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“I mean the club you will have to tell me about if you want me to believe you have any true interest in courting me.” Mary turned her nose up, facing forward again, her temper stirred. He could not truly expect to marry a woman and keep such a large part of his life separate from her, could he? Well, she supposed he could. There were many among thetonwho lived separate lives, but Mary did not think she wanted that. For some reason, she did not think he did, either. “I will not marry a man known to run a secret club without knowing more about it. I do not like to blindly walk into situations.”
“Fair enough.” He paused for a moment, steering the horses around a cart on the side of the street and likely giving himself a moment to think. “We call it the Society of Sin, or more often,theSociety.”
“And are you all sinners?” she quipped, half-serious. She did not know how much of the group’s activities she had actually witnessed. Could there be more?
“To one degree or another,” he answered affably, one shoulder lifting in an insouciant shrug. “There are many things Society considers sinful, but which harm no one. Whereas many are harmed by the very same people sitting in judgment of others.TheSociety is for those of us who do not care to be bound by Society’s strictures or sometimes, its laws.” There was a strange tightness to his voice, almost of anger, which drew Mary’s attention.
“You do not care much for theton?” She was truly curious, as his attitude was highly unusual for someone who was ranked so highly within it. There were certain benefits that came with his title, allowing him to move through Society, no matter how scandalous his behavior became. While some of those among the lower echelons grumbled, those solidly entrenched in the top tiers seemed to take their privileges for granted.
Hartford snorted with disgust.
“Society is a pit of vipers, always watching and waiting for someone to fall, and very often, their reprobation falls on the wrong person. They do not care, so long as they have a carcass to pick over.” He turned the curricle toward the park entrance. “There are exceptions, of course, but as a rule… ah, and here we go. Not just a pit of vipers, but all of them neatly lined up for us, waiting to sink their teeth into the juicy gossip that the Marquess of Hartford is courting Miss Mary Wilson.”
“If they even know my name,” Mary said, bemused enough to be bluntly honest with him without thinking about it. He was right. Several carriages had come to a grinding halt the moment they entered Hyde Park, various monocles and spectacles rising to noses to see justwhowas accompanying the notorious Marquess of Hartford.
If a misstep occurred between them, it would be Mary’s reputation that would suffer. There might be a few who blamed Hartford for any scandal, but really, most of them would say, what could she have expected, becoming involved with him?
Sighing, she sat up straighter, noticing several approving nods from the ladies examining her appearance. Thanks to Aunt Elizabeth and Arabella, none of them could ridicule her presentation, even if they did not know who she was.
“Rotten Row, first,” Hartford said. “We should let thegrande damesinspect us, lest they feel affronted at not being the first in-the-know.”
For one who disdained Society, he understood it very well. Mary nodded her agreement.
Rex
Miss Wilson turned out to have a rather wicked, if quiet, sense of humor. Freed from the social constraints of polite conversation by their odd beginnings and his frank confessions about his views of Society, she apparently felt free to make all sorts of observationssotto voceas he drove through the park. More than once, Rex found himself stifling a laugh, doing his best to keep his expression properly somber. She wasn’t cruel in her witticisms, but like him, she clearly had no patience for hypocrisy or duplicity, both of which were rife among theton.
A familiar rider approached on a large bay horse, fixing Rex with a dark frown as he came closer. It took Rex a few minutes to place the Earl of Durham. It had been years since they had seen each other at school. They had not been friends, but not enemies, either. He could not understand why the man was frowning at him until he felt Miss Wilson perk up beside him. The earl’s gaze shifted and softened. Ah, they were acquainted, enough so, Durham felt protective.
Exasperation threaded through Rex’s emotions. First the Hood brothers, now Durham. Did they really think he would abscond with a debutante, ravish her, and go on his merry way? Miss Wilson’s family he couldalmostunderstand. She was in their care, and Thomas Hood did not know him personally. Durham should know better, though.
“Elijah!” Miss Wilson beamed, and Durham’s expression turned to a fond smile. A little trickle of jealousy pricked Rex, but he ignored it. There was nothing in Miss Wilson’s demeanor to indicate there was an understanding of any kind between them, even if she knew him well enough to call him by his Christian name. “I did not expect to see you here.”
“I could say the same,” Durham said amiably, although his blue eyes were icy when he turned them on Rex, a sharp contrast to his brown hair. “Hartford.”
“Durham.” Rex let a touch of reproof color his tone. Seriously, he wasn’t going to tarnish Miss Wilson’s reputation just by taking her for a drive—far from it. Everyone knew he was searching for a wife. Miss Wilson frowned, looking back and forth between them, clearly sensing the growing undercurrent of tension.
“Do you two know each other?”
“We went to school together,” Durham said. “We had some common interests. Things thatmostleave behind after their youth.”
Rex rolled his eyes. For whatever reason, Durham had turned into a stuffy prig over the years. Otherwise, Rex might have invited him to join the Society, but when he had once broached the subject, Durham had scolded him for not outgrowing his ‘youthful endeavors.’ If Durham wanted to deny that side of himself, that was his problem.
“Like what?” Miss Wilson asked, so artlessly and innocently, Rex almost choked on a laugh. The little minx. She knew exactly what and clearly enjoyed the way her question made Durham color up and squirm in his saddle.
“Never mind, ’tis not important.” Durham gave her another nod, then met Rex’s gaze. “I happened to see you and wanted to say hello.”
He was ensuring Rex knew Miss Wilson had allies.Thatwas what he wanted. Rex barely managed to keep himself from rolling his eyes again.
“Well, hello, then,” Miss Wilson said cheerily, easily breaking the tension between the two men and nearly causing Rex to snort again. “It was lovely to see you. Will you be at the Farthingale’s ball this evening?”
“I just might.” Durham nodded again sharply before turning his horse off onto another path, looking over his shoulder as he went.
“Do you think he expects you to ravish me here on the carriage seat?” Miss Wilson murmured.
This time, Rex did not bother to stifle his reaction—grinning widely, he caused a small stir among the barouches where Ladies Jersey and Cowper were watching them intently. The gossip would be flying this afternoon.
“Well, you are wearing a very fetching dress,” he riposted. Miss Wilson preened. Rex shifted in his seat, trying not to think too hard about how much fun it would be to ravish her in the middle of Hyde Park. He diverted his attention back to the horses before he proved Durham’s suspicions correct.
