by Heather Boyd
He finished dressing Mary, frowning as his thoughts veered from flight from the situation or fight for a second chance to win her over. When they were decent, he led her through the throbbing mass of debauchery in the halls and ballrooms, doing his best to shield her from the worst of the sin on display, and returned her home without another word about what they’d almost done together.
However, he could not stop thinking of how much he’d enjoyed their reckless evening, and whether or not she would escape the scandal they’d made together. As they parted ways in her garden, he had a sudden selfish wish that she’d be caught, and that she would send for him to make things right.
Chapter 5
Daybreak only worsened Mary’s impending sense of doom. She’d kissed Ellis Worth. Kissed him, touched him, pressed her bare body to his and proved herself a woman of low and utterly alarming morals. Ellis had pretty much dubbed her the female equivalent of a rake, and he might be right. That he’d not finished the job of ensuring her ruin was gratifying and yet unsettling.
She punched her pillow. For a rake, Ellis was not living up to his reputation for seduction.
Oh, his kisses had been very fine.
More than fine.
Mary pressed her pillow to her face and growled her frustration into the feathers.
He was exceptionally good at kissing, and other things. Things he’d not wanted to continue once he’d discovered her real identity. It was so very lowering to be cast aside so swiftly because of who she was and not because of how she felt in his arms.
She flipped over to her back but turned her head toward the window to watch the bright day begin. Ellis was Douglas’s best friend. They saw each other practically every day. Ellis would come to call on Douglas, not her, and she’d be forced to watch him from afar, knowing what lay beneath his clothes and that she’d fooled herself into thinking him the love of her life for a very brief time last night.
What sane woman could love a rake?
Her breath caught. Mary might have if given a chance.
It might amuse others to imagine bringing such a man to his knees and hearing a sweet proposal tumble from his lips, but Ellis Worth was the last person to ever consider falling in love. Certainly not with her, and never now that he’d seen her true colors.
Last night had been all her fault.
She had tried to seduce him, she’d led him on, absolutely kissed him first. She could not deny his accusations because they cut so very close to the bone. Everything he’d claimed about her behavior was utterly true. For a supposedly virtuous woman, she was decidedly not when faced with the temptation of his powerful and naked body.
He was beautiful. Arousing. Desirable.
Oh, she was utterly ruined now. Mary pulled her pillow over her head as her face burned with the heat of a blush, remembering how he’d made her feel him with her hand. She would not be able to look at him now without remembering how much she had wanted to experience his love and desire. It had almost hurt to draw back from the brink.
Tap, tap, tap.
Mary sprung up at the knocks on her door, brushing her hair from her face and then clutching her pillow for scant reassurance. “I’m awake.”
Her mother hurried in, wearing her nightgown and lacy cap still perched on her head. “Oh good. You must get up. There is a caller.”
“Who?”
“Mr. Worth has come.”
“Worth always comes on Tuesdays,” she said in what she hoped was a disinterested tone, although a dull roar had filled her ears at the mention of his name. Fear and excitement affected her. Usually, she felt resignation whenever he came to call.
One night, and so much had changed between them.
“He’s much too early.” Mama hurried to Mary’s wardrobe and selected a modest lemon gown. “Tolling warned that Mr. Worth appeared quite formal. He did not smile even once, and that is so unlike him. Douglas appears out, too, though your brother never mentioned an early appointment to anyone. It is rude since he must have known Worth would call as he always does on Tuesdays. You must go down in his place. I beg of you to entertain Mr. Worth before he takes himself off in a dreadful huff.”
Mary slipped from the bed, heart pounding in dread. Had he come to reveal her wickedness and disobedience to her family? She had to prevent that by any means. She’d be sent to live with her grandmamma in disgrace for what she’d done last night if he had. If that happened, she’d never marry, she’d never be kissed so fiercely and be made weak by Ellis’s expert passions yet again.
She blinked to clear that wicked remembrance from her mind. She should not wish for another interlude like last night. But oh how his strong hands had grasped her desperately before their identities had changed everything. He’d made her feel utterly desirable. And yet…
Mary shook her head. Ellis was not here for her, nor would he ever attempt to kiss her. She should not allow the rake any further liberties, even if she wanted them. He was merely here to see Douglass, as he always did on Tuesday mornings, and she would endure this visit the way she had borne all the others.
“I will see him,” she promised. “And explain.”
