A Lifetime of Love Begins….. With this ring

Cassandra and Lord Adderly arrived at Lady Mayville's townhouse at an ungodly hour, their coach having driven through the night. Lord Adderly's patience had worn thin after one night at an inn, and he'd ordered his coachman to press on to London without rest. He was determined to bring his wayward grandson to heel.

Lady Mayville rushed into the salon, where her butler had deposited the unexpected visitors. "Jasper, what's happened?" she exclaimed, concern etched on her face.

Naturally she thought that a catastrophe of

epic proportions had occurred to bring her reclusive brother to the capital with no notice whatsoever.

 "We are staying with you for at least part of the SeasOn, Belle," the iscount said. "You will have to take my ward about in society. Do not bother arguing about it. I have made my mind up."

 Lady Mayville blinked in dismay.

 "Jasper , what are you talking about?" She turned to Cassandra. "My dear, how long has he been like this?

I thought it was decided that since you are to marry my great-nephew, you would not come to London this Season after all."

Cassandra spoke nonchalantly. "Kofi found out about the arranged marriage and ran off to London."

Lady Mayville sighed. "And you're here to track him down, Jasper."

"Has it occurred to you, Jasper, that these young people might not be suited for each other?" Lady Mayville asked. "Forcing the issue won't do anyone any good."

Lord Adderly frowned. "Not suited? Are you mad belle? They have adjacent lands, equal social standing, and compatible families."

Cassandra added dryly, "And let's not forget my dowry of forty thousand pounds."

Her guardian glared at her. "That has nothing to do with this, you ungrateful girl. I've raised you like my own daughter. How dare you suggest I'm motivated by your fortune?"

Cassandra apologized, acknowledging that Lord Adderly had been a good guardian, except for his insistence on her marrying Kofi.

"Where is the young man?" the viscount asked his sister. "Has he contacted you?"

Lady Mayville nodded. "He visited me yesterday. I had no idea he was in London without your permission. I thought it was reasonable for him to want to enjoy himself before settling down to marriage."

"Was he... all right?" Cassandra asked.

"All right?" Lady Mayville repeated. "He seemed healthy and in good spirits, considering what he's been through. He said he's found lodgings and is settled in. He's quite the handsome young gentleman, Kofi. I wouldn't have recognized him."

"Where is he staying?" Lord Adderly demanded.

"I'm not sure I should tell you, Jasper," Lady Mayville said, exchanging a knowing glance with Cassandra.

Cassandra spoke up, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm sure you plan to rush over there and inform Kofi that he must marry me, or face the consequences of being locked away and fed bread and water until he agrees."

The viscount's face turned red with frustration. "That's exactly what I intended to do," he spluttered, though he knew it sounded ridiculous now that Cassandra had pointed it out.

"I'm quite sure," Cassandra said with a smirk, "that you wouldn't want to imply your heir is incompetent or feeble-minded. Holding him captive here would only reinforce that notion."

The viscount's face turned red with rage. "Damn and blast!" he thundered.

Lady Mayville gasped, shocked. "Jasper, please! Not in my home."

The viscount apologized promptly. "Forgive me, Belle. I'm not myself."

Lady Mayville soothed him. "Of course, dear. You're exhausted. I'll have you shown to your rooms. A nice rest will do you good."

The viscount's jaw clenched. "I'll feel better when I've found my grandson."

After a restorative tea and sandwiches, courtesy of Lady Mayville's hospitality, the viscount and Cassandra joined their hostess for a carriage ride in Hyde Park. The park was a popular spot where members of high society gathered to showcase their fashionable attire and impressive horses.

As they strolled along the park's winding paths, the viscount's wish to see his grandson was unexpectedly granted. However, Kofi was too far away for the viscount to confront him.

Lord Adderly's solicitor had just visited, delivering a thick envelope of Kofi's bills for payment. The viscount's temper was wearing thin as they entered Hyde Park.

"A half-dozen coats! Three pairs of boots! Four pairs of dancing slippers! Two dozen sets of inexpressibles, three dozen cravats!" he fumed. "Does he think I'm made of money?"

Lady Mayville sighed. "Stop grumbling, Jasper. A young gentleman about town must dress accordingly."

