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“Whoever you are,” he bellowed as he slid back the bolt, “you had better have a good reason for knocking at my door in the middle of the night.”
He opened the door.
“Believe me, I have an excellent reason.” Giles Perry stood on the threshold, holding a lantern in his left hand. He wore a dark cape flung over his shoulders and a murderous expression on his face. “I’ve come to do this.”
He drew back his fist and punched Sebastian square in the ribs.
Oof.The blow took Sebastian by surprise. But that was about all it did. Perry hadn’t the bulk or strength to deliver a bruising punch. Sebastian didn’t even reel a step backward. Looking into Perry’s pitifully disappointed face, he almost felt a bit sheepish about his lack of response. He wondered if perhaps he ought to double over and feign a dramatic groan just to be polite.
But then he recalled that this was the man who’d left Mary waiting at the altar—and Sebastian had no further inclinations to pity.
“How dare you come here,” he growled.
“How dare youbehere,” Perry replied, indignant.
“This is my house. I’ve every right to be here.”
“You don’t have any right to be here withher.”Perry ducked under Sebastian’s arm and entered the cottage. “I’ve come to rescue Mary.”
“Rescue her from what? A surfeit of orgasms?”
“From you, you…rutting blackguard.”
Oh, now that was too much. “Listen, you puling jackass. You have no claim on Mary any longer. That ended when you abandoned your promises and left her waiting at the altar alone. The only reason you don’t have a bullet hole through your chest is because she begged me to spare your miserable life.”
“What are you on about? I didn’t abandon her.”
“I’m fairly certain you did. I was there, and you weren’t.”
“Because I honored her request. Mary broke it off. Not me.”
“You lying little—”
“He’s not lying.” Mary stood at the top of the stairs, dressed in one of his shirts. “He’s telling the truth. I’m the one who called the wedding off.”
Sebastian shook his head in disbelief. “That can’t be. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Perry moved to confront her directly. “You ran away with this brigand? Willingly?”
“He’s not a brigand. How did you find us here?”
“The coachman told me, when he finally returned. I’d hired that carriage by the hour, I hope you know.” He shook his head in irritation. “This was supposed to be a discreet agreement. You become a spinster, I get a seat in the House of Commons.”
“You’ll still be an MP. It’s not as though you need to win votes. You’re buying a rotten borough. With my dowry, I might add.”
Sebastian couldn’t have heard that correctly. “You gave him your dowry?”
“Yes.” She descended the remainder of the stairs. “In exchange for releasing me from the engagement on such late notice.”
“I should have never agreed,” Perry said. “I’ve a promising future in Parliament, you know. I could be Prime Minister one day. Many people are saying it. When this news gets about, you will have made me the laughingstock of London.”
“Oh, Giles. Please. No one thinks about you half as much as you believe they do.”
“I beg your pardon. I’m in the newspapers at least twice a year.”
“You’re a man, from an influential family. You’ll weather the scandal, buy your seat in Parliament. From there you can make your reputation in politics—and, I might add, a far better match. If anything, people will believe you had a close escape. They’ll assume it was my fault, and that you were well rid of me.”
Sebastian pinched the bridge of his nose. “Help me out here, Mary. If you’d called off the wedding that morning, why did you come to the church? With all your belongings packed, no less?”
