Cass didn’t see the Doctor out. Instead, Gideon did, while Edgar helped him redress. Sam went to go grab Sir Forsythe since he had left them alone to talk, as well as work on some of the tasks that Cass had left to him.
That gave Cass enough time to regain his dignity after stripping in front of someone and being spread wide open for them to examine. It did help that the Doctor only looked at Cass like he was a fascinating study, not with lust in their eyes. He got that enough from the others, thank you very much.
By the time that Sam was coming back into the office with Sir Forsythe in tow, Cass was behind the desk, dressed, and trying to squeeze in a few documents before he had to talk with Sir Forsythe.
When the man entered, Edgar was still in the room. He was off to the side, sitting on the couch with a goblet of blood since he wasn’t able to drink at the table anymore at meals. He was being extra cautious since Ava had sniffed him out very early on and he had to explain who and what he was to her then.
It was actually impressive that she hadn’t said anything or accused him of anything in the same way that she had Cass. However, it was right of Edgar to be wary of her Mom.
Cass turned his focus back to Sir Forsythe who looked a little awkward as he came to a stop in front of Cass’s desk. Cass smiled at the older man, hoping that he’d had enough time yesterday to deal with what he needed to. If he didn’t, Cass was fine giving him more time.
"Do you need more time to process everything?" Cass asked kindly. "It’s okay if the answer is yes. I won’t take offense." Cass watched as Sir Forsythe heard what he was saying and frowned deeply.
"No, my Lord. I don’t need more time." He told him quietly. "I just...how was the Doctor’s visit?" He asked, diverting the question. Cass smiled.
"Good, I think. The Doctor listened to what I said, looked at what had changed since I’ve started taking care of my body and said that I was doing a good job tending to it. With my heat coming up, they suggested that they come back to check on me after to see what has changed, if anything, during the heat. Especially with the concern that the heat is coming sooner and sooner." Cass watched as Sir Forsythe listened, nodding his head in agreement as Cass spoke.
"I think that is very reasonable. I am glad that we were able to find someone so trustworthy, and near your home too." Sir Forsythe said, hesitated, and then admitted a truth. "Ailia suggested them to me." He told Cass and Cass laughed.
"Well, that does make some sense. I thought you were rather well connected to the town when you suggested them the first time." Cass teased and watched as Sir Forsythe flushed before his expression grew serious again. Cass felt the air in the room shift slightly and he shifted in his seat. Sir Forsythe leveled Cass with a serious, intent gaze.
"My lord," he began and Cass watched as even Edgar shifted in his seat on the couch, "I have taken the time to consider what you have said and process it all. While I am still upset that...I wasn’t there with you when you made this decision, I realised I am more upset that I wasn’t there to support you, and that I wasn’t trustworthy enough to tell the whole truth before this moment." Cass felt himself frown as Sir Forsythe spoke.
"Sir Forsythe-" Cass began but the man shook his head.
"No. I won’t hear you try to defend yourself, you don’t have to. That’s just the plain truth, and I would rather we not lie to each other. Tell me, you have all of Cassian’s memories as well?" Sir Forsythe asked and Cass almost jerked at hearing Cassian spoken about this way. Cass nodded.
"I do. We’re one soul now." Cass confirmed and Sir Forsythe nodded. His eyes hardened and Cass worried for a moment that this was going to take a turn for the worst. Instead, Sir Forsythe stood up straighter, his shoulders rolling back, coming to attention.
"Then, my conclusion remains the same. You are my lord, you are the son of Duke Blackburn, no matter what his father says, and you are the child I have declared I will take care of in his place." Sir Forsythe said and Cass sucked in. Sir Forsythe stared at Cass’ shocked expression and a slow, sad smile crossed his lips. "It did not even cross your mind that I was sent by your father, did it?" Cass felt like his world was shifting again.
"What?" Cass said, confusion filling him and Sir Forsythe stared at him silently, his eyes full of an emotion that Cass couldn’t quite place. Remorse? Sadness? It felt a little too potent to be just one of those.
"I’m not a spy, I never have been. I don’t speak to your father outside of a letter once a year. I sometimes hear back, sometimes don’t. Your father and I, your human father, knew each other before he married your mother. Like Dustin and Ailia, I went to school with him. For him, I should say." Sir Forsythe said and Cass had to grip onto the edge of the desk to retain some of his sanity.
Hold on, Sir Forsythe had also been keeping an eye on him? For the father who had disappeared from Cassian’s life ages ago and had never showed his face since? This was...This felt...
"How long? How long have you been doing this?" Cass asked, his body tense. Sir Forsythe seemed to sense that what he had revealed had shocked Cass past a reasonable level. His smile was bitter.