The viscount scowled. "He only has one pair of feet. Why does he need seven pairs of shoes? In my day..."

"Gentlemen wore their linen until it rotted," Cassandra said with a smirk. "So, I suppose they didn't need as many sets."

The viscount's face turned red with indignation. "That's enough from you, miss! Ladies do not discuss gentlemen's undergarments in public."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "You're the one who brought it up, Lord Adderly."

She paused, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Besides, if I were to marry Kofi – which I'm not – our union would unite our bloodlines in your great-grandchildren. Do you truly wish that fate upon them?"

"Baggage!" the viscount growled, scowling at Cassandra.

Lady Mayville burst out laughing. "Oh, Jasper, don't be such a grump!" she teased. "It's a lovely day. Can't you put your worries aside and enjoy it? The sun is shining, and the air is filled with the scent of roses."

The viscount snorted. "And horse manure. The smell from Rotten Row is getting worse. No wonder I hate London."

The viscount half-rose from his seat, craning his neck. "Why are we stopping?" he asked.

Lady Mayville peered into the distance. "It seems Mrs. Benningham has gathered her usual entourage," she said. "She can bring traffic to a standstill in the park for hours. Ah, I see she's with a gentleman. I wonder who he is. Her romantic conquests are always the subject of gossip."

The viscount frowned. "Belle, really! You shouldn't be pointing out women of that sort to Cassandra!"

"Mrs. Benningham is perfectly respectable, I assure you," Lady Mayville said. "She's a widow of good birth and great wealth. Everyone wants an invitation to her parties and salons. Her wardrobe is the envy of every woman in London."

Cassandra's eyes sparkled. "How wonderful! That's exactly what I want to be someday."

Lady Mayville raised an eyebrow. "A widow? Oh, dear, I'm a widow, and I can tell you it's dreadful to lose one's partner."

Cassandra laughed. "No, of course not! But I'd love to have clothes that stop traffic in the park and host parties that are the talk of the town."

"You can achieve that status once you're safely married," the viscount said, "to Kofi."

Lady Mayville's gaze remained fixed on Mrs. Benningham's carriage, surrounded by a cluster of admiring gentlemen. "Who is that gentleman with her?" she asked, squinting. "There's something familiar about him."

"May I meet her?" Cassandra asked eagerly.

Lady Mayville began, "I was acquainted with her mother years ago, and—"

But she abruptly stopped speaking. "Perhaps another time, Cassandra. Goodness, how late it is! I'll have the coachman turn the carriage around."

Cassandra protested, "But we've only just arrived."

As they drew closer, Cassandra saw Mrs. Benningham's curricle pull over, allowing traffic to pass. Lady Mayville's carriage moved forward, despite her cries to turn back.

"Turn around!" Lady Mayville urged her coachman desperately.

However, the crowded lane made it impossible to turn back, and the coachman had no choice but to continue forward.

As they passed Mrs. Benningham's curricle, Cassandra leaned out of the carriage, captivated by the scene. The stylish widow wore a charming hat of blond straw adorned with yellow and green ribbons, and Cassandra noticed that Mrs. Benningham herself was driving.

The fashionable brunette held a small whip in her leather-gloved hand and was chatting with her escort. Cassandra's eyes widened as she took in the details. "What a lovely carriage dress!" she exclaimed.

Her guardian, the viscount, grumbled in disapproval. "Frivolities! That's all young girls think about."

Just then, the gentleman beside Mrs. Benningham turned, and Cassandra's eyes locked onto his handsome face. His hair was neatly trimmed, and his attire was impeccably fashionable, but there was no mistaking his identity.

Cassandra gasped, her heart racing. "Kofi!"

Kofi's hazel eyes widened, but he showed no other sign of discomfort. He flashed Cassandra a dazzling smile and tipped his hat to her. Cassandra's mouth opened and closed in shock.

"Lady Mayville! Your servant," Kofi called out.

"Good afternoon, Kofi," his great-aunt replied weakly.

"Grandfather! I didn't know you and Cassandra were coming to town," Kofi said boldly.

As Lady Mayville's carriage pulled away from the curricle, the viscount's face turned red with anger. "See here, you young scamp—"

Lady Mayville urged the coachman to hurry, while Cassandra tugged on her guardian's arm to silence him. "Faster!" Lady Mayville cried.

