Chapter 4 4

IV. A Very Ugly Wedding

"I have come to accept that I am completely ruined after what happened last night," Mary said, her voice still agonizingly gentle and soft that Adrien found himself wanting to strangle her. She was no lady of gentleness as she painted herself to be. She was a conniving wench! "I no longer wish to not marry you, my lord, so prepare for a wedding."

She started to turn away but Adrien's voice, shaking with fury, uttered, "If you choose to go through with this wedding at all, Mary, I vow that you will get nothing-nothing-from me."

Her stoop shoulders straightened and without a glance back at him, she uttered, "Your name is what I merely need, my lord. I shall not wish for anything else."

"I will not stop my ways. I will continue to have my mistresses while you live in my house, in your own bedchamber. You shall not want for more but a measly allowance-"

"You can keep your mistresses. And you keep your money for I have enough. As to a dowry, it shall be transferred immediately into your account."

His anger reached full height at that point and he rushed toward her, grabbing her arm and whirling her around to face him. Her golden globes wavered for a second before she moved them back to stare at his blue ones squarely. "Why are you doing this? You have your father's wealth. You run two gentlemen's clubs and the money is flowing in. What do you need my name for?"

She blinked. For a second Adrien saw a flash of something in her eyes. But it was gone before he could name it. "Your name shall guarantee my standing in society," she answered in a clear, controlled voice.

Disgusted, Adrien pushed her away. "I will make you miserable. I promise you, I will."

A faint, sardonic smile tugged at one corner of her lips, the very lips he had devoured just hours ago. His blood boiled with lust and fury. "I shall keep that in mind." She turned away one more time and walked to the door. "I wish to be wed in the church of my choosing. Your aunt has promised to take care of everything else." When she reached the doorway, she stopped again and added, "I should like to inform you, my lord, that you cannot expect to receive any portion of my father's fortune for it has been written in his will that the man I wed shall not receive a single townsend, save for the dowry."

Adrien laughed loudly for he could not find any way to express his intense anger toward her, his aunt who must have connived with her, his dratted bad fate and his entire bloody life. "I never took you to be this greedy, Mary Featherton. You can keep your bloody fortune, my name, and you can keep your bloody self all to yourself for I will not want to have anything to do with you after the wedding. Do you hear me? You will be all on your own!"

She nodded curtly. "Good day, my lord. See you at the wedding."

*****

Mary was already shaking when she reached her bedchamber. She did it.

She had finally told him.

She no longer cared what Adrien Haverston thought of her. Or what the bloody Town thought of her. She simply wanted to stay alive and keep her promise to her father. Adrien Haverston's name would be good enough protection. And that was all she needed for the meantime-protection.

Papa, what have I done? She asked to herself as her tears rolled down her cheeks. She would never forgive herself for ruining Adrien Haverston's life. And she would gladly pay for it.

When he had asked her for her reasons to want to marry him, she could not tell him the truth. It would be the end if she did. It was bad enough that he had to be forced to marry her. Half of her wished that he would back off, but he was an honorable man after all.

She would take whatever punishment he'd bestow upon her. He would not keep him away from his mistresses or the Mary House. She would let him live the life he wanted, stay out of his sight and try to be on her own as he had said.

I am all on my own.

Squaring her shoulders, Mary took a deep breath and went to her writing table. It was time to write some notes.

*****

The Herald called it THE GREAT SCANDAL.

Everyone talked about the Macy ball over breakfast, over card games, over tea and even over business transactions. The women, most of them, were not quite as scandalized as Adrien had first thought. Some had expressed their relief that finally one of the most renowned rakes in the Town had finally been caught. Their daughters were safe from one rake.

The article by the Herald did not mention the details in the library, much to Aunt Gertrude's relief. It merely said that Mary Featherton had finally shown her color and that Adrien Haverston was the unlucky targeted victim.

"It should have been the other way around!" their aunt had cried out when she read the article. She had, of course, called for her brother, the Lord of Haverston, who only ordered Adrien to not disappear before the wedding and he did not care for one bloody second what he did after that.

Their father may never admit it, but Adrien was very certain he was pleased that a wedding was to happen. He had always opposed to the fact that his sons were still eligible bachelors. He had even reached an agreement with Cressida Belverst's parents to marry Calan off to their daughter. But that was another story for Calan was quite fine with the idea however he tried to get away from it at first.

Their father left after ensuring a promise from Adrien that he would not run off anywhere. Aunt Gertrude walked out to prepare for the wedding as she had promised and no one had seen her ever since.

The rest of the week had flown by without word from Mary but his aunt had assured him through a note that the woman was very much alive and ready for the wedding. The week after and the wedding was happening with no accidents from both parties, much to Adrien's disappointment. The Herald never missed a day without mentioning the Great Scandal and Adrien had to bitterly read every juicy detail over breakfast. On the other hand, it seemed that Calan was rather pleased that the Town had set aside the gossips about his wife's absence in Willowfair.

