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“I…I do not know why she said this. I cannot understand why she is saying this when it is completely false and my father has never had a reason to feel that way about me,” Mary said.
“I saw you with this other man. You have spoken to me about him. Do not make a fool of Lord Hanbrooke. He deserves better. And even after my mother warned you not to do anything which might get in his way, you have gone and done this thing which is most shocking,” Charlotte said.
“But I did not!” she yelled, desperately, tears welling in her eyes as everyone accused her of being a liar.
“Yes, you did! I know that you have a gentleman you have been seeing and I heard you speaking about your engagement to him. I heard everything, Mary. I know it’s true and so do you. You cannot keep this going,” Charlotte continued, pushing the idea to make it sound as though Mary really was lying.
Lady Beatrice took her brother’s arm protectively. She flashed a glare at Mary and then a similar one at Charlotte. Whomever she believed, she was clearly suspicious of them both and simply wanted to get her brother away from them.
“Come, Crispin. There is no reason to remain here for now,” she said.
“I…” he began, swallowing hard. But he did not finish his thought. Instead, he went along with his sister, and they departed from the quiet garden, leaving only Mary with her stepmother and Charlotte.
Mary turned to her stepmother, desperate to defend herself. She had already ruined the evening with Lord Hanbrooke, but she couldn’t bear to destroy the rest of her family as well. She needed her stepmother to listen before things got even more out of control than they already were.
It seemed as if Charlotte had aimed to destroy everything, and she was succeeding. Mary just needed someone to listen to her, someone to know that she was being honest, and she had not done anything that she was being accused of.
Although no one had yet been willing to listen to her, she was hopeful that she could make her stepmother hear her out. After all, Lady Rachel surely would not want a black mark on the family because of Mary, would she?
“Lady Rachel, I assure you that this is not true. I have no such interest in another man. I am not sure where Charlotte came up with this story, but it is false,” Mary said.
“You call my daughter a liar? How dare you? I will not have you say such things about her,” Lady Rachel said.
“But she is ruining my reputation and all that I had hoped for. I have not done what she claims, and it grieves me to think that anyone might believe otherwise, particularly Lord Hanbrooke and his sister,” Mary said.
“Then you should not have gotten yourself into this position. It was your decision, Mary, that brought you here. If you wished for a different life, you ought to have made different choices.
Now, however, there is nothing to be done. I must speak with your father at once and ensure that he is ready to deal with you. Come, we must leave the ball, now that you have ruined it for us all,” Lady Rachel said bitterly.
Mary didn’t want to go, but she knew that resisting would only worsen her circumstance. Lady Rachel had one intention and that was to ruin everything that Mary held dear.
Sarah was inside, still mingling with others, and it left Mary all alone with the two women who hated her most.
And now, the last shred of hope in her heart was finally gone.
