Chapter 141: It’s just a shoulder you guys
Cass didn’t consider the fact that his clothing was askew until he got to the door. Vespertine remained behind him, still on the couch as Cass placed his hand on the handle, and then attempted to tug.
Nothing happened.
Cass flushed, realising he had used his bad hand, and switched, going for the handle again. It was one of those ones you had to turn with your grip. It didn’t have a long handle that he could turn down.
It didn’t work again.
Cass was flustered, but thankfully, he just...knocked on the door and by all things right in the world, prayed that Sir Forsythe would know it was him.
The door creaked open from the outside and Cass let out a deep sigh of relief just as he heard Vespertine speak up from behind him.
"Are you alright? Do you need help?" Vespertine’s voice was a little tired, downtrodden, and Cass sighed.
"I’m fine, Lord Vespertine. Sir Forsythe helped." Cass told him without turning around. It was then that Cass realised in its entirety how messy he looked. He took a moment to consider if he should attempt to fix himself, and then recalled how terribly he was able to open the damn door. Fixing something as complicated as his clothes, which had several useless buttons, all for damn show?
There was no fucking way Cass was going to be able to do that. So, Cass came out of the room, unable to fix his outfit, and unwilling to ask Vespertine for any help. He didn’t think it was a big deal. He was coming out to just Sir Forsythe, maybe Sam and Byron if he was lucky. If someone else saw him, like a servant or something, he didn’t really care.
What he wasn’t expecting was Draken and Lady Fiona standing there. Lady Fiona seemed a little concerned, while Draken was wringing his hands as Cass pushed the door open with his mostly bare shoulder.
Draken and Lady Fiona were to the left of him, basically blocking the view from others peering down the hallway. Sam and Sir Forsythe were there as well, but to the left, against the wall. Standing practically out of view, like the good henchmen that they were. Sam looked ill at the sight of Cass’ clothes askew, and Sir Forsythe looked ready to kill Lord Vespertine. But the shock on their faces was minimal considering how Lady Fiona and Draken reacted.
Draken reacted dramatically. His big, orange eyes watering as he took in Cass’ unbandaged hands, his clothes pulled down, unbuttoned carefully, not torn to expose his shoulder. He gasped, covering his mouth like he’d caught Cass cheating. Lady Fiona’s mouth hung open as she scanned Cass’ body. Cass wondered what she was looking for as a shiver of warning ran down his spine.
A creaking behind him told him that Vespertine had come to the door, probably after hearing the gasp from Draken. The door creaked open more as Vespertine put his arm on it, above Cass’ shoulder. Draken turned his watery gaze from Cass’ body towards Vespertine, and it shifted into rage. Cass wondered if he should get out of the way.
"You! You monster!" Draken roared, and Cass winced at the volume he used.
"Me? What did I do?" Vespertine asked, confused, as he took in the scene before him. Cass heard him inhale sharply at the sight of Lady Fiona, and Cass sighed. Fucking shit.
"Y-You laid your hands on a married man!" Draken roared, and Cass blinked several times. Uh oh. Had Draken felt that? Cass felt his face flush with embarrassment. How had both Lord Blackburn and Cass forgotten that detail in the moment? He’d been so good at remembering it up until now, but it had slipped his mind this time.
"What are you on about? Are you accusing me of cheating?" Vespertine asked, his voice quiet. "After what happened yesterday?" Draken swallowed, his gaze darting between Vespertine and Cass.
Sam took that moment to step forward and begin to help Cass fix himself.
"W-Well, what else am I supposed to think, hmm? Two men go into a small room alone, and then when they come out one of them is half dressed." Draken’s tone had quieted, but the accusation was still there. Vespertine let out a harsh laugh.
"Couldn’t you use that brain of yours to come up with something better? Why, if Cassian and I were having an affair, would I have let the other man leave the room half dressed? That’s announcing to the whole mansion that we are involved. I wouldn’t do that." Vespertine defended himself, and Cass wondered if he considered kisses not cheating.