"Kofi," Lady Mayville called back, "you had better call on us tomorrow!"

"Today!" snapped the viscount, shaking off Cassandra's restraining hands. "You will call on us today!"

"A pleasure," Kofi replied, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"I think you're making a fuss over nothing, as usual," Lady Mayville said with a sigh as her brother paced the parlor like a caged tiger.

"Spending my money to impress that...that Mrs. Benningham," the viscount muttered.

"Perhaps he wants to marry her," Cassandra suggested eagerly. "You did say she's rich. And she certainly seems popular."

"Popular!" the old man snorted. "Good grief, girl. Men do not marry women like Mrs. Benningham!"

"Someone did, if she's a widow," Cassandra pointed out.

"And a rough customer he was, make no mistake," Lady Mayville said. "The kindest thing he ever did for his poor wife was get himself shot in a duel over another woman. It was a great scandal at the time. If you ask me, she's entitled to a little happiness."

"The woman is unsuitable," the viscount said, giving his sister a disapproving stare. "My grandson may amuse himself with such a woman – it's all part of a young man sowing his wild oats – but even Kofi cannot be foolish enough to marry her."

"Do you mean he is... they are...?" Cassandra sputtered.

The viscount rolled his eyes. "It means nothing, I tell you. It's all part of a man's coming of age. A young man makes a better husband for having acquired some worldly experience in his youth. Settles him down."

"I need some worldly experience too, then," Cassandra said defiantly. "Taking lovers might settle me down."

"Cassandra!" exclaimed Lady Mayville. "Really, Jasper, this conversation is most improper for a young girl, and it's all your fault for putting such ideas in her head."

"That's right," Cassandra conceded. "A lady must wait to take lovers until after she's married. No, I thank you. I want nothing to do with a so-called gentleman who has affairs before he's married to me."

The viscount threw up his hands in exasperation.

"Then you'll catch cold at finding a husband, my girl."

"Fine!"

At that moment, the butler entered the room with a white visiting card on his salver. "The gentleman asks if you are receiving, my lady," the butler intoned with a straight face.

The viscount pounced on the card. "Bring the young jackanapes in at once," he snarled to the butler, who left the room with all the speed his dignity would allow.

"Jasper, I will not have a servant left if you will snap at them so," Lady Mayville remonstrated.

"Look at this!" he said, waving the card. "He has had visiting cards engraved. And of the most expensive paper, too, I'll wager."

"Well, what of that? One cannot go calling without visiting cards, Jasper!" Lady Mayville's frown turned to a smile of welcome when Kofi appeared at the doorway. "Kofi, my dear boy! Do come in." She gave her brother a look that practically shouted, "Behave!"

Kofi bowed politely to his grandfather, great-aunt, and Cassandra. It took all of his self-control not to beat a hasty retreat, but he would not give his imperious grandfather the satisfaction. He reminded himself that he was a gentleman of substance, not a cringing worm, and took the chair his great-aunt indicated. He stretched his long legs out in front of him instead of curling them under the chair as if he had no right to be in a titled noblewoman's parlor. All the better for Cassandra to admire his new Hessians.

"Are you alone?" Cassandra asked eagerly.

So much for vanity, he thought philosophically. Kofi smiled at her. She was dressed in what his newly educated eyes identified as a countrified ensemble of blue-and-white striped muslin, but her hair shone like new-minted gold and there was something akin to admiration in her big, blue eyes when she looked at him.

Whoever said clothes made the man apparently was correct. "Were you expecting someone else?" he asked, knowing perfectly well she was referring to Caroline. Not for anything on earth would he expose his best friend in London to Lord Adderly's unpredictable temper.

Lord Adderly gave a snort of contempt. "He would hardly bring the hussy here, to my sister's house," he said.

"You refer, I assume, to Mrs. Benningham," Kofi said. "If so, I must request that you take a more respectful tone. The lady has been all that is kind and welcoming to me."

" Welcoming!" his grandfather scoffed. "Of that I have no doubt. You will not refer to that woman in the presence of my ward."

"Nonsense! Your ward is dying to meet her," Cassandra said. "She drives her own carriage. I shall do that one day."

