“No, no. It’s high time Mary learned her place and found a husband. What do you think of Woolsley?”
“A man with no sense of humor whatsoever,” he said immediately. Their mutual friend bored him to tears on most days. Ellis winced. “Do we have to take him with us today?”
“I meant as a husband for Mary,” Douglas suggested.
Ellis shook his head immediately. “No.”
“Why not?”
Ellis laughed. “She’d walk all over him before the wedding even took place.”
Douglas sighed. “I say again that you should be grateful you don’t have a sister.”
He would have liked a sister or a brother. He’d been alone for a long time, and he often felt lonely, even around friends. “Surely she’s not so bad as all that.”
Ellis may not have a family to call his own now, but he rather enjoyed spending time at the Vine household. The widowed Mrs. Vine had always been kind. He’d spent many a happy Christmas at her fireside,
and looked forward to long summertime rambles in the woods in her company too.
When it came to Mary, however, he wasn’t always so comfortable. She seemed to disapprove of him in general and had from the very start of their acquaintance. His reputation, and Mary’s belief Ellis was a rake, meant they could never get along. They certainly could not be confidants. At least so far she seemed unimpressed by his connections. He’d never had to worry that she might see more into his visits than was there. He’d never court her. He wasn’t that desperate. Mary Vine as a wife would make his life an endless nightmare, the way she carried on over every little thing.
It may not be his business, but he was still worried about their recent conversation by the time they reached Tattersalls. Mary claimed she’d not sneak away to the ball, but there was a look in her eye that hinted she was likely up to something on the sly. He’d seen that look before when her brother had adopted carrying a ridiculous walking cane to appear more worldly when he was out and about Town. Mary had not been able to hide her disapproval and had rushed outside and given it to an old gent who was hobbling past their home without the aid of one.
To this day, Vine had no idea what she’d done with the cane, and although Ellis had disapproved of her actions, he had not informed on her. She’d been young then, and impulsive in nature. However, was she impulsive enough to consider sneaking out to the ball all alone?
He sighed. Mary was not his problem. Society was. “Do you ever think you have no control over your life?”
“What are you talking about?”
“No matter what I do, people continue to make up wild stories about me. I haven’t attended an entertainment this week but so far I’ve heard I’d seduced two innocents and a widow fresh to town without leaving my home.”
“Half your luck,” Vine grumbled. “There are worse things people could say about you. They could say nothing at all and barely notice you exist.”
Ellis longed for that. “These rumors are getting annoying.”
“You worry too much.” Vine tapped his arm. “I know a dozen dull gentlemen who would kill to have your reputation with the ladies.”
That reputation was getting in Ellis’s way.
“What about Prescott?” Vine asked when they took seats as the first horses appeared.
Ellis liked Horace Prescott. He was a bit of a rascal with women, and even so, he was a model to Ellis’s circle of friends. “He’s a fine man.”
“Very rich.”
Money was a poor reason to marry, in his opinion. When he tried to imagine Mary happily married to Prescott, he couldn’t see it. Prescott was a little too flirtatious to not be tempted by other women. Mary claimed today that she wanted to love her husband, after all. “Is he not a little old to make a match with Mary?”
“What’s a few years matter if she can bring him up to scratch?”
“Twelve,” he said, calculating the age gap. “He’s a dozen years older than Mary. Shouldn’t someone closer to her own age be a better choice?”
“Choices seem to go begging right now. Prescott will not put up with her foolishness. I think I’ll invite him to dinner tomorrow night and see what happens when I leave them alone together.” Vine grinned.
Ellis had been left alone, never for long, with Mary, and inevitably they only ever seemed to squabble. There must be something about his face she did not like. He changed the subject quickly. “What about that one?”
They discussed suitable mounts neither of them could afford at present before leaving after an hour in a state of ennui. The problem with horses and women was that choosing one cost a great deal of money. He wished money wasn’t an issue for him, but it would define his life very soon.
“What’s put you in a sour mood today?” Douglas asked suddenly as a hack neared.