Chapter 257: An uncomfortable feeling
When Cass stepped out of what was going to be his bedroom, Mr. Collins stiffened his shoulders and looked towards him expectantly.
"I saw that a few of them left. Did everything go well?" He asked and Cass chuckled, smiling fully as he tucked his signed documents into his little time pouch.
"I think it went as well as it could have gone. Sir Forsythe is going to remain behind. We’ll go find where the rest of them ended up on our own." Cass told them and Ser Hune smiled before she voiced her concerns.
"Is that really wise, my Lord? Sir Forsythe might scare them into silence." She teased. Cass could tell she was joking from the look in her eyes, and the way that Sir Sander’s ear twitched. Cass let out a deep sigh, like he was greatly put upon. He even made a dramatic hand gesture, really putting on a show as he heard the door behind him open.
"What can I do, Ser Hune? He’s already at that age and yet still has such a hard time speaking to others. I’m doing my best as his Lord, but still...I find that I just must be a terrible Lord to follow." Cass shrugged his shoulders, while Ser Hune’s eyes were huge, her expression comical as she looked at the man who was no doubt looming behind Cass.
He could feel his shadow falling on him.
"My Lord, I do not need help speaking to others." Sir Forsythe said, his voice grave. Cass turned, giving him a sparkling smile full of teasing amusement. Sir Forsythe’s eyes widened, as did the new employees behind him, but Cass didn’t really notice.
"Oh? I truly thought that you did though. I apologise if I am overstepping, but I didn’t find out you had friends until we ran into them by accident in town. Who wouldn’t that concern? You’ve been by my side for such a long time. I want to make sure you continue to do so." Cass told him, placing a hand over his heart, trying to accent how sincere he was being.
Sir Forsythe looked over Cass, his expression unreadable as he did so. Cass felt his lip twitch as he realised that maybe something wasn’t quite right, worrying that maybe Sir Forsythe didn’t like this kind of teasing.
Then, Sir Forsythe’s expression softened, going almost mushy as he looked at Cass. There was a deep, deep emotion in his eyes, and Cass watched as the man raised his hand, placing it on Cass’ head and gently patting him. Cass felt his eyes widen, Lord Blackburn stiffening inside of him as well.
"My Lord," Sir Forsythe said with such affection that Cass found himself swallowing thickly. "You are never to worry that I don’t have friends, or that I have difficulty speaking to others. You also do not ever need to worry that I will leave your side. I have stayed by your side till now, I have no plan to abandon you after I’ve gotten so far." His expression was soft in a way that Cass had never seen from another person, especially a man. The only person who had ever looked at him in a similar way would have to be...Cass’ sister’s husband.
Cass gulped, a strange, sticky feeling in his gut. He was only just teasing the man, and had instead gotten a completely different response then what he had expected. He thought that maybe he would have blushed, grown flustered, maybe snapped at him, but no. Instead, the man had gotten sentimental on him, and made Cass feel like there was a lump in his throat.
Cass hadn’t felt like this since his sister’s husband had taken him out camping once, just the two of them. Cass hadn’t known what to do when this feeling had overcome him then, and he still didn’t know what to do now.
"Ha ha, well, I’m glad to hear it." Cass said, the words feeling awkward leaving his mouth as he said them. He knew that if this was a fight, he’d lost. He’d backed down almost immediately, but Sir Forsythe, for his part, just smiled down at him with an even warmer expression that had Cass’ face flushing.
He really hadn’t expected this outcome from the man.
"Well, you should get moving. We need to go see what those fools have gotten up to." Cass muttered, gently batting Sir Forsythe’s hand away as he spun, clearing his throat. He really needed to compose his expression, since he was sure that there were others who would tease him about it.
Probably Fiona and Lucian. He needed to school his expression well enough that even they didn’t notice something was up.
Sir Sanders turned with him, Ser Hune waving at Sir Forsythe and the others while Mr. Collins joined them, giving Sir Forsythe a few looks as he rushed to keep up with Cass’ rapid pace.
Cass took the stairs down quickly, hoping to not appear that he was running away from the man who had been by his side, who he had tested, since he’d woken up. He knew that he had a rather strange relationship with him, Lord Blackburn had a rather strange relationship with him, but this?