"That you will not, missy!" her harassed guardian exclaimed. "That woman is not to set foot in this house!"

"Well, actually, Jasper," Lady Mayville pointed out, "she does come here occasionally. Her father was a crony of Lord Mayville's, and her mother and I were friends for years. Hers is some of the best blood in England."

"I do not want to discuss that woman!" the viscount said petulantly.

"I hesitate to mention this, but you are the one who brought the subject up," Kofi said. He turned to Cassandra. "Are you having a pleasant stay in London, Miss Davies?"

"Oh, certainly, Mr. Owusu," she replied, seemingly oblivious to his arch tone.

"Ah, here is our tea," Lady Mayville said, sounding relieved. Clearly she hoped her guests would use their mouths for eating rather than arguing. "Put it here, if you please," she said to the servant. "Cassandra, my dear, will you pour?"

"I would be delighted, Lady Mayville," Cassandra said. She almost dropped the teapot when Kofi absently took a biscuit. "Kofi!" she cried sharply.

He blinked and looked down at his hands to see that he had been about to break it in two. His grandfather would have an apoplexy if he inspected his great-aunt's biscuits for weevils. He gave Cassandra a rueful look of gratitude for preventing him from committing this faux pas, and she giggled. Her expression of amusement transformed her face from its habitual sulkiness into something akin to beauty.

"Kofi!" the viscount snapped. "Your great-aunt is addressing you!"

"I beg your pardon, Aunt Belle," he said. "I was not attending."

"It's all right, my boy," Lady Mayville said. "I merely remarked that we have been invited to attend a ball at my husband's cousin's house Thursday next, and I wondered if you would like to escort us. There should be a number of young people in attendance."

"Thursday next," Kofi said vaguely. "I think…..yes, I am sorry, Aunt Belle, but I am engaged to escort...a friend to a salon that evening."

"Well, unengage yourself, sir!" his grandfather exclaimed. "It will be Cassandra's first ball in London, and you will attend to make sure she does not spend the entire evening lining the wall with all the other misses for want of a partner." Kofi's eyebrows rose.

"When you phrase your invitation so charmingly, how can I refuse? I shall put in an appearance unfashionably early at the ball and dance with Cassandra twice. After that, I shall go on to my previous engagement."

"You will present yourself here at eight o'clock, sir, and you will escort the ladies to and from the ball!"

"I beg your pardon, sir!" Lord Adderly was turning purple again, but Kofi appeared not to notice.

"I must not keep you," said Kofi, rising. He smiled at Cassandra. "You have much to do."

"I do?" she asked.

"Of course. Dressmakers, shoemakers, fanmakers.

"What are you talking about?" his grandfather demanded.

"Cassandra, of course," Kofi said. He leveled the quizzing glass Caroline had insisted he purchase straight at an indignant Cassandra's countrified gown. It was the first time he had remembered to use it. Somehow he managed to keep from laughing in his grandfather's affronted face.

"Surely you do not expect me to be seen in public with a female whose clothes were made by a seamstress in Devonshire?" he exclaimed with a straight face. "Miss Lacey's in Conduit Street," he added with a patronizing smile to Cassandra. "Just put yourself in her hands, and you needn't worry about a thing. She's quite good at transforming a sow's ear into a silk purse. Not that I mean to say you, my dear Miss Davies, are a sow's ear."

"How kind," she said sarcastically.

"Now see here, you young jackanapes…." the viscount shouted.

"And don't forget to purchase a new hat. The one you were wearing in the park today makes you look a complete quiz," Kofi added to Cassandra. He turned to his grandfather. "No offense, sir. You had better get one, too."

With that, he thanked his great-aunt for the tea and biscuits, bowed to the company, and made good his escape.

"Puppy!" Lord Adderly snarled when he had recovered his voice.

"He is right," Cassandra said. "I knew my old clothes would not do for London!

Lady Mayville, we must go to this Miss Lacey in Conduit Street without delay!

"I shall order the carriage at once," Lady Mayville said. Her eyes were sparkling. "There is nothing I like better than shopping for new clothes. Do not bother to accompany us, Jasper. You only will be in the way."

With that, his sister swept Cassandra out of the room to leave Lord Adderly to stew in his own juices.