“With my brother on his honeymoon, I’m responsible for caring for my siblings. They need me. I can’t get caught up in some scheme to take down a man who’s as wily as they come. If something happened to me...”
Mary shook her head, then drained her cup. “I know you think it’s the way out, but I’ll find another. Even if it means ruining my reputation so that no one else will marry me. The important thing is to make sure my brother and sisters are cared for.”
Perhaps that was the price she’d pay for her vanity—remaining a spinster her whole life. None of the men had ever paid her a bit of attention, before Ben. That should have been her warning that Ben wasn’t on the up-and-up. Amazing what a little flattery could get. And how disastrous the results could be.
Mary started back to where they’d spread the picnic blankets, cognizant of the voices headed their way. She’d go back to the group and follow her original plan of getting to know her contemporaries.
“Don’t go,” Will said, catching up to her. “The others are almost here. I know you wanted to spend time with them, and here I am, monopolizing you with things you don’t want to talk about.”
Pausing to look toward the group heading for the spring, then back at Will, Mary knew there was no easy escape. Could Will’s olive branch be genuine?
A dark lock of hair had fallen over his forehead, giving him an innocence that made her want to trust him.
“Come on, Mary. We’ll call it a truce for now, and I promise, I won’t speak of Ben for the rest of the outing.” He held his hand out to her as though he were making a solemn business deal. She’d learned that such promises mattered none to Ben, but with Will, well, he was different.
She accepted his handshake, noting the firm grip of his fingers around hers. He treated her as an equal, and in his eyes shone trust and respect. It hit her again how stupid she must’ve been to trust in Ben. He’d been a selfish fop, something evident in his too-eager smiles, lazy posture and glib tongue. Will, on the other hand, was everything a man should be.
When he released her hand, it tingled from the absence of his strong presence.
“It’s settled, then,” he said. “Friends.”
The warmth of the word made her insides churn as though she’d drunk a whole gallon of the soda water.
“Hello, lovebirds!” Jasper’s booming voice jolted her. “Sneaking away for a little private time?”
Mary’s collar suddenly felt tight around her neck, preventing her from any speech. Her face warmed, and she tried desperately to think of ice and snow and cold, anything to keep herself from betraying the disquiet inside her.
“Not at all. We just wanted to get some of this famous natural soda water before my gluttonous friend took it all.” Will gave a fake punch at Jasper, who dodged.
“I see we’ll have to go to one of the boxing matches at the Tabor Opera House one of these days. Sparring with you has always been a challenge, but wait until you see what the real pros can do.”
The other girls filed around them, giggling, she supposed, at the manly demonstration between Jasper and Will.
“Goodness,” Polly said, linking her arm with Mary’s. “You and Will seem awfully cozy for someone who denies that he’s her beau.”
Mary blew out a breath, wishing that she hadn’t made such a muck of her life that she could confide in her friend. Of all people, Polly might be the one who would possibly understand what it was like to fall for a man who was nothing but trouble. Polly’s former beau had turned out to be one of the thugs who’d kidnapped Mary’s sister and sister-in-law.
“For someone sworn to never give her heart away again, you sure have a lot of interest in my love life.”
They found their way to a grassy spot near the edge of the spring. “So, how about you let it drop, and let’s enjoy the water.”
Polly ignored the cup Mary held out to her. “I’m not very fond of the water. It has a strange aftertaste I’ve never gotten used to.”
The intense look Polly gave her indicated that she had no intention of letting the subject drop. Would that it were as simple as telling Polly that Ben was a bad man and Will determined to bring him to justice, the questions would cease. Polly would understand. But Polly would ask questions and want Mary to talk to the authorities. Authorities who would more likely than not arrest her.
“It just seems strange,” Polly said finally, “that you have so many men interested in you, yet you claim complete indifference. I may have sworn off having a beau for myself, but I admit to being completely fascinated by your having so many.”
It was on the tip of Mary’s tongue to offer one of her unwanted beaus to Polly, but she wouldn’t wish Ben on anyone. Will, on the other hand...
She turned to glance at him just as he threw back his head and laughed. A warm laugh that invited everyone with him to join him, not the kind that was at anyone’s expense. The automatic comparison to Ben started to pop into her mind, but she willed it away. There was no reason for her to compare him to Ben at all. Absolutely none. Except that traitorous voice deep inside her reminded her that she might be uncomfortable in offering him up to Polly for very different reasons.
* * *
Will had not enjoyed himself more thoroughly in a long time. He’d forgotten what great company Jasper had been. Work had