She hurried through her toilette, choosing a prettier gown than her mother had laid out, and rushed downstairs, her nerves jumping chaotically. What would he say to her? How should she greet him? Like sworn enemies, though perhaps a little less hostility would be a good start if she wanted to ensure he said nothing about last night.
Mary swept into the drawing room and stopped short when she saw him.
Ellis Worth took her breath away.
Too elegantly dressed to be meeting Douglass for a trip to Tattersall’s, too handsome for words indeed. It took her a full minute to get over the shock of seeing him dressed because she remembered so much of last night, when he was anything but proper to look at. The heat of his skin, the heaviness of his body pressing hers into the mattress, the skill of his lips and hands as they moved over her own.
She belatedly remembered her manners and fumbled a poor curtsy, blushing furiously under his scrutiny. “Sir?”
His eyes glowed with something warm and wicked stirring in their depths when she met his gaze. “Miss Vine, good morning.”
Mary rushed across the room and, in her haste, stumbled into a chair instead of settling elegantly. She straightened herself out in a wink and offered Ellis Worth a tentative smile that she hoped did not reveal how truly nervous she was to see him. “I’m afraid you’ve caught the family unprepared this morning. Douglas has already gone out.”
“Or hasn’t returned yet,” he murmured under his breath. “Mornings are not his favorite time of day.”
She frowned at Ellis. “And knowing this, you came so early?”
“What can I say, I like to live dangerously.”
He smiled, and her lips twitched similarly in a response she could barely control. Last night, before she had known she was conversing with Ellis, she had enjoyed his whispered confidences and flirtatious remarks. He’d made her laugh so often that her cheeks had ached. Too bad that could not continue. A rake did not suddenly become safe or respectable. “So you do.”
Despite her anxiety in his presence, he made himself comfortable, crossing one leg over the other as if he planned to stay awhile. Mary dragged her attention back to his face. “I trust you are in good spirits.”
He tilted his head to the side and his gaze dropped down to her feet and rose slowly. “The Fenwick Masquerade was quite…”
“Amusing?” she suggested, fearing his description.
“Stimulating would be a better description,” he murmured with a quirk of his lips. “I had no idea an hour or two could change my opinion so profoundly.”
She stared at his lip when he took one between his teeth. Mary cleared her throat as her body reacted to him with so little provocation. “You did say it was a scandalous gathering. I imagine a rake would be used to that sort of thing by now.”
“There are some things a man is never prepa
red for.” He wrinkled his nose. “Let me ask you something. Are you aware that your brother was once chased out of his lover’s bed three times in one week because the husband kept coming home unexpectedly early?”
She frowned. “My brother? I thought that was you running away.”
“That’s what I feared you’d say.” He shook his head, his face becoming serious. “It hit me like a blow to the head last night that someone must have been telling you tall tales about my life. For your information, I’ve had exactly three brief affairs. Despite the rumors, none of the ladies had living husbands at the time.”
She closed her eyes, unhappy to hear about the other women he’d successfully bedded. What he did in his private life mattered nothing to her, except that what he claimed did not match his rakish reputation. She would not be so easily fooled by some sweet words today. She knew all about his amorous exploits from gossip. She opened her eyes. “I supposed you did not swim naked in the Serpentine last year either?”
“Ah, so you heard about that too, did you?” He laughed. “Barefooted to my knees, and it was bloody cold I will tell you. Your brother dropped something, and I was a good friend and went in to fetch it.”
“You disparage my brother?” She licked her lips. They should not be speaking of these things, but it bothered her that he would lie even now. “It was said your married lover dared you to prove your devotion by swimming across.”
“Such foolishness. No wonder you think as ill of me as the duke does. You’ve both been grossly misinformed.” He snorted. He sat forward suddenly, arms resting on his thighs as he stared into her eyes. “Ask me anything, and I promise to tell you the truth.”
“What you do is none of my concern.”
“Oh, but it is. Your good opinion matters more than anything else now. I have struggled to understand why you do not like me, and I can see gossip has colored your understanding of my character.”
Mary frowned. “I know what everyone knows.”
“Not quite. You have always thought ill of me, even though I did nothing untoward. I fear you’ve been privy to malicious rumors of my so-called indiscretions. Who has filled your ears with these lies? Tell me? A friend obviously, since you do not question their intelligence.”
Mary shook her head. “I warn my friends away from you. They’d never want to marry a rake, no matter what they say to the contrary.”