He didn’t know what that look was, what that affection was. He didn’t have older males in his life. Not like this.
Cass’ heart was a damn drum in his chest as he moved down the steps like someone was chasing him. Ser Hune’s chuckle told him that he wasn’t hiding that he was running away all that well, but then again, he didn’t need to hide it from them.
He had to hide it from the others.
~
He found Fiona and Lady Ava where they said they would be. Did he also potentially interrupt a moment? From the way they were rapidly pulling away from each other, blushes on both of their cheeks and Lady Ava wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand, yes. That had to be the case. Cass was glad to have something else to focus on for a moment.
"How is the ballroom?" Cass asked, giving everyone something else to cling onto as a conversation starter. Fiona cleared her throat.
"It’s nice. We have one back home but this feels...just a bit more magical? I like it." She said, her gaze sliding to Cass, before her expression softened. "It suits you, Cass. This place. I’m glad that you decided on this property." Her tone was warm, kind, and after the shit that Sir Forsythe had just pulled, Cass stiffened. He really hadn’t expected that someone else would look at him like that so soon.
What on earth was going on? Why were they all looking at him like that? It was only a month or so ago where they were all looking at him like he was the bane of their existence, and now this?
This soft, mushy look that made Cass uneasy and want to flee? It was about as bad as the way that Lucian looked at him. The way that Edgar was looking at him.
Cass jerked his gaze away from them, feeling his face warm even more as Lady Ava’s gaze widened, before it softened.
"I, well, it was Mr. Collins who insisted, so you should be thanking him." Cass muttered, gripping onto his hands in front of him, entangling them in a nervous habit of his from his other world. Fiona watched him, her eyes still that same warm way that had Cass flinching, before she let out a soft sigh.
"Well then, thank you Mr. Collins for being the one to step in and help Cass decide on this home." She said easily, the way that a hero would. It came so easily to her, second nature, and Cass had to correct himself almost immediately.
Was it second nature? Or had Fiona just always taken on everyone’s issues from a young age because of her upbringing? She hadn’t had an easy life, Cass had read it. She just downplayed everything that happened to her, shouldered the weight, and Cass had been there to see when she crumbled a few times.
She was just like his sister in that way. Which was why Cass stepping in, taking over for her was second nature too. Damn it. This was so freaking annoying.
"We should find the boys and make sure they aren’t fighting." Cass said, and Fiona’s eyes curled up at the corners when she smiled deeper.
"Them? Fighting? They stopped doing that after the marriage, Cass." Fiona said and Cass gave her an almost pitying look.
"Maybe they just did it where you couldn’t see." He suggested and Fiona’s smile turned mischievous as she moved past him, heading for the doors of the giant space.
"Or, maybe they only started up again when a certain someone woke up again." She said, and Cass felt his heart pause. His face flushed as she cackled, opening the door and holding it open for everyone to pass through. "Though, I will say, they haven’t been fighting each other as much as you think. If anything, I’ve been ganged up on over certain situations." She said, her gaze knowing.
Cass wanted to crawl into a hole and hide as Lady Ava looked at Cass, then looked at Fiona. She had a rather confused expression on her face, like she knew she had the puzzle pieces, but couldn’t put it together.
"Fiona." Cass said, his tone chastising. "In public?" He demanded and Fiona chuckled.
"You don’t really care about that, do you? It’s more about who it’s about, isn’t it?" She shot back, and Cass found that he couldn’t exactly argue that. She hadn’t said anything explicit, and honestly, he didn’t really care if Sir Sanders or Ser Hune knew that...things were slightly different between him and Lucian and him and Edgar. Mr. Collins? The man needed to know that Cass was not just an ally, but an ally.
"You know better than to bring it up, Fiona. You’ve already gotten in trouble for this before." Cass told her and Fiona flushed, but stood her ground.
"Well, yes." She said a little defensively. "But this is your home, and I doubt that the walls here aren’t going to notice that something is up." It sounded like she was implying that he was going to bring others home. When they were married. Even if it was in name only.
"Fiona, please tell me you aren’t implying that I’m cheating on you in front of my employees." Cass deadpanned and Fiona laughed. Threw her head back and really laughed.
"No no Cass. I would never say that. I’m saying that my husbands are just really getting to know each other, that’s all."