A Husband for Mary

She needed time to think.

Marriage had not been expected when she’d woken that morning.

She’d never imaged Ellis would ask for her hand, or ask in such an un-rake like way. He had looked almost happy to make the offer.

Her brother burst into the room a moment later. Douglas glanced between them. “Don’t say you’re still arguing over wretched feathers?”

“No more disagreements here. I revised my opinion. Mary is always correct,” Ellis drawled as he stood slowly. “Your sister and I were just chatting while we waited for you.”

Mary paled.

Surely Ellis wouldn’t mention the proposal before he had her answer.

“What about? More fashions?” Douglas chuckled

“No, but I believe I’ve found the source of so many of those inaccurate rumors that trouble me. You know, the ones we talked about yesterday.”

“Really,” Douglas said slowly, drawing out the word before he turned away to study the sideboard. “I’ll need a drink for this.”

Ellis glanced Mary’s way, brow raised in question. She knew what he was asking her to confirm. He wanted to know her source of information and already suspected Douglas. It was true that every bad thing she’d ever heard about Ellis Worth had come from her own brother’s lips. Douglas had often shared, boasted almost, that his best friend was an utter scoundrel when it came to women.

Mary nodded slowly, and Ellis faced Douglas again.

“It’s been you all along,” Ellis said.

“You can thank me later,” Douglas said with a laugh. He refilled his glass without a trace of remorse and wore a smug smile that made her heart sink in shame.

Mary had never once questioned if such tales hadn’t been an exaggeration. But Douglas had lied to her. “Why would you lie about a friend’s behavior and cause so much mischief? You could have ended any discord between myself and Ellis if you had spoken truthfully about the man.”

She’d always believed Douglas and kept her distance from Ellis unless that proved impossible. She had whispered warnings to other ladies to be on their guard around him too.

A sinking feeling began as Douglas stared blankly at them. “Why should what you feel matter to Worth?”

“It matters,” Ellis disagreed, a dark scowl adding color to his cheeks.

“Oh, Ellis,” she whispered. “What have I done to you?”

“Hush now.” He held one hand out to her, finger pointing in a manner suggesting she should stay out of it. But it was all her fault mothers protected their daughters from the likes of him. She’d seen him snubbed with her own eyes, and at the time she’d been relieved to think that she’d spared an innocent woman a great deal of trouble.

Now she would like to sink through the floor in shame.

When Douglas turned around, Ellis was watching him. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“What did I ever do to deserve this treatment?” Ellis spoke very loudly, so out of character that Mary flinched. “What gave you the right to ruin my reputation so thoroughly that the duke would hear of it and send a warning through his bloody stuck-up solicitor?”

“Other men would be thankful for the help I gave you,” Douglas replied, a dull flush rising up his neck to color his cheeks too. “Your name is on every delectable lady’s lips.”

“How could being gossiped about and falsely labeled a rake be helpful? Your own sister believes I was dared to swim across the Serpentine naked, but her understanding of the event is quite strange. There was no lover of mine standing on the sideline egging me on to prove my devotion to. There was only you, drunk and addled without a horse or your boots. One boot was sinking into the Serpentine, and the horse wisely fled your jug-bit theatrics.”

Douglas’s face grew set. “What harm was there in spreading a little-embellished tale now and then? The ladies do love to tame a rake, and you’ve had your share of offers.”

“But none I ever wanted to take up. Good God, man, I have more sense and appreciation for women than you’ve ever given me credit for.”

Mary moved to stand beside Ellis, worried the pair would come to blows because it was clear that Douglas had done his friend a huge disservice. She felt compelled to set the record straight. “Douglas, ladies from upstanding families avoid rakes unless they wish for a ruin that would leave them unmarriageable. I warned my friends away from Ellis based on your lies. Ellis could very well have lost the chance to fall in love, and all because of us. He did not deserve what we have done, and I am ashamed of myself, and of you too.”

Ellis caught Mary’s hand and squeezed. “You had every reason to believe your brother.”