He brushed aside her confession of tattling on him to her friends with the wave of his hand. “So, not a friend, but someone close to you, perhaps even closer than friendship? Family?”
Mary swallowed, suddenly made nervous by the direction of his questions. They were a little too close to the truth for comfort.
His jaw clenched suddenly, and he turned his face away for a long moment. Mary detected a soft curse slip from his lips that made her blush. He rubbed his hand over his mouth and turned back to her, eyes dull. Bleak. She was more than a little taken aback by his swift change of expression. It seemed all the joy she’d seen dancing in their depths last night had been wiped from his features. “Ellis, what is it?”
“It is as I suspected, but I still do not understand why he lied to you about me.” He stretched one hand toward her then jerked it back as if he’d not meant to reach for her. “I promise you, I am not the rake you have been led to believe. I’ll prove it to you now.”
“How?”
He stood, strolled quietly toward the open door, and peered out into the hall. He pushed the door closed a little more then returned to his spot. “I came to see how you fared after our adventure, and to discover if I had imagined last night. I am relieved beyond words that nothing has changed,” he whispered so low she almost couldn’t hear him.
He sat forward on his chair, so close to the edge that he was almost falling out of it as he continued in a softer tone, “If I were a rake, I wouldn’t have come. I wouldn’t have lost an entire night of sleep worrying about how you might feel this morning. If I were the coldhearted scoundrel, I would have moved on to my next conquest, the next woman, and been done with you. But I cannot do that. Not after last night. I feel responsible. That is why I’m here so early, too early to see Douglas. I couldn’t stay away. I have to know that you do not hate me. I could not bear it if you thought me a villain. I came for you, Mary.”
Mary gasped, utterly surprised by Ellis’s impassioned declaration. He was sincerely worried. She could see it in his eyes. Hear it in his tone. He honestly cared about her, and the possibility of her ruin was not what he hoped for. How very unlike the rake she’d expected to be faced with today.
Mary glanced toward the door quickly, profoundly affected by his words. She would set his mind to rest that no harm had come following her adventure last night, but she also desperately hoped her mother would stay away a little bit longer. “Mama sleeps very soundly,” she whispered. “I had no explanations to make about last night. Douglas, well, as I said, he stayed out. I don’t hate you, but I was shocked to discover it was you I’d kissed, and more so by my own forward behavior. I don’t know what come over me.”
“I do understand, though I prefer that you never apologize for what happened between us. Nothing you did with me was wrong as far as I’m concerned. Those unguarded hours with you is an interlude I will always treasure no matter what happens in my life.” He drew in a deep breath. “I will not make excuses for my behavior afterward. I knew immediately what was the right thing to do, and I let our history still my tongue.”
She frowned. Ellis had been understandably angry at first, but she’d thought him very kind to help her make her escape. He had no reason to aid her. “I was equally to blame. I…”
“Do let me continue.” Ellis slid to his knees on the rug before Mary and smiled up at her. He took her hand gently in his and stroked his thumb across the back of her glove in a soft caress.
She was swept back to the evening before, attracted to him, aroused by his touch and his intensity. Something she’d never experienced with him in any other setting. Sparks of lust traveled up her arm and coiled around her body until she almost couldn’t breathe. “Please do,” she whispered in a horrifyingly husky tone.
“This may be too soon, and you may need time to consider my request, but Mary Vine, would you do me the honor of accepting my hand in marriage?” Ellis asked before leaning forward to brush his lips across hers.
Chapter 6
Mary kissed him back. She couldn’t help it. Mary couldn’t stop herself stealing one more improper moment with the handsome, irresistible Ellis Worth. She touched his face, eager to never halt the madness consuming her soul. She’d gone to the masquerade hoping for adventure, and here it was, right where she’d never dreamed of finding it.
“Devi,” he whispered against her lips, skimming his hand up her side to touch her head.
She drew back to stare at him. To see the expression in his eyes that had sent her pulse flying last night. They were so close, nothing else seemed more important than him. She had so much to tell him, to explain…
Heavy footsteps pounded down the stairs, breaking her daze.
Ellis flew back into his seat with a softly uttered curse. Mary faced the door, a blush warming her cheeks at nearly being caught kissing a man she’d known and dismissed for years. She had no words to describe the state of her heart. She did not know whether to accept or decline Ellis Worth’s most flattering offer of matrimony.
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.
