The Bed You Make
Chapter 4
Stefan Cassadine was uncharacteristically noisy as he prepared to leave the bathroom. The noise was meant as a kind of alarm for his new bride, in case she was still in the midst of dressing for their evening out. It was not a routine Stefan intended to continue, but the evening was bound to be stressful for Dara. He had no desire to make things more difficult.
He quickly discovered that his consideration was not necessary. Dara was no longer in the suite. For a moment Stefan was tempted to delay his own preparations in order to discover just where the new Mrs. Cassadine had ventured. With regret, he put aside his curiosity. Stefan sharply reminded himself that however intriguing he found Dara's thought processes to be, he could not loose sight of the reasons for her presence at Wyndemere – and in his and Nikolas' lives. Dara Jensen was a tool through which Stefan would finally achieve his goal of an unchallenged future for Nikolas as head of the Cassadine family.
Tonight would be a barometer of just how useful a tool Dara Jensen would be. Dara Cassadine , Stefan reminded himself. The sooner the name became second nature to him, the more readily he would be able to assist his new bride in adapting as well.
Stefan slipped into a starched white shirt. His own simple but elegant attire sent his mind racing about Dara's choice of attire for the night. He'd been in the shower and so had missed what Dara decided to wear for the unveiling of their marriage. She would be subdued, Stefan decided, but not so buttoned down as her court persona. Perhaps the simple grey Carolina Herrera dress…
Together they would make a very proper and attractive couple. Not that their appearance would hold much sway with the people they were bound to encounter that night. Stefan could not imagine a single person who would not automatically assume the worst about the circumstances of Dara's marriage into the Cassadine family. He had a feeling that by the end of the evening they would be fortunate to encounter neutral reactions to the news of their alliance.
So be it. He had counseled Dara from the beginning that her decision to become a part of his plan would mean challenges, anger and disbelief from her friends and associates. Like so much he'd said, Stefan suspected that the young attorney had discounted his warnings as exaggerations on his part.
Tonight's outing guaranteed that his new bride would quickly – and painfully – see for herself the absolute truth of his warnings.
