CHAPTER 174: DANGER LURKING (4)

"He might be upset if I don’t leave now, but I shall see you soon. Where are your servants to carry your shoes?" Cassius questioned, looking around for servants he knew weren’t present.

Harper panicked, but she hid it well.

"They are with my mother. I am strong enough to carry them," Harper said, taking the boxes from Cassius’s hands. "Once again, I am most grateful for your gifts. Perhaps when we see each other again, I will have a gift for you."

"A dance with you is all I need. I would kiss your hand to bid farewell, but you are quite occupied," Cassius said.

Harper wished she had a maid present, or it wouldn’t be so wrong to place the shoe boxes on the ground. She had much to tell the other ladies, and a kiss goodbye would have been a proper ending to her story.

"You may bid me a proper goodbye the next time we see each other. Until then," Harper said, looking forward to the next run-in.

Cassius bowed his head slightly before going back to Quinn’s side.

Quinn was not pleased to see Cassius so openly buying gifts for another woman.

"Why do you never learn your lesson? You are always too quick to spend your money. Now, she will fall in love with you because you have bought her something. You are going to have fathers chasing you," Quinn said, certain it would come soon.

"When that happens, I will leave you to be beaten by them. You shouldn’t get too close to her," Quinn advised Cassius.

"Why not? I think she is a wonderful young lady. You do not have an eye for good women like I do, Quinn. That is the difference between us," said Cassius.

"I know that you will find yourself killed if you keep this up, and I will not help you. If you drag me into any trouble, I will kill you before the guards get to you. Only a fool goes up to a woman who is not married when she is without an escort," Quinn said, watching as Harper hurried off somewhere.

Quinn knew it was only a matter of time before one of these women came to Cassius to ask that he take responsibility for something.

"It will be fine. She is happy with the shoes I bought her, and once her mother hears that her daughter was gifted lovely shoes, she will be pleased. You worry too much," Cassius said, annoyed by Quinn’s doubts.

This was precisely why Cassius didn’t like Quinn around when he needed to handle his business. Rather than head home with Quinn, Cassius wanted to go his separate ways to do something important.

"And you don’t worry at all. I mean it when I say that I won’t save you from being hauled off by the town guard or a father forcing you to marry his daughter. Have your fun, but for heaven’s sake, be wise," Quinn advised Cassius.

Quinn rubbed his temple. "Why did I need to be stuck with you?"

"Because you promised mother you would take care of me, and I promised to do the same. You cannot go back on your promise now that she has passed. You need to relax a little, Quinn. I am only having a little fun. You should try it once," Cassius suggested.

Quinn shook his head.

Cassius’s type of fun with ladies was not his cup of tea. One day, Cassius’s actions were going to catch up to him.

"Be careful. That is all I will say. I will gravely injure you if anyone shows up at my door. I won’t care that you’re my brother when they come. Get what else you need and prepare to head back home. I am tired of this sun," Quinn said, greatly bothered by the heat.

Cassius was distracted by a passing carriage. He smiled as he thought about what happened to his last gift.

Quinn was unfortunate to notice his brother’s smile. "You truly have become a fool," he said, worried for his sake. "I must get far away from you or I will lose my mind."

There were many times when Quinn didn’t know what was going on inside Cassius’s head, and quite frankly, he didn’t want to know.

"I was thinking about a gift I sent to a certain lady. It is now destroyed,’ said Cassius.

"If you are speaking about the carriage you sent to the lady who is now married, then what has become of it was well-deserved. I don’t know why you expected anything else. You should move on from her before it is the royal guards at our doors," said Quinn.

Cassius wasn’t ready to give up yet. Why should he?

"You wouldn’t understand it since you don’t have much interest in women. Why would I stop now when I have made a prince jealous? I need to help you understand why it is so fun to chase a woman. It is not all about intimacy," Cassius said, eyeing a pair of ladies walking by.

"There are many ways to have fun with women, and one day, I will help you to understand it. It is my money that I am spending on these ladies, so don’t worry yourself about it. You don’t have any idea how careful I am when it comes to my plans. I will get the carriage," Cassius offered.

Quinn was left standing alone, watching as Cassius went in the wrong direction to get their carriage. It meant that Cassius was up to something which was going to cause trouble in the future.

Quinn shook his head.

Cassius could never behave even when they were young boys, so it was wrong for Quinn to expect so much more from him now.

Quinn wanted a quiet life in Lockwood, not disturbed by anyone, but Cassius had other plans. Cassius was placing himself before people who had power in town and doing things that he shouldn’t.

In the end, Cassius’s behaviour was going to be tied to Quinn, which Quinn didn’t enjoy.

"That fool," Quinn said. He had to do something before Cassius ruined his plans.