Free A Kiss for Lady Mary by Ella Quinn Page A

see him.” The rector stopped, turning her toward him. “Lady Eunice, I hope we have become friends. If you tell me what is going on, I might be able to help.”
    Eunice repressed a groan. Should she reveal the secret and watch as Mr. Doust lost all respect for her? Yet when he gazed at her with those steady brown eyes, she felt herself wanting to confide in him.
    “You do realize,” he said quietly, “that even if I were prone to gossip, my vows prohibit me from doing so.”
    A smile tugged one corner of her mouth. She could not imagine anyone less disposed to tittle-tattle than the rector. She took a breath. “Very well, but you must promise not to say a word until I’m finished.”
    He led her to a wooden bench and waited for her to sit before he did, then he took her hand and held it. “I promise.”
    A light shiver ran through her. Why did it feel as if he were offering more than concern for a friend? “After Mary’s father died, only a year after her mother, and the mourning period was up, her brother Barham and his wife removed to Town for the Season. Mary resided with them. Mama and I thought nothing of their cousin Gawain Tolliver being around, until he began pressing his attentions on Mary. Barham warned him off, but that just made Tolliver more devious about following her. Then one evening, during some entertainment or other, as she was returning from the ladies’ retiring room, he tried to trap her. Fortunately she was able to get away, but he didn’t stop his attempts to compromise her. Barham wrote to his uncle, Tolliver’s father, and complained, but he received no reply. Soon it got to the point where Tolliver was popping up wherever Mary went, and . . .” Once she’d finished the story, Eunice waited as Mr. Doust sat quietly for a few moments.
    “Why Mr. Featherton?”
    “His grandmother, one of my mother’s bosom friends, was sure he’d had an interest in Mary, and Mama thought that during Mary’s first Season she had noticed him more than the other gentlemen. To hear Mama and the Dowager Lady Featherton talk, it is past time he was wed. Even his father, who has been very tolerant about his unmarried state, has begun pushing for him to find a wife. That was when his grandmother, Mama, and Lady Bellamny hatched their plan.” Eunice glanced at Mr. Doust, but his countenance showed nothing but polite interest. “I must admit, I agreed with them. Mr. Featherton is a much better choice than Mr. Tolliver, who is a fish-faced cur who only wants Mary’s money. Mama is a dab hand at arranging matches. Still, after being here, I do wish there had been another way. I did not appreciate how close to courting scandal this would be.”
    “How did you become so involved?”
    She shrugged one shoulder. “I generally travel to visit my children and grandchildren, and cannot be pinned to one place. As I was the least likely to be missed, I agreed to remain with Mary.”
    Mr. Doust grinned, shaking his head slowly. “A conspiracy of old ladies—other than you, of course. I’ve often thought women should be given more to occupy their time. We gentlemen ignore a great deal of talent by not recognizing their skills.”
    Eunice couldn’t believe he wasn’t upset; in fact, she was stunned. “How can you think this situation is funny?”
    He sobered immediately. “I don’t. I do, however, admire you ladies. And if the young man is so inclined, this could all work out quite well.”
    She pressed her lips together. “You are as bad as Mama and her friends.”
    “Oh no.” Then he did laugh. “Just an old war horse. I’ve seen far stranger things than this.”
    What did he mean by war . . . “You were in the military?”
    He smiled. “Yes, as a chaplain. I was army mad, but my father insisted I go into the church. In the end, I managed to satisfy both his requirements and my desires. Once Napoleon was exiled at Elba in ’14, I was offered a position with the Bishop of London, but I was not only