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For a moment she wanted to take it back.Tell him that she didn’t want to know.But her sister’s derogatory remarks about Mary’s appearance, together with Amelia’s insistence that Edwina was jealous of her, had her needing to learn the truth.No matter how embarrassing she might find the answer.
She squared her shoulders and willed away her sudden desire to run from this man.But when she tried to speak, all she could manage was a quietyesaround her suddenly dry throat.
Ashford held his arms clasped behind his back, but something in his gaze, coupled with the privacy of their current environment, had her feeling as though he was a hair’s breadth away from reaching for her.
Which was a silly thought.They were only friends.
“What do you know about kissing?”
Mary scrunched her nose, remembering the time one of the local boys at home had tried to kiss her when she was eighteen.“I know it’s entirely unpleasant.”
He raised a brow.“How many men have you kissed?”
Her mouth dropped open in surprise before she snapped it closed.“Just the one.And I didn’t kiss him, he kissed me.The entire experience was one I didn’t care to repeat.”
A nerve jumped in Ashford’s cheek.When he spoke, his anger shocked her.“Did he force himself on you?”
It took her a moment to understand his meaning.Heat flooded her face.“No, of course not.He merely attempted to kiss me.It only lasted a few moments before I was able to push him away.”
“Was this someone who was courting you?”
Mary lifted one shoulder in a shrug.“He was one of several men who showed interest in me.I had the misfortune of finding myself alone with him for a few minutes when I had gone out for a walk.He took the opportunity to tell me he wanted to show me the depth of his affections.Instead, I felt as though I’d been slobbered over by a very messy hound.”
Ashford let out a burst of laughter.
Mary folded her arms across her chest.“It wasn’t amusing.”
His laughter died.“No, I imagine it wasn’t.What happened with the other men?”
“They lost interest.”
Ashford’s brows drew together in a frown.“I find that impossible to believe.”
“You’ve come to know me, my lord.I don’t have much to recommend me.My sister said they were likely taking pity on me in the first place.”
“Excuse my bluntness, but Lady Fairbanks is a lying bitch.”
Mary’s mouth dropped open.Then, to her horror, she let out an indelicate snort before falling into peals of laughter.
Ashford looked at her as though she had grown two heads.“I don’t think stories about your sister’s cruelty toward you are amusing.”
Mary swiped at her eyes as she worked to gain control of her amusement.“No, neither do I.But she would die… just die… if she knew you thought her a…” She waved a hand in his direction.“What you said.”
“To be truthful, I rarely think of her at all.”
“Oh, ouch!I think that would cut her even deeper.”
One corner of his mouth lifted.“And what would she think if she knew the two of us were here together… for all intents and purposes, alone?”
She didn’t even have to think about it.“She would hate me.Well, even more than she already does.”
“Mary—”
It was the first time he’d ever called her by her Christian name, and the intimacy sent a frisson of awareness down her spine.
“Please don’t concern yourself about my relationship with my sister.It was strained years ago.Likely when our parents died and she found herself needing to care for me.”
“Family can be complicated, I know.”
