Douglas turned red. “What the hell is this? Get your hands off my sister, scoundrel, before I knock your block off.”
Ellis released her.
“What is going on?” Mama asked from the doorway, eyes wide with fear as she took in the occupants of the room. Considering she was dressed in only her nightgown still and her cap was askew over her curls, their discussion had lured her from her warm bed. She hardly ever got up before eleven. “Why are you arguing with Mr. Worth at this hour?”
“Ellis is not a rake, Mama.”
“Well, of course he is not. Mr. Worth is a fine gentleman, very courteous and kind. You would do well to emulate him, Douglas,” Mama insisted.
A tense expression turned down Ellis’s lips. “You’re too kind Mrs. Vine, but I do not always behave as I should.”
“That’s not true, Ellis,” Mary whispered. Ellis could have ruined her, but instead, he’d offered a marriage. An alliance Ellis would never have offered before the events of last night, though. He was a good man. “I have been so wrong.”
He nodded briskly. “Our disagreements, fueled by Douglas’s untruthful poison, are over. If you will excuse me, Mrs. Vine, Miss Vine, I came to say goodbye.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been summoned to Calder tomorrow to meet with the duke. I don’t know when I will have leave to return to London.” Ellis moved to stand before Douglas. “You’d better pray our paths do not cross again too soon, Mr. Vine. Next time I see you, you’d better have a bloody good apology prepared. We are not confidants anymore. I don’t want your kind of help ever again.”
He turned away, and Mary’s heart sank like a rock.
Douglas followed Ellis a few steps. “I saved you from the parson’s trap, you fool. Your future inheritance makes you irresistible to women. You’re too young to know what you want, and you would have been easily trapped by some silly chit who never really wanted you for yourself.”
Ellis’s gaze flickered to Mary and away quickly. “What you failed to understand is that I always intended to marry young, coming to London for the season was in the hope of meeting the love of my life. I want a family again, a wife to love, and a home filled with laughter. I want to marry very, very much indeed.”
“Are you mad? Family causes nothing but trouble. A bachelor’s life is just the thing for you. Once the word is out, you’ll have any woman you want.”
“If you think I will stay in London for that, then you don’t know me at all, and certainly don’t deserve the family you have.”
Ellis left quietly without glancing back.
Her mother marched into the room and punched her hands to her hips. “Douglas, the only trouble I see is you making a botch of all my plans. Did it never occur to you that Ellis might marry Mary? I was so looking forward to seeing Calder when he became a duke.”
“Mama!”
Mama blushed. “A mother can hope, can she not? He’d make a very considerate husband, and he could be a duke one day.”
Mary blushed. There was no chance of that now. “Mama, no.”
“He will be the next duke,” Douglas cut in as he rubbed his hands. “Sooner than I ever dreamed.”
Mary took a step back, seeing her brother in an all new and unappealing way. “Why?”
“His cousins died. Worth is next in line.” Douglas grinned. “He’ll be back to London when he cools his head.”
Mama clapped her hands. “How wonderful for him.”
“Poor Ellis,” Mary whispered. To lose what little family he had so suddenly. Admittedly he was not close to his cousins, but had spoken of them fondly many times.
“Yes, yes, poor, poor Ellis Worth. You’d think he’d be happy, but he cannot see the advantage. Ungrateful wretch.” Douglas scowled. “He can have any woman he wants now and it’s not enough. Go back upstairs, Mama, and let me manage things.”
“I may as well. Mr. Worth will never speak to us again after this,” Mama complained. “I shall miss his visits.”
Mary’s mind raced. A future duke would not keep up a connection with someone who disparaged him. Mary may be forgiven, but she’d likely never see him again because of Douglas.
After last night she could easily see herself married to Ellis, sharing his bed, getting to know the real man whose kisses left her breathless.
The gaping hole left behind after his departure broke her heart. He sounded so lonely. So disappointed. Betrayed by a friendship that was almost family. She’d never even had a chance to answer his unexpected proposal.