Chapter 276: Sir Forsythe is not that kind of a background character
"Enough!" Sir Forsythe snapped. "This is neither the place nor the time. Here, take the clothes, there’s a room just around the corner. I know the Lord wouldn’t want you to change out in the open. The trees might see." Sir Forsythe cut everything off at the knees, tired of the whole situation. He looked fed up, his emotions so clear on his face that Cass wondered if someone else had taken over his body.
Hey, it would be on theme, but then again probably not. He’d probably just snapped.
Cass was devastated at his decision though. He was halting the progress of the scene he was watching. He could tell that Edgar was a little shocked at the outburst, but then he spun on his heel. Cutting off Lord Ridgewood’s access to him. Lord Ridgewood, however, looked absolutely crushed.
Cass didn’t know if the man would actually recover.
He dropped his head, a soul shattering sigh coming from his lips before he got to his feet for the first time since he arrived. He towered over Edgar, Cass and Sir Forsythe, and that was when Cass remembered that he was tall. Lord Ridgewood just did his best to mask it.
He still wasn’t as tall as Lucian, though.
Lord Ridgewood gathered the clothes in his hands, his grip tight before he nodded and followed after Sir Forsythe as he led the way to change. Cass stared at Edgar, his eyes wide as the man had turned towards him.
He looked...fuck. He looked like he was going to crash out.
Cass stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder but he still jerked.
"Follow him, Edgar." Cass whispered. "It’s clear that you want to." Edgar slid his gaze to Cass, the weight of emotions that Cass wasn’t sure he would ever experience washing over him. Cass remained strong even if he wanted to run from it. That was not what Edgar needed right now, and not what anyone else needed right now.
Cass didn’t have to forgive him for what he did to want to make this right for Edgar.
"What can we even say? He’s getting changed, Cass. I’m not some kind of pervert." Edgar said, and Cass couldn’t help the way his face twisted and Edgar’s eyes widened. He jerked his gaze away, his cheeks warming. "I’m not! This isn’t the time nor the place to-"
"-It’s clear to me, Eddie, that you’re going to regret letting him walk back out of that door without working this out." Cass interrupted him, calling him by his nickname to grab his attention. It worked.
Edgar, who had been studying the wall over his shoulder, snapped his attention to Cass. He looked conflicted.
"I’m supposed to help you with letters right now Cass." Edgar whispered, his hand shaking as he reached up and tentatively cupped Cass’ face. He looked so conflicted, so afraid that Cass remained quiet. "And this...this doesn’t feel right either. I’m supposed to be..." Edgar trailed off, scanning Cass’ face. He looked like he didn’t know what to do. What he could do.
Cass raised his hand, placing it on top of Edgar’s shaking one. Edgar’s eyes widened as Cass let out a soft sigh.
"A half an hour isn’t going to make a big difference in the grand scheme of things, Edgar. Also," Cass scanned his face, taking in his handsome features, how tight his jaw was, and the swelling pain that was in his gaze. He lowered his voice. "You’ve been putting others ahead of your own wants and desires for long enough. That whole interaction? That didn’t scream ’best friends’ to me. Go. Pick his brain. Yell at him if you need to. Tell me what happened after. I’m not upset." Cass told him and all the air left Edgar’s lungs.
He closed his eyes, his body trembling as he bit his bottom lip. Cass wasn’t sure why his words had such an impact on him, but he didn’t mind. He let him work through it, get through the feelings he was experiencing.
"Okay. I’ll go. I have to go now." Edgar told him and Cass nodded, giving the man’s hand a squeeze before Edgar pulled loose and raced off after the other two.
Cass stood there, taking a moment for himself before he turned to the door and slammed it closed. It might have sounded like Cass did that all for Edgar. He was so encouraging, so kind, so giving.
He wanted the tea. He wanted the full story. What better way to find it all out then to have the man who was kind of pursuing you meet with the man that was his first love and duke it the fuck out?
Was he sad that he wasn’t going to be a fly on the wall this time? A little, but the retelling was sometimes as good as the actual moment. Cass just needed to put on a game face. Very kind, very concerned, not at all a man who just wanted to hear the hot gossip that Edgar had for him.
