An Unacceptable Arrangement (18 page)

“And as for our wedding, it was never meant
to be more than a legal formality. When we get to Bavaria, we will
be properly wed. We will ride through the village in an open
carriage as all of the villagers gather to cheer us on. There will
be a huge ceremony and feasting and dancing that will go on for
days. All of the crowned heads of Europe will attend.”

Cassandra gaped at him, astonished. “Why
Frederic, why did you not tell me any of this before?”

Frederic got down on one knee and held her
hand as he spoke. “I wished to bond with you before all of that got
in the way. I wished to know if you could possibly love me for
myself,” he sheepishly confessed.

Cassandra smiled at her husband, her dear
unpretentious, adorable husband - this man who was so good to her
and so good for her. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged
him close, covering his face with kisses.

“You realize that this changes nothing, my
precious husband.” Cassandra replied, speaking from her heart. Her
love for him shone in her eyes. “I would have happily lived with
you for the rest of our lives, right here in our cozy little
townhouse in London.”

Suddenly Lord Newblythe rose to his feet and
bellowed, “This is entirely unacceptable! All this time, you have
led my daughter to believe that she had married beneath herself,
that I gave her away to live in reduced circumstances? No wonder
she has not forgiven me.” He fell back in his seat. He had gone
along with Sir Frederic’s wishes at first but he had no idea the
masquerade had gone on this long. She’d had to sell her pearls for
pocket money?

Suddenly his Lordship grasped what his
daughter had been talking about. Her disappointment and shock at
the way she was given away - it wasn’t about the lack of a lavish
wedding, it was about the esteem that one is held in by their loved
ones. By ignoring her wishes, by treating her so coldly and pushing
her into an arranged marriage without explanation, he had broken
her heart. His relationship with his daughter had been forever
destroyed.

His Lordship lowered his face to his hands
and wept. Suddenly nothing much mattered anymore. He would give
away all that he had to see his precious daughter’s beautiful face
light up once more at the sight of her loving papa.

The room was silent, its inhabitants
stricken. To see a great man like Lord Newblythe fall apart was
most distressing to all. Lady Newblythe rose to her feet, unaware
that tears were streaming down her own face. She had known all
along that this masquerade was a terrible idea. Now everything that
had followed made sense.

She addressed her son-in-law. “Frederic while
I can understand your desire to find someone who can love you for
yourself, you have to understand that your station in life
is
part of who you are. To deny your inheritance, to present
yourself falsely, is not fair to anyone - least of all the young
woman you have chosen to share your life with.” Frederic ducked his
head with embarrassment, unable to look his mother-in-law in the
eye. She was right, of course, this fiasco was all his fault. He
had seen the pain that the estrangement had caused both parties
over the past six months and instead of stepping up and clearing
the misunderstandings, for his own nefarious purposes he had
allowed the confusion and miscommunication to continue for far too
long. He was ashamed of his own selfishness.

“And Arthur,” Lady Newblythe continued,
“Cassandra now knows why you gave her away in the manner that you
did. I’m sure she can find it in her heart to forgive you.” She
turned to Cassandra and continued. “Can’t you dear, can’t you
please forgive us? We knew that Frederic was a prince and that you
would be his princess. We wanted the best for you and this seemed
to be a wonderful opportunity, not just because of Frederic’s
title, power and wealth but because he was an honorable young man
who was very much in love with you. We felt that abiding by his
wishes was a price we were willing to pay. We clearly didn’t think
it through very well and I am so, so sorry that you were so hurt by
our actions. Can you find it in your heart to forgive us, darling?
Your distance has been so painful for your father and I. We would
never have agreed to any of this if we thought we might lose you
forever.

Cassandra stood frozen, staring at her
parents, her dear, loving parents. How could she ever have thought
she didn’t matter to them? She alone was responsible for matters
coming to this point. Frederic was right; she should have had
faith. She should have known how much her parents loved her and
that they would choose a union that would ultimately be in her best
interest. She herself began to cry as her parents came to her and
they all embraced.

Princess
Cassandra of Bavaria rode next to her Prince in an open-air
carriage, waving to the cheering villagers lining the road way.
They had left for Germany right after her brother’s wedding in
which they had served with pride as Best Man and Matron of Honor.
Cassandra looked over at her handsome husband as she held his hand
and they smiled lovingly at one another. Up ahead was the most
beautiful castle she had ever seen, banners blowing in the wind
from every turret.

Ahead of them was a long line of carriages
containing his and her family members and behind them rode the King
and Queen of Bavaria, long may they reign. She loved her new
family, who were very pleased that Frederic had taken such a noble
wife and finally returned home to take on his duties as the Heir
Apparent. With great excitement they had planned this wonderful
royal wedding that was about to take place.

Best of all, she had a wedding gift for her
husband that she knew he’d like very much; a secret that she
carried deep inside her body just under her heart - hopefully the
first of many such blessings that would be bestowed upon them.
Their life together was just beginning and their future was
limitless.

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