Page 57 of When her Duke Returns
“I knoweverythingof it,” Mary reassured her. “I know of your letter to the Earl.”
Cecelia bit at her nails. “You must understand,” she began, looking much like she might cry. It moved Mary to emotion for the first time in days. “I thought my life would be ruined if I could not make something of my engagement to the Duke… regardless of how I felt, while, in truth, I felt very little. It was silly and cruel. I see that now, and my heart is burdened with guilt! Once he revealed how much he cared for you and how difficult it was for him to conceive of a life without you, I could only give him my blessing to let me go.”
Mary swallowed down her sobs. She had forgotten how sweet a gift it was to have a friend, to have the company of a woman who was not indebted to her by blood or fortune. “It is all behind us, now. You must let your heart be light and joyous. It is all I would ask from you.”
“Then you have it and whatever else I can offer! I shall find another match, but I shall never find anotherMary.”
“Youwillfind another match, and he shall be good!”
“And kind, and smart, and brave… I’ve heard it all,” she laughed. “No doubt you will curse my asking, but has the Duke written to you since he left Richon?”
Mary began to trail around the room, trying as best she could not to reveal the depths of her pining. “He has not—not beyond his letter informing me of his choice to break things off with you.”
“And you’re quite certain you do not wish to see him again? That you wish to remain ignorant of what’s to become of him?”
“I want to know. Most desperately I do… But it would do me no good, Cece. It’s too late. I must marry Antony and be done with it all.”
“Whymustyou? You say I will find a man who is good, but what ofyou? Surely you deserve to be happy as much as any of us?”
“I…” Mary could not think of a way to reveal the truth of her trap that would not incite Cecelia to action, and so, the girl looked on, wanting.
In the stillness of her deception, Mary heard a sudden rumble of footsteps drift in from the hallway and then a knock against the doorframe. Harry stood before her, slack-jawed, his hair pressed to his clammy forehead, his nose red with blood.
“There’s my darling sister!” he exclaimed upon catching sight of Mary. “And Miss Stanton. You’re quite the last person I thought to find here. Well, maybe not thelast,” he added with a teasing grimace.
“It’s good to see you, Mr. Carlisle,” she replied most formally. “I had merely come to wish Mary good luck and… Whatever has happened to your nose?”
“Er, right,” Harry began, bringing two fingers to his nose to check the bleeding. “I should be most grateful if you could spare me a moment with Mary. Mother is quite beside herself downstairs and will welcome the help besides. There’s been a mix-up with the flowersandthe teacakes… It’s much like the Devil’s rendering of Vauxhall!”
“Sounds fun!” Cecelia smiled and shot a warning glance to Mary. “I’ll leave the two of you be.” She kissed Mary on the cheek and sauntered away.
“If you would be a dear and lend me a kerchief…” Harry mumbled to his sister, dipping his head low to ease the bleeding.
Mary rushed to her bedside table to retrieve a small cloth. “Since when do you suffer nosebleeds?”
“Since my darling sister’s curiosity grew to twice its normal size,” he quipped sourly, taking the tissue from her and bringing it to his face. “Between that and her head, there’s scarcely any room tolive.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, sister,” he assured her with a gentle coo. “Now, are you quite certain you want me to give you away? Francis is still upset over it all, and you’ve already gotonedisgruntled Lord to attend.”
Mary had suffered her brother long enough to know when he was trying to distract her. Still, she indulged him. “There is no one else for me, Harry, not with Papa gone. It must be you, or I fear I shall not make it down the aisle.”
Harry bit the inside of his cheek. “So be it,” he whispered and angled his head back.
Mary took the opportunity to look him over, noticing a small, brown dotting of blood on his collar. Her eyes scanned him for more tells, and it was then that she caught the scuffs at his knees. “Harry…were you assaulted?”
Harry sniffed then coughed up into the tissue. It made Mary’s stomach turn. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he replied though Mary thought him quite the thespian.
“A fall then?”
“It’s no concern of yours.”
“Now is not the time for games! It’s my right, as your sister, as the bride, as—”
“All right, all right! Lest you throw the bible at me as well,” he scoffed, “a small rabble of Scots caught me on a walk with Francis.”
Mary could hardly believe what she was hearing. “That can’t be!”