"It’s been since he was able to contact me when you were five. I’d been keeping an eye on you since you were a baby anyways, so I just took it as an old friend realising that I was still in the house and using me to their advantage to hear more about their child. It has appeared that I’ve been right up until now." He hesitated. "I know that I should have told you this sooner. We’ve just...never discussed your father before now. Hearing that his blood was consumed for your mother’s ritual just...stirred up feelings in me yesterday. I felt it was right to admit the truth, even if I personally don’t think this is the wrong thing." He hesitated again. "I also had Ailia and Dustin look into it once, to make sure I wasn’t sending letters to some creep." Another surprise, another blow.
Or, they weren’t quite blows. They were shaking Cass to his core, but...this didn’t feel the same as finding out that Sam was a demon and working for the demon lord. It held less weight because...well, Sir Forsythe was a knight.
He was also considerably older than Cass. If he had had a master, or hell, even a friend before Cass was born who had asked him for a favour, who was Cass to say that he couldn’t? It felt different with Sam because Sam appeared to be around Cass’ age, and he’d also portrayed himself in a different way then Sir Forsythe.
A best friend versus an Uncle revealing things would hit differently, no matter the person.
"What did they find?" Cass asked, curious deep in his core. It wasn’t just the emotions of Cassian that were speaking either. Cass was curious too. Sir Forsythe shifted, his gaze dropping to Cass’ papers and desk. He sighed.
"They found a modest cabin, not quite away from the city patrols, but tucked away enough that the people of the city didn’t know him well. He hadn’t remarried, and didn’t have any more children. He had a few pets, was kind to those who interacted with him, and he had taken up gardening. He didn’t suspect Ailia or Dustin when they popped in to speak to him." Sir Forsythe said.
Cass chewed his words, his gut twisting. An heir, a former Duke, living like that?
"Was he...happy?" Cass asked and Sir Forsythe hesitated.
"With the life he had, yes, but when Ailia asked why a handsome man like himself was living alone, he..." Sir Forsythe trailed off, swallowing. "He apparently said that his wife had taken her own life and because of his inadequacies, his child had been removed from his side." It was a punch.
Cass had never considered his father at all because...he had the blood of his grandfather. He was the true heir to the Dukedom. He hadn’t considered his role in this, not truly since to him, it had been obvious that his mother had used and abused him to get what she wanted. He hadn’t considered how he had felt throughout the whole thing.
Then again, the fact that his father was able to take back the Duke title should have told Cass that he was different from his father. He wasn’t as...ambitious as Cass’ awful grandfather, or Cass himself. It seemed that ambition had skipped a generation.
Cass put his head in his hands and sighed, resting his elbows against the desk.
"Ah fuck." Cass muttered. Cass heard the shifting, felt the body growing closer. Edgar’s arm wrapped around his shoulder, giving Cass a gentle squeeze.
"Are you alright, Cass?" He asked and Cass didn’t know how to respond. Was he alright? Was he okay? Finding out that a man you hadn’t considered often, if ever, still longed for you and cared for you was a lot. Especially since it was clear to Cass that the emotional maturity, whatever little bit of it that Cassian had, came from the man.
"I don’t know." Cass whispered. This was a lot to take in.
"Do you...want to see him?" Edgar asked softly and Cass tensed. Did he want to see him? Would it help anything? Cass wasn’t sure it would.
He hadn’t solved the issue with his grandfather yet, and honestly didn’t really want to without Lucian here. He was feeling the same way about this issue with his father as well.
"Not yet." Cass told him. "Not yet. I...I need to prepare myself emotionally. I didn’t-I never..." Cass trailed off before laughing harshly. "I never considered meeting him. I thought he would want nothing with me because he didn’t try to reach out. At all." Cass shifted his gaze towards Sir Forsythe, no anger in his gaze. "Turns out it was because he was getting a yearly update from Sir Forsythe." Cass wasn’t accusing him, but it was clear that Sir Forsythe felt guilty.
"I am deeply sorry, my Lord. I should have told you this earlier." He hesitated. "Do you want me to send a letter early? Letting him know that you would not reject contact from him? Maybe it would be best to chat over letters before you meet him in person?" He asked and Cass found himself nodding before he could even consider the weight of his words.
He didn’t speak as he realised that Cassian wanted that. He desperately, anxiously wanted it, and who was Cass to deny him something? Cass had never longed for his parents, or any parent, in the same way that Cassian had. He’d heard the story, knew his parents were pieces of shit that wouldn’t want him back, so he’d focused on his sister.
Would he want to speak to his sister again? Hell yeah, so in that way, he understood Cass’ longing.
Cass sighed again, Edgar giving him a squeeze.
"I think you should do it, Sir Forsythe." Edgar spoke for Cass and Cass could feel Sir Forsythe hesitating at the way that Edgar spoke for him. It was only a second before Sir Forsythe gathered himself.
"Understood. I will do just that. Do you...need a few minutes before I recount everything that has been going on in your absence here, my Lord?" Did he need a few minutes? At least he was aware of the bomb he’d just dropped on his life.