Sir Forsythe came back, shaking his head as he came to a stop in front of Cass. He looked...disgusted, and Cass chuckled.
"It’s not all bad." Cass said before the man could start ranting at him. He could feel that the man needed to. "It could be worse. It could have been my grandfather." Cass said and Sir Forsythe gave Cass an incredulous look before he took a second to gather himself. In only a few moments the man he was used to was back in his place.
Stoic. Unemotional.
Cass knew it was all an act. He had to be boiling alive under his skin.
"Don’t curse us, my Lord. One alone is enough. I also cannot believe you encouraged Lord Vespertine to go speak with him as well. It is clear that he is biased towards the creature." Wow Sir Forsythe. Tell everyone how you really feel.
Cass felt a silly giggle come to his lips, and threw Sir Forsythe a knowing smile.
"Have you never heard the phrase, Sir Forsythe? Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer? What is Lord Ridgewood to us now?" Cass asked softly, quietly, and Sir Forsythe didn’t look impressed.
"All of them were enemies only a few weeks ago, my Lord. Are you saying that they have become your friends? While I admit their attitudes have changed, it’s not enough for my satisfaction." Sir Forsythe wasn’t budging. Maybe it was the age speaking, but Sir Forsythe was being very adamant about this.
Cass couldn’t blame him. Lord Blackburn was in full agreement. Cass gave him a light smile, another laugh bubbling up from between his lips. He was going to blame the nursery tree. That had to be the reason he was in such a good mood, or the fact that he’d had a rather filling meal watching Edgar and Lord Ridgewood just now.
"It’s in consideration for a few of them." Cass told him and Sir Forsythe worked very hard to school his face. Cass wanted to laugh at the stiff way he was walking, the way every muscle in his body was tense.
The man was letting his true feelings through quite easily.
"Lucian left shortly after you started your demolition project to go grab meat for your dinner. Ser Hune has said that she hasn’t sensed him back yet, but I would guess he’ll be arriving back soon. Your normal dinner time is approaching." Sir Forsythe changed the topic. Cass turned his head to hide his smile.
How cute.
"He went off to grab me more food? How surprising." Cass muttered and Sir Forsythe sighed.
"It’s not. Especially given how...thin you are, my Lord, and how nutrient dense protein is. Since it is something you have no problems eating, I’m sure Lucian is happy to be of some help." Sir Forsythe’s voice implied that it was the only help he could be. It was so shady, and so unlike Cass’ perception of Sir Forsythe that Cass wondered if it was him who hadn’t seen him like this before?
Or was Sir Forsythe just getting more comfortable with him?
"I can’t argue with that." Cass said, agreeing with Sir Forsythe, and watched as the other man’s shoulders slightly relaxed. Apparently Cass just needed to speak poorly of the people around him and that made Sir Forsythe happy.
Good to know.
Sir Forsythe brought Cass to his office. Cass was almost surprised by the comically large amounts of letters that were in baskets scattered around the room.
There were four baskets. Four large, stuffed baskets. Cass threw his head back and laughed.
He knew he sounded like a villain in the moment, but holy shit. Not only had they visited him in person and gotten reemed, but they had also flooded him with letters? He wondered how many were hand written, especially since that was part of the reason that this had blown up so spectacularly in their faces.
Cass glanced around the office itself. It was a relatively large space, made mostly of wood and wood paneling. A nice, burgundy rug with intricate details was one of the main focuses of the room. A large, comfy looking chair behind the big, wooden desk. There were built-in shelves for books around the room, and Cass was almost surprised that they were empty.
He almost thought that the previous owner might have left him some, but no. They had left other things, or Mr. Collins had sourced them. That actually felt like it made more sense. Mr. Collins seemed like the kind of man who would have brought in all the furniture that Cass saw around the mansion.
Cass made his way across the rug, liking how his feet sunk into it, before he pulled the comfy chair out and sat down. He let out a deep sigh, Mr. Forsythe coming to a stop next to him.
"How is it, my Lord?" Sir Forsythe asked, staring at Cass and Cass let out a little chuckle.
"It’s good. Shall we get started, Sir Forsythe?" Cass asked, and Sir Forsythe sighed, grabbed one of the baskets, and brought it over to Cass’ side.
"Of course, my Lord."