apologize for what you’ve been through, and explain that it’s been part of a necessary process. Also, I wanted to give you this.”
To Cassie’s amazement, he produced a large, square velvet box from the inner pocket of his jacket.
She opened it, and even though she’d been trying not to show any emotion or surprise, she caught her breath as she looked down.
Inside was an exquisite diamond necklace.
“I chose it for you today. I wanted you to know beyond doubt how much you mean to me. This is how much I value you. It’s a gift that comes with my heartfelt apology for what you’ve been through, and with my commitment that we will be together soon.”
Ryan spoke softly in a serious voice.
Cassie stared down at the diamonds, watching the stones flash with color where their facets reflected the hallway light.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.
“Wait till you see it in sunlight. It’s magnificent. Most of all, Cassie, most importantly, it’s given with my love.”
Cassie stood still, holding the box tightly, unable to believe what she’d just heard, because he’d said he loved her.
“Please, will you stay awhile longer? Just so that I can prove to you that what I’ve said now is the truth?”
Cassie’s mind was reeling. It was possible that she’d believed alternative versions, which were lies, and that Ryan had meant what he said. Didn’t they say actions spoke louder than words? The gift of this exquisite piece of jewelry was proof of commitment.
“I’ll stay,” she promised him.
Ryan’s face softened in relief. He drew her into his arms and kissed her deeply, and as Cassie responded with all the suppressed passion she’d been feeling, she realized her eyes were wet with tears.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
The next morning, Cassie had thought she would wake up full of hope.
Instead, as soon as she raised her head, she felt nauseous. Her stomach was churning and tender, and she felt leaden with exhaustion.
“Ugh,” she said. She sat
