Chapter 17
“ M ama, are you coming with me to my riding lesson this afternoon?” Georgie asked Mary over breakfast. They had increased the frequency of his riding lessons to accommodate more sessions over the week because his nephew seemed to have such an affinity for such things. He was a natural. If only Dorian could get him to show such dedication in his archery or swordsmanship, then perhaps he would have been on his way to becoming quite the accomplished young gentleman.
It had been a long time since he had gone to watch one of Georgie’s lessons himself. Perhaps if Mary was going as well, then it would be the perfect time to discuss a few things with her that he had been allowing to slide by. His sister was taking advantage of the fact that he had become so infatuated with the time he shared with his wife, and she spent too much time with Patrick Hislop.
“Not today, sweetheart, but perhaps I shall attend the one day after tomorrow?” Mary answered.
Georgie accepted the answer easily, turning back to his breakfast.
“How so? What are you doing this afternoon?” Dorian inquired, sipping at his black tea.
“Pardon?” Mary answered far too quickly, a blush forming over the apples of her cheeks.
“What could you possibly be doing that would prevent you from going with Georgie this afternoon?” Dorian continued, only glazing at his sister over the brim of his teacup before setting it back down.
“I… well, if you must know, Mr. Hislop is coming to call upon me this afternoon,” Mary said a touch too quickly to be considered casual.
Mary glanced at Cordelia with a curt nod of her head as if they were conspiring to keep knowledge from him.
“I am not sure if I like how casual you are with Mr. Hislop, Mary. It is starting to feel far too familiar with how often he is here. People will talk,” Dorian said as he reached for the paper. He knew enough about Patrick to know that he was nowhere near good enough for his sister. The last thing that he was going to allow was Mary to be put into a position where she could be hurt for a second time by a subpar match. Furthermore, he would be extra selective about the sort of man that would be stepping into Georgie’s life. It would need to be somebody of the right sort of caliber, and he did not think that Mr. Hislop fit that bill.
“I am very fond of Pa–Mr. Hislop.” Mary countered stubbornly. She used a tone of voice that heavily implied that she was not going to be moved on the subject either.
“Is that right?” Dorian asked, putting the paper back down before he had the time to read a single article. Had not even glanced over the titles before he felt Mary’s irritation flung in his direction. “You deserve more than to settle for a man such as him.”
“Tell me, Brother, what sort of man do you imagine that a ruined, unmarried mother like myself is entitled to?”
“Do not do that. Do not reduce yourself to your circumstances.” Dorian sighed, already regretting making his opinion sound like an option.
“It has been years , Dorian since a gentleman has looked in my direction with anything but a sneer on their face. Do you know that? Have you any idea what that feels like?” Mary continued with a very careful grip on her temper. Georgie glanced in her direction as if checking whether he should be upset or not. Most of the time, he simply ignored their conversations entirely.
Mary motioned for Georgie’s governess to come and take him out of the room. Whenever things got heated for either of the siblings, they did their best to remove Georgie from the situation. Dorian was adamant that he not grow up around yelling as they had.
The moment that Georgie was out of the room, Mary rounded on her brother once more with fiery accusation in her gaze.
“Tell me, Brother, what more do I deserve than a man who is accomplished, funny, and who seems genuinely interested in me?” Mary continued.
“Are you implying that he has made some sort of declaration?” If he had, without bothering to come to Dorian first, this conversation was going to shift entirely.
“No! But if he had, I do not think that I would be opposed to it!”
“Have you truly not heard what Mr. Hislop has done?”
“I am sure that you are going to remind me, though I do not see how it could possibly change my opinion of him.” Mary sat back in her chair, looking very much like a petulant child. Dorian had half of a mind to call her out on it, too.
“Mr. Hislop fled the country and left his sisters to fend for themselves. If it had not been for Rhysand–”
Mary’s answering laughter was bitter and humorless. “And suddenly that is a crime? How is it any different from what you did?”
“Is that not exactly why you should be averse to it? The same crimes that you lay at my feet hold no consequence because it is from an outside gentleman?” Dorian countered, working very hard to keep from raising his voice.
He glanced at Cordelia out of the corner of his eye. He tried to avoid quarreling with his sister in front of her for this exact reason. When Mary got upset, she did not know how to keep things to herself.
“He is a solicitor now, Dorian. He has changed. At least he was repentant of his crimes, and his sisters have forgiven him. Are you? I think not. Whatever offenses that you might lay at his feet, at least he has not killed his–”
“Enough!” Cordelia’s voice rose above the other two, shocking the siblings. She had never interrupted one of their fights before. It was true that they quarreled often, but the matter was always laid to rest. Albeit in a shallow grave that they were constantly digging up. “Mary, please do not get so cross. Dorian is simply attempting to express his care for you in his own way. I am positive ,” she paused long enough to glare at her husband. “That he only has your best wishes and happiness at heart.”
Mary’s brow lifted, looking to Dorian for confirmation that his pride did not wish to allow.
Everything about the relationship with his sister only made him wish to argue and protest over even the smallest things.
“I cannot claim to have been there for whatever bad blood lay between you. Lord knows that neither of you wants to sit here and talk about your feelings, but your brother must have had his reasons for making the choices that he did,” Cordelia finished with a parting shot at Mary, “Do you truly believe that he would harm you or your son on purpose?”
Mary bit down on the inside of her cheek and leaned back into her chair once more. If she had anything else to say on the subject, she kept her mouth shut about it and her opinions to herself.
On the one hand, it was a nice surprise to have somebody stand up for him the way that Cordelia was. He would not have expected it from anyone, not in a hundred years.
But that did not change the fact that she was wrong. He had been fighting the guilt since he had lain with her the first time. He could not keep himself from her addictive body, and he knew that there was no point in even trying to deprive himself of something that had become a need.
Would she think the same of me if she knew what I did to her father?
Sooner or later, Cordelia would find out the truth—and she would hate him, too. There was no other option. The closer that he allowed himself to come to her, the less sure he was that he was going to be able to survive the fallout.
Cordelia looked from one sibling to another and nodded contently to herself that the argument appeared to be finished. With her brow arched, victorious, she started to eat her breakfast once more.
How was he supposed to handle the look of horror on her face when he found out his true crimes? There would be no defending him then. She would likely not even be able to look him in the face. He was being ruthless and selfish to allow himself to indulge in her. But how could he deprive himself of the woman who was becoming more important to him than he knew how to handle?
I am going to hell for all this. I should keep my distance from her before it is too late.