The only exciting thing that had happened to Adrien in the past two dreadful weeks was when one of his brothers, the youngest, McKenzie, dropped by to offer his condolences.

"You ought to be careful now when you take on mistresses," McKenzie had told him with great humor.

"I intend to do it with great vulgarity," he had snapped back, causing his brother to shake his head mournfully.

"You shall survive, old boy," McKenzie had said as farewell. "I shall be at your wedding and I shall be laughing at your fate."

Adrien had stayed in bed the day before he was to be wed, contemplating whether he ought to call for his horse and gallop away to the farthest corner of the Town or simply kill himself. Much later, after Calan arrived from his business, he and Adrien took to the library where they shared a bottle of brandy.

"I should hang myself. I bloody don't deserve this," he gritted out, drowning a glass of brandy.

Calan rolled his eyes. "You did it to yourself, brother. Was it you who had laughed at me on the day of my wedding?" He threw his brother a darting look. Yes, he had laughed at Calan's fate months ago. How fun it had been to be on the other end of the table! And now it was his turn and it was no laughing matter all!

"I promise you, Calan, and I say this to everyone who would dare listen-" he said with a slur, his eyes half open, "She'd stay a virgin-for that's what she still is-all her life." Calan merely raised his brows at his grim words. "I am not an heir to a title and I am bloody lucky to not be required to sire an heir," he further added in his stupor state.

"You are heir to a title, Adrien. You will get the Easton estate in the future."

"And the old man will be gone by then. No one will require me an heir," he explained. "She would stay a wife in name only. She shall not be touched in any way whatsoever."

Calan chuckled. "I highly doubt that, brother. She will be your wife, after all." His brother shook his head with a knowing, bitter smile. "I highly doubt it."

*****

"The only way we can get the fortune is if you marry her."

"But I don't wish to marry her!"

"You will if you want to be in her will before she dies."

"Whatever do you mean by that?"

"You marry her, force her to bear your child, and then she gets into an accident of our choosing, one that is fatal, of course. Her child will get everything and as the father, you shall have far-reaching control over the fortune."

"Do you think it can be done?"

"Trust me son, it will be done."

Mary's eyes flew open and she abruptly sat up in bed, gasping for air, clutching her chest. She held her fingers to stop her lips from shaking. She reached out to flick her lamp on, her gaze darting to every corner of the room, afraid that they would be lurking in the corner.

She had made it quite sure not to cross paths with them in the two weeks since the Macy ball.

She would be wed tomorrow and their plans would never come to light.

She bent her knees to her chest and hugged her legs. Burying her face between them, her shoulders started to shake in uncontrolled fear.

She may not know it yet but she is very much like her mother-she is strong and capable.

"Oh, Papa, how wrong you are," she whispered achingly.

Mary spent the entire night curled in bed with fear and vulnerability as her blanket.

*****

Adrien saw his brothers sitting in the pew from the corner of his eye. His jaw tightened at the memory that merely months ago he had been the one wearing their amused faces. His aunt and father were sitting at the other end, both looking content. The other guests he dared not mind for he was not feeling accommodating. He had not raised a single hand to help with the wedding preparations. He had simply waited and dreaded the very moment he had to stand beside the vicar.

When the wedding finally began and Mary came through the door in a modest white dress, Adrien felt himself go numb. How could one look like an angel and be a scheming wench all the same? His anger flared even higher at the thought. He had been fooled by a lovely, deceiving vixen and he'd make her pay for it.

But the vixen was slowly walking toward him with guilt in her eyes. No, he must be mistaken for there was not a part of her that was remorseful. She had allowed this to happen. She'd have to face the consequences.

He did not dare take her hand when she finally reached him. He merely turned and faced the vicar, ready to say the vows without intent to take them to heart. He vowed only one thing: to make her suffer.

*****

Mary felt the urge to stop the wedding, to scream her objection when the vicar asked for one to speak before he declared them husband and wife. But Barty and Collin Featherton were among the guests and their presence was enough to make her endure this horrible event. Of course, she had seen them for they towered everyone else. One could say that they were giants for they towered most of the men in Willowfair. And they made it certain that Mary saw them.

"You may kiss the bride," the vicar said, drawing Mary's mind away from the only two living relatives she had left.

Adrien turned to face her, his blue eyes lit with promise to punish her, and bent down to quickly plant a kiss on her cheek.

The applause from the guests was half-heartedly given, the felicitations half-meant and mournful.

Adrien almost literally dragged her to the carriage. There was no party to follow. They were going straight to Oakham Manor where she would have to live with him. He'd make her suffer and she'd wholeheartedly accept it for after what she had done to him, she deserved everything he would and would not give her.

Mary knew she was doomed but when her eyes flew out the window of the carriage and landed on her uncle and his son standing outside the church with contempt on their handsome Featherton faces-one with graying hair, the other black-she knew she had at least won this one fight.

More was to come, but she won this one.