Cass certainly did, but he also wasn’t loyal to any of the people here. Well, the people he was involved in a marriage with. Sam and Sir Forsythe? They were a different story.
"Uh, well, it is quite suspicious." Lady Fiona piped up and Vespertine scoffed.
"I don’t want to hear that from you." Vespertine muttered angrily, and Lady Fiona flinched.
"I understand that, but I still..." Lady Fiona sighed. "We should talk, Edgar." Lady Fiona started and he scoffed again.
"Why? Should I listen to your excuses, Fiona? Does Gideon know about this? Am I the only one who had no idea?" Vespertine asked angrily and Lady Fiona flinched. Cass really didn’t think this was a conversation that they should be having in the open, in the hallway, where anyone could come by.
It was more for his peace of mind that he suggested it, since he was right there. He didn’t want Lady Ava to get involved.
"I don’t think you should be having this conversation in the open, Lady Fiona, Lord Vespertine." Cass told them. He knew it was selfish of him to not let Lady Ava listen in if she was around, but hey, she was being a little bitch right now. At least she wasn’t telling Vespertine his secrets, but he was pretty sure that was for a selfish reason on her part. Blackmail, maybe.
Or, whatever part of her that Lady Fiona had fallen in love with was still inside of her.
Cass didn’t really care, either way.
"What would you-" Vespertine’s words were harsh, angry, and when Cass turned to look at him, Sam fixing his handiwork, the words dried up in his mouth. Vespertine sighed, running his hand over his face.
Cass realised that he didn’t have his hat on or anything. He’d come out as soon as he heard the gasp, and Cass thought for a moment it was sweet that he was trying to help him. Even if he was doing it in the completely wrong way.
Didn’t score him any brownie points though. The man wasn’t in the clear for his actions.
"Are you going to finish that sentence?" Cass asked, egging him on. Vespertine’s expression soured, and he looked like he’d bitten into a lemon. Cass did his best not to show his pleasure at his reaction, keeping his face neutral. "Just go back into the room, Lord Vespertine. You two need to chat. Is that why you were here, Lady Fiona?" Cass asked, turning towards his wife. She nervously glanced between the two men, before she then slid her gaze towards the still emotional Draken. She nodded.
"Yes. I heard that Edgar was in a meeting with you, and I hoped he would listen to me once he was out of his meeting with you." She admitted. Cass nodded, before turning his gaze back to Vespertine.
"Ask her some questions, Lord Vespertine. The more you stew on this, the longer you won’t get better. And Lady Fiona, be honest. I don’t think Lord Vespertine is the kind of person who would judge you harsher than he already is if you decide to tell him the truth." Cass said, sliding his gaze between the two.
Draken’s sniffling made him turn his attention towards the giant man.
"W-We need to talk too." He blubbered and Cass let out a deep sigh as Sam finished fixing him. Sam stepped back, and Cass turned his red gaze towards the other man.
"Do we really? Or are you just making assumptions again?" Cass asked and Draken froze, before his orange eyes watered further until a tear actually slid down his cheeks.
"We shouldn’t speak about this in public, like you just told them. I’ll follow you, I just...I want to know the truth." Draken mumbled, dropping his gaze. It was so strange to see the man who had been so antagonistic towards him tuck his tail to differ to Cass.
Cass glanced at all of the grown adults around him and shook his head.
"Fine. Let’s go. I mean it, you two need to talk this out. I can only listen like that a few more times, Lord Vespertine." Cass warned and Vespertine flinched.
"...Understood." He murmured, dropping his gaze as Cass brushed past Lady Fiona. She had a complicated look on her face as Cass passed her, Sam and Sir Forsythe following after him. Damn it, he was tired all over again.
"Sam, am I having a steak again for dinner?" Cass asked, as if all of the drama that had just happened meant nothing to him. Sam coughed, clearly trying to hide laughter.
"Yes, my Lord." He responded as solemnly as possible. Cass nodded.
"Good."